'Erec and Enide ' Summary

Approximately the first quarter of Erec and Enide recounts the tale of Erec, son of Lac, and his marriage to Enide, an impoverished daughter of a vavasor from Lalut. An unarmored Erec is keeping Guinevere and her maiden company while other knights participate in a stag hunt near Cardigan when a strange knight, a maiden, and his dwarf approach the queen and treat her servant roughly. At the queen's orders, Erec follows the knight, Yder, to a far off town where he meets and falls in love with Enide. He borrows a set of armor from the vavasor and goes with Enide to claim a sparrow-hawk that belongs to the most beautiful maiden in the town. Erec challenges and defeats Yder for the sparrow-hawk and they return to Enide's father, who gives permission for the two to marry. Erec refuses to accept gifts of new clothes for Enide and takes her to Arthur's court in her ragged chemise. In spite of her appearance, the courtiers recognize Enide's inherent nobility and Queen Guinevere dresses her in one of her own richly embroidered gowns. Erec and Enide are married, and Erec wins a tournament before getting permission to leave with his wife.

The central half of the poem begins some time later when rumors spread that Erec has come to neglect his knightly duties due to his overwhelming love for Enide and his desire to be with her. He overhears Enide crying over this and orders her to prepare for a journey to parts unknown. He commands her to be silent unless he speaks to her first, but she disobeys him to warn him when they are pursued by two different groups of knights. Both times, Erec scolds Enide before defeating the knights. When they stay overnight in a village, a count visits and threatens to kill Erec if Enide doesn’t sleep with him. She warns Erec the next morning and they escape, but the count and a hundred knights give chase, and Enide breaks her silence again to warn Erec. Erec defeats a seneschal and a count before he and Enide flee into the forest, where he defeats and befriends Guivret the Short, an Irish lord with family connections to Pembroke and Scotland. Erec and Enide continue travelling until they find King Arthur’s men, but Erec refuses their hospitality and continues travelling. He rescues Cadof of Cabruel from two giants, but the fighting reopens his injuries and Erec falls down as though dead. Enide is found by Count Oringle of Limors, who takes Erec’s body with him and tries to marry Enide. Enide’s anguish is enough to wake up Erec, who kills the count and forgives Enide for having broken her silence throughout their journey. Guivret hears of Erec’s supposed death and sends a thousand men to seize the castle to avenge his friend, but he doesn’t realize he is fighting Erec until Enide steps in and stops him, telling him of Erec’s identity.

The last quarter of the poem adds another episode, referred to as the "Joy of the Court," in which Erec frees King Evrain’s nephew Maboagrain from an oath to his lover that had prevented him from leaving the forest until defeated in combat. This causes a great deal of celebration, and Enide learns that the maiden is her cousin. Erec and Enide then travel to Nantes, where they are crowned King and Queen in a lavishly described ceremony.