Explorations in Arthurian
Legends
A Literature Review
Part 3: The Vulgate Cycle
The Vulgate Cycle is a masterpiece of medieval
literature. Eight vast volumes comprising five branches give us the
whole Arthurian story as we know it for the first time ever. Scholars
believe that the outline for the cycle was the work of one man but
that several authors wrote the works.
Presented in prose, the Vulgate stories make the
tragic love of Lancelot
and Guinevere
a crucial element of the downfall of Arthur's kingdom and his
Round
Table. Also here in great bas-relief is
the idea of the conflict between personal and public
loyalty.
- The first section is an elaboration of
Robert
de Boron's history of the
Holy
Grail, ending in the securing of the
Grail in Castle Corbenic, in the hands of King Pelles, Lancelot's
grandfather.
- Following Robert again, the second section
focuses on Merlin--his
efforts to further the cause of Uther
and the birth of Arthur, his efforts on Arthur's behalf in the
early years of Arthur's reign, etc. But Merlin is spirited away by
Nimue,
imprisoned under a rock. Arthur is forced to go it without his
favorite advisor.
Section three, the Prose
Lancelot, covers a wealth of adventures&emdash;not
just Lancelot and not just Arthur's court. Foreshadowing
future events comes into play many times throughout these
stories, especially at Lancelot's knighting: Arthur
forgets to gird on Lancelot's sword and Guinevere does
it, forming a formal feudal bond between bond that is
soon reinforced by love. The tale then follows
Chretien
in telling of the abduction of Guinevere and her rescue
(of course) by Lancelot, after which he is called on in
all manner of situations to do his knightly duties. In
the course of these adventures, Lancelot is seduced by
the daughter of king Pelles, keeper of the Grail; the
result of this tryst is Galahad.
Marvels ensue that foreshadow the realization that
Lancelot is no longer the greatest knight of the world.
The reason? His unchastity. Why does Galahad supplant
him? He is pure.
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The fourth section is The Quest for
the Holy Grail. This tale shows that the Round Table
and the Grail are inextricably linked and that the
achievement of the Grail quest is to be the spiritual
high water mark of Arthur's rule. The Grail appears at
Arthur's court at Pentecost, on the same day that Galahad
arrives at court and passes the test of the
Siege
Perilous, the seat at the
Round Table that is destined to slay anyone who is not
destined to sit in it and achieve the Grail Quest.
The Vulgate Quest, unlike
Robert's and Chretien's tales, focuses on the failures of
Lancelot and Gawain much more than on the success of
Galahad, Perceval,
and Bors.
No longer are the more worldy knights (Lancelot and
Gawain being the supreme examples), masters at arms and
chivalry and courtly love held up to be the icons of the
Arthurian brotherhood. Now, that honor belongs to the
knights spiritual enough to make the Grail Quest a
worthwhile pursuit. The knights are now judged on how
nearly they approach sainthood. In the hands of the
Vulgate writers, the realization of the Grail Quest is
entirely spiritual in nature. Galahad and Perceval pass
almost into another plane of existence, leaving Bors, who
has seen the Grail himself, to carry the message of the
successful quest back to Arthur's court.
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The last section, The Death of the
King Arthur, is a spiritual slippery slope. Echoes of
the unimportance of worldly deeds coupled with the
preeminence of spiritual well-being abound and are
typified by Lancelot, who, though he achieves a partial
vision of the Grail, suffers in the end for his spiritual
shortcomings. He it is who breaks the bonds of the Round
Table by rescuing Guinevere from certain death and lays
open Arthur's command structure for the taking by
Mordred.
Earlier stories had mentioned this sort of thing, going
all the way back to Geoffrey of Monmouth. But the Vulgate
authors for the first time say Mordred was Arthur's son,
the result of an adulterous tryst. So, too, is Arthur
condemned by his sin. After the great battle, Arthur is
buried at the Noire Chapelle; at his coffin the knights
gather and seek repentance. For Lancelot, especially, it
is too late. He dies a spiritually empty man. With that,
the Cycle ends.
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The Vulgate Cycle makes Lancelot the main
character, but Arthur it is who draws the whole of the works
together. The Round Table, for the first time, is a means of righting
wrongs and combating evil. The Knights of the Round Table are on a
mission to do good. This mission gives the Table an overall purpose,
until now an element not found in Arthurian stories. The story of the
downfall of Arthur, a tragic figure of epic proportions, now has a
focus: The Knights of the Round Table seeking the Holy Grail. Set
against the backdrop of a quest for spiritualism, the sins of Arthur
and Lancelot and Guinevere and Mordred stand in stark relief while
the goodness of Galahad and Perceval shine supreme.
At the same time, these characters are vividly
human. They have passions that they cannot control, they make
mistakes, they share dreams, they have faults that are laid bare by
their failures, they live and breathe the ideals of the times of the
Vulgate authors.
Lest we think that the English and French have a
monopoly on Arthurian storytelling, let us examine two highly
importand and enjoyable German writers: Wolfram
and Gottfried.
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