Erec and Enide

Erec and Enide leave Guivret and continue on their journey, with Erec “in great need of ointment / to medicate his injuries” (115). They stop at a meadow bordering a forest. In the forest, King Arthur and his court have set up tents, as they have been hunting there during the day. Sir Gawain left his horse, lance, and shield, which were “impulsively […] seized” by a steward named Kay. As Kay rides on Sir Gawain’s horse, he comes across Erec and Enide. However, Kay does not recognize Erec, as the painted marks on his shield that would identify him have “chipped away and peeled” (116). Enide, meanwhile, placed a cloth over her face to hide her identity.

As Kay approaches, he demands that Erec tell his name and come back to King Arthur’s camp. Erec refuses, telling Kay that he has to continue on his journey. Kay again insists that Erec come with him, leading to a fight between the two. Erec knocks Kay to the ground and takes the horse, but Kay begs Erec not to take it as it belongs to Sir Gawain. Kay returns to the camp and tells the king what has happened. King Arthur orders Gawain to “pursue the knight immediately” and bring him back to the camp (119).

Gawain reaches Erec and again invites Erec and Enide to join King Arthur’s camp. However, Erec again refuses to come, even though he does “feel indisposed / from wounds in body dealt of late” (120). Gawain tells one of his servants to tell King Arthur to pack up his tents and set up his camp down the road from where Gawain and Erec currently are so that they will intercept Erec. Gawain continues to follow Erec and pester him so as to delay Erec’s travels. Erec and Gawain finally reach King Arthur’s camp, where Erec realizes what Gawain has done. Erec decides to reveal his identity to Gawain, telling him “your cleverness amazes me” (121). Erec is excitedly greeted by King Arthur and the rest of his court. Though King Arthur insists that Erec should stay in the camp until his wounds are healed, Erec announces that he plans to leave the next morning to continue on his journey. The next morning, King Arthur and his knights again try to persuade Erec to stay, but Erec insists, and he and Enide leave.

As Erec and Enide leave King Arthur’s camp, they come across a forest where they hear a woman screaming, which Erec believes means that the unknown woman requires “assistance and protection” (126). Erec tells Enide to wait where she is while Erec investigates the screaming. Erec finds the screaming maiden, who tells him that two giants have abused and kidnapped her lover, a knight. She tells Erec that she wishes “that I could die” because her lover is about to “die a wrongful, shameful death” (127). Erec promises to try and find the giants and free her knight, and the maiden promises that she will “be [Erec’s] slave” if he successfully saves him (127).

Erec follows the giants’ tracks and finds the knight tied up and naked, his body covered with “deep slashes to the bone” (128). Erec approaches the two giants, telling them they have treated the knight poorly for no reason, and asks them to be proper and free the knight. When the giants refuse, Erec tells them that he will attack them if they do not free the knight. When the giants still refuse, Erec charges toward them, killing one by piercing him “through eye and brain” with his lance (130). The other giant angrily attacks Erec in retribution and uses his club to deal Erec a powerful blow. Before the giant can strike Erec again, Erec attacks the giant with his sword, killing the giant. The freed knight is extremely grateful to Erec and promises to “serve you as my lord forever” (131). However, Erec tells the knight that he does not want his service and will return him to his maiden in the woods before leaving them. Erec then asks the knight what his name is, and the knight reveals it to be Cadoc of Cabruel. When the knight asks Erec for his name, Erec refuses to tell him. Instead, Erec tells him to journey to King Arthur’s camp, tell them of Erec’s deeds, and then ask King Arthur for Erec’s identity. Erec returns Cadoc to his lover before joining Enide once more and continuing their journey. However, the fight with the giants has caused Erec’s wounds to reopen, so that he can only travel with much pain.

As Erec rides toward Enide, he faints from his wounds. While at first Enide is delighted to see Erec, she becomes distraught at the sight of “his body […] all bathed in blood” (134). Enide assumes that Erec is dead and mourns him, asking God why Erec has been killed instead of her: “Death, come and kill me, come with speed!” (135). Enide passes out from her grief, and when she comes to, she blames herself for Erec’s death, as her initial lamenting over Erec’s lack of knightly adventures had led him on his quests. As Enide mourns, she calls Erec the most perfect man to have lived, saying that “in you beauty was reflected, / and in you prowess proven clear” (135). After realizing that Death will not kill her, she decides to take Erec’s sword and commit suicide. However, Chrétien writes that “God made Enide delay a bit / because He is so merciful” (136), and the Count Oringle finds Enide before she can kill herself.

The count tells Enide to stop crying as he will wed her and provide her with riches by making her a countess. He also promises to give Erec a proper burial celebrating his honor. Though Enide refuses, the count orders his men to take Enide and Erec’s body back to his castle. The count quickly arranges to marry Enide, with Enide brought “by brute force” by the count’s men to the wedding (139). At the feast afterward, Enide is clearly full of sorrow and still mourning Erec. The count tries to persuade Enide to join in the celebration and eat, telling her that “grief never got a corpse revived” (140). However, Enide refuses, saying that she “shall never eat or drink” until she sees Erec again alive (140). The count slaps Enide in response, causing Enide to start screaming, which wakes Erec “out of his faint” (141). Seeing Enide being abused by the count, Erec takes his sword and attacks the count, immediately killing him. The count’s subjects quickly flee, as they assume that Erec is a corpse that has become possessed by a devil or ghost. Enide and Erec find Erec’s horse and ride away from the castle. Erec tells Enide that she has been “tested […] in every way” and has proven her complete love for Erec (143). Erec promises to devote himself fully to Enide again and forgives her for every instance of disrespect she committed.