Reassessing the Notion of the Juvenile Work in the Production, Transmission and Reception of Medieval Literature The Example of Chrétien de Troyes and Charles d’Orléans

This article re-evaluates the problematic notion of ‘early works’ sometimes applied to French literary works from the high and the late Middle Ages. Through a reasoned overview and two case studies focused on Chrétien de Troyes and Charles d’Orléans, the demonstration cautiously outlines some of the moments when youth may have served as a driving force in the production, transmission, and reception of literature in Old and Middle French.