Yvain; Or, the Knight with the Lion | 
pickOk, I confess, I am now on a full-fledged Arthurian bender. How do these things ever start? This time what set me off was the perfectly wretched fifties flick Knights of the Round Table, which is visually sumptuous, but abysmally acted. Just ordered myself the Penguin Classics de Troyes collection - this old Ruth Cline translation of Yvain will have to hold me until it arrives.
pickYvain is, together with Le chevalier de la charrette, the most "classic" of Arthurian romans written by Chrétien de Troyes. It has the romance, the magic and the chivalry that we all know. Yvain is a great knight that makes a mistake against his lady and goes crazy. He loses himself in the woods where he will find his fateful companion: a lion. Yes, a literal lion. Together they will on adventures to make amends to the Lady. What's not to love?
