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pubOne.info thank you for your continued support and wish to present you this new edition. Potvin, Ch. (Ed. ): "Perceval le Gallois ou le conte du Graal", Vol. I (Soc. Bibl. Belges. , Mons. , 1866).

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Publié par	Pub One Info
Date de parution	27 septembre 2010
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9782819928638
Langue	English

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The High History of the Holy Graal
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY:
ORIGINAL TEXT—
Potvin, Ch. (Ed. ): “Perceval le Gallois ou le contedu Graal”, Vol. I (Soc. Bibl. Belges. , Mons. , 1866).
RECOMMENDED READING—
Anonymous (Trans. P. M. Matarasso): “The Quest forthe Holy Graal” (Penguin Classics, London, 1969).
DeTroyes, Chretien (Trans. William W. Kibler &Carleton W. Carroll): “Arthurian Romances” (Penguin Classics,London, 1991). Contains the unfinished work “Perceval”.
Eschenbach, Wolfram von (Trans. A. T. Hatto):“Parzival” (Penguin Classics, London, 1980).
Malory, Sir Thomas (Ed. Janet Cowen): “Le MorteD'Arthur”, Vol. I & II (Penguin Classics, London, 1969).
INTRODUCTION
This book is translated from the first volume of“Perceval le Gallois ou le conte du Graal”; edited by M. Ch. Potvinfor 'La Societe des Bibliophiles Belges' in 1866, (1) from the MS.numbered 11, 145 in the library of the Dukes of Burgundy atBrussels. This MS. I find thus described in M. F. J. Marchal'scatalogue of that priceless collection: '“Le Roman de Saint Graal”,beginning “Ores lestoires”, in the French language; date, firstthird of the sixteenth century; with ornamental capitals. ' (2)Written three centuries later than the original romance, and fullas it is of faults of the scribe, this manuscript is by far themost complete known copy of the “Book of the Graal” in existence,being defective only in Branch XXI. Titles 8 and 9, the substanceof which is fortunately preserved elsewhere. Large fragments,however, amounting in all to nearly one-seventh of the whole, of acopy in handwriting of the thirteenth century, are preserved in sixconsecutive leaves and one detached leaf bound up with a number ofother works in a MS. numbered 113 in the City Library at Berne. Thevolume is in folio on vellum closely written in three columns tothe page, and the seven leaves follow the last poem contained init, entitled “Duremart le Gallois”. The manuscript is well known,having been lent to M. de Sainte Palaye for use in the Monuments ofFrench History issued by the Benedictines of the Congregation of StMaur. Selections from the poems it contains are given in Sinner's“Extraits de Poesie du XIII. Siecle”, (3) and it is described,unfortunately without any reference to these particular leaves, bythe same learned librarian in the “Catalogus Codicum MSS. Bibl.Bernensis”, J. R. Sinner. (4)
M. Potvin has carefully collated for his edition allthat is preserved of the Romance in this manuscript, comprising allthe beginning of the work as far as Branch III. Title 8, about themiddle, and from Branch XIX. Title 23, near the beginning, toBranch XXX. Title 5, in the middle. Making allowance for variationsof spelling and sundry minor differences of reading, by no meansalways in favour of the earlier scribe, the Berne fragments areidentical with the corresponding portions of the Brusselsmanuscript, and it is therefore safe to assume that the latter ison the whole an accurate transcript of the entire originalRomance.
The only note of time in the book itself iscontained in the declaration at the end. From this it appears thatit was written by order of the Seingnor of Cambrein for MessireJehan the Seingnor of Neele. M. Potvin, without giving any reasonfor so doing, assumes that this Lord of Cambrein is none other thanthe Bishop of Cambrai. If this assumption be correct, the personreferred to was probably either John of Berhune, who held the seefrom 1200 till July 27, 1219, or his successor Godfrey of Fontaines(Conde), who held it till 1237. To me, however, it seems morelikely that the personage intended was in reality the 'Seingnor' ofCambrin, the chef-lieu of a canton of the same name, on a smallhill overlooking the peat-marshes of Bethune, albeit I can find noother record of any such landed proprietor's existence.
Be this as it may, the Messire Jehan, Seingnor ofNeele, can hardly be other than the John de Nesle who was presentat the battle of Bouvines in 1214, and who in 1225 sold thelordship of Bruges to Joan of Flanders. (5) These dates thereforemay be regarded as defining that of the original Romance withinfairly narrow limits.
This conclusion is confirmed by other evidence. Anearly Welsh translation of the story was published with an Englishversion and a glossary by the Rev. Robert Williams in the firstvolume of his “Selections from the Hengwrt MSS”. (6) The firstvolume of this work is entitled “Y Seint Greal, being theadventures of King Arthur's knights of the Round Table, in thequest of the Holy Grail, and on other occasions. Originally writtenabout the year 1200”. The volume, following the manuscript now inthe library of W. W. E. Wynne, Esq. , at Peniarth, is divided intotwo parts. The first, fol. 1-109 of the manuscript, represents thethirteenth to the seventeenth book of Sir Thomas Malory's “Morted'Arthur”. Of the second, which represents the Romance heretranslated, Mr Williams writes: “The second portion of the WelshGreal, folios 110-280, contains the adventures of Gwalchmei Peredurand Lancelot, and of the knights of the Round Table; but these arenot found in the ”Morte d'Arthur“. The Peniarth MS. is beautifullywritten on vellum, and in perfect preservation, and its date isthat of Henry VI. , the early part of the fifteenth century. Theorthography and style of writing agrees literally with that of the”Mabinogion of the Llyvr Coch Hergest“, which is of that date.This, of course, is a transcript of an earlier copy; but there isno certainty when it was first translated into Welsh, thoughAneurin Owen in his ”Catalogue of the Hengwrt MSS. “ assigns it tothe sixth year of Henry I. It is mentioned by Davydd ab Gwilym, whodied in 1368. ”
Whatever may be the date of the Welsh version, thetranslator had no great mastery of French, and is often at fault asto the meaning both of words and sentences, and when in adifficulty is only too apt to cut the knot by omitting the passagebodily. The book itself, moreover, is not entire. On page 275, allbetween Branch IX. Title 16 and Branch XI. Title 2, twenty-twochapters in all, is missing. Again, on page 355, Titles 10-16 inBranch XXI. are left out, while the whole of the last Branch,containing 28 Titles, is crumpled up into one little chapter, fromwhich it would seem that the Welshman had read the French, butthought it waste of pains to translate it. In all, not to speak ofother defects, there are fifty-six whole chapters in the presentbook, of which there is not a word in the Welsh.
In one matter, however, Mr Williams' Englishtranslation has stood me in good stead. In Branch XXI. , as I havesaid, the French manuscript makes default of two Titles, but almostthe whole of their substance is supplied by the Welsh version. Byan unlucky accident, before the hiatus in the French is fullyfilled up, the Welsh version itself becomes defective, though thegap thus left open can hardly extend beyond a very few words.Without this supplement, incomplete as it is, it would have beenimpossible to give the full drift of one of the Romancer's beststories, which is equally unintelligible in both the French andWelsh texts in their present state.
As the Welsh version gives a number of names both ofpersons and places widely differing from those in the French, itmay be useful here to note the principal changes made. Perceval inthe Welsh is called Peredur, which is said to mean “steel suit”.The Welshman, however, adds that the name in French is “PeneffresvoGalief”, which, unless it be a misreading or miswriting forPerceval le Galois, is to me wholly unintelligible. Perceval'sfather, Alain li Gros, is in the Welsh Earl Evrawg, and his sisterDindrane, Danbrann. King Arthur is Emperor Arthur, his QueenGuenievre, Gwenhwyvar, and their son Lohot, Lohawt or Llacheu.Messire Gawain is Gwalchmei; Chaus, son of Ywain li Aoutres, Gawns,son of Owein Vrych; Messire Kay or Kex is Kei the Long; Ahuret theBastard, Anores; Ygerne, wife of Uther Pendragon, Eigyr; QueenJandree, Landyr; and King Fisherman for the most part King Peleur.Of places, Cardoil is Caerlleon on Usk, Pannenoisance, Penvoisins;Tintagel, Tindagoyl; and Avalon, Avallach.
By a double stroke of ill-luck, the complete andwholly independent Romance here translated has thus been printed byits two former editors as if it were only a part of some otherstory. M. Potvin describes it as the “First Part, the Romance inProse, ” of his “Perceval le Gallois”, and Mr Williams accepts itas the “Second Portion” of his “Y Seint Greal”. This unhappycollocation has led not a few of M. Potvin's readers to neglect hisFirst Part, under the impression that the story is retold in theother volumes containing the Romance in verse; while not a few ofMr Williams' readers have neglected his Second Portion under theimpression that there could be nothing of any special importance inan adjunct referred to by the Editor in so perfunctory a manner. Invery truth, however, the Story of the Holy Graal here told is notonly the most coherent and poetic of all the many versions of theLegend, but is also the first and most authentic.
This seems to be proved beyond doubt by a passage inthe History of Fulke Fitz-Warine, originally written apparentlybetween the years 1256 and 1264. The passage occurs at the end ofthe History, and is printed in verse of which I give a literalprose translation:
“Merlin saith that in Britain the Great a Wolf shallcome from the White Launde. Twelve sharp teeth shall he have, sixbelow and six above. He shall have so fierce a look that he shallchase the Leopard forth of the White Launde, so much force shall hehave and great virtue. We now know that Merlin said this for Fulkethe son of Waryn, for each of you ought to understand of a suretyhow in the time of the King Arthur that was called the White Laundewhich is now named the White Town. For in this country was thechapel of S. Austin that was fair, where Kahuz, the son of Ywein,dreamed that he carried off the candlestick and that he met a manwho hurt h