Introduction

Abstract Lancelot and the Grail would seem to represent opposite poles—the hero whose love for Arthur’s Queen inspires him to become the greatest of all knights, and the holy vessel, from its first appearance (in Chretien’s Conte def Graal) described in a context of Christian ritual as ‘sainte chose’ and in the Vulgate Queste only to be approached by chaste or virgin knights. Yet these two themes and that of the Death of Arthur are combined in the Lancelot-Grail cycle. This vast work fills six volumes in Sommer’s edition, starting with an early History of the Grail, followed by a Merlin, giving an account of the birth of Merlin, the early history of Arthur’s reign (based on Robert de Boron), and a suite leading up to the three volumes of the Lancelot propre (volumes III, IV, and V), the last of which prepares the way for the Queste. The cycle ends with la Mort Artu. The contrasts and contradictions (including a reference to Perceval/Perlesvaus as Grailwinner and accomplisher of the adventure of the Perilous Seat) within a closely interlacing structure have puzzled and fascinated scholars for more than a hundred years.