See also:

• PERCEVAL, or PERCYVELLE (Ger. Parzival, Fr. Perlesvaus, Welsh, Peredur)
• PERCEVAL, SPENCER (1762-1812)

PERCEVAL, or PERCYVELLE (Ger. Parzival, Fr. Perlesvaus, Welsh, Peredur)  , the See also:

• HERO (Gr. open)
• HERO, THE YOUNGER

hero of a comparatively small, but highly important, See also:

• GROUP

group of romances, forming See also:

• PART

part of the Arthurian See also:

• CYCLE
• CYCLE (Gr. KUK)^os, a circle)

cycle . Originally, the See also:

• STORY, JOHN (c. 1510-1571)
• STORY, JOSEPH (1779-1845)
• STORY, ROBERT HERBERT (1835-1907)
• STORY, WILLIAM WETMORE (1819—1895)

story of See also:

• PERCEVAL, or PERCYVELLE (Ger. Parzival, Fr. Perlesvaus, Welsh, Peredur)
• PERCEVAL, SPENCER (1762-1812)

Perceval was of the See also:

• CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character of a folk-See also:

• TALE (O.Eng. talu, number, account, story; the word is common to many Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Zahl, number, Erzahlung, narrative, Du. taal, speech, language)

tale, and that one of remarkable importance and See also:

• WORLD

world-wide See also:

• DIFFUSION (from the Lat. diffundere; dis-, asunder, and fundere, to pour out)

diffusion . He is represented as the son of a widow, " la See also:

• DAME
• DAME (through the Fr. from Lat. domina, mistress, lady, the feminine of dominus, master, lord)

dame veuve," his See also:

• FATHER

father having been slain in tourney, See also:

• BATTLE

battle or by treachery, either immediately before, or shortly after his See also:

• BIRTH (a word common in various forms to Teutonic languages from the root of the verb " to bear ")

birth . The See also:

• MOTHER

mother, fearful lest her son should See also:

• SHARE (O. Eng. scearu, chiefly in compounds, e.g. land-scearu, a share of land, from sceran to cut; cf. " shear" )

share his father's See also:

• FATE

fate, flies to the See also:

• WOODS, LEONARD (1774-1854)
• WOODS, SIR ALBERT (1816-1904)

woods, either alone with one attendant, or with a small See also:

• BODY

body of faithful retainers, and there brings up her son in See also:

• IGNORANCE (Lat. ignorantia, from ignorare, not to know); want of knowledge, a state of mind which in law has important consequences. A well-known legal maxim runs: ignorantia juris non excusat ("ignorance of the law does not excuse")

ignorance of his name, his parentage and all knightly accomplishments . The youth grows up strong, See also:

• SWIFT
• SWIFT, JONATHAN (1667—1745)

swift-footed and of See also:

• GREAT

great See also:

• PERSONAL

personal beauty, but, naturally enough, of very limited intelligence . This last is one of the most characteristic traits of the Perceval story, connecting it alike with the Irish See also:

• LAY

Lay of the Great See also:

• FOOL (O. Fr. fol, modern fou, foolish, from a Late Latin use of follis, bellows, a ball filled with air, for a stupid person, a jester, a wind-bag)

Fool, and the See also:

• TEUTONIC
• TEUTONIC (GERMANIC) LANGUAGES

Teutonic Dummling tales . He spends his days See also:

• CHASING, or ENCHASING

chasing the beasts of the See also:

• FOREST

forest, See also:

• RUNNING

running them down by sheer See also:

• SPEED, JOHN (1552–1629)

speed, or killing them with darts (javelots) or See also:

• BOW (pronounced " bo ")

bow and arrows, the only weapons he knows . One See also:

• DAY (O. Eng. dreg, Ger. Tag; according to the New English Dictionary, " in no way related to the Lat. dies")
• DAY, JOHN (1574-1640?)
• DAY, THOMAS (1748-1789)

day, however, he meets a party of knights in See also:

• ARMOUR, PHILIP DANFORTH (1832-1901)

armour; he first adores the See also:

• LEADER, BENJAMIN WILLIAMS (1831– )

leader as See also:

• GOD

God, and then takes them to be some new and wondrous See also:

• KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind of See also:

• ANIMAL
• ANIMAL (Lat. animalis, from anima, breath, soul)

animal, asking the most naive questions as to their armour and equipment . Being told that they are knights he determines that he too will be one, and returns to his mother announcing his intention of at once setting forth into the world to seek for See also:

• KNIGHTHOOD

knighthood . Dressed as a See also:

• PEASANT (O. Fr. paysant, Mod. paysan; Lat. pagensis, belonging to the pagus or country; cf. " pagan ")

peasant (or a fool), he departs (his mother, in some versions, dying of grief), and comes to the See also:

• KING
• KING (O. Eng. cyning, abbreviated into cyng, cing; cf. O. H. G. chun- kuning, chun- kunig, M.H.G. kiinic, kiinec, kiinc, Mod. Ger. Konig, O. Norse konungr, kongr, Swed. konung, kung)
• KING [OF OCKHAM], PETER KING, 1ST BARON (1669-1734)
• KING, CHARLES WILLIAM (1818-1888)
• KING, CLARENCE (1842–1901)
• KING, EDWARD (1612–1637)
• KING, EDWARD (1829–1910)
• KING, HENRY (1591-1669)
• KING, RUFUS (1755–1827)
• KING, THOMAS (1730–1805)
• KING, WILLIAM (1650-1729)
• KING, WILLIAM (1663–1712)

king's See also:

• COURT
• COURT (from the O. Fr. court, Late Lat. cortis, curtis, a popular form of class. Lat. cohors, gen. cohortis; the mod. Fr. form tour is due to the influence of the Lat. curia, the word used in medieval documents to translate " court " in the feudal sense)
• COURT, ANTOINE (1696-176o)

court . Of course in the See also:

• ROMANCE

romance it is the court of See also:

• ARTHUR (Fr. Arius)
• ARTHUR, CHESTER ALAN (1830 – 1886)

Arthur; probably in the See also:

• ORIGINAL

original tale it was simply " the king." Here his uncouth behaviour and great personal beauty attract See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general See also:

• ATTENTION (from Lat. ad-tendo, await, expect; the condition of being " stretched " or " tense ")

attention, and he is alike mocked by See also:

• KAY, JOHN (1742-1826)
• KAY, JOSEPH (1821-1878)

Kay, and his future distinction mysteriously foretold . He slays a foe of Arthur's, the Red See also:

• KNIGHT, CHARLES (1791-1873)
• KNIGHT, DANIEL RIDGWAY (1845– )
• KNIGHT, JOHN BUXTON (1843–1908)

Knight, who has insulted the king, and challenged the knights of the court, who, for some mysterious See also:

• REASON (Lat. ratio, through French raison)

reason, are unable to See also:

• RESPOND

respond to the See also:

• CHALLENGE (O. Fr. chalonge, calenge, &c., from Lat. calumnia, originally meaning trickery, from calvi, to deceive, hence a false accusation, a " calumny ")

challenge .

Dressing himself in the armour of the slain knight, which he has great difficulty in handling and eventually puts on over his peasant's garb, he sets out on a See also:

• SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series of adventures which differ greatly in the various versions, but the outcome of which is that he becomes a skilful and valiant knight and regains the heritage of his father . This, the Perceval story proper, has been recognized by scholars as a variant of a widespread folk-tale theme, designated by J . C. von See also:

• HAHN, AUGUST (1792–1863)

Hahn as the See also:

• ARYAN

Aryan See also:

• EXPULSION (Lat. expulsio, from expellere)

Expulsion and Return See also:

• FORMULA
• FORMULA (Lat. diminutive of forma, shape, pattern, &c., especially used of rules of judicial procedure)

formula, which See also:

• COUNTS

counts among its representatives such heroes as See also:

• PERSEUS

Perseus, See also:

• CYRUS
• CYRUS (Gr. KDpos; Pers. Kuru-sh; Babyl. Kurash; Hebr. Koresh)

Cyrus, See also:

• ROMULUS

Romulus and Remus, Siegfried, and, as See also:

• ALFRED

Alfred Nutt has pointed out, Arthur himself . This particular variant appears to be of See also:

• BRITISH

British-See also:

• CELTIC

Celtic origin, and the most faithful representative of the original tale is now very generally held to be the See also:

• ENGLISH

English Syr Percyvelle of Galles, a poem preserved in the See also:

• THORNTON, HENRY (1760—1815)
• THORNTON, ROBERT (1623-1678)
• THORNTON, WILLIAM THOMAS (1813-188o)

Thornton See also:

• MANUSCRIPT

manuscript . Here the hero is See also:

• NEPHEW

nephew to Arthur on the mother's See also:

• SIDE
• SIDE (mod. Eski Adalia)

side, and his father, of the same name as himself, is a valiant knight of the court . A noticeable feature of the story is the uncertainty as to the hero's parentage; the mother is always a See also:

• LADY (0. Eng. hlaefdige, Mid. Eng. ldfdi, lavedi; the first part of the word is hldf, loaf, bread, as in the corresponding hldford, lord; the second part is usually taken to be from the root dig-, to knead, seen also in " dough "; the sense development fr

lady of See also:

• RANK (O.Fr. rant or rent, mod. rang, generally connected with the O.E. and O.H.G. bring, a ring)

rank, a See also:

• QUEEN
• QUEEN (O.E. cwen, wife, related to "quean," O.E. cwene, a hussy; cf. Gr. yvvi7: from root gan-, to produce; cf. genus, " kin," &c.)

queen in her own right, or See also:

• SISTER

sister of See also:

• KINGS, FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF

kings (as a See also:

• RULE

rule of the See also:

• GRAIL (formerly KAREL)
• GRAIL, THE HOLY

Grail kings); but the father's rank varies, he is never a king, more often merely a valiant knight, and in no instance does he appear to be of equal rank with his wife . This distinguishes the story from that of See also:

• LANCELOT (Lancelot du Lac, or Lancelot of the Lake)

Lancelot, with which some See also:

• MODERN

modern scholars have been inclined to identify it; for Lancelot's parentage is never in doubt, he is fis du roi . The connexion of the story with Arthur and his court brought about a speedy and more important development, the precise steps of which are not yet clear: Perceval became the hero of the Grail quest, in this ousting See also:

• GAWAIN (Fr. Walwain (Brut)

Gawain, to whom the See also:

• ADVENTURE (from Lat. res adventura, a thing about to happen)

adventure originally belonged, and the Perceval became merged in the Grail tradition . Of the Perceval-Grail romances the See also:

• OLDEST

oldest from the point of view of manuscript preservation is the Perceval or See also:

• CONTE

Conte del Graal of Chretien de See also:

• TROYES

Troyes . Two See also:

• MANUSCRIPTS

manuscripts, indeed, the British Museum and See also:

• MONS (Flemish Bergen)

Mons texts, preserve a fragment See also:

• RELATING

relating the birth and See also:

• INFANCY

infancy of the hero, which appears to represent the source at the See also:

• ROOT (late O.E. rot, adopted from Scand., cf. Norw. and Swed. rot, Dan. rod; the true O.E. word was wyrt, plant, represented in Ger. Wurz or Wurzel; the ultimate root is the same in both words, and is seen in Lat. radix)
• ROOT, ELIHU (1845– )

root alike of Chretien and of the See also:

• GERMAN
• GERMAN, DUTCH AND SCANDINAVIAN

German Parzival, but it is only a fragment, and so far no more of the poem has been discovered . Chretien See also:

• LEFT

left his poem unfinished, and we do not know how he intended to See also:

• COMPLETE

complete the adventures of his hero; but those writers who undertook the task, Wauchier de See also:

• DENAIN

Denain, See also:

• GERBERT, MARTIN (172o-1793)

Gerbert de See also:

• MONTREUIL, GERBERT DE (fl. 13th century)

Montreuil and Manessier, carried it out with such variety of detail, and such a bewildering indifference to Chretien's version, that it seems practically certain that there must have been, previous to Chretien's See also:

• WORK

work, more than one poem dealing with the same theme . The German poet, Wolfram von Eschenbach, whose Parzival in parts closely agrees with the Perceval and who was See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

long held to be a See also:

• MERE
• MERE, ADALBERT (1838-1909)

mere translator of Chretien, differs widely in the setting of his story .

He gives an introduction, in which the adventures of the father, here a See also:

• PRINCE
• PRINCE (Lat. princeps, from primus capio, " I am the first to take "; Ital. principe, Fr. prince)

prince of See also:

• ANJOU

Anjou, are related; a conclusion, in which the See also:

• SWAN (A. S. swan and swan, Icel. svanr, Du. zwaart, Ger. Schwan)
• SWAN, J
• SWAN, JOHN MACALLAN (1847-1910)
• SWAN, SIR JOSEPH WILSON (1828– )

Swan-Knight, See also:

• LOHENGRIN

Lohengrin, is made Parzival's son; he represents the inhabitants of the Grail See also:

• CASTLE
• CASTLE (Lat. castellum, a fort, diminutive of castra, a camp; Fr. chateau and chdtel)

castle as See also:

• TEMPLARS

Templars (Templeisen) ; and makes the Grail itself a See also:

• STONE
• STONE (0. Eng. shin; the word is common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Stein, Du. steen, Dan. and Swed. sten; the root is also seen in Gr. aria, pebble)
• STONE, CHARLES POMEROY (1824-1887)
• STONE, EDWARD JAMES (1831-1897)
• STONE, FRANK (1800-1859)
• STONE, GEORGE (1708—1764)
• STONE, LUCY [BLACKWELL] (1818-1893)
• STONE, MARCUS (184o— )
• STONE, NICHOLAS (1586-1647)

stone . Finally, he reproaches Chretien with having told the story amiss, whereas Kiot, the Provencal, whose version Wolfram was following, had told it aright from beginning to end . It is certain that Gerbert knew, and used, a Perceval which, if not Kiot's poem, must have been closely akin to it; as he too makes the Swan-Knight a descendant of the Grail hero . The See also:

• PROBABILITY (Lat. probabilis, probable or credible)

probability seems to be that the earliest Perceval-Grail romance was composed at Fescamp, and was coincident with the transformation, under the See also:

• INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence of the See also:

• SAINT (lat. sanctus, " holy ")

Saint-Sang See also:

• LEGEND (through the French from the med. Lat. legenda, things to be read, from legere, to read)

legend, of the originally See also:

• PAGAN
• PAGAN (Lat. paganus, of or belonging to a pagus, a canton, county district, village, commune)

Pagan See also:

• TALISMAN

talisman known as the Grail into a See also:

• CHRISTIAN
• CHRISTIAN, WILLIAM (1608-1663)

Christian relic, and that this romance was more or less at the root of all subsequent versions . Besides the poems, we have also two See also:

• PROSE

prose Perceval romances, the relative position of which has not yet been satisfactorily deter-See also:

• MINED

mined . The first is found in two manuscripts only, the so-called ` See also:

• DIDOT

Didot " (from its original possessor M . Firmin-Didot),'now in the Bibliotheque Nationale, See also:

• PARIS
• PARIS (also called ALEXANDROS)
• PARIS, ALEXIS PAULIN (1800-x881)
• PARIS, BRUNO PAULIN GASTON (1839-1903)
• PARIS, FRANCOIS DE (169o-1727)
• PARIS, LOUIS PHILIPPE ALBERT
• PARIS, TREATIES OF (1814-1815)

Paris; the other, and much See also:

• SUPERIOR

superior See also:

• TEXT (Lat. textum, woven fabric, from texere, to weave)

text, xn the Biblioteca Estense, See also:

• MODENA (ancient Mutina)

Modena . In both cases the romance follows the prose rendering of Borron's See also:

• JOSEPH
• JOSEPH, COMTE DE (1785-1870)
• JOSEPH, FATHER (FRANCOIS LECLERC DU TREMBLAY) (1577-1638)

Joseph of Arimathea and See also:

• MERLIN, ANTOINE CHRISTOPHE (1762-1833)
• MERLIN, PHILIPPE ANTOINE, COUNT (1754-1838)

Merlin, and precedes a Mort See also:

• ARIUS ("Apews)

Arius, thus forming part of a complete cycle . The text shows a curious mingling of See also:

• SOURCES

sources; the real See also:

• PRIMITIVE

primitive Perceval story, the Enfances, is omitted; he grows up in his father's See also:

• HOUSE
• HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in Gothic it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

house and goes to court at his wish . Later, however, stories which certainly derive from an See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early non-Grail tradition are introduced, and there are references which imply a knowledge of the prose Lancelot and of Chretien's poem . The romance is probably a somewhat See also:

• LATE

late, and not very skilful, compilation . The other prose romance, the Perlesvaus, is decidedly superior in See also:

• LITERARY

literary See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form, but here too we have a mingling of old and new elements .

The Enfances story is omitted, and there are See also:

• PARALLELS

parallels with the German Parzival, with Wauchier de Denain and with Gerbert, while much is See also:

• PECULIAR

peculiar to the Perlesvaus itself . It is not improbable that it represents a See also:

• FREE

free and individual working over of the original Fescamp version, and that in its later shape it was intended to form, and did at one See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time form, the Quest See also:

• SECTION
• SECTION (Lat. sectio, cutting, secare, to cut)

section of the cyclic redaction of the Arthurian prose romances, being dislodged from this position by the Galahad Quote . It is a curious fact that the printed See also:

• EDITIONS

editions always give it in See also:

• CONJUNCTION (from Lat. conjungere, to join together)

conjunction with this latter and that the two have also been preserved together in a Welsh manuscript See also:

• TRANSLATION

translation . We also possess in one of the so-called Mabinogi a Welsh version of the tale, Peredur, son of Evrawc . This appears to be a free rendering of the adventures found in Chretien combined with incidents See also:

• DRAWN

drawn from Welsh tradition . This was at one time claimed as the original source of all the Perceval romances, but this theory cannot be maintained in See also:

• FACE (from Lat. fades, derived either from facere, to make, or from a root fa-, meaning " appear "; cf. Gr. cbatvstv)

face of the fact that the writer gives in one See also:

• PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place what is practically a literal translation of Chretien's text in a passage which there is strong reason to believe was borrowed by Chretien from an earlier poem . In See also:

• ORDER
• ORDER (through Fr. ordre, for earlier ordene, from Lat. ordo, ordinis, rank, service, arrangement; the ultimate source is generally taken to be the root seen in Lat. oriri, rise, arise, begin; cf. " origin ")
• ORDER, HOLY

order of time the Peredur probably ranks latest in the series of Perceval romances, which, however, does not detract from its See also:

• INTEREST

interest as a possible representative of genuine Welsh traditions, unknown to other writers . The value and interest of the Perceval romances stand very high, not alone for their See also:

• INTRINSIC (through Fr. intrinsique, from Lat. intrinsecus, inwardly; inter, within, secus, following, from root of sequi, to follow)

intrinsic merit, though that is considerable—Chretien's Perceval, though not his best poem, is a favourable specimen of his work, and von Eschenbach's Parzival, though less elegant in See also:

• STYLE
• STYLE (from Gr. a-6'1ms, a column; a different word from that used in literature, see below)

style, is by far the most humanly interesting, and at the same time, most deeply spiritual, of the Grail romances—but also for the interest of the subject See also:

• MATTER

matter . The Perceval story is an admirable folk-tale, the Grail problem is the most fascinating problem of See also:

• MEDIEVAL

medieval literature; the two combined form a romance of quite unique See also:

• CHARM (through the Fr. from the Lat. carmen, a song)

charm and interest . This has been practically proved by the extraordinary success which has attended See also:

• RICHARD
• RICHARD (d. 1184)
• RICHARD, FRANCOIS MARIE BENJAMIN (18,9-1908)
• RICHARD, HENRY (1812-1888)
• RICHARD, ST

Richard See also:

• WAGNER, ADOLF (1835- )
• WAGNER, RUDOLPH (1805-1864)
• WAGNER, WILHELM RICHARD (1813-1883)

Wagner's dramatic re-telling of the legend in his See also:

• PARSIFAL

Parsifal . The immediate source of this S.-See also:

• PERCH (through Fr. from Lat. perca, Gr. 7rEpKo; the last word is connected with 2repev6r, dark-coloured, spotted)
• PERCH (through Fr. perche from Lat. pertica, a pole or rod used for measurement)

PERCH 133 version is the poem of Wolfram von Eschenbach, though the Grail, of course, is represented in the form of the Christian relic, not as the See also:

• JEWEL, JOHN (1522-1571)

jewel talisman of the Parzival; but the psycho-logical See also:

• READING

reading of the hero's character, the distinctive See also:

• NOTE
• NOTE (Lat. nota, mark, sign, from noscere, to know)

note of von Eschenbach's version, has been adapted by Wagner with marvellous skill, and his picture of the hero's See also:

• MENTAL

mental and spiritual development, from extreme simplicity to the See also:

• WISDOM, BOOK OF, or WISDOM OF SOLOMON (Sept. Io4ia IaXwµwvos; Lat. Vulg. Liber sapientiae)

wisdom See also:

• BORN, IGNAZ, EDLER VON (1742–1791)

born of perfect charity, is most striking and impressive .