Lancelot-Grail: The Old French Arthurian Vulgate and Post-Vulgate in Translation, Volume 2: The Story of Merlin

Lancelot-Grail Cycle #2

by Norris J. Lacy (Editor), Rupert T. Pickens (Translator)

First Published in 1993. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Genres: Arthurian, Mythology

497 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1993

About the author

Norris J. Lacy (born 1940) is an American scholar focusing on French medieval literature. He is the Edwin Erle Sparks Professor Emeritus of French and Medieval Studies at the Pennsylvania State University. He is a leading expert on the Arthurian legend and has written and edited numerous books, papers, and articles on the topic. In 2014 the International Arthurian Society, North American Branch, presented him an award for Lifetime Service to Arthurian Studies.

He received his Ph.D. from Indiana University and has held teaching positions at the University of Kansas, the University of California, Los Angeles, and Washington University in St. Louis. He has served as president of the International Arthurian Society. With Geoffrey Ashe he wrote The Arthurian Handbook, and he edited The Arthurian Encyclopedia and its successor, The New Arthurian Encyclopedia, a standard reference book for Arthurian works. He also oversaw the first complete English translation of the French Vulgate and Post-Vulgate Cycles, released as the five-volume Lancelot-Grail: The Old French Arthurian Vulgate and Post-Vulgate in Translation.

Reviews

[The Smol Moth]

So I've heard Lancelot and Galehaut have very very queer vibes in the Vulgate. As do Lancelot and Gawain, apparently. Something something "find it remarkable, if you wish, but he will never be able to hate me so much that I stop loving him" something something "If God were to grant me my health, I’d immediately wish to be the most beautiful maiden in the world, happy and healthy, on condition that he would love me above all others, all his life and mine" (Gawain oh my god. Oh my god this is just such a gender and sexuality vibe.)

[Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book of this translation of the Vulgate Cycle focused on the Holy Grail, shortly after the death of Christ and onwards. That fades out, in this book, and it finally becomes about Arthuriana as we know it -- starting with the birth of Merlin, very much as in the work of Robert de Boron, and moving onto the birth of Arthur. I've read enough Arthurian texts by this point that I can't pinpoint the exact sources without some hefty comparison work I'm not willing to do at this point, but it does crib heavily from Robert de Boron. Obviously, the Cycle is pretty concerned with Christian matters, but much less so once we get onto Arthur.

There's a fair amount of this that I don't know from anywhere else -- for example, Gawainet and his brothers defending Camelot for Arthur while Arthur is away. For those who are fans of a heroic Gawain, the young Gawain here is very positively treated: a very good knight and a very good man, both.

The later sections of the book seem to me to come from Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia, and maybe the Bruts, along with some original material (or at least, some material whose source I'm not familiar with).

The translation seems to me to be good -- it's certainly readable, and like the first volume, there are footnotes commenting on the translations, and offering rationalisations for why things have been translated in a certain way.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHERE HAS THIS BEEN ALL MY LIFE! This is just a love story between Galehaut and Lancelot. It is not subtle. If you love mythology, Arthurian legend, and tragic romance in general, I would call Volume Two of the Vulgate Cycle a must.

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a complete English language translation (by Rupert T. Pickens) of "The Story of Merlin" (usually dated to after 1230), the second part (in volume order, not in composition order) of the 13th century prose "Lancelot-Grail (Vulgate) Cycle" (which also includes (i) "The Story of the Holy Grail", (iii) the massive prose "Lancelot", (iv) "The Quest of the Holy Grail", and (v) "The Death of Arthur". The Lacy edition in 10 volumes [of which this is vol 2] gives a complete translation of the Vulgate and Post-Vulgate Cycles: 1 Holy Grail, 2 Merlin, 3-5 Lancelot, 6 Quest of the Holy Grail, 7 Death of Arthur, 8-9 Post-Vulgate, 10 chapter summaries and index).

The text of this volume is based on the second volume of H.O. Sommer's old French edition of "The Vulgate Version of Arthurian Romances" (7 vols.) (his Merlin text is based on the c. 1317 manuscript "London, BL Add. 10292"), amended (where necessary) by reference to A. Micha's "Merlin, roman du XIIIe siècle" (in which the prose Merlin sections are based on the manuscript "Paris, BNF fr. 747").

The first 98 pages -- from the birth of Merlin to the crowning of Arthur -- correspond to the prose version of Robert de Boron's (today fragmentary, 500 verses remain) verse "Merlin". The 400 subsequent pages correspond to the Vulgate's "Merlin Continuation" (Suite Vulgate du Merlin) which serves as a bridge between the Merlin and Lancelot volumes.

The Boron/Merlin chapters have the standard elements of the Arthurian myth: the birth of Merlin, the creation of the round table and the "Siege Perilous", Uther Pendragon's relationship with Ygraine, the birth of Arthur, the sword in the stone.

The lengthy "continuation" explores such things as: (a) Arthur's conflicts with his rebellious vassals, (b) battles with the Saxons and battles with King Claudas, (3) the exploits of Arthur's nephews (Gawain, Yvain) and other knights/kings rallying to his side (including Lancelot's father and uncle), (4) Arthur's marriage to Guenevere (and mention of the "false" Guenevere), (5) the incestuous birth of Mordred, (6) news of the grail and prediction of the coming of Galahad, and (7) Merlin's love for and imprisonment by Viviane.... It ends with the birth of Lancelot (leading directly to the Lancelot volume). The accent in this section is primarily on war; adventurous elements like mysterious fountains, dwarves, maidens in tents, magical castles, fearsome creatures, etc. are almost non-existent (except in the last fifty pages).

Certain elements of the myth (such as the gift of Excalibur to Arthur by the Lady of the Lake) are not mentioned, as they are part of the "Post-Vulgate" Cycle (a major source for Mallory's "Le Morte d'Arthur"), and not of the Vulgate.

For the modern reader, there is much that is sociologically unusual or disconcerting (acceptance of adultery and rape by a lord of his vassal's wife, glorification of slaughter, obsession with perceived slights and discourteousness, etc.) Moreover, much of the "continuation" features endless, repetitive bloody battles and sieges with a constant enumeration of kings and knights, blows exchanged, severed heads and limbs, massacres of troops, plundering of the countryside... which, for modern readers, may often be tedious reading.

At the same time, the descriptions of the youthful adventures of sirs Gawain, Yvain, Kay, Agravain, etc. better establish those characters before their appearance in the long prose Lancelot. And throughout the book, there are the strange and funny appearances and machinations of the mischievous, ever-transforming Merlin who is dedicated to Arthur.

I love the fact that this ten volume complete English Vulgate / Post-Vulgate Norris Lacy edition exists (even if the price per volume - roughly $50 - is a little steep), but (after having read 2 volumes) there are things that frustrate me. The series feels "academic" and serious in its format, but lacks much that would make it the perfect academic "go-to". I would love to see in every volume: an index of characters and places, chapter summaries, genealogical trees for the major families, more discussion of the choice of text (and discussion of the variations/divergences between this manuscript tradition and others), a more elaborate introduction on texts/authorship/transmission, and (most importantly) more significant footnotes/endnotes. I feel that I'm constantly having to seek out secondary sources to answer my various questions on historical allusion or textual history (does this come from Wace? Geoffrey of Monmouth? Robert de Boron? Chrétien de Troyes? etc.). For example: one section says that Morgan the Fay marries one person, but 100 pages later the wife is changed; why isn't this mentioned in a footnote? In the same way, the reader could use footnotes explaining Merlin's allegorical prophecies or the narrator's allusions to events that will occur 1000s of pages later. In short: this is a solid step toward making the Lancelot-Grail accessible to a modern English-speaking audience, but falls short of being a scholarly edition.

[king bitchard 💜 · Rating 5 out of 5]

YES YES YES YESSSSS YESSSSSSSSSSSS

[Brooke Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a very long time to read but I enjoyed this book much more than I enjoyed the first. It felt like something truly epic.

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Galehaut🥹