64 pages • 2 hours read
Chrétien De TroyesPerceval, the Story of the Grail
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1181A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
The Grail and the Bleeding Lance
The dual symbols of the grail and the bleeding lance (which are usually referred to together) are referenced throughout the text, and appear as a central aspect of the narrative after they are seen in the Fisher King’s castle. Though they are only present in that single scene, their significance becomes one of the driving questions of the unfolding story from that point on.
Whereas later traditions develop the grail story beyond its initial appearance in the Perceval epic, ultimately taking it to refer to the cup which was used by Jesus to establish the rite of holy communion on the night before his crucifixion, in Chrétien de Troyes’s usage it appears to be a serving-dish. The connections with the rite of communion remain, however, since the hermit reveals that it was used to bear a consecrated communion wafer. Chrétien never refers to it by the familiar full title of “the Holy Grail,” but simply as “the grail” (though it is described as being holy on one occasion in the text, in the explanation given by the hermit).
The bleeding lance, which appears in the same scene as the grail, is said to be all white except for a spot on its tip where droplets of blood continually emerge. Though both the grail and lance may be partially based on magical objects present in ancient Celtic legends, the clearest connection to the lance is once again a reference to Christian tradition. The bleeding lance likely stands for a relic known as the Lance of Longinus or the Holy Spear, a weapon used by a Roman soldier at Jesus’s crucifixion to pierce his side and confirm his death. Since both the grail and the lance have connections to the story of Jesus’s death, they generally represent themes that stand at the center of the Christian message, such as the love and grace of God toward humanity.
In Perceval, the grail and lance tie in directly with the theme of Knowledge as the Key to Healing and Growth. Had Perceval thought to ask about the two relics when he saw them, the narrative states that the Fisher King would have been healed and blessing would have come to everyone in his realm. It is not a coincidence that when Perceval finally gets his answers about the grail at the hermit’s abode, he both receives knowledge (the teaching of the Christian gospel) and experiences the healing of repentance. The grail and lance, then, both point toward the healing nature of the Christian message—that it is knowledge of the love and grace of God which ultimately brings healing and blessing. This connection is displayed both in the curious logic by which asking a question about the grail (i.e., gaining knowledge of its meaning) could bring healing to the Fisher King and his realm, as well as in the narrative of Perceval’s own cathartic conversion at the hermit’s home.
Comic Folly
Chrétien employs the motif of comic folly throughout his text, but especially with regard to the character of Perceval. Although Perceval’s ignorance is at times treated as a serious matter—the root of many of his troubles—it is also a fruitful source of entertainment for the poem’s audience. As a lyric poem meant to be performed by troubadours, it was designed to hold people’s interest, and it often did this by creating silly and absurd situations rooted in Perceval’s folly.
Chrétien accomplishes this by having Perceval interpret the instructions he receives far too literally, so that he blunders through his first attempts at chivalry by making mistake after mistake, yet believes himself to be doing great things because he is following his mother’s advice. He does the same thing with Gornemant’s advice—particularly the instruction that he not be overly loquacious—and puts it into action by not talking at all, to the point where the servants at the castles he visits think him to be mute.
Chrétien frequently plays up the comic effect of Perceval’s ignorance, as for example in his combat against the Red Knight. He defeats the knight in combat in a mere 20 lines of narration, and then 70 more lines are devoted to Perceval’s confusion as to how to get the dead knight out of his armor and the beleaguered squire’s attempts to teach him the absolute basics of how armor works (1103-90). Over and over in the early sections of the text, Perceval is referred to as a fool. His ignorance would make him a tragic figure except for two factors: first, that despite his follies he always seems to find his way to victories; and second, that he is happily unaware of his own ignorance, and so his folly takes on a winsome air that is carefree and childlike.
The stories about Gawain employ less of the motif of comic folly, though it is still present. The comedy in Gawain’s stories does not come from his own ignorance, but rather from his unswerving resolution to answer any challenge that comes his way, regardless of how absurdly difficult it may be. A prominent example of this comes from his dealings with the so-called “evil maiden” of the final sections of text, in which everyone else in the narrative warns him to have nothing to do with her. Instead, he keeps trying to fulfill the deeds she dares him to do, even when they are pointless and possibly fatal, such as trying to cross the Perilous Ford (8434-8535). While not ignorant in the same way as Perceval, Gawain nevertheless displays his own foibles, rooted largely in his unswerving devotion to chivalry, which provides some comic amusement during his portions of the narrative.
Castles
Castles mark the flow of Perceval’s narrative in a structural fashion, with each new castle introducing a new set of scenes for the hero’s adventure. In both Perceval’s and Gawain’s stories, each new sequence is introduced by the hero riding away from one castle and encountering another one, in which a new set of characters and problems are introduced. The castles thus provide an episodic flow to the narrative, functioning as a symbol of the quest itself.
Each new castle represents a new adventure, and many of the supporting characters are directly tied to their own castles: Gornemant, Blancheflor, the Fisher King, Tiebaut, the royals of Escavalon, and Queen Ygerne are all portrayed as being attached to their own castles. Even the counterexample proves the rule: King Arthur is not connected with just one stronghold in the text, but with several, as his court moves from one royal residence to another throughout the story.
The arrangement of these castles gives a subtly mirrored structure to the two halves of the poem. Perceval’s adventures begin with a visit to King Arthur’s court; second, a visit to Gornemant’s castle (with an emphasis on learning lessons of chivalry); third, a stop at Blancheflor’s castle (where the hero must endure a siege); and fourth, a visit to the Fisher King’s castle (a mysterious place of mystical enchantment). Gawain’s adventures are also arranged around castles in the same structure: they begin with a scene at King Arthur’s court; second, a visit to Tiebaut’s castle grounds (with an emphasis on the practice of chivalry); third, a stop at the castle of Escavalon (where the hero must endure a siege); and fourth, a visit to Queen Ygerne’s castle (a mysterious place of mystical enchantment). This parallel structure suggests that the castles themselves are being used as symbols of the knights’ adventures.
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By Chrétien De Troyes
