SPECIAL ARTICLE. SOME PROBLEMS OF THE HOLY GRAIL.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18894, 8 January 1927, Page 13

SPECIAL ARTICLE.

SOME PROBLEMS OF THE HOLY GRAIL.

xw - -—♦ ' T wan-nx »o» *« runs,.) [Br J- w - JoI ' VT ' M,A ' ] Amid the luxuriant wealth of legend '■Two hare inherited from the A<ran no themo is riclier in roJ a nd mysticism than the Holy sr a t he sam ° tim ° ,iony „ pre " 2!" to the Student of "origins' or irstire folklore a more abundant problems, variat.ons, ram.fica--2 and apparent inconsistencies In Sal quantity, the material which But, in tlie •Jw form known to us, it all eddy the appearance of a highlyPljpMd legendary construction, an must avo B one trough - .taees of evolution before the existing texts. Ut me illustrations of this: In the ft? Km in which the Grail fffii meets us. it is already closer ffith ' 111 (1 i eply f T' in tiio general cycle of ArJlimanceand thelloundTable; ?WM» the fact i-s now hilly cstabhsh!l Sit the Grail I-egend and the tumißccs of Chivalry were originally S independent ot each other, and kS each pursued its separate course ufnre their streams intermingled. i«jn when the Grail first meets us, :t«i a Christian symbol, of tho highrtl ainctity. "i l ' l reaching jjlv (o the Crucifixion. .And yet it u certain as such things can ? jjut this sacred object has been a pagan talisman, having Willi a Christian and a Christian record, as tho (if centuries of ecclesiastical inof reference I will b(M ttA down a bald list of the works Wftt 00 * subject. which liavo to our own day :- - J. Here is first l.f C.onte del " fijiili" Chretien do Troves, which mt German critics regard as the ftpuhtion °f a " our ra '' literature. Sstien'l part breaks off at line M0OO: but there are continuations by jtot independent hands, and the sum jitl amounts to over GO.COO lines. comes a prose work, comj failed tho "Proso Perceval," |og and important. will mention next two works in prose, partly in verse, a and a "Merlin." They arc pflMlly, attributed to Robert de vSSrin. (Th® surviving portions have '",.IW edited by the' lato Dr. Furni- ! /, k jslL) ] ' fThen, another prose work of great . ' ' fepflrttnee and enormous length is knofrn as the "Queste." (Test ,dfw by Dr.' Funiivall.) ; I *'g, Again a long prose narrative, ' tjW "Perceval li Gallois," of whieli j -jam It a fine translation by Dr. SeEvans in the "Temple , •"fdwics." The translator makes ex- , jftlfapnt ami. Quito unjustifiable , rV'fjtitU for this wijrk in the matter of j and importance. It is gener- ( • ' alfrfODsidered rather late. , Also in prose i 3 the "Grand Sail j , (jwl." . There is a metrical English j 1 by, I think, the late Dr. | comes Germany' 3 contribu- j f'WwKMt ','Parzeval" of Wolfram von 14 is in tho Middle Hi e h 1 tho thirteenth century, and . IfSfppt only the greatest of all Grail ! ISttpMif bet is one of the really great ] pf the world's literature. It ■ lAfe* 23,000 lines. (Best edition, i gSiHßartecli). ( afc?#! dpA 9. P|nally, there aro two works ; |fvUsl|f are important for comparative i * 4|wi thftugh neither of them mentions j tib wail. One is the Welsh prose 1 Lf'PeWdur," which is tho direct Celtic 1 of the story of Perceval, The t tho English metrical romance, ( terbyvclle." s passing remarks may be made 1 i list. As »et down here, it is> 1 mt to he in chronological order, 1 chronological order, though 1 Wntcstcd, hog never been de- s 4. If the rder of production * > Torka could be determined, a . fide would be achieved in fol- , the evolution ' of the Grail Tho other remark is that, of £ !, six are in Normau French. ( :wide and far-reaching' iliversi- ( detail, there are two main fea- { i whieb these works agree. In . S place, the quc§t for the Grail j tt eash merely as one of a serios { ventures in knight-errantry, i I® taving a higher sanctity, of j jlifeltt'Oß ita votaries, and demanding 1 high qualities on the part of i to success. The other fea- 1 ft* agreement is one which differengSte'the Grail cycle from all other cycles. "Theoretically, no 1 WS at liberty to omit or in- ' A'Grail poet was not ' to give loose rein to liis His business was not to work of art in prose or verse |||gffi.y«bßygoii); but to tell a true .' If he departed from it, he was 1 by his rivals. Thus we find , raMKwQ censured by Wolfram for perand censured for omissions by do Dorron. Mutual thrusts of are scattered through the Aiid yet each professes wmly. and repeatedly to be giving 1 exactly as he found it. 1 HMPwa &aya ho is faithfully following j given Ilim by his patron. Count . of Flanders. The author of the ■ Perceval'' attaches the most , sanctity to tho literal truth of , From Wolfram I could ' down passages reiterating his j to a source. In one ( wWl'>IW « v en indulges in some ironic , glgpt the conventicnnl character of j llljffißd and the contradictions which ~ W|»JV«d. Wo will return to this as- i tl)e problem. at the narratives l'rom the 1 view of diversities or variaTOSf wc note in the first placo that historical matter, whilo < do not. For a history of the Way summarise the "Joseph," as follows:—Joseph of AriBE?!!?* jj c ?' ves Christ's blood in a HRffj* Christ appears to him, and inin the Sacraments. (The ' Mys:—"l flare nqt ar.d" could j this, but that I had the ' Book wherein the histories by tho great clerks. There- ' '™e secrets written which are 1 Ijfi&i « Grail."—What were these ] ffigfj?*? Nobody knows —Joseph forms Sf BWmtnity or Church. His follow- ' of sickness. A Voice , •we Holy Ghost tells him to set j jessel before them. He is ord- < JJake a second Table, iii imita- , |f that U),ed by Christ. Broiis, his < SpWdaw, sits on his right at , Tr- miraculous effects. w hich had been left empty a Mir !l s 'nncr. A Voice an* i that Alain, son of Brons, is to, agS' »he' eomiminity to the Western ij to go too, and guard i Vessel. He is the "Fisher ISh®® b A 'hl v ' o3 ' J osc l'h re " Word of eonuuent on this. that there were two J Iff <n-lii °no being that, when conveyed to the West, j A?S''l*j?slned behind, the other bejaWS! Joseph accompanied" the Grail, AiliSjWCjWh.at Glfistonbury, and bo- , gw: flrgt evangcliser of Britain. ( history, we have con- ] MgKgS' Of this Joseph narrative in Perceval," with, the very ;

interesting additional fact that Brons was the founder of a dynasty, whose lofty privilege it was to guard the Grail to all time. On the other hand, by way of contrast, there is the case of Chretien. It is an extraordinary thing that Chretien, who is regarded bv a School of German critics as the fountain of all our Grail literature,

does not anywhere give the least indication that he associated the Grail in any way whatever with the Passion of Christ.. Nor does Wolfram give any early history of the Grail; but lie makes a flashing allusion to it, which indicates a very different conception from what we have just had. Wolfram says that the story of tho Grail was read in tie stars by angels, and by them bright to earth in Spain, where it found by a heathen, who transmitted it in heathen (of course, Arabic) chaiacters to Kyot, whom Wolfram always gives as his authority. But in the two long works, the "Queste" and the "Grand St. Graal," the Joseph Story is given in far more elaborate detail than wo have just had it. It becomes, in fact, a farrago of pseudo-history and Oriental legend, which serve to illustrate the wild and fantastic historical conceptions current in the Middle Ages. Let us glance at another feature in which tho narrations exhibit considerable variation—the personality or individuality of the hero. In all these Grail narratives taken together there are three distinct heroes or winners ot tho Grail: Gawain, Perceval, and Galahad. Tho substitution of one for his predecessor seems to indicate a process of ovolution. In Chretien and Wolfram there are long Gawain episodes introduced into tho Perceval narrative; it is a case of what critics call "contamination" of Perceval legends with Gwain legends. But neither Chretien nor Wolfram ever brings Gawain to the Grail. And yet there is evidence that Gawain was* the original Grail hero; and the theory has been propounded that ho belonged to the pre-Christian stage of Grail-evolution. If this be so, it was the Christianisation of the legend that led to his deposition, as being too much of a worldling and sensualist. However this may be, we find Perceval gradually dominating in legendary scene, and being equipped vith an imposing genealogy and an array of prophecies, all suitable to the exalted mission assigned to him. But even the legendary Perceval was not ! perfect; and, as the mystical and i spiritual side of tliQ Grail-conception dcvoloped, no doubt thero aroso n yearning for absolute virgin perfection and purity in its guardian. Hence comes Galahad, a purely invented hero, in contrast to Gawain and Perceval, who are traditionary heroes, with their roots struck far back in legend and folk-lore. This invention of Galahad means tho last word in Grail-evolu-tion : but it also means the exhaustion of the human interest, and the extinction of tho Grail as a symbol of human striving and endeavour. Therefore, both tho Grail and Galahad disappear from the earth. Such a consummatibn spells moral bankruptcy. Contrast the procedure of Wolfram. His poem, "Parzeval, is the one great piece of Grail literature, in which tho Grail is bound up with {lie weaknesses, tho strivings, and the ultimate victory of a real human man. Ho leads his hero gradually from a lower plane to a higher; from crude doubts and blundering and instability. through suffering and error and disillusionment, to a higher steadfastness and a nobler resolve. And through all these strivings, winds the spirit of tho Grail, like a golden tin cad on an enchanted river.

Proceeding with variations, let its look steadily for a moment at the great central conception, the Grail itself and its properties and powers. Here the broadest difference is between physical qualities and ..spiritual qualities; but in many cases tlieso are combined. The physical quality most generally insisted on is tho power ot feeding a multitude. Chretien never gets bevond this: but ono of his continuatofs has glimpses of higher things, and in many of the narratives the association with tho 1 assion ot Christ is accepted as fundamental. In some, the Grail has a pronounced Eucharistic side; and'in the "Queste, highly mystical as it is, the Grail preserves its old pagan quality of a wonder-working talisman, a wandering symbol performing miracles. Woltram, as usual, follows a line of his own. With hirn the Grail is a stone, the li«ht from whUli outshines all tlie luminants of the hall. Of course there is nothing about this stone to suggest a sacred vessel; but in Wolfram it is connected with the Passion in a very curious way. Every f!oo,1 Friday a dove descends from- Heaven and lays a wafer on tho* stpnG, which its efficacy for another year, that effiicaey consists in'providing food, in illuminating, and in preserving life. And there is ono other feature distinctive of Wolfram. He alone elaborates tho idea of a Spiritual Order or Kniehthood, as a counterpart to tlie Secular Order instituted _ by This new Order is organised for tho service of the Grail. When a new knight is admitted, his name is flashed out on the Grail, anil then disappears. Some of - these knights are sent out from time to time to barbaric or uncivilised lands. One of conditions of such a mission is that if a knie;lit is asked his name, he disappears, lhus the Grail assumes the additional function of a great central missionary agency. (A popular illustration Wagner's opera, "Lohengrin. ) Ono might proceed almost lndelmitely with this process or analysis, arid comparative criticism of existing materials • and it is really the only method from which any further progress is-to be hojsed for. We must understand that, so far as any complete and rounded Grail narrative is concerned, we liavo now reached a limit; \\;estand as it wore, on.tho edgo ot a world and gaze into a void. But the ccntur between the Norman Conquest and Chretien must, as a French writer has put it, have produced a u ' " ol f aison" of Grail literature. H th® veil could be wholly lifted front that century, we should find many tions going on; and none of these transformations would be more momentous than that whereby from a pagan talisman was evolved a relic, o g 1 of relics, symbolising the highest mjs teries of the Christian Faith. Hut after all, when we look into the matter, it becomes clear that - great transformation and . nrnress which I mentioned at tne leginning, viz the o tho Grail Cycle and the Arthurian C cle re both due to tho same ( operating cause, the deepening " s consciousness of the time I o that consciousness Arthur's Order of Chu alrv, notwithstanding its high in "purifying the world from j and violence, must haie rather mundane and seculai - would it be to turn errau into Grnil-seekers and thus gw to t e Order a touch of consecration . And, on the other hand, tho Grail stol >' shaping itself gradually amid "Jsnir® channels, would receive a P°" crl ' imoetus if it wore caught up impetus i largest and most |sp2»r W o f romance J' el «"j lvctl- ' L. r »■»,. ™ m^iTh .- is ho-omes the evidence for a preponderatinP influence of Celtic legend and folklore In the wholp Grail developmentAlanv of the affinities of these tales nre with the general legendary material of the world; but manv ot then are exclusively or mamlv Ce.tic. I . . U the conclusion, not on \ ot Butis i •; : ,c hiit of French critics as well. . briefly on one or two 1 can Zl y The hS of the Grail is Hilled castle and corresponds to

the Celtic "under-world" or Avalon. Moreover, it is always reached by crossing water: there is always tho river, just as the sea or a lake so common in ancient Irish tales. Food-producing vessels are common enough in Celtic legend; there is, for example, the cauldron of the Dagda, from which no one went away unsatisfied. Brons, the founder of the Grail dynasty, is obviously identical with the Celtic Bran. Each is the hero of a conversion-legend; and Bran also is ruler of an underworld. Percival's first visit to tho Grail castle was" a failure because he watched the solemn ritual in dead silenoe, and asked no question of the sick King. This recalls an injunction familiar in old Celtic tales, never to open one's lips in a be-spelled castle. But for a comparison of this kind there is no more fruitful part of the story than the early life of Perceval himself, which bears a striking resemblance to a group of Celtic "great fool" stories. We have a youth of great beauty and of immense strength and swiftness, being brought up in a lonely spot by a widowed mother: his father had been a famous knight, and had been killed in battle. The mother's sole object is to keep her son in absolute ignorance of knighthood. He does not even know his own name. He is graceful, but uncouth. He lives as a peasant. He is informed that if he ever meets men in iron, they are devils. A day comes when a few Knights pass that way. He attempts to pray to them as angels or as God. They converse with him, and tell him of Arthur's Court. The mischief is done; the blood in him responds ; the mother's plans and precautions nre blown to the winds in a moment. Then come the various stages whereby he is transformed from a rude but graceful lout into a courtly and accomplished Knight, who gradup.ll\ comes to know the deeper meanings of life. If space permitted, it would he interesting to develop the resemblance between this and the group of Celtic tales just alluded to. j