Between approximately 1160 and 1190, Chrétien de Troyes composed five major Arthurian romances in Old French verse, including Lancelot, Perceval, and Yvain. His works transformed Celtic legends into sophisticated courtly narratives that defined medieval romance literature.

Chrétien invented the modern concept of romantic love in literature and established narrative techniques that influenced all subsequent European fiction. His introduction of the Grail quest in Perceval created one of Western literature's most enduring symbols, inspiring poets from Wolfram von Eschenbach to Tennyson.