German Romance V

Erec is the earliest extant German Arthurian romance freely adapted and translated into Middle High German by the Swabian knight Hartmann von Aue from the first Old French Arthurian romance Chrétien de Troyes' Erec et Enide. Hartmann's work dates from c. 1180 but the only (almost) complete manuscript dates from the early sixteenth century copied into the huge two-volume Ambraser Heldenbuch now housed in Vienna. Far more than a simple translation Hartmann's first attempt at an Arthurian romance is notable for its zest and gusto.This is the first edition with a parallel text translation into English; it is presented with explanatory notes and variant readings.