Verse and Prose in the Continuations of Chrétien de Troyes’ Conte du Graal

Abstract

The aim of this article is to study the Third and Fourth Continuations’ reaction to the interlaced structure of their prose intertexts, the Haut livre du Graal and the Lancelot en prose . A detailed comparison shows that, although the verse texts have borrowed episodes from the prose texts, these have been recast according to a narrative strategy inherited from the First and the Second Continuation, which is typical of the verse tradition.