Four Arthurian Romances

Before there was a Camelot industry, there was Chrétien de Troyes, a twelfth-century French poet who essentially invented the Arthurian romance, including, in these pages, the scandalous love of Lancelot and Guinevere. This collection gathers four of his tales: Erec and Enide, a marriage tested by a brutal quest; Cligès, a Greek prince tangled in Byzantine and British intrigue; Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, who wins everything and loses it by missing a deadline; and Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, who must choose between honor and love at a cart's tailgate.

These are fast, strange, vivid stories (magic fountains, lions with loyalty issues, tournaments, enchanted castles) told with a courtliness that keeps flashing into wit. Hearing them aloud restores them to what they originally were: performances for a listening audience.

At roughly 173,500 words, Four Arthurian Romances runs about 19½ hours at 1x narration speed. That figure is an estimate based on a typical narration pace. The exact length depends on the voice and the playback speed you choose.

Four Arthurian Romances is in the public domain, so the complete text is free on Project Gutenberg and LoudReader has the entire Project Gutenberg catalog built in. To listen:

1. Download LoudReader for Mac or iPhone (free, no account).
2. Search for “Four Arthurian Romances” in the built-in catalog and add it to your library.
3. Press play. A natural offline voice reads the book while each word highlights on screen, and your place is saved between sessions.

LoudReader reads with natural offline voices, so the whole book works on a plane or underground. It is fully on-device and private, your library never leaves your device. Listening is unlimited on the free tier.