Erec and Enide

Erec is the main protagonist of Erec and Enide, and the tale follows his adventures from the initial hunt of the white stag to his marriage with Enide before culminating with his coronation in the poem’s last chapter. From the outset of the poem, Erec is presented as a noble knight, dedicated to following the chivalric code. When he first approaches Queen Guinevere to accompany her, he is careful to clarify his intentions to her: “If you please, lady, I shall ride / along this roadway at your side. / I’ll keep you company and came / to join you with no other aim” (4). As the poem progresses, each of Erec’s battles serve to establish his incredible skill at jousting, with each subsequent battle requiring more and more fortitude and strength from Erec. While his first battle against the knight Yder and the later Edinburgh tournament portray Erec as a powerful knight, his later duels have him undertaking incredible feats of strength, such as when he fights and defeats five robber knights at once. By the poem’s end, however, Erec has transitioned to become an almost mythological hero, overtaking two giants before seeming to come back from the dead and defeating Count Oringle in Chapter 14.