The Evolution of the Grail Myth throughout Arthurian Romances - Book Report/Review Example

The Evolution of the Grail Myth throughout Arthurian Romances Introduction The Grail Myth, the Christian myth of the Holy Grail used by Jesus at theLast Supper, has given rise to some of the remarkable productions in world literature and the evolution of the Grail Myth can only be comprehended in connection with the Arthurian Romances. The role of Chretien de Troyes, Malory, the Mabinogian and others in the evolution of the Grail Myth through the Arthurian Romances is of paramount consideration. Cultural historians from time to time have dealt with the evolution of the Grail legend which came mostly through the written romances and these romances derived mainly from the pre-Christian folklore suggestions. The Grail Myth was the first to be introduced to the Arthurian legend by the celebrated French poet, Chretien de Troyes and it was developed through the Arthurian Romances. Significantly, the most important element in the story of King Arthur in the Arthurian Romances has been the quest for the Holy Grail which is an emblem or metaphor for an extremely enviable though eventually challenging goal to the millions of its readers. However, it has been a complex task to comprehend the evolution of the Grail Myth throughout the Arthurian Romances and this has various convincing reasons. "The original Grail romances did not develop a consistent, coherent narrative: there never appeared a clear and definitive 'legend of the Grail'. The romances were created by a series of writers working with different preoccupations, different purposes and different interpretations of their predecessors' stories - and in some cases almost certainly at the same time as each other, with no knowledge of one another's work." (Bryant, 1) In short, an analysis of the evolution of the Grail Myth through the Arthurian Romances has been a complex task and this paper focuses on a profound analysis of the development of the myth through the hands of different authors of the Arthurian Romances. An Analysis of the Evolution of the Grail Myth throughout Arthurian Romances The students and scholars of the Arthurian Legend need to undertake a diligent effort in comprehending the evolution of the Grail myth as there can obviously be no end to its treatment. The earliest link to the origin of the Grail Myth may be found in the pre-Christian folklore hints and the pagan traditions. There have been varying theories about the origin of the Grail Myth and some scholars oppose the link to the pagan traditions, while others strongly emphasise this connection. The evolutionary views of religion which considered Christianity just as another stage in the development of humanity's spiritual speculations also confirmed the connection of the Grail Myth to the pagan traditions. "It was natural, then, for Arthurian scholars to see the Christian Grail as the result of an evolutionary process with a source in older pagan traditions. Of course, there were those who resisted such a view and tried to hold on to the idea of a Christian origin for the Grail." (Marino, 33-4) Significantly, the ideological considerations fuelled the origin theories of the Grail Myth more than by objective explorations of texts. Such ideological considerations were due mainly to the national pride, disillusionment with the recognized religious belief systems and the craving to support those systems. Therefore, there is no consensus on the origin of the Grail Myth including the connection to the pagan beliefs and the evolution of this myth through the Arthurian Romances also offers similar complexities. In this analysis of the evolution of the Grail Myth through the Arthurian Romances, it is most essential to relate that there has been mutual relationship between the oral and written literary forms of popular stories. Thus, the significance of popular stories in The Mabinogion can be comprehended in this relation and the modern forms of these stories have accumulated their material from different sources over the various periods. In fact, one feels frustrated at the attempt to track down the exact version of the Arthurian stories which have been developed through the various printed texts and versions. It is a fact that the Grail legends, as in the case of any other element of the Arthurian Romances, raise enormous difficulty in tracing the exact history of the evolution of the Grail Myth. That is to say, the origin of the myth as well as its evolution through the various texts cannot be easily identified. "So the evolution of a legend through texts is more complicated than the origin theorists would have it... Origin scholars...often want a single written source, and a single origin culture, because of one element within a narrative." (Marino, 35) In short, the evolution of the Grail Myth is a complex process to the Arthurian scholars and it requires careful analysis by the investigators. In an understanding of the evolution of the Grail Myth throughout the Arthurian romances, it is pertinent to realize the significance of the Grail Myth. "The Grail Legend is an especially stimulating subject for psychological consideration because it contains so many features that are also to be found in myths and fairy-tales. Moreover, it has lost far less of its fascination for contemporary men and women than have the latter, which may indicate that it still embodies a living myth." (Jung and von Franz, 9) Therefore, the significance an relevance of the topic for the scholars have long remained high and the evolution of the myth throughout the Arthurian Romances interested the scholars. While there has been no consensus on the origin of the Grail Myth, the evolution of the myth through the Arthurian romances has been fairly acknowledged. And, as mentioned in the introduction, it is the French poet Chretien de Troyes who introduced the Grail Myth to tradition of the Arthurian Romances. It is also relatable that the original Grail romances centred on Percival. These early romances were connected to the more universal Arthurian setting of romances. It is of paramount importance, in the background of this analysis, to have an exact understanding of the Arthurian Legend, the legend of the Grail, and the written and oral literature on the myth. It was Edmond Faral who used the term 'Arthurian legend' for the first time and it was in use in French since he published his work by the same name. The work deals with the fabricated bits and pieces of the legend and the same is the case with Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia regum Britanniae which is considered to be the authoritative account of the Arthurian past. This earliest dated imaginary chronicles of the King Arthur along with its adaptation in French verse by Wace (1155) soon became part of the Arthurian stories. Though Monmouth's Historia regum Britanniae caused scandal among the fellow-historians, it remained an authoritative account of the Arthurian times until the sixteenth-century work Anglica historia by Polydore Vergil. "Historians of Arthurian literature cannot afford to ignore the long-lasting authority of Geoffrey's Historia. Having insinuated itself as national history, it continued to dictate the possibilities and limits of Arthurian literature in the mediaeval period. Malory's Morte Darthur is perhaps not quite the first English work to have liberated Arthur from 'history' and released him into the world of romance..." (Putter, 1) The authority of Geoffrey's chronicle may further be substantiated by the fact that the large number of Arthurian texts in England purely replicates the standard account of Arthur's reign as given in the Historia. Geoffrey's pseudo chronicle marked the beginning of the Grail Myth of the greatness and the fall of the Arthurian monarchy. This myth was elaborated and extended over the last three years of the Middle Ages through the significant contributions made by the English and French writer's. The medieval texts of the Grail Myth had a significant role in the development of the myth throughout the Arthurian Romances. "From the late twelfth century, French verse romances served up Arthurian fictions in written form. And while, by contrast to the chronicles, their fantastic stories were frequently dismissed as lies, in popularity they soon matched Arthurian historiography." (Putter, 1) The main reason for the prose forms of the legend by many Arthurian romancers of the thirteenth century may have been the association of prose with truth, and verse with fiction. The truthfulness of prose romances was influenced by the difference in the medium. These medieval texts included Chretien de Troyes's Perceval, the Welsh Peredur, Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, Robert de Boren's Joseph d'Arimathie, the French Vulgate Cycle Estoire del Saint Graal, the Didot Perceval, the continuations of Chretien's Perceval, Perrlesvaus, the French Vulgate Cycle Queste del Saint Graal, and Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur. According to Geoffrey's chronicle, Arthur dies as a victim to the deceit of Mordred and this fortuitous incident is both unanticipated and unjustified. "French prose writers of the thirteenth century, authors of the great Arthurian cycle (1220-25), applied themselves to creating a motive for this major event, making it the culmination of whole series of intelligently developed themes. This process continued until the third quarter of the fifteenth century, in the hands of the greatest of the Arthurian prose writers, Thomas Malory." (Bonnefoy and Doniger, 224) Therefore, the medieval writings have had a remarkable influence on the evolution of the Grail Myth and Chretien de Troyes's unfinished late twentieth century Old French verse Perceval or Le Conte du Graal is the earliest existing Grail text. It is important to realise the characteristics of Troyes's version of the Grail myth and what makes it different from the other famous Arthurian Romances. "The early Grail texts, those of Chretien and his direct followers, have Perceval as the hero of the quest and not Galahad, who we know to be the hero through Malory's fifteenth century prose Le Morte D'Arthur... At the earliest known stage of the legend, Chretien does not tell us much about what the Grail is or how it got where it is. His text is not insistent about any ideology or religious associations, as Malory's text and his source are, although in the late-twelfth- to early twentieth century, continuations of Chretien's unfinished poem the Grail is Christianised." (Marino, 15) Thus, the Grail is referred to as holy or sainte which contains some type of host or oiste and there is no other reference which mentions the Christian objects. Therefore, Chretien de Troyes's Perceval or Le Conte du Graal presents the earliest evidences of the evolution of the Grail Myth through the Arthurian Romances. Another pertinent stage in the evolution of the Grail Myth has been the early-to mid thirteenth century Welsh text Peredur, which represents material earlier to Chretien and substantiates the arguments in favour of the pagan origin of the Grail legend. "Although characters make Christian statements, there is nothing Christian about the Grail procession. Naive Peredur beholds the bleeding spear and a blood-filled tray holding a man's head, but fails to ask about any of this... The assumption seems to be that because Peredur and Chretien's Perceval contain elements not explicitly said to be Christian, the unexplained motifs must come from the Celtic paganism." (Marino, 16) Thus, in this stage of the evolution of the Grail Myth, the pagan origin of the myth is strongly emphasised and the various stories of The Mabinogion repeats similar Grail and wasteland motifs. Another major development in the Grail Myth has been Wolfram von Eschenbach's early thirteenth century verse in Middle High German, Parzival which follows Chretien's Perceval in various aspects, especially the bare outline of the Grail expedition. "The Grail procession is quite similar to its form in Chretien's text. Wolfram's Grail procession features the bleeding lance, candles, table, silver knives and Gral, here a stone and not a vessel, all borne by maidens and placed before a wounded king... Wolfram is writing after the Grail legend has acquired the Christian significance by which it is still traditionally known." (Marino, 17) However, one finds religiosity all through the work by Wolfram which the writer does not allow to dominate the narrative or the main motifs of the Grail quest. The Grail in the work has similarity to the pagan objects of abundance and there is resemblance to the Chretien's text in some aspects such as the Fisher King and wasteland. Robert de Boren's late twelfth- to early thirteenth century Old French verse Joseph d'Arimathie and his unfinished Merlin had a great relevance in the evolution of the Grail Myth through the Arthurian Romances, for these works established the tradition that the Grail is Christian. "It is Joseph which identifies the Grail as the vessel from the Last Supper, which Joseph of Arimathea used to collect Christ's blood. The Grail and a fish, caught by Bron, mysteriously expose the sinners in the fellowship and feed the blessed with spiritual joy. Joseph gives the Grail to Bron, now known as the Rich Fisher King, and tells him the secret words taught by Christ." (Marino, 18) Thus, the works by Robert de Boren contributed to the Christian tradition of the Grail Myth which has played a significant role in the popularity Arthurian Romances. Important contributions to the evolution of the Grail Myth were made by the French prose Vulgate Cycle which includes L'Estoire del Saint Graal, L'Estoire de Merlin, Lancelot du Lac, La Queste del Saint Graal, and La Mort Artu. "The first is an expanded prose adaptation of Robert de Boron's Joseph; the second is a prose version of the lost complete text of de Boron's Merlin; the third features the separate Grail castle adventures of Gawain, Lancelot and Bors; the fourth, with a revolutionary change making Galahad the hero and not Perceval, further develops a Christian Grail and is believed to have been written before the Estoire del Saint Graal, although it follows the Estoire in narrative chronology; and the last brings Arthur's court to a close." (Marino, 18) Significantly, these works make a very important stage in the evolution of the Grail Myth through the Arthurian Romances. The other texts of important note in the evolution of the Grail Myth throughout the Arthurian Romances include the Didot Perceval, which continues the story started by de Boron's Joseph and Merlyn. The continuations of Chretien's Perceval, which were produced by the medieval enthusiasts of the Grail story who were unhappy to find that Chretien de Troyes's Perceval remained unfinished. Perrlesvaus, another text featuring Perceval as the Grail hero, also marked a significant stage in the development of the Grail Myth throughout the Arthurian Romances. The early thirteenth century, which produced the Old French Vulgate Cycle Queste del Saint Graal, established the Grail Myth to be definitely Christian in tradition. All these works had significant influence on the popularity of the Grail Myth, though it was Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur which single-handedly confirmed the popularisation of the Grail Myth in the circle of the Arthurian Romances. The contribution made by Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur to the evolution of the Grail Myth is often greatly emphasised. "The Arthurian legend as a whole has been most widely spread throughout the public by Thomas Malory's late fifteenth century Morte D'Arthur... In this version of the quest, Galahad is the hero accompanied by Perceval and Bros... It is a thoroughly Christian adventure for the spiritual edification of the knights and the reader, and a departure from the secular concerns of Arthur's court. There is little doubt in Malory about the nature of the Holy Grail." (Marino, 22) Therefore, the evolution of the Grail Myth through the Arthurian Romances was considerably influenced by the contributions made by Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur. The ultimate result of the long process of the evolution of the Grail Myth throughout the Arthurian Romances was the establishment of the Christian tradition in the origin of the myth, sidelining the pagan tradition. Conclusion The evolution of the Grail Myth throughout the Arthurian Romances underwent a long process of development which has been found difficult by even the Arthurian scholars. There have been different opinions about the origin of the legend and the tracking down of the development of the myth through different periods has been found a laborious task. It is mainly through the Arthurian Romances of the thirteenth century that the Grail Myth got established in our tradition. However, the adaptations of these romances by the popular literary figures of our time played a major role in the establishment of the Grail Myth. "No legend of the Middle Ages, except those endorsed by the Church, has had so strong an evocative and provocative power as the strange fictions which grew up about the Grail... The stories of the Grail - for there are many of them - have exercised a potent fascination on eminent literary men of our time, with surprisingly varied results..." (Loomis, 1) In short, the Grail legend, which originally came from the pre-Christian traditions, was established as a Christian myth through the long process of its evolution through the Arthurian Romances of the Middle Ages, and it has been celebrated in the literary adaptations of the modern period which make the myth an important presence in our culture. Works Cited Bonnefoy, Yves and Wendy Doniger. Roman and European Mythologies. Wendy Doniger. (Transln). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1992. P 224. Bryant, Nigel. The Legend of the Grail. DS Brewer. 2006. P 1. Jung, Emma and The Marie-Louise von Franz. Grail Legend. Princeton University Press. 1998. P 9. Marino, John Barry. The Grail Legend in Modern Literature. DS Brewer. 2004. P 33-4. Putter, Ad. "Finding Time for Romance: Medieval Arthurian Literary History." Medium Aevum. Vol 63. Iss 1. 1994. P 1. Loomis, Roger Sherman. The Grail: From Celtic Myth to Christian Symbol. New York: Princeton University Press. 1991. P 1. 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