Chrétien de Troyes is the most innovative of the great French poets of the twelfth century. He did not invent courtly romance, which has its origins in the romans d'antiquité of the mid-century and in versions of the Tristan story such as that of Thomas; but he brought it to perfection, and in doing so experimented with virtually all the storytelling techniques that were to be employed throughout the history of medieval romance. To discuss him adequately in a single chapter is impossible, but watching and the questions it raises are so central in his work that I cannot leave him out. In this chapter I shall first examine two specific scenes from Yvain and Lancelot in which looking is of particular importance; then I shall attempt a more general study of Cligés in its relation to Tristan.

The scene from Yvain consists of lines 961–1540. Yvain, pursuing the adventure of the magic spring proposed by his cousin Calogrenant, has fought fiercely with Esclados, the lord of the spring, and has chased him into his castle. Once he is inside the main keep, the portcullis clangs down behind him, slicing his horse in half and cutting off Yvain's spurs. Yvain is trapped inside the castle of his mortally wounded enemy.