THE STORY OF THE GRAIL - Essay Example

THE STORY OF THE GRAIL Introduction The life of a knight is retold in Perceval; or, The Story of the Grail. This Arthurian tale has a thematic foundation as the knight searches for the Holy Grail. Perceval‘s journey starts from Wales which is his home. He leaves his mother who has raised him in ignorance of the chivalry of the world around him; this young Welshman travels to find the court of King Arthur. His desire is to be knighted. In a journey that is filled with a lot of adventure, Perceval meets with an older knight who trains him on how to use his newly acquired weapons. He is called Gornemant of Gohort. He tells Perceval to tame his tongue in future. In his travels he also meets his cousin who informs him of his mother’s death from a broken heart. He also encounters his Hermit Uncle in a forest who demystifies the golden grail. He has seen this grail earlier in the manor of a Fisher King he has met in his travels. There are several themes that are advanced in this myth, and this essay aims at examining aspects of this myth to give answers to some questions. Topic 1 From the story of Perceval and the grail, the characteristics of the medieval society may be deduced. One of the aspects revealed of this society is that it was largely religious. It is also clear that the medieval society highly regarded family values. Virtue was also esteemed in the medieval society, as the myth illustrates. These are traits that are brought out by different characters, and events in the tale. The religious nature of this society comes up in several instances. When Perceval encounters Gornemant, one of the things Gornemant advices him to do is to go to church. Gornemant is the gentleman who teaches him the appropriate conduct of a knight. This indicates that the knight is not only concerned with fighting, but also has a spiritual life. Spirituality of the medieval society also comes out when Perceval lodges at the house of the Fisher King. The father of his host is sustained by eating a single mass of wafers each day (Troyes and Cline). Perceval also has an uncle who is a hermit and lives in the forest where he communes with God. It is here that Perceval says the only prayer he knows, one that his mother taught him. He learnt this prayer as a boy, showing that religion takes a vital position in this society. Children are taught the basics of religion from a tender age. The importance of family is revealed severally in this myth. When Perceval meets his cousin weeping under an oak tree, he is concerned about her. His cousin is weeping holding a knight with a chopped head. The one responsible is another knight. He offers to pursue the knight who killed his cousin’s lover, meaning that family is vital to him. Perceval’s mother is also buried before the altar of the hermit, since she was a relation to him by virtue of being married to his brother. Virtue is also an essential part of the society, and people were guided by honour. The maiden who Perceval forces a kiss from is suspected of infidelity by her lover. He then forces her to walk naked as a way of shaming her. This reveals that infidelity was intolerable to the people of that age. When Perceval encounters Blancheflor by coincidence, she relates her encounters. Blancheflor is Gormenant’s niece, and her followers are weak due to famine and hunger (Troyes and Cline). Many of her men have also been attacked and taken away by the evil knight of Clamadeu. Since she is a leader, she has vowed that she would kill herself before letting Clamadeu take her. This is the character of a leader; fighting to the very end. Topic 2 Diana L. Paxon is of the view that the story of the grail is about the search of deeper meaning in life, or its significance. This notion she has on life is true of the scenario as it is in real life. While at the house of the Fisher King, Perceval notices a procession that serves the lord of that castle. He is a man with greying hair, and unable to stand. The items that are brought in by the people walking in makes him want to question, but he holds his tongue. He refrains from asking who is being served by the grail. He also does not ask Fisher King what he ails from that makes him unable to walk. Though Perceval is inquisitive by nature, he does not ask these questions because of advice from Gornemant not to be too talkative (Troyes and Cline). Here, it is evident that the things that people are told in life significantly influence their actions. Perceval later learns from the hermit that the sin he commits by leaving his mother alone is what prevented him from questioning the Fisher King. He then promises to go back and find out the answers to these questions. This signifies a man who desires to find out the truth; his earlier shortfall notwithstanding. Another person who illustrates that life is about seeking deeper meaning is the hermit. He spends his life in the woods where he worships God. This is the path that he follows in life, and it is what keeps him occupied. Meaning for him comes from God, and the communion he has with Him. This is the same belief that he instils in his nephew, Perceval. Gawain when left alone with a certain maiden whose father he had killed, a vavasour attacks him. Excalibur is ready to assist him in this fight, but the fight is stopped for having been started prematurely (Troyes and Cline). The fight is postponed for a year. Gawain accepts this suggestion and during this period he sets out to find the lance belonging to the Fisher King. This lance is of immense significance since it is believed that it will destroy the Logres kingdom. Accomplishing this feat will bring considerable meaning into his life, even when he returns to fight this battle that has been postponed. Topic 4 The first image in my view depicts the mysterious grail that Perceval sees while at the manor of the Fisher king. From the description of the grail, it is golden, and bejewelled (Troyes and Cline). The grail is further described to be a large serving platter that is somewhat deep. This is the appearance of the object in the picture. This grail is used to serve the Fisher King’s father with mass wafers for his sustenance. Perceval’s Hermit Uncle is the one who reveals these facts to Perceval. He also tells Perceval that the grail is a holy object. These traits of the grail are artistically portrayed in the picture. The colour is evidently golden, as the material it is made of. The golden wine glass similar to the one communion is served from indicates its holy nature. This is to show that these two objects are holy, and they bring with them sustenance. The platter is glowing because of the contents. The second image is that of ten people seated on a round table with one of them the seeming head. This image consists of males who in my opinion formed the councils that governed during the medieval age. The kings during this age consulted with several other people of reputable standing in the society. Such seems to be the case in this picture. The man at the head seems to be the leader and others like the last two men on the right are consulting with one another. The third image indicates a procession of people marching into a large house. This is presumably the people who visit the Fisher King’s manor on the night that Perceval lodges there (Troyes and Cline). Several squires enter carrying different items. There is one which is carrying a white lance that oozes blood from the tip, another with candelabra, and two maidens. There is also a table that is set in white. This, in my opinion, is the ivory table at which the procession dines in the manor. On it, there are objects that resemble a platter, and a knife that will be used for carving. In addition to the setting of a seemingly dining table, there is an armoured man on a horse handing another a sword. This should be one of the squires who come with a sword whose blade is engraved. The sword has been sent to Perceval from the lord’s niece. Work Cited Troyes, Chretien de na Ruth Harwood Cline. Perceval, Or, The Story of the Grail. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1985. Print. Read More