Geraint and Enid

(13th century)

   Geraint and Enid is a Welsh prose ROMANCE included in some manuscripts of the MABINOGION. One of what are known as the “three romances” in Welsh (the others being OWAIN and PEREDUR),Geraint, like the other two texts, is essentially a retelling of one of the 12th-century courtly romances of the French poet CHRÉTIEN DE TROYES. In this case the French analogue is Chrétien’s EREC ET ENIDE. The Welsh writer’s “Geraint” is the name of a traditional Celtic hero of Cornwall and Devon, and also the name of a seventh-century Cornish king.

   In terms of plot,Geraint is the closest of the three Welsh romances to its French counterpart. Beginning at Whitsuntide (i.e., Pentecost) at King ARTHUR’s court at Caerleon on Usk, the story tells of a mysterious white stag that leads Arthur, Guenevere, and Geraint into the forest. Here, Geraint’s adventure begins: He comes to a town where he is persuaded to help the lord, Earl Ynywl, gain back sovereignty over his realm from his usurping nephew, the “Knight of the Sparrowhawk,” whom Geraint defeats in a tournament. In doing so, he wins the hand of the earl’s beautiful daughter, Enid. After their marriage, Geraint becomes ruler of his father’s kingdom, but he falls into a kind of sloth, neglecting his knightly duties because of his excessive doting on his wife. One morning she inadvertently reveals to him what the courtiers are saying about his dereliction of duty, and when she sheds tears in her account, Geraint inexplicably begins to suspect her of being unfaithful to him. He rather brusquely forces her to leave the court and ride forth with him. After a number of trials in which Geraint proves his prowess (including defeating three giants and a mysterious enemy shrouded in a magic mist), Enid is able to convince him of her faithfulness and her love for him. The story ends with Enid restored to her husband’s good graces, Geraint restored to his reputation, and the two of them ruling their kingdom in peace and prosperity. Geraint and Enid is generally conceded to be the best of the three Welsh romances, and at the same time is probably closest of the three to the story as told by Chrétien. The beginning of the text shows a familiarity with Welsh geography, though the remainder of the story is, like many Arthurian romances, set in a vague countryside, a setting of adventure. The beginning of the narrative is well constructed, though the later part of the story becomes rambling. It is a matter of debate whether Chrétien’s poem is the source of Geraint and Enid, or whether the two romances had an earlier common source, though the chivalric concerns of the story might suggest that the Welsh writer was familiar with the French poem. But the sympathy built for the guiltless Enid, and the vivid descriptions included in the narrative, make the Welsh romance worthwhile reading. Indeed, when Tennyson retold the story for his Idylls of the King, he entitled his version “Geraint and Enid” (1857).

   Bibliography

   ■ Breeze, Andrew. Medieval Welsh Literature. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1997.

   ■ Jarman, A. O. H., and Gwilym Rees Hughes. A Guide to Welsh Literature I. Swansea: Davies, 1976.

   ■ Jones, Gwyn, and Thomas Jones, trans. The Mabinogion. 2nd ed. London: Dent, 1974.