Erec

A Knight of the Round Table who is the hero of Chrétien de Troyes’s Erec and its adaptations. The first legends in which he appears recount his marriage to Enide and their subsequent adventures. Later, the Prose Erec (part of the Post-Vulgate Merlin continuation) describes an entirely different set of adventures in which Enide is absent. In Welsh legend (and in Tennyson), he is called Geraint.
The son of a king named Lac, Erec’s homeland is variously noted as Nantes, Destregales, or Carnant. The source of his name may be Guerec or Weroc, a Breton name which belonged to a tenth-century count of Nantes. Guerec, in turn, may have a relation with Gweir of Welsh legend whose father, Llwch, like Lac, means “lake.” Wolfram von Eschenbach gives him a sister named Jeschute, while in the Post-Vulgate his sister is unnamed. We learn from the latter source that his mother, Crisea, had taken precautions to protect Erec against all forms of enchantment.
Chrétien relates Erec’s story as follows: Erec came to Arthur’s court as a youth and proved himself a superior knight, perhaps second only to Gawain. During Arthur’s ceremonial hunt for the white stag, Erec embarked on a quest to revenge an insult done to Guinevere and himself. His quest took him to the town of Laluth, where he caught up with the insulting knight—Yder, son of Nut. Erec found lodging at the humble home of an impoverished nobleman named Licorant. There, he fell in love with Licorant’s daughter Enide. Erec learned from Licorant that Yder was in the town for an annual sparrowhawk tournament. Entering the tournament with Enide, Erec defeated Yder and forced him to surrender to Arthur. Erec returned to Arthur’s court where he was honored for his victory, and was given Enide’s hand in marriage.
Erec soon brought Enide back to his own kingdom of Nantes, but he was so in love with her that he lost his interest in arms and combat. He spent all of his time with his wife, and his reputation began to suffer as a result. Hearing grumbling from Erec’s subjects and comrades, Enide became disconsolate. She eventually confronted Erec with the situation. Angered and embarrassed, Erec decided to embark on more adventures—with his unfortunate wife in tow, but with no other warriors. Erec badly treated Enide, who was forced to watch as bands of rogues attacked her husband. During this series of adventures, Erec defeated a nobleman who fell in love with Enide, defeated and befriended King Guivret the Small, and overcame Sir Kay. Erec was eventually wounded to unconsciousness by a pair giants, whom he killed in order to save Sir Cadoc of Carlisle. The evil Count Oringle, who ruled the nearby town of Limors, found Erec and Enide, and brought them back to his court. Mistaking Erec’s unconscious state for death, Count Oringle tried to force himself on Enide. When she screamed, Erec awoke, slew the count, and made up with his wife.
On the way back to Arthur’s court, the party came across the beautiful town of Brandigan, ruled by Evrain, where Erec engaged in a dangerous adventure, known as the Joy of the Court, and won, defeating the giant Mabonagrain. His story is capped by a triumphant return to Arthur’s court and by Erec’s investiture with the throne of his father’s kingdom.
The Prose Tristan describes a variant version of Erec’s meeting with Enide in which Erec, aided by Galahad, Hector, and Bleoberis, saves Enide from an oppressor named Senehar.
The version of Erec’s story found in the Post-Vulgate is also entirely different. Knighted just prior to the Grail Quest, Erec proved his prowess by conquering the Castle of the Ten Knights, and by rescuing Bors from the castle of Nabon the Enchanter. Arthur awarded him a Round Table seat, following which Erec embarked on the Grail Quest. He adventured with Meraugis and Hector, who helped him to free his sister and to conquer the Castle Celis, where Lac had been murdered. Soon afterwards, however, Erec slew his sister in order to keep a promise he had rashly made to a lady. In further adventures, he killed Yvain of the White Hands and incurred the enmity of Gawain and his brothers. Gawain killed him, and he was buried at Camelot by Meraugis and Hector. The Alliterative Morte Arthure describes his death during Arthur’s final battle with Mordred.