chapter five summary

Author: * Walensis Volcae - 25 Posts on this thread out of 64 Posts sitewide.
Date: May 27, 2004 - 10:33

* We have investigated the origin of the three mystical elements that recur in nearly all the romances. In conclusion, it seems that the Excalibur story may reflect historical events associated with the real Arthur, the Holy Grail was a medieval invention, and Avalon was an early Arthurian legend taken from Celtic mythology.

1. The story of Excalibur being thrown to the Lady of the Lake originates in one of the Vulgate romances around 1225, in which Arthur orders his knight Girflet to cast the sword into an enchanted pool as he lies dying on the field of battle. Here are strong Celtic undertones, suggesting that the writer may have employed much earlier material. Archaeological excavations have found many swords that had long ago been thrown into sacred lakes by the Celtic people of northern Europe, as votive offerings to the water goddess, the goddess of healing.

2. The story of the sword in the stone was introduced in Robert de Boron's tale, where the sword was not actually placed in the stone itself but in an anvil upon the stone. In latin the word for a large stone or detached fragment of rock is saxum, a word that could have been confused with the word Saxon. It is possible therefore that there was an original legend about Arthur having to prove himself worthy of leadership by showing he could take the sword, i.e. 'the fight', from the Saxons and the Angles. The sword and the stone theme could therefore have originated either through a misinterpretation, or more likely, a symbolic play on words.

# In the book the authors also suggest when comparing the word saxum to saxon the similarities between the words anvil and angle, by they give no interpretations for the word anvil during the times of the possible misinterpretation of saxum.#

3. The Grail first appears in Chretien de Troyes under the original spelling Graal. Although a few decades later Robert de Boron transforms the Grail into the cup used by Christ at the last supper, it is far from clear what Chretrien's Graal is supposed to be. It appears to have been a type of plate or dish, since a mass wafer is served from it. The word Graal could have derived from gradale, as a number of medieval french inventories use this word for a platter that was brought to the table at various stages during the meal. The later story of the Grail as the Holy chalice seems, therefore, to have been a medieval invention.

4. An explanation of the Grail storys origin is provided by Chretien's contemporary, the German poet Wolfram von Eschenbach. In 1205, Wolfram composed his epic poem Parzival, which is very similar to Chretien's story, except that the Grail is not a platter but a magical stone. In his epilogue to Parzival, Wolfram tells his readers that Chretien had failed to explain that his own portrayal of the original legend came to him from an Arabic manuscript discovered in Spain. If Wolfram is to be believed, then the Grail story may originally have been an Arabian tale returned to Europe with the crusaders.

5. The isle of Avalon, Arthur's last resting place, is included in Geoffrey's and nearly all subsequent romances. It seems highly probable that this legend existed before Geoffrey. From Ireland comes an ancient cycle of tales involving the sea God Manannan, who rules over a magical island described by the Gaelic word ablach, meaning rich in apples. In fact, Geoffrey goes as far as to refer to Avalon as the 'isle of apples' in the Vita Merlini.