The Legend of Sir Lancelot du Lac

173

On p. 200 of the Studies there is a mistake. Dr. Sommer speaks of the fight between Bors and Perceval and their healing by the Grail. It should, of course, be Hector, not Bors. We may note here that in this instance the Grail is stated to be the dish out of which Our Lord ate the Paschal lamb in the house of Simon the Leper; there is no mention of its containing the Blood of Christ, or of its being borne by a maiden as in M.

174

There is no mention of Balyn's sword: this is clearly an interpolation of M.

175

This passage throws into strong relief the absolute unreality of the Galahad Queste. The hero knows all about the Grail, its keeper, where it is to be found, his own relation to it. He has grown up under its shadow as it were. Nor need he fulfil any test to gain it: in all the records of his adventures there is no temptation such as that undergone by Perceval or Bohort; he is as fit to become keeper of the Grail (for this and not Grail-King he practically becomes) when he leaves Arthur's court as when he finally, after a series of aimless adventures, arrives at Corbenic. Contrast this with the earlier versions: the hero knows nothing of the Grail; not till after he has beheld the Talisman and failed to accomplish the necessary test does he even hear the name; when he would make amends for his negligence he can no longer find the castle, and not till he has proved himself worthy through long-continued trial is the opportunity once lost again offered to him. Neither do the inhabitants of the Grail Castle know their deliverer; they hope that it may be he, since they believe none other might find the way, but they do not know him, whereas Galahad is well known to the dwellers in Corbenic.

176

Dr. Sommer's description of the swearing of the questers, on p. 210 of the Studies, is utterly wrong. In every version Arthur calls on Gawain to swear first, when Baudemagus interposes, saying that he who is to achieve the quest should be the first to swear. Consequently Galahad swears first, and is followed by Lancelot, Gawain, Perceval, Bohort, Lionel and Hélie le Blank. Baudemagus is in no instance the first to swear.

177

Dr. Sommer's summary is again misleading, and entirely misrepresents the general character of the incident.

178

Studies, p. 212.

179

Cf. Dr. Sommer's remark on p. 212. I cannot recall a single instance in which the equivalents to M. give any other reading.

180

On p. 212, Dr. Sommer states that Q. does not, at this point of the story, say what becomes of Perceval. This is wrong; Q. distinctly says he leaves Lancelot to return to the recluse.

181

In his summary of the conversation on p. 213, Dr. Sommer again misrepresents his text—all agree in saying that Perceval asks his aunt about his mother and 'parens,' not that the aunt asks Perceval!

182

The adventure of Perceval on the rock agrees closely with that of Mordrain in the Grand S. Graal. There also are two ships—in one a man who encourages, in the other a woman who tempts, him. In both cases the woman accuses the man of being an enchanter; in both her ship is covered with black silk, and she departs in a tempest. Cf. Hucher, Le S. Graal, vol. ii. pp. 354, et seq.

183

S. Graal, ii. p. 444.

184

As I said before, this may be due to the influence of Morien, but we must not overlook the fact that this poem certainly has some curious points of contact with the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach, which also knows of the hero (or more accurately here, his son) regaining his kingdom, which he also does in Perceval li Gallois.

185

The scribe of the original MS. may have had to condense on account of space here, which is contrary to the usual practice of 1533; but in a printed edition it is not easy to decide the real value and significance of such omissions.

186

1533 ten, representing the number as thirteen, Galahad taking the place of Our Lord. This is a point on which we might expect to find different readings, according as the compiler held, or did not hold, Judas to have been present at the Institution—a question on which a difference of opinion has always existed.

187

This is the passage to which I referred in connection with the Yvain sources, p. 76. This son of King Claudas is, no doubt, the same who played such a valiant part in the war between Lancelot and his father, related at great length in the Lancelot.

188

This arrival of the nine knights at the Grail Castle, and their share in the Grail revelation, is a striking proof of the unreality of the Galahad Queste quâ quest, on which I have remarked elsewhere. Who are these knights? What claim have they to be admitted to a feast so holy that even King Pelles and his son are excluded? Practically they are as much achievers of the Quest as Galahad himself. The fact is the writer is so taken up with the religious symbolism of the relic that in exaggerating and insisting on symbolic details he loses sight of the real point of his story. I very much doubt whether any one but the Grail Winner himself ought to reach, or was ever contemplated as reaching, the Grail Castle, much less be witness of the full explanation of the relic. To this it may be objected that Gawain reaches it; but Gawain was certainly at one time looked upon as the Grail Winner, and I believe it is only in this character that he ever found the castle. The accessibility of Corbenic is a very weak point of the Galahad Queste.

189

I cannot agree with M. Gaston Paris's suggestion that this passage, which he takes as part of the Mort Artur, refers to an earlier Queste redaction. A Queste giving a full account of the fate of so many of the knights engaged would be of portentous length, and there is absolutely no sign of this Galahad Queste having existed in another form. I regard it as a summing up, by the author, of the general results of the expedition, a postscriptum which enabled him to have a final fling at his bête-noire Gawain. The addition of Baudemagus's name may have been his work, or that of a copyist, and designed to give point to his accusation. Whether the tradition that he should be killed by Gawain arose from this passage, or was incorporated in the Merlin from another source we cannot say. The Baudemagus tradition demands study. In the Merlin he is represented as but six years older than Gawain, whose dearest friend he is, but in the Charrette he appears as quite an old man, whose son, Meleagant, is the contemporary of Gawain and Lancelot; while in the prose Lancelot and Queste he appears as the devoted friend of the family of King Ban, sharing the adventures of these young knights on an equal footing. The whole presentment is hopelessly confused. The frequent reference to the Arthurian records, as kept in the 'almeryes' at Salisbury, appears to me to be a parallel case to the allusions in the Charlemagne Romances to the records at S. Denys. I suspect there is as much, or as little, truth in the one ascription as in the other.

190

Cf. Studies, p. 214. Dr. Sommer uses as an argument for this the difference of spelling in the name of Corbenic, but this proves nothing. D. L. has at least four ways of spelling this word, and sometimes a variant occurs in the space of a few lines. The general character of the name is always preserved, and in MSS. that have been frequently copied, to say nothing of printed, the substitution of one letter for another is too frequent to call for remark.

191

Dr. Wechssler in his Lancelot study announces solemnly, 'So viel aber steht für uns fest, dass Malorys Quelle für sein sechstes Buch nicht die Branche eines Cyklus, sondern ein selbständiges Originalwerk gewesen ist' (Gral-Lancelot, p. 35). But we now see it was beyond any doubt part of a cyclic work.

192

Cf. Appendix, p. 237.

193

I take this opportunity of strongly protesting against the tone assumed by Professor Foerster on the question of Malory. He has not himself examined the question of the sources, but has simply accepted all Dr. Sommer's far too hasty and inadequately founded conclusions. When he says, on p. lxv. of the Charrette, 'Der überall seine Quellen und zwar nur seine Quellen und obendrein noch treu wiedergebende Malory ist ein Phantasiegeschöpf der Walliser und Engländer,' he is simply dogmatising in an unwarrantable manner on a question with regard to which he has no locus standi. Exaggerated as the statement is, and is meant to be, it is infinitely nearer the truth than are many of Professor Foerster's own hypotheses.

194

Cf. Appendix, p. 241.

195

The passage quoted by Dr. Wechssler (Gral-Lancelot, p. 60, et seq.), and which he considers belongs to an earlier version of the Queste, is manifestly only a condensed variant of the ordinary Queste into which an allusion to Tristan and Pallamedes has been clumsily introduced.

196

This seems to point to the fact that the Agravain section of the Lancelot is that which offers the most important variants, and is the most likely to reward the careful critic. The final section is practically based upon a romance foreign to the original Lancelot story, and which has been incorporated into it; consequently we may expect to find all the versions in pretty general agreement as regards the Mort Artur proper.

197

Cf. Studies, p. 220.

198

Cf. Appendix, p. 237.

199

Referred to in future as M. A.

200

As I have said before, there can be no doubt which of the two is the prototype of Gareth; also, subsequent study has shown me that, outside the Lancelot proper and the romances which have been modified for cyclic purposes, we rarely find any mention of Guerresches, whereas we often meet with Gariët. I am strongly of opinion that originally the two characters were one, and that in that earlier form the knight was Gaheriet or Gariët.

201

Studies, p. 254.

202

Throughout this section it must be borne in mind that S. systematically replaces the Guerresches of his text by Gaheriet. This latter sides throughout with Gawain.

203

It is of course possible that a negative may have dropped out here.

204

On p. 260, Dr. Sommer makes a strange mistake. We are told that Bohort fights against Ywain; to this Dr. Sommer appends a note of exclamation, and a footnote to the effect that Ywain has already been killed by Gawain, as related in the Queste. Of course it was not the 'Chevalier au Lion,' but his bastard half-brother, 'Yvain li avoutres,' who was slain on that occasion. The text of Q. is quite clear.

205

On p. 261, Dr. Sommer again falls into a curious error of identity. We are told that King Karados assists at the council between Arthur, Lancelot, and Gawain, when the fight is determined upon. Dr. Sommer reminds us in a note that Karados had been previously slain by Lancelot! That was, of course, the giant of that name, brother to Turquine; this is the famous Karados 'Brief-bras,' sometimes regarded as Arthur's nephew. Dr. Sommer's apparent lack of familiarity with the minor characters of the Arthurian cycle is inexplicable.

206

On p. 263 the parallel passages quoted from M. and the English M. A. make mention of Baudemagus as one of Lancelot's councillors, whereas at the end of the Queste his death at the hand of Gawain is recorded. Cf. this with my remarks on the Baudemagus legend, p. 184. I do not think this story of his death was a genuine part of the cyclic Lancelot, but belonged to another line of tradition known to the author of Q. from the Merlin Suite, and unintelligently quoted by him. This, which is a real discrepancy, as there is but one Baudemagus, Dr. Sommer does not remark upon!

207

Cf. chap. i. p. 5.

208

(a) chap. ii., the Lanzelet of Ulrich von Zatzikhoven; (b) chaps. iii. and iv., Le cerf au pied blanc, Le Chevalier de la Charrette; (c) chaps. vi., vii., and viii., the prose Lancelot.

209

Cf. chap. vii., The loves of Lancelot and Guinevere.

210

Cf. pp. 97, 124, 129.

211

I do not here intend to imply any opinion as to the original nature of the Grail, only to refer to the undoubted fact that as connected with Perceval it is more or less religious in character.

212

Dr. Sommer's study on Malory is a case in point. It is a work of great extent, carried out with the most painstaking perseverance, yet because he omitted to consult such accessible texts as the Dutch translation and the Bodleian Lancelot, and assumed the general unanimity of the printed versions, a very important section of his work is largely deprived of value, and urgently requires revision.

213

The parallel with the edition of 1533 begins vol. ii. fo. xxxix.; with the abstract of M. Paulin Paris, vol. v. chap. cxxii. That is, somewhat earlier than the beginning of the Agravain section proper.

214

Is this perhaps the Sir Marrok of the were-wolf story?—M., Book XIX. chap. ix.; also vol. iii. of Arthurian Romances Unrepresented in Malory.

215

D. L. always has the form Walewein.

216

This name is spelt Hestore throughout. On the whole the spelling of proper names in D. L. is very erratic, and varies greatly.

217

This adventure of the Perilous Cemetery is one of the 'cross-references' to which I have referred earlier. It is mentioned both in G. S. Graal and Queste. The wording here is not very clear, but it does not, I think, mean that Lancelot has already failed in the Grail adventure, but that he shall come to the cemetery after he has failed; which is fulfilled in Queste. At the same time we must remember that in Perceval li Gallois, which knows nothing of Galahad or the Queste, Lancelot fails for the same reason, and more completely, as the Grail does not appear at all in his presence, so this may refer to the earlier story.

218

It may be noted that Chrétien knows nothing of a dove connected with the Grail, whereas Wolfram does.

219

I have before remarked on the uncertain spelling of this name in D. L., the above is the more usual form.

220

From this it appears that Gawain's failure at the Grail castle was in no way due to any defect of character, but to his omission of the reverence due to the Grail, of the sacrosanct nature of which he was ignorant. This explanation appears to me to be peculiar to the Lancelot version, which otherwise, as I have pointed out, regards Gawain with great respect.

221

Certain details in this adventure recall that of the 'Joie de la court' in Erec.

222

I think this is probably the explanation of A.'s vision, when he sees G. after death surrounded by the souls of poor men 'who have helped G. to conquer the heavenly kingdom.' Cf. Sommer, Studies, p. 266.

223

These passages illustrate the difficulty previously referred to, of identifying the original of Gareth. I believe it can only be done by comparing the parallel adventures in M. and his source.

224

In the account of the final battle all versions I have consulted give one hundred thousand on each side killed; the above is much more reasonable.

225

There is a lacuna of a few lines here in D. L., so this may well have been in the text.

226

This adventure of Ywein and the giant's shield should be compared with Meraugis de Portlesguez, ll. 1418 et seq. There lady has taken dwarf's horse; and it is the eye, not the hand, which the messenger loses. I believe the above to be the older version, as, though L'Outredotez is always spoken of as a knight simply, Meraugis once refers to him as a giant, which must have come from another version.

227

This appears to be a reminiscence of Merlin and Vivienne. Cf. Merlin, Sommer's ed., chap. xix.

228

Cf. this with Studies, p. 186; also remarks, supra, p. 153.

229

It is quite possible that we have here the story of Urre of Hungary, which may well have been given at greater length in one of the Lancelot MSS. Also the source of Malory's version of Lancelot being wounded by a maiden, Book XVIII. chap. xxii., where the prose Lancelot gives one of his squires.

230

M. Paulin Paris omits this adventure in his summary, which only records the Lancelot sections. It is thus apparently lacking in the MS. used.

231

This is one of the adventures referred to previously, cf. pp. 137-139, Grand S. Graal, vol. iii. p. 303 et seq. It is worth noting that it is only in the passages parallel to Grand S. Graal that L.'s relations with queen are spoken of as sinful.

232

This does not fit in with indications of story, which would place Galahad's birth considerably earlier, L.'s visit to Corbenic being some two or three years previous.

233

All this section of Lancelot's adventures, from his meeting with Sarras of Logres, differs very much from M. Paulin Paris's summary. Cf. Romans de la Table Ronde, v. p. 322 seq.