Enide ( cy, Enid) is a character in

Arthurian romance The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Wester ...

. She is the wife of

Erec The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in li ...

Chrétien de Troyes Chrétien de Troyes (Modern ; fro, Crestien de Troies ; 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on Arthurian subjects, and for first writing of Lancelot, Percival and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's works, including ...

' ''

Erec and Enide , original_title_lang = fro , translator = , written = c. 1170 , country = , language = Old French , subject = Arthurian legend , genre = Chivalric romance , form ...

'', and the wife of

Geraint Geraint () is a character from Welsh folklore and Arthurian legend, a valiant warrior possibly related to the historical Geraint, an early 8th-century king of Dumnonia. It is also the name of a 6th-century Dumnonian saint king from Briton h ...

in the Welsh romance of ''

Geraint and Enid Geraint () is a character from Welsh folklore and Arthurian legend, a valiant warrior possibly related to the historical Geraint, an early 8th-century king of Dumnonia. It is also the name of a 6th-century Dumnonian saint king from Briton ha ...

'' analogous to Chrétien's version. Some scholars believe the French and

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

tales derive from a lost common source, but it seems more likely ''Geraint'' derives directly or indirectly from ''Erec'', though Chrétien may have had a Welsh or Breton source. In the common story, Enide and her lover meet while the hero is on a mission to defeat a cruel knight, and her family provides him with armor and food. They fall in love and marry, but the hero begins to forsake his social and chivalric duties for domestic bliss. Rumors spread, and Enide blames herself. One night, her husband overhears her crying about damaging his reputation. In Chrétien's version, Erec begins to question Enide's love, but in ''Geraint'' the protagonist misunderstands her sobs and thinks she has been unfaithful to him. In both romances, the hero makes her accompany him on a long and dangerous trip, and forbids her to talk to him. Enide ignores this command several times to warn her husband of impending danger. Over the course of the trip, Erec/Geraint proves his abilities as a knight have not faded and accepts that Enide's love and loyalty are genuine, and the couple is reconciled. In ''Geraint and Enid'', Enid's father is Yniol, an earl who was ousted from his earldom by his nephew Yder, the "Knight of the Sparrow-Hawk". Yder is compelled to restore his land when bested by Geraint. This tale was not retold in many variants. In Alfred, Lord Tennyson's ''

Idylls of the King ''Idylls of the King'', published between 1859 and 1885, is a cycle of twelve narrative poems by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892; Poet Laureate from 1850) which retells the legend of King Arthur, his knights, his love fo ...

'', the hero is named Geraint, and Tennyson conforms to that version of the tale.

See also