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Chrétien De TroyesPerceval, the Story of the Grail
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1181A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Chivalry and the Meaning of Knighthood
Since Chrétien de Troyes served in the royal courts of medieval France, where the ideals of chivalry were developing into one of the most significant cultural features of the day, his poetry reflects that interest. The poem is thus preoccupied with the true nature and meaning of chivalry and knighthood.
The idea of knighthood is what motivates Perceval to begin his journey in the poem’s opening scene, as he encounters a group of knights and is starstruck by the concept of knighthood. Perceval describes the knights to his mother in glowing terms:
Have I not seen, this very day
the fairest beings on their way
through the wild forest? Fairer far
than God and all His angels are (391-94).
Chrétien’s text often uses “chivalry” as a synonym for “knighthood”—“an order made by God’s decree / and it was knighthood, chivalry” (1635-36)—but chivalry also sometimes carries a specific reference to the code of honor by which knights live. Perceval’s mother provides the first exposition of this code, which includes rescuing ladies in distress and remaining faithful in the duties and disciplines of the Christian religion. Gornemant of Gohort later adds more elements to that chivalric code, such as the expectations that a knight will be merciful to defeated opponents and will not be overly loquacious.
Perceval and Gawain both offer portraits of knighthood to the reader, one an inexperienced knight still learning the paths of chivalry, and the other a knight well-versed in the code of conduct expected of him. Though both knights have their failings (Perceval his ignorance, and Gawain his inflexible resolve to press on even in unwise or dangerous endeavors), they are sincere in their pursuit of the ideals of chivalry. Perceval grows in his understanding of those ideals throughout the text, and especially in his experience of spiritual penitence at the hermit’s abode. The mistakes he makes—which are abundant—are easily forgiven because of the cheerful sincerity with which Perceval continues to strive after the rules he has been given. Even when confronted with his failings, Perceval does not usually bemoan them, but simply resolves to do what he can to set them right, as when he has been told of his failure with regard to the grail. He declines to go on adventures like the other knights, committing himself instead to resolving the grail problem:
Perceval, unlike the knights
said that he would not lodge two nights
in one place
………………………………….
until he learned about the grail
and whom they served with it, nor fail
for any suffering or mischance (4727-37).
Gawain, meanwhile, is a mature and seasoned knight, who gets himself into many difficulties but unfailingly holds to the demands of chivalry and always finds his way through. It is possible that Chrétien, writing in a context in which his literary patron, the experienced statesman Count Philip, was serving as regent for the young Philp-Augustus, meant to provide two portraits of chivalric ideals matching the condition and experience of the two rulers. Chrétien also makes use of counterexamples along the way of knights whose behavior does not abide by the rules of chivalry, such as Kay and Greoreas. In this manner, the poem both explores the meaning of chivalry and successfully celebrates those who uphold its moral code.
The Significance of Questing
One of the main features of the life of a knight, as depicted by Chrétien, is the act of going out on quests. The centrality of questing to knighthood can be seen in the set of challenges laid out for Arthur’s knights by the woman who appears at his court after Perceval’s return:
The knight who’d do bold deeds and fair
won’t lack them if he seeks them there
The knight who seeks the greatest fame
the world around, for him I’ll name
the place, the strip of land within it
where such a warrior could win it
if there is anyone who’d dare (4699-4705).
Questing gives the knights opportunities both to test their prowess and to learn valuable lessons about themselves throughout the poem.
The stories of Perceval and Gawain are both structured around quests, with accompanying adventures that befall them along the way. A quest usually begins with a discernible goal, but the path toward the goal is seldom easy or straightforward. Perceval’s adventures come while he is engaged in three such quests: first, his attempt to seek King Arthur’s court and be made a knight; second, his resolution to return home and see what has happened to his mother; and third, his renewed attempt to find the answers to the grail question that he failed to ask on his first chance. Many other adventures come his way while he is progressing toward one or another of these goals, but the quests themselves provide the onward momentum of his story.
Similarly, Gawain’s adventures fall within the structure of two quests: first, his need to go to Escavalon to address the charge of treason made against him; and second, his quest to find the bleeding lance, during which he stumbles across the mysterious castle of Queen Ygerne. Such quests are undertaken for noble reasons, but there is no promise of success for the knights who undertake them. In fact, the text appears to suggest that misfortunes will multiply against a knight on a quest regardless of the knight’s ability or goodness, as can be seen in Gawain’s continual trials. Perceval’s mother gives voice to this pessimistic view in the book’s first scenes:
As many instances will show
misfortunes overtake the bold
and noble warriors who uphold
the codes of honor: wickedness
must flourish, shame and idleness
and yet the good must be brought low (428-33).
Questing thus becomes both a matter of physical prowess and emotional and mental endurance for the knights. The idea of questing would later become a dominant trope in Arthurian literature, with the quest for the grail—inspired, in large part, by Chrétien’s Perceval—taking a leading place in the literary canon.
Knowledge as the Key to Healing and Growth
The poem consistently elevates knowledge as the key to healing and growth for its knightly protagonists. As they undertake their various quests, both Perceval and Gawain not only prove their prowess, but become wiser and more knowledgeable men.
Perceval’s leading character trait is ignorance, especially in the early sections of the book, and it spreads harm in many instances. He is regularly called out as a fool in the opening scenes, and his lack of knowledge about the most basic facts of life underscore that assessment. His blind ignorance of his mother’s emotional condition leads to her death. If he had taken to heart the knowledge of his family members’ earlier fates—the deaths of his father and brothers, which she relates—he would have been more sensitive to his mother’s concerns, but his headstrong ignorance prevents him from understanding:
‘Of all my family, God left
no more to me except one boy
to gladden me and bring me joy.’
The youth was hardly listening (486-89).
His abandonment of his mother is later identified as the sin that turns fate against him, revealing the tragic consequences of a lack of knowledge.
Another example of Perceval’s ignorance comes from his misunderstanding of the rules of chivalry, which leads to devastating consequences for the young woman he finds sleeping in the tent while on his way to King Arthur’s court. The lack of knowledge, then, is presented early in the narrative as one of the main problems of the story. One case in point is the issue of names—Perceval’s mother advises the early exchange of names upon meeting another, yet most of the characters do not do this, and frequently remark on the difficulties caused by not knowing one another’s identities.
The trouble with ignorance likewise appears in the grail scenes. If Perceval had asked about the grail, seeking knowledge of it, it would have led to the Fisher King’s healing and to blessing throughout the realm. The mystery of the healing question provides the emblematic presentation of this theme in the text, clearly showing that it is by seeking the truth of one’s situation that healing and blessing can be obtained:
Unlucky Perceval, it’s such
a dreadful pity you did not
ask all these questions on the spot!
To ask one question would procure
the king’s recovery and his cure (3582-86).
The knowledge derived from the grail’s healing question also seems to have brought growth and healing to Perceval. It is instructive to note that Perceval comes to a moment of spiritual healing—sincere repentance at the hermit’s abode—by the acquisition of knowledge about the message of the Christian gospel, the truth about his family and his own failings, and the secret of the grail.
The same theme can be seen in Gawain’s tales, though with a somewhat lighter emphasis. Gawain’s repeated need to find defenses against old charges rests on asserting the true knowledge of each situation. Gawain rides out to his own defense from charges of treason and the grudges of old combatants not only with a resolve to win those fights, but to prove the truth that he was in the right all along: knowledge of the truth would bring resolution to the conflicts. This can be seen in his dispute with Greoreas, who steals Gawain’s horse in revenge for the knight’s earlier actions against him. Gawain’s response is not to challenge Greoreas to a duel, but to assert the fact that Greoreas’s former punishments had been deserved, and thus attempt to resolve the situation by bringing forward pertinent knowledge about the underlying circumstances. Although Greoreas is not willing to listen, Gawain’s attempts at peaceful resolution suggest that knowledge can be a meaningful alternative to violence. Similarly, the so-called “evil maiden” likewise finds healing when knowledge of her backstory is revealed.
Finally, the unfinished end of the poem sets up a situation in which the whole realm might find healing by revealing the knowledge of King Arthur’s lost family, much as the revelation of Perceval’s hidden family connections—his hermit uncle and the Fisher King’s family—lead to a moment of spiritual healing for him. The poem thus suggests that while ignorance can lead to misunderstanding and harm, knowledge holds the key to greater prosperity, understanding, and self-growth.
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