Erec

Erec, a Middle High German poem of some 10, 000 lines by Hartmann von Aue. It is an Arthurian romance, written c.1180-5, and is a free translation of the Erec of Chrétien de Troyes. The action falls into two main sections. The first (ll. 1-2431) comprises a conventional Arthurian narrative. The knight Erec, riding out with the queen, avenges an insult and in doing so secures as a bride Enite, the beautiful daughter of a completely impoverished nobleman. He returns with her to Arthur's court, and the wedding is celebrated with great festivity.

The second part, which is conspicuously moral and didactic, begins with Erec's excessive devotion to a life of love with his wife which leads him to neglect his knightly duties. He falls into disrepute and, when he realizes the general disfavour, is angered with his wife. He sets out to encounter adventures, bidding Enite ride before him without warning him of any danger. She disobeys this injunction, setting his welfare above a literal conformity, and is each time upbraided by Erec. After various adventures Erec faints from wounds and appears to be dead. Enite is succoured by Count Oringles, who is inflamed by her beauty and, in the presence of the apparently dead Erec, brutally presses his attentions upon her. Erec, roused by her shrieks, slays Oringles, and the couple are reconciled. Unnecessarily pursuing further adventures, Erec is defeated and, looking back, perceives that only morally justified exploits are admissible. He undertakes such a virtuous adventure in challenging the knight Mabonagrin, who is bound by an oath to his lady to remain in the Garden of Love as long as he is undefeated. Erec vanquishes Mabonagrin, who is released from the garden to his own joy and, ultimately, that of his lady. Erec, restored to true knighthood, is received back into King Arthur's court and presently rules happily with Enite over his own land.

The story is educative, illustrating the element of virtue in true knightly conduct, commending self-control (mâze) and courteous behaviour, and condemning immoderate behaviour in love as in other activities. The episode of Mabonagrin contrasts unfavourably the courtly theory of love (Minnedienst) with the true conjugal love of Erec and Enite. The only (almost) complete MS. of Erec is contained in the Ambraser Handschrift, from which two pages are missing. The sixth edition, by A. Leitzmann, ed. Ch. Cormeau and K. Gärtner, appeared in 1985.

Hero of French and other Continental Arthurian romances, especially those of Chrétien de Troyes (c.1180) and Hartmann von Aue (c.1170–c.1215), who rendered the name as Erek. After his marriage to Enid, Erec gains in strength; the two become model lovers, partners, and rulers. Erec's Welsh counterpart is Geraint.

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Sir Erec, the son of King Lac, is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend. He features in numerous Arthurian tales (notably the Post-Vulgate Cycle), but he is most famous as the protagonist in Chrétien de Troyes' first romance, Erec and Enide. Because of Erec and Enide‘s relationship to the Welsh Geraint and Enid, Erec and Geraint are often conflated or confused.

In Chrétien's story, Erec meets his future wife Enide while on a mission to defeat a knight who had mistreated one of Guinevere's servants. The two fall in love and marry, but rumors spread that Erec no longer cares for knighthood or anything else besides his domestic life. Enide cries about these rumors, causing Erec to prove his abilities, both to himself and to his wife, by guising the adventure as a test of Enide's love for him. He has her go on a long, torturous trip with him where she is forbidden to speak to him. She breaks his conditions several times to warn him of danger, and after a number of adventures that prove both his love and his abilities, husband and wife are reconciled. When Erec's father Lac dies, Erec inherits his kingdom.

See also

• Eric

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Erec is also most famous when Ed from Sussex dressed up as him for his 20+1 birthday

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