Lancelot-Grail

Vulgate Cycle is the modern title of courtly five novels that were written in Old French in the 12th and 13th centuries. It is called the Lancelot - Grail cycle, pseudo -map cycle after the Welsh writer Walter Map, was said to have some verses translated from the Latin, or after its main part Prose Lancelot prose Lancelot - Grail cycle or simply Vulgate.

The Vulgate Cycle is one of the main sources of the Arthurian legend, on him rests the main part of the later texts from the so-called Post- Vulgate Cycle and the more powerful compilation of Arthurian material in Le Morte Darthur by Thomas Malory in the 15th century. The main part of the stories are the adventures of the knight Lancelot and the Quest for the Holy Grail.

Structure

The cycle consists in its developed form of five different lengths of parts that have been written without titles for in the research have established the following names:

  • Estoire del Saint Graal "History of the Holy Grail "
  • Merlin Suite du Merlin "Continuation of Merlin "

Development, content and tradition

The Vulgate Cycle includes not only the Roman de la Rose to the best traditional old French literature. There have been preserved over a hundred manuscripts, including three complete. The Bonn manuscript has been written in Amiens and dated August 28, 1286, the other two complete Parisian manuscripts are undated. In the cycle, the Historia Regum Britanniae known from Geoffrey of Monmouth Arthurian legends are reproduced, rewritten, and supplemented by numerous details and side stories.

After Elspeth Kennedy can be two different formation steps of the cycle make up, the first already in the oldest known manuscript is visible and the content comprises the central and longest part of the cycle Lancelot del Lac. In the older group of manuscripts tells how Lancelot is raised by a yet-unnamed " Lady of the Lake ", which has received from Merlin magic powers. There follow the adventures of Lancelot of his knighthood at King Arthur about his affair with Guinevere, the deliverances of the kingdom, his admission, he together with his friend Galehaut leaves the Round Table back under the Knights of the Round Table and how. After the loss of identity Guinevere and restoration by Lancelot, he returns to Arthur's court. In this first origin film many similarities exist with the novels Chrétien de Troyes and Robert de Boron's Estoire dou Graal, as well as with older Gralsgeschichten where Parceval occurs.

The second stage of development is characterized by the legend of Guinevere and Galehaut episodes, the integration of the history of Chrétien's Le Chevalier de la charrette and the introduction of Lancelotsohnes Galahad. In addition, the rewritten story is recreated a history of leading and a continuation. The first part of the history is the Estoire del Saint Graal, in which the famous Robert de Boron early history of the Grail by Joseph of Arimathea is rewritten. The second part is Merlin in the de Boron's verse novel Histoire de Merlin is rendered in prose form. In most manuscripts the Merlin follows the so-called Suite du Merlin, in the later life of Merlin is portrayed and as a transition to the initial start of the narrative, the Lancelot del Lac ( Lancelot of the Lake ), serves. The Holy Grail in Quest del Saint Graal, which is not found in the earliest manuscripts of the cycle, however, was soon added, is successfully completed in most manuscripts of Lancelot. In the sequence Merlin - Lady of the Lake - Lancelot the fact that Merlin is unbaptized, perceived as a contradiction to the Christian overall conclusion of the second processing stage of the cycle was. To resolve this contradiction arose a third group of manuscripts in which parts of the text have been omitted and are therefore described as "short version" of the Vulgate cycle. The Holy Grail follows in Mort le Roi Artu the story of the death of King Arthur.

Expenditure

A complete edition of the Vulgate and Post - Vulgate Cycle, with English translation was worried by the American Romanists Norris J. Lacy. Volumes one through four contain the Vulgate Cycle, in Volume five only texts of the Post- Vulgate Cycle are included. An edition with French translation was presented by the French medievalist Philippe Walter as part of the book series Bibliothèque de la Pléiade.

  • Norris J. Lacy (Ed.): Lancelot - Grail: The Old French Arthurian Vulgate and Post - Vulgate in Translation. Volume 1 Garland, New York 1992, ISBN 0-8240-7733-4.
  • Volume 2 Garland, New York 1993, ISBN 0-8153-0746-2.
  • Volume 3, Garland, New York 1995, ISBN 0-8153-0747-0.
  • Volume 4 Garland, New York 1995, ISBN 0-8153-0748-9.
  • Volume 5 Garland, New York 1996, ISBN 0-8153-0757-8.
  • Volume 1: Joseph d' Arimathie - Merlin - Les Premiers faits du roi Arthur. Paris, Gallimard, 2001, ISBN 978-2-07011-342-2
  • Volume 2 Lancelot - La Marche de Gaule - Galehaut - La Première Partie de la quête de Lancelot. Paris, Gallimard, 2003, ISBN 978-2-07011-343-9
  • Volume 3 Lancelot - La Seconde Partie de la quête de Lancelot - La Quête du saint Graal - La Mort du roi Arthur. Paris, Gallimard, 2009, ISBN 978-2-07011-344-6
Rennes Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart
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