The romance was left unfinished, possibly before he could complete it. If he completed the work, its copies may have been destroyed in a fire at Troyes in It is possible that he was educated as a cleric, although the content of his romances is not especially religious even in Perceval , dealing with the quest for the Grail.
Developing a style as free-flowing as his required writing lots of drafts and a good supply of writing material, parchment probably. By the time of publication of his famous romance, he was a mature writer, who had refined his style. Moreover, since an influential school of Cabalistic and esoteric studies founded by Rabbi Solomon ben Itzhak, known as Rashi, had flourished in the city. Jews were formally expelled from France in His major concern was the celebrated Round Table.
Tournament is portrayed as a bloodless sport, a fight for glory and honor. His translations of Ovid are lost, possibly because only a few copies, if any, was made of the work. Ovid was the most popular classical writer in the twefth century. Much of his material originated from Celtic legends prevalent in Brittany. He possibly had visited England; moreover, the court of Champagne had contacs there, so he might have gained his knowledge from visitors and merchants at the annual fair.
The style of his romances, written in vernacular, is elegant, light and easy. In the thematic core of is the idea of courtly love, a romance between a knight and a noblewoman, who is married. He was familiar with Greek and Roman mythology, the legends of the Trojan war, and possibly with some Byzantine legends and tales of the Holy Land. Noteworthy, his characters do not cherish the bourgeois virtues of thrift and prudence, but courage, honor, and refined manners.
Generally this adaptation of the Saint Eustace legend is considered the work of a rather gifted imitator. His poems remained popular for a long period after his death, and influenced the legends of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. These stories were well-known in France through the pseudo-chronicle Historia regum Britanniae by Geoffrey of Monmouth The tale of a impoverished noblewoman, Enide, who is married to Erec, a knight of the Round Table, was based on oral tradition.
