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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 7 page paper discussing the sources from which the theme of the Holy Grail was gathered, and how the theme has changed over time. Sources discussed include the Mabinogion, Chrétien de Troyes, Robert de Boron, the Perlesvaus, the Queste del Saint Graal, and Thomas Malory. Bibliography lists six sources.
Page Count:
7 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_Grail.doc
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
dreamed of, fought - something unknowable and always just a little out of reach. But many people do not realize that the Grail story was not original with Sir
Thomas Malory, but actually had roots reaching far back into the tradition of the oral poets. This paper will trace the beginnings of the Grail legend from Welsh and Celtic
myth to Malory, and analyze the changes that have occurred in it over time. The earliest source of any aspects of the Grail story appears to be that compilation of
Welsh legends known as the Mabinogion. These were apparently pulled together in written form sometime around the beginning of the twelfth century, although they undoubtedly existed as an oral tradition
much earlier. None of them dealt with King Arthur, although many of its heroes would find themselves reincarnated with either Anglicized or Romanticized names in the later Arthurian corpus. And
there was no real reference to the Grail, either. But there was a story of a giant named Bran, who had a platter that served whatever one wished -- a
feature that would eventually attach itself to the Grail. There is also a hint that Bran has been wounded through the thighs, as the Grails Fisher King would later be
(Mabinogion, p. 79). The Mabinogion chronicles do not seem to have been widely circulated outside of Wales, probably because of the language difficulties, but it is clear that at least
other writers seemed to be familiar with them, because their influence on the Arthurian and Grail romances is undeniable. Similarly, a great deal of Celtic myth and legend appears
to have been incorporated into the English and even French oral tradition at that time. Another source for the Arthurian saga as a whole is certainly Geoffrey of Monmouths Historia
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