Eric's Beloved

“With the war raging within, she spoke to herself. ‘My loss would be too terrible, I know that for certain, were I to lose my lord here. Then shall I tell him everything openly? Absolutely not. Why? I would not dare, for my lord would be furious. And if my lord is angered, he will abandon me in this thicket and leave me alone and wretched. Then I shall be even worse off. Worse off?” (page 47)

Enide’s monologue to herself continues, “If I alert him of the coming knight, I will end up alone without my love, but if I do not alert him, my love will be killed, and I will still end up without my love.”

While Enide’s internal war with her thoughts evolves, the knight gains speed on his horse with determination. He is approaching Erec without his knowledge. Erec is in a different world; he is looking at the morning sky oblivious to the knight racing to cause his impending death. The cloud he was looking at was majestic; its beauty made him think of the love he has for Enide; his heart throbbed for her, but he had to finish this excursion to prove his knighthood is still apart of him.

The knight aims his lance at Erec’s chest. Erec finally hears the sound of the approaching knight on his horse. He is in such a daze from looking at the sky, so it is hard for him to react to what is a shock to his eyes. He is able to quickly put his shield up, but he is not fast enough. His shield makes a loud clang as the knight’s lance hits the shield, and the shield is knocked out of Erec’s hand. He was not able to have a hard grasp on it since he was just coming out of a day dream looking at the sky. The knight’s lance pierces Erec’s skin and impales his chest. The force he received from the hit knocks him off his horse.

Enide shouts for her love, “Oh Erec! I should have warned you of the knight. I took too long to make my decision. Your death is my fault; the weight of this moment resides on my shoulders.”