With Hartmann von Aue's "Erec," the story of the German Arthurian romance begins. Despite its significant impact on the epic poets of its time, "Erec" is preserved almost entirely in a late manuscript, the "Ambraser Heldenbuch," written for Emperor Maximilian I. Fragments of three older manuscripts exist. Additionally, there is evidence of a partially preserved alternative version of the Erec material, found in the Wolfenbüttel fragments discovered in 1978, as well as in the Zwettl fragments uncovered in 2003, which is one of the most sensational manuscript discoveries of recent decades. The new edition of the established scholarly edition offers a thorough revision of the critical text and apparatus; in numerous cases, the text aligns more closely with the tradition found in the Ambraser manuscript, thereby contributing to a text-critical approach.