Holy Grail and the Arthurian Complex - Essay Example

Holy Grail and the Arthurian complex As believed in the Christian mythology, the Holy Grail was a cup, dish or a plate used by the Jesus Christ in his last supper. The Holy Grail first comes into sight as merely "a grail" in the works of Chrétien de Troyes. The word is derived from the Old French word ‘graal’ meaning a "broad and capacious dish ". Though the Grail is usually thought of as a chalice, it has been variously described as a platter, dish, a horn of plenty or even a book or a stone. The Grail is believed to have miraculous powers like healing the sick or mortally wounded, the power to ensure healthy youth and the ability to summon endless food for the worthy, making it an object of fascination and awe for writers and Christian mythologists. Belief in the Grail and curiosity in its whereabouts have never ceased to exist. Because of its immense importance in the Christian mythology, Holy Grail has always been a subject of interest throughout the centuries. The current decade has witnessed both a trendy and historical revival of interest in the meanings and origins of the Holy Grail. Scholars and writers alike continue to investigate and research on the Grail as a historical object as well as a mythical mystery with inventive and saintly resonances. The Holy Grail has a special significance in the Arthurian literature as it was the author Chrétien de Troyes which first described the Grail in his work ‘Perceval, The Story of the Grail’. The Story of the Grail woven by Chrétien de Troyes is one of the greatest literary works ever composed. The poem tells the story of teenage boy named Perceval who is brought up raised in a forest by his mother and who accidently sees the Grail in a castle. Unfortunately, Troyes was unable to complete his poem but his work of explaining the Grail and its importance followed down through all these centuries. Arthurian legend engages the debates surrounding the meaning and origin of the Grail with a suggestive historical account of how art, literature, political alliances, warfare, and human spiritual aspiration may have converged in the twelfth century to invest one enigmatic object with an inspirational power that has lasted into our own time. This essay would link the Grail legend back to the Arthurian complex.(Troyes) Why the Arthurian literature links to the Holy Grail The works regarding Grail has been numerous but it is the Arthurian literature which actually introduced the Grail. The history of the Grail, its importance and most importantly its quest was first described in the Arthurian literature and from this all the works had been produced. Therefore the Arthurian complex provides a basis for the legend of the Holy Grail. Sir Thomas Malory’s fifteenth-century masterpiece Mortem D’Arthur is no doubt the prime and most comprehensive source of stories of the legendary British King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, although these narratives have been constantly reworked and retold down the centuries to the present day. Alfred Lord Tennyson’s Idylls of the King, composed during a period of considerable 19th century nostalgia for an alleged pre-industrial golden age of romance and chivalry, has also been an enduring and influential source of Arthurian themes, and modern fictional and cinematic reworking of the Arthurian legends appear to have drawn as often upon Tennyson as on Malory. The extent to which the Round Table stories constitute a single unified narrative turns mainly on the interweaving of three main themes or motifs. First, there is what might be called the mythic or heroic narrative which focuses mainly upon the struggle of good against evil in an enchanted world of dragons, wizards, shape-shifting and magical swords in lakes and stones. Secondly, there is the religious or spiritual narrative of the quest for the Holy Grail, which is the ultimate redemptive goal of the human souls of Logres, Camelot and the Roundtable. Thirdly, however, there is what we may call the human or interpersonal narrative which centers mainly upon the vexed and more worldly relationship of King Arthur, Queen Guinevere and her lover the ‘first knight’ Sir Lancelot—though such more shadowy figures as the sorcerer Merlin, the enchantress Morgan, Arthur’s evil son and nephew Sir Mordred are also implicated in this particular drama. Although what we have called the mythic aspect of the Arthurian legend is by no means devoid of real philosophical and psychological interest, not least to scholars operating at the rich interfaces of theology, anthropology and depth psychology, present interest in the Arthurian legends must lie mainly in the moral and spiritual crises and tensions which arise in the spaces between the spiritual and interpersonal narratives. The Holy Grail constitutes the ultimate moral and spiritual benchmark of the world of Arthur, the final ‘horizon of significance’ which all human struggles stands to be judged, the quest for the Grail by the often less than perfect companions of the Round Table is a prime site of that eternal conflict between truth and inspiration which is regarded as the very essence of tragedy—and it is arguably the quest for the Grail, more than the machinations of Morgan and Mordred, which ultimately proves to be one test too many for the fellowship of Camelot. It is the Grail then that ultimately defines for good or ill the often complex characters of Arthurian narrative. (Waite, 1993) How the Arthurian complex is linked with the Grail One of the most prominent motifs which involve the Arthurian Legend is the Quest for the Holy Grail. The pursuit for a heavenly vessel was a popular theme in Arthurian legend. Most Arthurian text draws on Robert de Boron’s Joseph and the more popular works of Chretien de Troyes in the mid to late 12th-century. The story revolves around a virtuous knight that is Percival or Galahad, who ventured forth in the quest of the Holy Grail. The Grail was further sanctified by catching a few drops of the Jesus’ blood in it during his crucifixion, and later brought to England by Joseph In the medieval romantic era, not even Lancelot was able to achieve the Grail and it was only the most pious and the best of all the knights, Galahad who had the virtue to actually attain the Grail. This inspirational Christian myth has its roots deeply ingrained in the ancient Arthurian legend. (Devoss) Arthur seems to exist as a mythical or spiritual archetype that moves in a larger than life allegorical world of moonshine, magic and monsters: as the ‘the hero with a thousand faces’ he represents the hazards, trials and tribulations of everyman and hence of no man in particular. Arthur is therefore himself both more than a character and less than a character, which may well explain the trouble that some versions of the legend seem to have had in offering a well-drawn human portrait of him. Beyond Arthur, however, the Arthurian romances are teeming with colorful, boldly drawn and greatly contrasting characters: the effortless but driven confidence and superiority of Sir Lancelot; the lusty impetuosity of Sir Gawaine; the twisted malevolence of Sir Mordred; the patience and humility of Sir Gareth; the morbid despondency of Sir Geraint; the artless innocence and simplicity of Sir Percival; the earthy no-nonsense honesty of Sir Bors; the vindictive self-importance of Sir Kay; and so on. To these, of course, we should in any full consideration of Arthurian character, add the many strong portrayals of female virtue and vice: the tormented passion of Guinevere; the ambitious scheming of Morgan; the obsessive fidelity of Elaine. It is almost certain that any straw poll of the key players of the Round Table stories would—after or along with Arthur, Guinevere or Merlin—identify Sir Lancelot as the most central and compelling Arthurian character. (Chardonnes)In this light, we might first look at the characters of the three knights Sir Galahad, Sir Percival and Sir Bors who actually succeed in their quest for the Holy Grail. Although Sir Galahad, Sir Bors and Sir Percival experience the temptations of other men, their desires and inclinations are refined or cultivated to the extent that any dishonorable conduct is simply unthinkable to them, and they do not therefore experience the continent agent’s struggle with ambivalence. Still, the Grail knights are in their different ways virtuous, and it is proof of their virtue that they are successful in their quest for the Grail. By the same token, however, those who do not achieve the Grail, fail because they are less than virtuous—and this, among others, includes those such as Sir Lancelot and Sir Gawaine who are regarded as the greatest Knights of the Round Table. Clearly, moreover, since the most significant lack of success seems to be that of Sir Lancelot, we need to ask why Arthur’s first knight fails. (boron) Percival: Noble parentage, Percival arrives at the court under the wing of Sir Lancelot very much as a head of nature reared in the wilderness. Although, like Sir Galahad, Sir Percival is touched with genuine holiness, the goodness he radiates is largely spontaneous and uncultivated, he acts from the basic impulses of a naturally open-heart, and the undeniable reasonableness of his virtue seems nevertheless to lack the contemplative or visionary dimension of Sir Galahad’s. (Brittania) He had been brought up by his mother in her forest for fifteen years thus he was ignorant of the human customs and traditions. He decided to join the king’s knights when he chanced upon some in the forest. Due to his secluded life in the forest, he was unable to comprehend the true nature of things. Most of the time, he misunderstood the advices which were given to him, for example he misunderstood her mother’s advice about winning honor and gaining a lady’s love and mistakenly forced a damsel into kissing him which bore harsh long-lasting effects. However his most important mistake was in conceiving the advice of the Arthur’s government in the wrong manner. The officials and knights advised him not to be so open and talkative as it would be foolish for his well-being. He misinterpreted the advice in the way that he kept quiet when he saw the Grail and the bleeding lance before his eyes at the fisher king’s castle. He had lost the opportunity to gain access to the Grail and realize its true nature. For five years, he repented for his mistake but his chance was lost and he remained empty-handed. (Sangreal in Arthurian legend) Lancelot: On the face of it, Sir Lancelot is the very embodiment of the virtues of nobility, chivalry, justice and courage which characterize Arthurian knighthood: although he is absolutely unbeatable in battle. Lancelot was the bravest of all knights and played a major role in the Grail story in the Arthurian complex. In spite of his famed feats and bravery, he was unable to succeed in the Grail quest. Queen Guinevere who was betrothed to King Arthur was famous for her beauty. The reason most often indicated for Sir Lancelot’s failure is that he harbors in his heart the sin of an adulterous love for Arthur’s queen Guinevere. Her charms seduced the brave Lancelot and he fell deep in love with her and made love with her out of marriage. This was seen as a heinous sin and caused serious conflicts in the round table. But this was his sin of adultery which denied Lancelot the success in the grail quest. The bravery and chivalry of Lancelot was only superficial and worldly as much of his valor was due to her devotion to Guinevere rather than for the Grail. If his intentions had been noble like that of Galahad, he might have succeeded in the Grail quest. He is nevertheless second to none in his charity and generosity to those less well placed or favored, and is invariably first to rise to the defense—usually in face of the boorish bullying of the court seneschal Sir Kay—of those such as Sir Percival and Sir Gareth who pursue humbler routes into the Round Table fellowship.. As the ultimate horizon of Arthurian significance and benchmark of Round Table virtue, the Holy Grail is vouchsafed only to those who have proven themselves undisputedly to be worthy, and Sir Lancelot—regarded in terms of worldly values and aspirations as the noblest of the Arthurian fellowship—is judged to be unworthy. . The Grail, on the other hand, is the ultimate symbol of humiliation, of the God who is able to face the final test of self-doubt and universal rejection on the cross. (Mystical world wide web) Galahad: Galahad was the son of Lancelot and rose to become another of the Grail knight. Galahad had been compared symbolically to the lion whereas Lancelot is signified as a leopard; a story in which the lion would surpass the leopard. Galahad is the only knight of the Round Table who succeeded in achieving the Grail. Galahad is the true soldier of Christ who unlike his fellow knights dispatches his enemies only from necessity, never out of malice or vainglory, and his life is characterized by an uncompromising Platonic-Christian search for the ultimate vision of the good. Lancelot drew his bravery from the love of his world and the love of his life Guinevere, while his son Galahad inspired his chivalry from the spiritual love. In his unswerving imitation of Christ, Sir Galahad ultimately achieves the virtue of God as man in Christ, and thus—with nothing more for a Christian soul to achieve—he is more or less assumed into heaven in a state of beatitude. Galahad healed the maimed king through the Grail and upon the commandments of Jesus, brought the Grail to Sarras. Before his death, Galahad was bestowed the honor to know the last secrets of the Grail and with that he was taken to the heavens. His spiritual purity and love for Jesus had no parallel and this was the reason why the Grail and lance vanished from the earth after his death. (Collens, 2009) The study and subject of the Grail still remains to be of immense interest for writers and researchers alike. The work started by Chrétien de Troyes has been continued by many writers, all explaining the myths and legends regarding the legendary object. The subject has been broached by many writers but the historical origins of the chalice have not yet been confirmed. It is even said by critics that Troyes story was fake and self made but the truth is all of Troyes’ works were based on non-fiction and historical account and the story of the Holy Grail is so deeply rooted in the Christian mythology that it is too hard to ignore its reality. The greatest contribution to the Holy Grail legend was made in the Arthurian complex and even after so much struggle, researches, writings the true nature and story of the Grail remains a mystery to be solved. Works Cited boron, R. d. Joseph d'Arimathie. Brittania. (n.d.). The Holy Grail. Retrieved May 27, 2009, from http://www.britannia.com/history/arthur/grail.html Chardonnes. Grail legend in modern literature. Taylor and Francis. Collens, P. (2009). Servants of the Grail. O books. Devoss, T. (n.d.). The Celtic Origins of Arthurian Legends. Retrieved May 27, 2009, from http://tomdevoss.www2.50megs.com/celticorigins.htm Mystical world wide web. (n.d.). The Holy Grail. Retrieved May 27, 2009, from Mystical WWW: http://www.mystical-www.co.uk/grail/index.htm Sangreal in Arthurian legend. (n.d.). Retrieved May 27, 2009, from http://www.arthurian-legend.com/more-about/more-about-arthur-4.php Troyes, C. d. Perceval, The Story of the Grail’. Waite, A. E. (1993). The Holy Grail: The Galahad Quest in the Arthurian Literature. Kessinger Publishing. Read More