Troyes, Chrétien de

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Troyes, Chrétien de (active late 12th century) French poet. He was the author of the earliest extant Arthurian romances. Troyes' work includes translations of Ovid and the romances Erec (after 1155), Cligès (c.1176) and the unfinished Perceval (Le Conte du Graal), which contains the earliest known reference to the legend of the Holy Grail. See also Arthur

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