Lovely Violence Chrétien de Troyes' Critical Romances

In Lovely Violence: ChrÃ(c)tien de Troyesâ (TM) Critical Romances, JÃ, rgen Bruhn rereads the well-known but still intriguing chivalric novels of the medieval French author ChrÃ(c)tien de Troyes (from the second half of the twelfth century, probably in northern France). JÃ, rgen Bruhnâ "who is trained in modern comparative literature and literary theoryâ "engages in a meeting with the medieval texts where the â oestrangeâ medieval contexts and texts are played up against more familiar contemporary concerns around textuality, gender and in particular the vexed question of violence. After an introduction and an attempt to construct a useful context around the texts of ChrÃ(c)tien de Troyes, Bruhn discusses the five chivalric novels which are normally known under the names of the more or less heroic heroes: Erec, Cligès, Yvain, Lancelot and Perceval. The medieval characters turn out to behave in ways that are both shockingly strange and â oemedieval, â and at the same time resassuringly recognisable. The Middle Ages may not be so unmodern after all.