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II. THE LITERATURE WHICH EMBODIES THE LEGEND.

The mystery of the Graal is a word which came forth out of Galilee. The literature which enshrines this mystery, setting forth the several quests which were instituted on account of it, the circumstances under which it was from time to time discovered and, in fine, its imputed removal, with all involved thereby, is one of such considerable dimensions that it may be properly described as large. This notwithstanding, there is no difficulty in presenting its broad outlines so briefly that if there be any one who is new to the subject, he can be instructed sufficiently for my purpose even from the beginning. It is to be understood, therefore, that the Holy Graal is, excepting in the German version of the legend, represented invariably as that vessel in which Christ celebrated the Last Supper and consecrated for the first time the elements of the Eucharist. According to the legend, its next use was to receive the blood from the wounds of Christ when His body was taken down from the Cross, or alternatively, from the side which was pierced by the spear of Longas. Under circumstances which are variously recounted, this vessel, its content included, was carried westward under safe guardianship, coming in fine to Britain and there remaining in the hands of successive keepers. In the days of King Arthur, the prophet and magician Merlin assumed the responsibility of carrying the legend to its term, with which object he brought about the institution of the Round Table, and the flower of Arthurian chivalry set out to find the sacred vessel. In the quests which followed, the knighthood depicted in the greater romances has become a mystery of ideality, and nothing save its feeble reflection could have been found on earth. The quests were to some extent preconceived in the mind of legend, and although a few of them were successful, that which followed was the removal of the Holy Graal. The companions of the quest asked, as one may say, for bread, and to those who were unworthy there was given the stone of their proper offence, but to others the spiritual meat which passes all understanding. That this account instructs the uninitiated person most imperfectly will be obvious to any one who is acquainted with the great body of the literature, but, within the limits to which I have restricted it intentionally, I do not know that if it were put differently, it would be put better or more in harmony with the general sense of the romances. The places of the legend, its reflections and its rumours, are France, England, Germany, Holland, Italy, Spain and Wales. France and England were united in respect of their literature during the Anglo- Norman period, and when this period was over England contributed nothing to the Graal cycle except renderings of French texts and one compilation therefrom. It should be further remembered that, according to the mind of scholarship, several of the Anglo-Norman texts are not extant in their original form, but have been edited and harmonised. Germany had an indigenous version of the legend, combined, by its own evidence, with a French source which is now unknown. The Dutch version is comparatively an old compilation, also from French sources; Italy is represented only by translations from the French, and these were the work of Rusticien de Pise; the inclusion of Spain is really a question of liberality, for there is no Spanish version of the Graal legend as such, or it exists only in the rare allusions of a certain romance of Merlin, which again was originally in French. As regards Wales, there is also no indigenous literature of the Graal legend, as it was understood by the French romancers, but there are certain primeval traditions and bardic remanents which are held to be the root-matter of the whole cycle, and two at least of the questing knights are found among the Mabinogion heroes. In the thirteenth century and later, the legend, as we now have it, was carried across the Marches, but it is represented by translations only. It follows that the Graal literature, as I understand the term, belongs solely to France and Germany. To these restrictions of place may be added a restriction of time, for nothing which is now extant can be dated prior to 1175, and after circa 1230 we have only translations and digests. The allocation of individual texts to particular dates within this period is, in certain cases, inferential and in some entirely speculative.

It will be understood, therefore, that in presenting the subjoined tabulation I am not concerned with rigid priority in time but rather with affinities of intention, by which certain texts fall into defined groups. The literature may in this manner be classified into sections as follows:-- (A) The Lesser Histories or Chronicles of the Holy Graal, otherwise, the Cycle of Robert de Borron, in which is comprised: (I) The Metrical Romance of Joseph of Arimathea; (2) the Lesser Holy Graal, which is a prose version of the metrical romance as above; (3) the Early Prose Merlin, which represents a lost metrical romance, or more accurately a poem of which 500 lines alone remain extant; (4) the Didot Perceval, so called after the designation of the only manuscript by which it is known; it presents one version of the search after the Holy Graal, as distinguished from its legendary history and the connexions thereof. The characteristics in common of these four romances, by which they are grouped into a cycle, are: (I) The idea that certain secret words were transmitted from Apostolic times and were carried from East to West; (2) the succession of Brons as Keeper of the Holy Graal immediately after Joseph of Arimathea. (B) The Greater Chronicles of the Holy Graal, comprising:(I) The Saint Graal, or Joseph of Arimathea, called also the first branch of the Romances of the Round Table and the Grand or Greater Holy Graal; (2) the later prose romances of Merlin, being that which, because it is more widely diffused, has been sometimes termed the Vulgate, and that which is known as the Huth Merlin, following the designation of the only extant manuscript; (3) the great prose Lancelot; (4) the great prose Perceval le Gallois, an alternative version of the quest, known also in English as the High History of the Holy Graal; (5) the Quest of the Holy Graal, called also the last book of the Round Table, containing the search and achievement of Galahad. From my standpoint this is the quest <I>par excellence</I>. It should be understood that the great prose Perceval and the great quest of Galahad exclude one another, so that they stand as alternatives in the tabulation. The characteristics of this cycle are: (I) The succession of a second Joseph as Keeper of the Holy Graal immediately after his father, Joseph of Arimathea, and during the latter's lifetime, this dignity not being conferred upon Brons, either then or later; (2) the substitution of a claim in respect of apostolical succession for that of a secret verbal formula. (C) The Conte del Graal, otherwise, the Perceval le Gallois of Chretien de Trotes, being the metrical romance which comprises the quests of Perceval and Gawain. It was successively continued by several later poets, some of whose versions are alternative and exclusive of one another. The Conte del Graal is the largest document of the Anglo-Norman cycle. (D) The German cycle, comprising: (I) The Parsifal of Wolfram von Eschenbach; (2) the Titurel of Albrecht von Schaffenberg; (3) Diu Crone ly Henrich von dem Turlin; (4) the Lancelot of Ulrich du Zazikhoven. The dominant text of the German cycle is that of Wolfram, which is almost generically distinct from the histories and quests offered by the Anglo-Norman versions. At the moment it will be sufficient to say that it represents the Holy Graal as in the custody of a knightly company which, both expressly and by inference, recalls the order of the Knights Templar. As a final consideration in respect of all the cycles, it may be added that the romantic literature of chivalry diminishes in consequence and interest in proportion as it is removed from the Arthurian motive and period. It does not matter how remote the connexion may be, there is still the particular atmosphere. The Carlovingian cycle in comparison is mere indiscrimination and violence. There are no books in the manner of chivalry to compare with The Morte d'Athur, The High History of Perceval and The Quest of the Haut Prince Galahad after the Holy Graal.

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