It is unknown exactly when the poem was composed, only that it would have been between 1175 and 1181 (most likely 1177),[2] and before or at the same time as Chrétien de Troyes' own Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, (Le Chevalier au Lion), the two serving as companion pieces with overlapping narratives. While little is known definitively about the life of Chrétien, many speculative theories exist based on his work. He was employed as a writer by aristocrats of Champagne, explaining the champenois dialect detected in his work, and he usually crafted stories based on material that was presented to him.
No recorded mention of an Arthurian knight named Lancelot precedes Chrétien, but he is believed to be derived from a Celtic myth. Chrétien first mentions a character named "Lanceloz del Lac" in Erec and Enide, who he lists third among Arthur's knights after Gawain and Erec. He next mentions him in Cligès where he is defeated by Cligès in a joust.[3] An abduction of the queen is one of the oldest motifs in Arthurian legend, appearing also in Caradoc of Llancarfan's Life of Gildas,[4] and carved on the archivolt in Modena Cathedral.[5] After Chrétien's version became popular, it was incorporated into the Lancelot-Grail Cycle and eventually into Thomas Malory's influential Le Morte d'Arthur.
Marie de Champagne
The Knight of the Cart contains a preface explaining how the story was assigned to him by Marie de Champagne. Marie de Champagne was well known for her interest in affairs of courtly love and is believed to have suggested the inclusion of this theme into the story.
Chrétien credits Marie with providing the matiere e san (matière et sen in Modern French). Matiere is a cognate of the English word "matter". It has been translated as meaning the well-known story (in this case, the story of Lancelot). San is harder to translate. It's generally agreed to refer to the twist, the addition, or derivation (in this case, the affair).[3]
Godefroi de Leigni
The Knight of the Cart contains a postface explaining that the story was completed not by Chrétien himself, but by the clerk known as Godefroi de Leigni.[6] A 12th-century French writer usually functioned as a part of a team, or a workshop attached to the court.[3]
It has been suggested that Chrétien did not finish the story himself because he did not support the adulterous themes.[3]
