Representations of the Grail Quest in Medieval and Modern Literature
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Bangor University: eBangor / Prifysgol Bangor Representations of the Grail Quest in Medieval and Modern Literature Anastasija Ropa In fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Bangor University Bangor University 2014 i Abstract This thesis explores the representation and meaning of the Grail quest in medieval and modern literature, using the methodologies of historically informed criticism and feminist criticism. In the thesis, I consider the themes of death, gender relations and history in two medieval romances and three modern novels in which the Grail quest is the structuring motif. Comparing two sets of texts coming from different historical periods enhances our understanding of each text, because not only are the modern texts influenced by their medieval precursors, but also our perception of medieval Grail quest romances is modified by modern literature. Studying medieval and modern Grail quest literature side by side also places the phenomenon of modern medievalism into a new perspective; this approach brings out the differences between the Grail quest in texts written in a society that shared a set of Christian values and those written in a post- religious context. Research conducted in the thesis shows that the texts within each group also differ between themselves, depending on the socio-historical circumstances in which the texts were written and read. In the first part of the thesis (Chapters 1-4), I discuss the themes of death, the role of women as spiritual guides, and the relation between familial and world history in two medieval romances. I approach these issues from the perspective of minor characters, women and non-elect knights (who have previously been little studied). I argue that the experiences of these marginal characters are important for understanding both the ii context in which the romances‟ major characters operate and the representation of questers in modern literature, which often places the unheroic, ordinary or even deviant characters into the limelight. In the second part of the thesis (Chapters 5-7), I consider three modern novels that use the Christian motif of the Grail quest to structure their narratives, examining ways in which modern writers use medieval tropes in a post-religious age. In each chapter, I explore the place of death, relations between the questers and female characters and the impact of family and the world histories on the individual‟s identity in the respective novel. The conclusion brings together the research findings and suggests areas for further research in medieval and modern literature about the Grail quest. iii Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... vi Declaration and Consent ............................................................................................. vii List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................................... x Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1 Historical Contexts for the Queste del Saint Graal and Thomas Malory‟s „Tale of the Sankgreal‟ ................................................................................................ 27 Chapter 2 The Relationship between Non-elect Knights and their Community in Life and in Death ................................................................................................................. 48 Chapter 3 Lessons of Chivalry and Gender Dynamics in the Knights‟ Encounters with Recluses ............................................................................................................... 79 Chapter 4 Christian and Family History in the Ship of Solomon Episode ............... 108 Chapter 5 Walker Percy‟s Lancelot: Seeking the Unholy Grail in 1970s America.. 142 5.1 Arthurian Tradition in American Culture and in Lancelot .............................. 144 5.2 Encountering Death: Curiosity, Denial, Acceptance ....................................... 152 5.3 Women and the Quest ...................................................................................... 163 5.4 The Fusion of Individual and World Histories ................................................ 176 iv Chapter 6 David Lodge‟s Small World: The Grail Quest and 1980s Academe ........ 185 6.1 The Academic Community and Arthurian Chivalry: Parallels and Allusions 185 6.2 Reality Clashes with Literary Theory: Death and Deconstruction .................. 194 6.3 Women as Initiators ......................................................................................... 204 6.4 Family History as a Means for Reviving the Waste Land and Attaining the Grail ........................................................................................................................ 213 Chapter 7 Michel Zink‟s Déodat, ou la transparence: the Timeless Quest for Oneself ....................................................................................................................... 224 7.1 The Grail Quest from the Perspective of an Alienated Character ................... 227 7.2 Death in Chivalric Society ............................................................................... 237 7.3 Women who Teach Déodat Transparency and Love ....................................... 243 7.4 Family history and predestination .................................................................... 254 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 261 Bibliography .............................................................................................................. 268 v Acknowledgements This work would have been impossible without many people, to whom I would like to express my gratitude for they kindness, generosity and support. First of all, I would like to thank my supervisors, Dr Raluca Radulescu and Prof. Tony Brown: I am infinitely grateful for their guidance, patience and faith in my project – I simply cannot express in words how much I owe them. I am also grateful to many other members of the School of English academic staff, particularly Prof. Helen Wilcox and Dr Sue Niebrzydowski, for expressing interest in my work, asking provoking questions and sharing their opinions on different aspects of medieval and modern Arthurian literature. I would also like to thank the School of English and the College of Arts and Humanities of Bangor University as a whole, for providing the facilities for my research. Also to the administrators, librarians and other people working at the university, for being always welcoming, supportive and ready to help at any crisis, be it locating a book, finding a room or submitting the relevant form. I would like to thank separately the school administrators Michelle Harrison and Elaine Hughes for their help, as well as my postgraduate colleagues, and especially Ambra Finotello, for sharing their experience, thoughts and for inspiring me to continue my research. Finally, my family has been provided moral and material support to me over the years of research. I owe the debt of gratitude to my mother for never losing faith in my research, for encouraging me to begin doctoral research in the first place and to continue with it. I am also infinitely grateful to my husband for discussing with me ideas about the legal aspects of medieval marriage, reading various drafts of my chapters and conference papers and many other services. I also would like to thank my son who has been a very patient baby through the last two years of my research, accompanying me to the library, on conferences and research trips. vi List of Abbreviations Ars. – Paris, Bibliothèque d‟Arsenal b. – born BnF – Paris, Bibliothéque Nationale BL – British Library Bodl. – Oxford, Bodleian Library c. – circa CUP – Cambridge University Press d. – died Déodat – Michel Zink, Déodat, ou la transparence (Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 2002) DMF – Dictionnaire Moyen Français, references are to Dictionnaire du Moyen Français, version 2012 (DMF 2012). ATILF - CNRS & Université de Lorraine. <http://www.atilf.fr/dmf> EEBO – Early English Books Online EETS – Early English Text Society fol. – folio fols – folios Lancelot – Walker Percy, Lancelot (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1977; repr. New York: Avon Books, 1978) Lancelot-Graal cycle – the Vulgate cycle; references are to Sommer, H. O., The Vulgate Version of Arthurian Romances, 7 vols. (Washington: Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1909-1913) MED – The Middle English Dictionary, ed. by Robert Lewis (Michigan, University of Michigan, 2001) Morte – Le Morte Darthur; references are to The Works of Sir Thomas Malory, ed. by Eugene Vinaver, 3rd rev. edn. by P. J. C. Field (Oxford: Clarendon, 1990), 3 vols MS Add. – MS Additional MS Bodmer – Geneva-Cologny, MS Martin Bodmer Foundation MS f. fr. – MS fonds français OUP – Oxford University Press o.s. – Original Series PUF – Presses Universitaires de France Queste – Queste del Saint Graal; references are to La Queste del Saint Graal, Roman du XIII siècle, ed. by Albert Pauphilet, 3rd edn. (Paris: Champion, 1923) r – recto „Sankgreal‟ – „Tale of the Sankgreal‟, part