When we think of King Arthur, we think of England--he is the spirit of England. At his death, it was said he would come again when England needed him, as summed up in his epitaph: "Here lies Arthur, the once and future King."

    But in fact, there are plenty of stories of Arthur from the European continent as well. The "Matter of Britain" we discussed last time can be found in the German and French languages.

    In German we find "Parzival" by Wolfram von Eschenbach, a German knight. Parzival (English "Percival") is the son of Gahmuret, a knight. Because Gahmuret is killed in a battle, his pregnant lover Herzeloyde chooses to raise their child Parzival in a forest, hoping he will not become a knight himself.

    As happens in these stories, Parzival one day sees three glorious figures riding through the forest. They are knights, and tell him of the splendors of King Arthur's court. Of course the boy longs to become one of them, and finally does so. After many adventures, he at last sees the Holy Grail, the goal of many knightly quests.

    At roughly the same time in France, Chrétien de Troyes was also writing Arthurian romances. The last of these was the unfinished "Perceval," telling a different version of the same story as Wolfram's.

    His first work, however, was "Erec and Enide," in which the knight Erec--an attendant of King Arthur's wife Queen Guinevere--woos and wins the royal maiden Enide. But he loves her so much that he fails in his knightly duties. Seeing her sorrow over this, he sets out on adventures, with his lady in tow.

    Chrétien's second work, "Cliges," about a knight of that name in Arthur's court and his love for his uncle's wife, is considered a parody of the better-known "Tristan and Isolde." The next is "Yvain, the Knight of the Lion," about yet another knight who wins his love by doing mighty deeds.

    Finally comes "Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart." In it, Queen Guinevere is kidnapped, and the famed Lancelot is sent to save her. Alas, they fall in love. This is the first known story to tell of the adultery between the Queen and Arthur's favorite knight, and may have influenced many later stories.

    Vocabulary: Which word above means:

    1. search for something important

    2. strong and brave

    3. words on a gravestone

    4. acts

    5. said in few words

    6. cheating in a marriage

    7. following

    8. wonders, amazing sights

    9. tries to win (a woman)

    10. sadly

    ANSWERS: 1. quests 2. mighty 3. epitaph 4. deeds 5. summed up 6. adultery 7. in tow 8. splendors 9. woos 10. alas