Cligès

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Cligès is a poem by the medieval French poet Chrétien de Troyes, dating from around 1176. It tells the story of the knight Cligès and his love for his uncle's wife, Fenice. Because of the story's de-romanticized depiction of adultery, it has been called a criticism or parody of the Tristan and Isolde romances. Cligès’ opening lines give some of the only extant information on the creator's biography and earlier work.

The story starts with Alexander, the son of the Greek emperor (also called Alexander), who comes to King Arthur's realm and marries and has a child with Arthur's niece. This child is Cligès, who is raised in Greece but follows his father's footsteps to Arthur's kingdom when he is old enough to be knighted. Alexander had inherited the throne of Greece when his father died but passes away himself a few years later, leaving Constantinople in the hands of his brother Alis, who is to rule the kingdom until Cligès matures. Cligès falls in love with his uncle Alis' wife, Fenice, but Fenice must pretend she is dead for them to consummate their love. They hide in a tower but are found by Bertrand, who tells Alis; Cligès goes to Arthur to ask for help in getting his kingdom back from his uncle, but Alis dies while he is away. Cligès and Fenice are free to marry.

Only one other version of the romance is known, a few fragments of a German version. The character Cligès himself appears in other stories.

[edit] References

Chrétien de Troyes; Owen, D. D. R. (translator) (1988). Arthurian Romances. New York: Everyman's Library. ISBN 0-460-87389-X.
Lacy, Norris J. (1991). "Chrétien de Troyes". In Norris J. Lacy, The New Arthurian Encyclopedia, pp. 88–91. New York: Garland. ISBN 0-8240-4377-4.