Perceval, the Story of the Grail is the unfinished fifth
romanceAs a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
of
Chrétien de TroyesChrétien de Troyes was a French poet and trouvère who flourished in the late 12th century. Perhaps he named himself Christian of Troyes in contrast to the illustrious Rashi, also of Troyes...
. Probably written between 1181 and 1191, it is dedicated to Chrétien's patron
Philip, Count of FlandersPhilip of Alsace was count of Flanders from 1168 to 1191. He succeeded his father Thierry of Alsace.-Count of Flanders:...
. It is said by some scholars that during the time Chretien was writing Perceval, there was a political crisis taking place between the aristocracy, which included his patron, Phillipe de Flandre, and the monarchy, which may have influenced Chretien’s work.
Chrétien claimed to be working from a source given to him by Philip. The poem relates the adventures and growing pains of the young knight
PercevalPercival or Perceval is one of King Arthur's legendary Knights of the Round Table. In Welsh literature his story is allotted to the historical Peredur...
but the story breaks off, there follows an adventure of Gawain of similar length that also remains incomplete: there are some 9,000 lines in total, whereas Chretien's other romances seldom exceed 7,000 lines.
Later authors added 54,000 more lines in what are known collectively as the Four Continuations. Perceval is the earliest recorded account of what was to become the Quest for the
Holy GrailThe Holy Grail is a sacred object figuring in literature and certain Christian traditions, most often identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and said to possess miraculous powers...
but describes only "a" golden grail (a serving dish) in the central scene and does not call it "holy" but treats a lance, appearing at the same time, as equally significant.
Plot summary
The poem opens with Perceval, whose mother has raised him apart from civilization in the forests of
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. Since his father's death, he continually encounters knights and realizes he wants to be one. Despite his mother's objections, the boy heads to
King ArthurKing Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
's court, where a young girl predicts greatness for him. He is taunted by
Sir KayIn Arthurian legend, Sir Kay is Sir Ector's son and King Arthur's foster brother and later seneschal, as well as one of the first Knights of the Round Table. In later literature he is known for his acid tongue and bullying, boorish behavior, but in earlier accounts he was one of Arthur's premier...
, but amazes everyone by killing a knight who had been troubling
King ArthurKing Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
and taking his vermilion armor. He then sets out for adventure. He trains under the experienced
GornemantGornemant was Percival's mentor in Arthurian legend. He is mentioned in a few early romances, but achieves prominence in Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, the Story of the Grail, where he instructs the young hero in the ways of knighthood...
then falls in love with and rescues Gornemant's niece
BlanchefleurBlanchefleur may refer to:*Blanchefleur, the female heroine of the medieval tale of Floris and Blanchefleur*Blanchefleur, the beloved one of Perceval in Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, le Conte du Graal...
. They agree to marry.
Returning home to visit his mother he comes across the
Fisher KingThe Fisher King, or the Wounded King, figures in Arthurian legend as the latest in a line charged with keeping the Holy Grail. Versions of his story vary widely, but he is always wounded in the legs or groin, and incapable of moving on his own...
, who invites him to stay at his castle. While there he witnesses a strange procession in which young men and women carry magnificent objects from one chamber to another. First comes a young man carrying a bleeding lance, then two boys carrying candelabra. Finally, a beautiful young girl emerges bearing an elaborately decorated graal, or "grail", passing before him at each course of the meal. Perceval, who had been warned against talking too much, remains silent through all of this and wakes up the next morning alone. He finds his mother is dead, then Arthur asks him to return to court. But before long, a
loathly ladyThe loathly lady is a common literary device used in medieval literature, most famously in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Wife of Bath's Tale. The motif was prominent in Celtic mythology and to a lesser extent Germanic mythology, where the lady often represented the sovereignty of the...
enters the court and admonishes Perceval for failing to ask his host whom the grail served and why the lance bled, as the appropriate question would have healed the wounded king.
No more is heard of Perceval except a short later passage in which a hermit explains that the grail contains a single mass-wafer that miraculously sustains the Fisher King’s wounded father. The loathly lady announces other quests that the Knights of the Round Table proceed to take up and the remainder of the poem deals with Arthur's nephew and best knight
GawainGawain is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table who appears very early in the Arthurian legend's development. He is one of a select number of Round Table members to be referred to as the greatest knight, most notably in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight...
, who has been challenged to a duel by a knight who claims Gawain had slain his lord. Gawain offers a contrast and complement to Perceval's naiveté as a courtly knight having to function in un-courtly settings. An important episode is Gawain's liberation of a castle whose inhabitants include his long-lost
motherMorgause , known in earlier works as Gwyar or Anna, is the sister or half-sister of King Arthur in the Arthurian legend. In her earliest appearance she is Arthur's full sister by Uther Pendragon and Igraine; Gwyar is her name and she is the mother of Gwalchmei...
and
grandmotherIgraine , in Arthurian legend, is the mother of King Arthur. She is also known in Latin as Igerna, in Welsh as Eigyr, in French as Igerne, in Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur as Ygrayne— often modernized as Igraine—and in Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival as Arnive...
as well as his sister Clarissant, whose existence was unknown to him. This tale also breaks off unfinished.
The Continuations and Prologues
Over the following 50 years four different poets took up the challenge left by Chrétien and continued the adventures of Perceval and Gawain.
First Continuation
The First Continuation added 9,500 to 19,600 lines (depending on the manuscripts) to the romance. It was once attributed to Wauchier de Danain, and is still sometimes called the Pseudo-Wauchier Continuation for that reason. It exists in a short, a mixed, and a long version; the short was the earliest and the most loosely linked to Chrétien's work, while the mixed is considered to be the latest, drawing on both earlier versions.
Roger Sherman LoomisRoger Sherman Loomis was an American scholar and one of the foremost authorities on medieval and Arthurian literature.-Biography:...
believed that the short version, which was added to an existing Perceval manuscript ten or twenty years later, represents a version of the story that was originally independent of Chrétien's.
The First Continuation picks up the narrative of Gawain's adventures where Chrétien left off: his mother and grandmother are reunited with Arthur and Gawain's sister Clarissant marries Guiromelant. In the long version, Gawain opposes the marriage and rides off in anger, reaching the Grail Castle. After further adventures he rejoins Arthur (and the long version rejoins the short) and helps him besiege a rebel's castle.
The First Continuation is notable for its cavalier approach to the narrative agenda set by Chrétien. In particular it includes a seemingly independent romance, which in the long version spans over 6000 lines: The
Livre de CaradocCaradoc Vreichvras Arm) was a semi-legendary ancestor to the kings of Gwent. He lived during the 5th or 6th century. He is remembered in Arthurian legend as a Knight of the Round Table as Carados Briefbras ....
, starring Arthur's knight
CaradocCaradoc Vreichvras Arm) was a semi-legendary ancestor to the kings of Gwent. He lived during the 5th or 6th century. He is remembered in Arthurian legend as a Knight of the Round Table as Carados Briefbras ....
, explains how the hero got his nickname "Briefbras", or "Short Arm". All versions of the First Continuation describe Gawain's visit to a Grail castle quite unlike Chrétien's, a vividly imagined scene that introduces the motif of a broken sword that can only be mended by the hero destined to heal the Fisher King and his lands. Gawain is not this hero and he fails. The final episode recounts the misadventures of Gawain's brother Guerrehet (
GaherisGaheris is a figure of Arthurian legend, a knight of the Round Table, and a son of Morgause and King Lot of Orkney and Lothian. His brothers are Gawain, Agravaine, Gareth and Mordred, a half-brother. His mother is a daughter of Gorlois and Igraine, and a sister of Elaine and Morgan le Fay...
or
GarethSir Gareth was a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian Legend. He was the youngest son of Lot and of Morgause, King Arthur's half-sister, thus making him Arthur's nephew, as well as brother to Gawain, Agravain, Gaheris, and half brother of Mordred...
) who is humiliated by a dwarf knight before avenging himself and a mysteriously murdered stranger. In the closing scene he returns to court asleep on a swan boat.
Second Continuation
Shortly after the First Continuation was completed, another author added 13,000 lines to the total. This section was also attributed to Wauchier de Danain, and might actually represent his work. Making extensive use of motifs and themes drawn from Chrétien and the First Continuator, this continuation has Perceval returning to the Grail Castle and repairing the sword of Trebuchet, but a hairline fissure that remains in the blade symbolizes his still-flawed psyche – and the narrative's persisting potential for further development.
Gerbert's Continuation
Gerbert's Continuation added 17,000 lines. The author, usually considered to be
Gerbert de MontreuilGerbert de Montreuil was a 13th-century French poet from the north of France.He wrote Le Roman de la violette or Gérard de Nevers, one of the most outstanding medieval poems, famous for its vivid narrative and faithful depiction of contemporary customs. The poem underwent countless adaptations and...
, composed his version independently of Manessier, and probably around the same time. He tries to tie up loose ends left by Chrétien and the others, and the influence of
Robert de BoronRobert de Boron was a French poet of the late 12th and early 13th centuries who is most notable as the author of the poems Joseph d'Arimathe and Merlin.-Work:...
's work can be felt. Notably, Gerbert includes a complete
Tristan Tristan is one of the main characters of the Tristan and Iseult story, a Cornish hero and one of the Knights of the Round Table featuring in the Matter of Britain...
episode into his narrative that exists nowhere else. Gerbert's Continuation seems not to have enjoyed great popularity; it survives in only two manuscripts, one of which is heavily damaged, as an interpolation between the Second and Manessier Continuations. It is likely Gerbert wrote an ending for the story, but it has been excised from both surviving copies to facilitate its position between the two other continuations.
Manessier's Continuation
Manessier's Continuation (also called the Third Continuation, because that is its place in the manuscripts that do not include Gerbert) added 10,000 lines and, at last, an ending. Manessier wrapped up many of the loose ends from the previous authors, and includes several episodes from other works, including the "Joie de la Cour" adventure from Chrétien's
Erec and EnideErec and Enide is the first of Chrétien de Troyes' five romance poems, completed around 1170. It is one of three completed works by the author...
and
CalogrenantSir Calogrenant, sometimes known in English as Colgrevance, or, in ancient Welsh, Cynan ap Clydno, is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend. He is a cousin to Sir Ywain, and his courtesy and eloquence were known throughout the kingdom....
's death as told in the Queste del Saint Graal section of the
Lancelot-GrailThe Lancelot–Grail, also known as the Prose Lancelot, the Vulgate Cycle, or the Pseudo-Map Cycle, is a major source of Arthurian legend written in French. It is a series of five prose volumes that tell the story of the quest for the Holy Grail and the romance of Lancelot and Guinevere...
cycle. The tale ends with the Fisher King's death and Perceval's ascension to his throne. After seven peaceful years, Perceval goes off to live as a hermit in the woods, where he dies shortly after. Manessier supposes he took the Grail, the Lance, and the silver plate with him to
HeavenHeaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
.
Elucidation
The
ElucidationThe Elucidation is an anonymous Old French poem of the early 13th century, which was written to serve as a prologue to Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, le Conte du Graal. The poem counts 484 lines and cites one Master Blihis as a source for its contents....
is an anonymous Old French poem of the early 13th century, which was written to serve as a prologue to Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, le Conte du Graal.[1] The poem counts 484 lines and cites one Master Blihis as a source for its contents.
Bliocadran
Another prologue to Perceval consisted of 800 verses preserved in two thirteenth-century manuscripts. In the poem, Perceval's father (who is left unnamed in Chretien's original) is called Bliocadran.
Percevals influence
Though Chrétien did not complete his romance, it had an enormous impact on the literary world of the Middle Ages. Perceval introduced an enthusiastic Europe to the grail and all versions of the story, including those that made the grail "Holy", probably derive directly or indirectly from it. The grail in Perceval has the power to heal the Fisher King so it may have been seen as a mystical or holy object by readers.
Wolfram von EschenbachWolfram von Eschenbach was a German knight and poet, regarded as one of the greatest epic poets of his time. As a Minnesinger, he also wrote lyric poetry.-Life:...
's
ParzivalParzival is a major medieval German romance by the poet Wolfram von Eschenbach, in the Middle High German language. The poem, commonly dated to the first quarter of the 13th century, is itself largely based on Chrétien de Troyes’s Perceval, the Story of the Grail and mainly centers on the Arthurian...
, one of the greatest works of medieval Germany, is based directly on Chrétien's poem. When comparing Wolfram's Parzival to Chretien's Perceval some scholars not only suggest that the structure is different, but that Chretien focuses on knighthood with religious implications while Wolfram primarily focuses on knighthood. Another is the
WelshWelsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
Peredur, son of Efrawg, one of the Three
Welsh RomancesThe Three Welsh Romances are three Middle Welsh tales associated with the Mabinogion. They are versions of Arthurian tales that also appear in the work of Chrétien de Troyes. Critics have debated whether the Welsh Romances are based on Chrétien's poems or if they derive from a shared original...
associated with the
MabinogionThe Mabinogion is the title given to a collection of eleven prose stories collated from medieval Welsh manuscripts. The tales draw on pre-Christian Celtic mythology, international folktale motifs, and early medieval historical traditions...
, though in this case the connection to the French work is unclear. French filmmaker
Éric RohmerÉric Rohmer was a French film director, film critic, journalist, novelist, screenwriter and teacher. A figure in the post-war New Wave cinema, he was a former editor of Cahiers du cinéma....
directed an eccentric adaptation titled
Perceval le GalloisPerceval le Gallois is a 1978 French film directed by Éric Rohmer. It was inspired by Chrétien de Troyes's 12th century Arthurian romance Perceval, the Story of the Grail.-Synopsis:...
in 1978.
T. S. EliotThomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
cited the story of Percival, particularly the scene depicting his encounter with the Fisher King, as one of the primary symbolic backdrops in his poem
The Waste LandThe Waste Land[A] is a 434-line[B] modernist poem by T. S. Eliot published in 1922. It has been called "one of the most important poems of the 20th century." Despite the poem's obscurity—its shifts between satire and prophecy, its abrupt and unannounced changes of speaker, location and time, its...
.