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The High History of the Holy Graal The High History of the Holy Graal Translated by Sebastian Evans For your convenience, this text has been compiled into this PDF document by Camelot On-line. Please visit us on-line at: http://www.heroofcamelot.com/ The High History of the Holy Grail Table of Contents Acknowledgments......................................................................................................................................3 INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................5 The Translation........................................................................................................................................12 BRANCH I..........................................................................................................................................12 BRANCH II.........................................................................................................................................31 BRANCH III.......................................................................................................................................42 BRANCH IV.......................................................................................................................................55 BRANCH V.........................................................................................................................................67 BRANCH VI.......................................................................................................................................81 BRANCH VII....................................................................................................................................104 BRANCH VIII...................................................................................................................................116 BRANCH IX.....................................................................................................................................120 BRANCH X......................................................................................................................................134 BRANCH XI.....................................................................................................................................150 BRANCH XII....................................................................................................................................155 BRANCH XIII..................................................................................................................................161 BRANCH XIV..................................................................................................................................172 BRANCH XV....................................................................................................................................178 BRANCH XVI..................................................................................................................................202 BRANCH XVII.................................................................................................................................203 BRANCH XVIII................................................................................................................................214 BRANCH XIX..................................................................................................................................232 BRANCH XX....................................................................................................................................236 BRANCH XXI..................................................................................................................................247 BRANCH XXII.................................................................................................................................263 BRANCH XXIII................................................................................................................................267 BRANCH XXIV...............................................................................................................................268 BRANCH XXV.................................................................................................................................282 BRANCH XXVI...............................................................................................................................284 BRANCH XXVII..............................................................................................................................289 BRANCH XXVIII.............................................................................................................................293 BRANCH XXIX...............................................................................................................................298 BRANCH XXX.................................................................................................................................299 BRANCH XXXI...............................................................................................................................312 BRANCH XXXII..............................................................................................................................314 BRANCH XXXIII.............................................................................................................................332 BRANCH XXXIV............................................................................................................................338 BRANCH XXXV..............................................................................................................................341 2 The High History of the Holy Grail Acknowledgments “The High History of the Holy Graal” was written by an unknown author in the thirteenth century. Despite being considered one of the least canonical of the Arthurian romances, it did introduce some characters who went on to have significant roles in future tales. The original, Old French text of the tale is in the public domain because its author died at least 100 years ago. The text contained here is from an 1898 translation by Sebastian Evans. It is also in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1st, 1923. It may also be in the public domain in countries which apply the Rule of Shorter Term to foreign works. This electronic version of the translation has been prepared by Douglas B. Killings and kindly made available to the public by the Online Medieval and Classical Library. All of the text which follows has been taken from them, and reprinted here with their kind permission. Please visit them on- line at: http://www.omacl.org/ Their notes on this work: 'Originally written in Old French, sometime in the early half of the 13th Century A.D., as a continuation of Chretien DeTroyes' unfinished work "Perceval, or the Knight of the Grail". Author unknown. Translation by Sebastian Evans, 1898. The text of this edition is based on that published as THE HIGH HISTORY OF THE HOLY GRAAL (Everyman Library, J.M. Dent & Sons, London, 1910). This edition is in the PUBLIC DOMAIN in the United States. This electronic edition was edited, proofed, and prepared by Douglas B. Killings ([email protected]), October 1996.' For your convenience, the text of this translation has been compiled into this PDF document for easy reading by Camelot On-line. You may use and redistribute it freely. Please visit us on-line at http://www.heroofcamelot.com/ 3 The High History of the Holy Grail SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY: ORIGINAL TEXT -- • Potvin, Ch. (Ed.): "Perceval le Gallois ou le conte du Graal", Vol. I (Soc. Bibl. Belges., Mons., 1866). RECOMMENDED READING -- • Anonymous (Trans. P.M. Matarasso): "The Quest for the Holy Graal" (Penguin Classics, London, 1969). • DeTroyes, Chretien (Trans. William W. Kibler & Carleton W. Carroll): "Arthurian Romances" (Penguin Classics, London, 1991). Contains the unfinished work "Perceval". • Eschenbach, Wolfram von (Trans. A.T. Hatto): "Parzival" (Penguin Classics, London, 1980). • Malory, Sir Thomas (Ed. Janet Cowen): "Le Morte D'Arthur", Vol. I & II (Penguin Classics, London, 1969). 4 The High History of the Holy Grail INTRODUCTION This book is translated from the first volume of "Perceval le Gallois ou le conte du Graal"; edited by M. Ch. Potvin for `La Societe des Bibliophiles Belges' in 1866, from the MS. numbered 11,145 in the library of the Dukes of Burgundy at Brussels. This MS. I find thus described in M. F. J. Marchal's catalogue of that priceless collection: `"Le Roman de Saint Graal", beginning "Ores lestoires", in the French language; date, first third of the sixteenth century; with ornamental capitals.' Written three centuries later than the original romance, and full as it is of faults of the scribe, this manuscript is by far the most complete known copy of the "Book of the Graal" in existence, being defective only in Branch XXI. Titles 8 and 9, the substance of which is fortunately preserved elsewhere. Large fragments, however, amounting in all to nearly one-seventh of the whole, of a copy in handwriting of the thirteenth century, are preserved in six consecutive leaves and one detached leaf bound up with a number of other works in a MS. numbered 113 in the City Library at Berne. The volume is in folio on vellum closely written in three columns to the page, and the seven leaves follow the last poem contained in it, entitled "Duremart le Gallois".
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