Detours of DeTroyes

I've been thinking about detours -- Merriam-webster.com defines a detour as a "deviation from a direct course or the usual procedure" -- and how they're pivotal to the plot of Chretien's romances. In Erec and Enide, Erec takes a detour by leaving the traditional stag hunt in order to avenge the queen's damsel. As a result, the entire ritual of the stag hunt is put on hold until Erec triumphs over Yder and wins Enide's hand in marriage. Erec detours from convention again when he decides to travel *alone* through the countryside with only his wife. Arthur urges Erec against this, but he cannot be persuaded to take more men or more riches. For along this trip there is no set course; Erec doesn't know where he's going, only that he's "open to adventure" (71). While traveling, Erec and Enide are lured off their undetermined path by a series of events and characters. It seems there is always a threat, a mystery, or a damsel in distress that needs to be tended to, hence complicating the plot and leading the reader off course as well.

Towards the end of Erec's rambling adventure with Enide, he becomes more determined to stick to a defined course. He relays to Cadoc and his lady that he must "continue on [his] way" (92), for he has "tarried too long" (93).

So, then, what does Chretein de Troyes mean when he later breaks the narrative and writes:

But why should I relate to you in detail the embroidery of the silken tapestries that decorated the chamber? I would foolishly waste my time, and I do not wish to waste it; rather I wish to hurry a bit, for the man who goes quickly by the direct road passes the man who strays from the path. Therefore I do not wish to tarry. When the time and the hour came the king ordered the evening meal to be prepared. I don't wish to linger here, if I can find a more direct route (105).

Can we hold him at his word when ironically he does linger, like Erec, at so many scenes? He turns around to add a little detail about the meal, and just a couple of pages later he can't resist taking a detour to describe the "nearby garden" (107), explaining that "it is not proper to pass on, though the tongue may be worn and weary, without telling you the truth about the garden according to the story" (107).

Our narrator parallels our protagonist when at times they both fluctuate between conflicting ideals. Both Erec and Chretien try to stay on target, moving as swiftly as possible, but occasionally get derailed in the name of chivalry, truth, or courtly manners.