Around 1700 the notion of gallantry emanated from France as a stylistic and ethical model for Europe, with the novel acting as the principal school for gallant living. This comparative study is a contribution to a cultural history of gallantry. It gives a detailed account of the reception of ‘gallant discourse’ in German narrative prose, tracing it from its French sources (Scudéry) through authors such as Bohse and Hunold to its elaboration by Christoph Martin Wieland. Thus a picture is formed of “Romanesque narration” in the 18th century.