The Grail

1
The Grail

• Chronicle, biography (prose) - episodic romance
  (verse) chronicle-like biographical romance
  (prose)
• Chrétien, Wolfram gt Queste gt Malory
• Lets ask Dan Brown

2
Conte du Graal

• Prologue, patron, source
• New environment, new dimension
• Love Chivalry God
• Story
• Grail procession
• Messenger-girl on mule
• New quests (Lance-Grail)
• Good Friday tant sainte chose est li graaus,
  Percevals guilt
• Story breaks off (Chrétien says AAaarrgh)

3
NEWS

• New inspiration, miles christi
• Grail as special object (divine relic, not in
  Vulgate Bible)
• Continuations open end Conte as invitation to
  continuators (4)
• Robert de Boron gtgt cf. tasks
• Last Supper
• Desert
• Avalon/Glastonbury (image catalogue)
• Roberts verse gtgt prose (suggestion of veracity)

4
Wolfram von Eschenbach

• Ca. 1200-1210
• New beginning (Gahmuret), new Conclusion (P. as
  Grail King ruling the Templars)
• Graal lapsit exillis
• Kyot as ultimate source, not Chrétien (source
  fiction)

5
Prose Romances

• Perlesvaus or the High Book of the Grail
• Queste del Saint Graal in Lancelot trilogy and
  Vulgate Cycle
• Perceval gt Galahad, why??
• Divine guidance ships (like Solomons), dreams,
  and hermits
• Questions about the story line?

6
Grail Ideology

• 2 kinds of knights
• Terrienne (Gauvain c.s. worldly chivalry
  murder)
• Célestielle Bohort-Perceval-Galahad, tested
  (chastity, devotion), destined for greatness
• New ideology chaste service of the Grail,
  instead of inspiration by adulterous courtly love
• Lancelot is slow to understand this, but will
  abjure Guinevere (until Mort Artu), and do
  penance

7
Double esprit

• New ideology in cycle, yet texts remain together
  no separate Q mss
• Explanations
• Different authors, working without contact???
• Group effort several authors working together
  (subgroup). J.N. Carman suggests Eleanor led the
  discussions (not very convincing!)

8
Best option so far Architect

• Architect (Frappiers idea) with special plan
  development in knighthood, best worldly knight
  (Lancelot) qualified to father Grail hero Galahad
  gtgt inscription on tomb
• Steinhoff calls this aVorstufe (adventures
  select best knight), then there is the higher
  religious chivalric time/level of the Grail, and
  after that it all goes to pieces because the
  worldly values not longer work

9
The True Story?

• Vulgate cycle pretends to be true
• Prose
• Fictional author and patron (Walter Map, Henry
  II, books found in Salisbury abbey)
• Source fiction (eyewitness-reports written down
  by scribes)
• Interlace (narrative threads interwoven,
  suggestion of simultaneity)
• Realistic chronology and geography
• Yet Fiction, like all Grail texts

10
Malory and after

• Malory returns to the adventure ideology,
  worship is bravery in battle, and gives a
  concise version of the Grail quest
• Modern authors seem to choose either Grail is
  central theme, or Love/Adventure (omitting or
  neglecting the Grail theme)