Lancelot-Grail: The Old French Arthurian Vulgate and Post-Vulgate in Translation, Volume 1: The History of the Holy Grail

Lancelot-Grail Cycle #1

by Norris J. Lacy, Carol Chase (Translator)

The revised version of The Quest of the Holy Grail gives a greater role to Perceval, and introduces a number of knights not found in the Vulgate; but the largest change is that much of the story of Tristan (and of his rival Palamedes) is incorporated into the story. The achievement of the Grail quest centres on Galahad's healing of Pellehan, which has to be accomplished before the knights can reach the Grail itself. The Death of Arthur is little more than a relatively brief postscript, bringing the story of the adventures of the kingdom of Logres to an end; Lancelot and Guenevere are revealed as lovers, and Arthur fights both Lancelot and then the Romans. Despite this victory, he is betrayed and killed by Mordred, as has been foreshadowed from the outset of the new material. The romance ends with king Mark of Cornwall's death when he attempts to kill Lancelot and Bors at the hermitage to which they have retreated. For a full description of the Post-Vulgate Cycle see the blurb for the complete set.

Genres: Arthurian, Medieval, Fiction, Classics

339 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1992

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

[Nicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the Vulgate Cycle's status as one of the most important works of medieval Arthurian literature, this first book is not about Arthur himself. It focuses on the grail, and most specifically on the time just after Christ's death. How it wasn't considered wildly heretical, I don't really get. It retells parts of the Bible, interweaving it with stories of great conversions, and the kind of marvels you'd expect from a romance text. It does foreshadow the coming of Arthurian characters -- most often specifically Sir Galahad, although Arthur, Lancelot and the Orkney brothers are mentioned, and some of the others usually important during the grail quest. Some of the material is recognisable from Robert de Boron, but a lot has been added.

This edition is very carefully prepared, with notes on the translation on almost every page, along with a helpful and informative introduction. If you get the set, the final book holds chapter summaries and an index.

[The Smol Moth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just realized I forgot to add this when I read it a while back! I'm not sure I'd really recommend this particular volume unless you're super into medieval religious allegory (which apparently I was enough to enjoy this book), but the following volumes are more straight-up Arthurian and I really want to read them? Everything I've heard about the Vulgate has been really intriguing. I love obscure medieval stories, man.

[Lukerik · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘...lacks focus, rambles, gives you a headache, and puts you to sleep.’

Well I enjoyed it. Far better than any remake prequel deserves to be. It’s got magic underwear, amazing special effects, and a well-used sex doll. Good score. Too. You can hear the ‘dum dum daar’ when they discover the sex doll.

It’s basically a remake of Robert de Boron’s Joseph of Arimathea, but if you got the impression that Robert was running short on vellum, these guys have enough, more on the hoof, and ink to spare. It must be 10 times the length.

It’s obviously the work of multiple authors. This leads to some problems. The conception of how Christianity works changes across different sections. At the start God subjects himself to a human sacrifice to redeem humanity from Hell. All well and good, you might think. But then it appears not to have worked properly and apparently you have to have heard about what he did for it to take effect. Instead of just telling everyone, God hatches a sinister plan to tell just some people, which results in a war in which thousands of innocent lives are lost. These inconsistencies are a bit of a problem when your main character is literally God, and if I were to make the outrageous claim that this is literature I would expect some side-eye.

However, in the introduction she suggests that there was one controlling author who oversaw the compilation. I could well believe it. There are nice parallels between Joseph and the Grailites and the Moses and the Israelites that run across individual sections. There’s also the recurrent thing with the magic boats. I would question how good an artistic choice the latter was, but it was a choice.

All faults aside, it’s interesting, entertaining and highly imaginative. Well worth a go if you like King Arthur.

[Brooke Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whilst being a bit dated and confronting with the religious aspects, I've rated this 4 Stars as it was still a fascinating read that captures the views of the time period.

I am writing this review late at night so apologies if it isn't worded the best.

[Lillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much grail. Not enough Lancelot.