The previous seven chapters have been devoted to the study of Le Chevalier de la Charrette. It has been determined that the poem’s progenitor, Glas, was first formed between the fifth and ninth centuries. It was very likely created in the post–Roman period. It would have been a bardic poem of heroism dedicated to a British figure, most likely the progenitor of Gauvain. It would have survived and flourished in an oral environment for centuries and eventually been brought to its present state by Chrétien in the 1100s.
It has also been deduced that the less realistic portions of Chrétien’s poem can be explained in one of three manners. The two traditional notions are that the less believable scenes are due to either a cultural misunderstanding or Chrétien’s interpretation of the romantic ideals of Marie de Champagne. A third possibility was elaborated upon in the introduction to this book: many seemingly trivial elements in the poem were from or anterior to the ninth century in Britain. In the last three chapters this hypothesis was largely substantiated. The same objective is set for the present study of Chrétien’s last known romance, Le Conte du Graal. The author will attempt to establish an historical basis for this tale as well.
Le Conte du Graal was written in the 1190s. As with all his Arthurian romances, here Chrétien injected his personal style and knowledge of the classics in his telling. He was also guided again in his endeavors. In the opening lines, he stated that he was given the matìere (material) by his patron, now Philip of Flanders.1 In learning about his historical activities, it soon becomes clear that he had some very different motivations from Marie de Champagne. First, Philip had no fascination with courtly love. Chrétien’s new patron was a man of religious appetite and strong moral conviction, and he was from a family renowned throughout Christendom for its fiber. Second, the theme of the poem was unique for Chrétien; it centers on the Christian religion.
As with his other Arthurian tales, here Chrétien proved to be both brilliant and a source of inspiration for other stories about Perceval and the grail he introduced to the continent. He is, therefore, central to any study on the subject. For this reason, it will be beneficial to this study to begin by exploring the two new underlying principles by which Chrétien was asked to work. That accomplished, the author will survey the four main theories regarding the origins of the grail ceremony. The explanation that each theory is able to provide will favor the conclusions that all are partially correct and that the Celtic elements make up the earliest strata of the story.2 It will be found that each influence was introduced to the story individually through a process of progressive superimposition on an originally Celtic tale. Further, it will suggest that the original grail and the mystique surrounding it are a conglomerate of Celtic motifs. Following the hint that this provides, the author will attempt a comparison of other Celtic tales and historical material that pertains indirectly to Chrétien’s graal and the ceremony surrounding it. This comparison will be made in the hope of gaining a better understanding of the object and the ceremony from which the poet would develop his graal. In conjunction with this analogous exploration, I will discuss later medieval versions of the grail story. This approach will prove valuable in showing certain general patterns for all early versions of the grail story, as it did in Le Chevalier de la Charrette. It will lead to a theory of why the different writers describe the grail and the ceremony surrounding it differently and will in turn help further explain the grail’s original nature and purpose.
A chapter devoted to identifying the original roles of each of the major characters will follow a study of the grail itself. The most significant of these figures will be the Belatacudros figure, a British god of northern Britain. Details of his attributes and variations of his name will indicate that he was the prototype for the grail-king. This, in conjunction with the traditional view that Arthur and the people of the fifth century were Christian, will bring out a new wrinkle to the puzzle. The unraveling of this wrinkle will lead to a discussion of the nature and interaction of the Christian and native Celtic religions in sub–Roman Britain. In turn, the results developed there will preface a search for potentially historical Celtic material in the grail story. The author hopes to demonstrate here that the same link exists between Le Conte and ancient Britain as was shown to be in La Charrette. Further, the author believes that this process will serve to provide an overall picture of the grail story’s genesis stemming from an original source, Dysgyl. It is hoped that the realization of these two objectives will help begin to define the historicity of the poem.
Unlike Le Chevalier de la Charrette, Le Conte du Graal introduces its chief character, Perceval, almost immediately. He is of royal blood and has been raised in an isolated village by his mother. The reader is first introduced to him as he is hunting animals for his household. Spying a group of Arthur’s knights riding through his forest, he is enamored with them. They have no time for him, however, as they are in search of a kidnapped lady. They only stop to talk with the boy in order to get information from him. In a scene of levity, the knights instead find themselves answering all of his naïve questions and telling him of Arthur’s court. After they leave, Perceval returns home and abruptly informs his mother that he has decided to become a knight of King Arthur. He rides off despite his mother’s tears. Apart from one short delay, he proceeds directly to Arthur’s court and there insists on being knighted by the king.
When he does arrive, a character called the Red Knight has just stolen the king’s gold cup and dashed the wine it contained on Guinièvre. Keu alone has the presence of mind to respond to the boy’s demand. He announces Perceval will be granted the boon of knighthood if he can prove his worth by killing the Red Knight. Unaware of the danger, Perceval runs right out and accomplishes the task, takes the man’s honor, and rides away.
Riding along, he eventually comes to one of his uncles, Gornemanz de Gohorts, who teaches him how to ride, fight, and behave in a courtly fashion. Continuing on, he arrives at the castle of a cousin in distress. He rescues her, and then refuses her offer of marriage. From there he happens upon the grail castle where he witnesses the grail supper, but fails to ask the mysterious question that would end his kinsmens’ suffering. He finds himself outside the castle the next morning. Soon thereafter he stumbles across Arthur’s court again. It is at this point that Le Conte du Graal begins to become complicated in a way none of Chrétien’s previous romances are. A lady known as the Ugly Damsel brings Perceval to shame by informing Arthur’s men of what Perceval has failed to do at the grail castle. He leaves the court and goes in search of the grail castle for five years and visits no church during this time.
The Ugly Damsel was apparently only there to plead with Arthur’s knights to lift a siege at Montesclare, however. Meanwhile, Gauvain is accused of murder by another visitor before he has a chance to respond. He rides out to defend his honor, leaving the reader to wonder what Perceval is up to and what becomes of Montesclare. Gauvain safely arrives at the home of the wronged man and becomes romantically entangled with a woman he soon learns is his accuser’s sister. There is now a conflict of interests between Gauvain and the other knight—hosts cannot kill their guests. To solve the predicament, all sides agree the only proper thing for Gauvain to do is to take one year to hunt for the sacred lance that pierced Christ. Failure to capture and return with it will bring him back to the castle again for imprisonment. It is in this year when the tale ends, but in the meantime Gauvain manages to become lord of a castle, find a spouse for himself and one of his sisters, and anger another chieftain. In this Perceval arrives at his former host’s castle incognito and fights Gauvain’s intended opponent. The work stops curtly in the midst of the acclaim Arthur’s court gives Gauvain on his return to them.
As a piece of literature, Chrétien de Troyes’ Le Conte du Graal has attained international status. His characters are memorable and his plot was a prototype. His detailed descriptions of scenery and persons make the reader wonder if he had not seen the places and the fights in his poem. It is a masterpiece and a cornerstone of Arthuriana. It is, however, as a source that it will be examined. The author believes that it is also a reservoir of information about the late fifth and early sixth centuries. In this context it will help to elucidate the mystery of the grail.