Chrétien’s last words: Le Conte du Graal

The French poet Chrétien de Troyes was one of the greatest poets of the Middle Ages and he is regarded as the inventor of the “Holy Grail” and of the adventures of King Arthur’s knights of the Round Table. Yet little is known about his life and his last work Perceval, also known as le Conte du Graal, which is still shrouded in controversy. The grail is mentioned there for the first time, but the story ends abruptly before Perceval can correct his failure at the grail castle, probably because of the poet’s untimely death.2 It remains, however, his longest work at 9,234 lines, because he “had limited his previous romances to 7,200 lines or less.”3There is also an ambiguous word play at the end of the prologue, which is usually interpreted from the general context: Philip of Alsace, the count of Flanders, is praised so lavishly that lines 61- 68 are usually held to confirm that he commissioned the poem and provided a book as its source. Most scholars concluded, therefore, that Chrétien may have left the service of Marie de Champagne in the 1180s and had attached himself to Count Philip’s court in Bruges.4

Because these experts developed their theories by going from “hypothesis to hypothesis“

(Frappier5) and by having to make “arbitrary decisions” (Roach6), a new approach is proposed here: what if the sophistication of Chrétien has been underestimated? In this case, the praise

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1. Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 794 (ms. A), University of Ottawa: www.uottawa.ca/ academic/arts/lfa/activites/textes/perceval/cgrpres.htm, as of March 1, 2011. 2. Gerbert de Montreuil, La continuation de Perceval, ed. Mary Williams, (Paris, 1922), p.214: “Ce nous dist Crestiens de Troie Qui de Percheval comencha, Mais la mort qui l’adevancha ne li laissa pas traire affin” (vv. 6984-87). 3. Jean Frappier, Chrétien de Troyes, Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages, A Collaborative History, ed. Roger Sherman Loomis, (Oxford, 1959), p.188. 4. Jean Frappier, Chrétien de Troyes et le Mythe du Graal, (Paris, 1972), p.50. He is apparently the only scholar who considers the option that Chrétien did not leave the service of the countess. 5. Ibid., p.51. 6. William Roach, Le Roman de Perceval ou Le Conte du Graal, (Geneva, 1956), p. XI. “la critique textuelle des oevres littéraires du moyen âge a été une longue suite d'hypothèses instabiles et de décisions arbitraires des éditeurs". 1 could be as ambiguous as the jeu de mots and comprise an equally strong attack on the count.

That the praise involves difficulties is also noted by the experts: Foerster writes that “Chrétien grossly overdoes the praise of the count,”7and Frappier regrets that the “flattering dedication… seems very discreet, too discreet about the matter and sense of the poem.”8These evaluations sit badly with “the classic qualities of balance and reason” that distinguished Chrétien’s works.9

It seems to be an important clue that Chrétien uses the contemporary word cuens six times in the prologue for the title “count”, but then switches to the older and ambiguous conte four times in lines 63-66 when he introduces the obscure word graal. In line 67, he returns to cuens one last time to confirm that the count did indeed contribute a book for his story.

61 Donc avra bien sauve sa peinne So he won’t have wasted his effort, 62 Crestiens, qui antant et peinne Chrétien, who strives and toils 63 a rimoier le meillor conte to put in rhyme the better story (or account), 64 par le comandement le conte, by command of the story (count or account) 65 qui soit contez an cort real. that is told (or recounted) at the royal court. 66 Ce est li contes del graal, It is the story (count or account) of the grail, 67 don li cuens li baille le livre, of which the count gave him the book, 68 s'orroiz comant il s'an delivre.1 so hear how he acquits himself of it.

It is rarely considered that conte has two etymological origins from the Latin,10 and the literal interpretation of line 64 would, therefore, refer to the “command” of a story. In that case,

Chrétien felt obliged to rhyme a “better story” than the one told at the royal court. Jean Frappier believes that Count Philip’s book is lost, but that “Chrétien’s dry remarks give us two certitudes:

1. He did not invent the entire story; 2. His source was a written source.”11

______7. Ibid., p. 152: "…sich sehr überschwenglich ergeht im Lobe des Grafen von Flandern”. 8. Frappier, Mythe (see above, n. 4), pp. 50, 52. 9. Frappier, Chrétien de Troyes, A Collaborative History, (see above, n. 3), p.161. 10. Wendelin Foerster, Kristian von Troyes, Wörterbuch zu seinen sämtlichen Werken, (Halle, 1914), p. 88: 1. conte (computu) m. Zahl…Zählen, Rechnung, Betrag, gut gezählt, Erzählung, Bericht erstatten… 2. conte (comite), N. cuens (comes), m. Graf. 11. Frappier, Mythe (see above, n. 4), p.53.

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Many scholars have speculated what the contents of this book might have been, which

Frappier sums up as follows: “The answers to this question tend to be influenced by theories concerning the origins of the grail legend. Some have surmised that the book was written in

Latin and described a ritual about a Christian relic; others have maintained – in my opinion with greater probability – that it was a ‘conte d’aventure’, filled with Celtic marvels… It is impossible to say whether the livre combined the enfance of Perceval with the Grail theme, or the poet took the initiative.”12

Of course, these theories are based on the assumption that Count Philip had ordered

Chrétien to write the poem. However, if a false story circulated at the royal court, which Philip’s book would have to correct, it could widen the scope substantially and a number of historical sources should be considered as well. We intend to show that it was indeed a Latin book that pertained to the enfance of Perceval: Count Philip’s genealogy. This identification would have some additional support of line 64, which also implies etymologically that Chrétien could have written the “mellor conte” by command of a wrong “account or calculation”.

Genelogiæ comitum flandrensium: the count’s account

The count’s genealogy has survived in several medieval chronicles,13 and the scenario that would have motivated him to present it to Chrétien’s patroness in Troyes is rather well- established.14 The count allied himself with “the rival court of Blois-Champagne” against his

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12. Frappier, Collaborative History, (see above, n. 3), p.185. 13. Arthurian Literature XIV, ed. James P. Carley and Felicity Riddy, (Cambridge, Eng., 1996), p.3: The Genealogia comitum Flandriæ Bertiniana was “begun in 1120 by Lambert de Saint-Omer … An anonymous monk of Saint-Bertin undertook his own continuation… his Flandriæ generosa is a remainment (sic) of the history from Carolingian times…” See also Annales Abbatiæ Sancti-Petri Blandiniensis, ed. the Abbé F. vande Putte, (Ghent,1842). 14. John D. Hosler, Henry II, A Medieval Soldier at War, 1147-1189, (Leiden, 2007), p.81.

3 god-son Philip Augustus, the young king of France on “May 14, 1181 … and made frequent visits to the court in Troyes: he had hopes to marry Marie de Champagne… but his pressing courtship was in vain because the countess refused him in the course of the year 1182.”15

Konrad Sandkühler points out that Count Philip’s devotion to “religion and church” and

“his involvement in political intrigues was not quite compatible with the enlightened and sensuous lifestyle of the countess.”16 Her court was a famous cultural center and the visits of the count and his entourage were probably major social events. Marie was a daughter of King Louis

VII of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine, the most illustrious woman of the era, by then married to King Henry II of England. The young king of France was Marie’s half-brother, and his mother her husband’s sister. Where such a blue-blooded crowd circulated, Philip’s descent from

Charlemagne would have loomed large in any material he provided during his courtship.

Chrétien could have seen the genealogy, because he is known to have been established at

Marie’s court between “1177 and 1181” when he dedicated Lancelot to her.17It is the only other dedication to an individual in his works, and it also mentions a book.18However, he “turns an ingenious compliment in the honor of his patroness around… by needling her with an “épingle de jeu,” with the stipulation that “matière and sen” of the poem are entirely her responsibility.19

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15. Frappier, Mythe (see above, no. 4), pp. 49- 50: “…le comte de Flandre fit d’assez fréquentes visites á la cour de Troyes: il avait l’éspoir d’obtenir la main de Marie de Champagne… il fit une cour pressante, mais vaine á la comtesse; au cours de l’année 1182, elle refusa d’épouser le prétendant.” 16. Konrad Sandkühler, Gawain sucht den Gral, vol. 2, (Stuttgart, 1977), p.196: “Die dem kirchlich- religiösen Leben zugewandte und stark in den politischen Intrigen stehende Art des Grafen Philipp mochte wohl der heiteren und sinnenfrohen Lebensart der Gräfin Marie nicht ganz entsprechen." 17. Frappier, Collaborative History, (see above, n. 3), p.159. 18. Chrétien, Lancelot, v. 24 fg.: Del chevalier de la charette / Comance Crestiiens son livre. / Matiere et sans l’an done et livre…” 19. Frappier, Mythe (see above, n. 4.), p.48.

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If Philip’s book was his genealogy, as we contend, Chrétien turned the dedication of the

Conte du Graal around as well, with a “better account” than the one recounted at the “royal court”. This interpretation of the jeu de mots would allow us to formulate a new hypothesis, according to which Chrétien would have crowned his career with an ultimate masterpiece, and instead of adapting fictitious material, he used historical sources that related to the history of

Flanders. If the Conte du Graal was such a roman à clef, the concept would even surpass Cligès

(ca. 1176 CE), which was also inspired by a Latin book.20 It is not a mere adaptation either but, according to Frappier “an original composition… the most studied, the most intellectual, and in some ways the most amusing of Chrétien's romances.”21

So far, our conjectures are based on the ambiguity of the jeu de mots and the etymology of the “contes” that introduce the grail. However, if we pursue the hypothesis that Chrétien's sophistication has been underestimated, and that he did everything for a good reason, we make a number of interesting discoveries.

Etymology and artwork: signposts to a Pyrenean source

For a better evaluation of Chrétien’s sophistication, it is worth considering that the

Etymologies of Isidore of Seville, was “a standard medieval work of reference and its influence is said to have been second only to the Bible.”22The influence of both Scripture and etymology is accordingly clear in the prologue, and the ambiguity of conte in the four lines that introduce graal would then be a puzzle to be solved by the etymology of graal.

______20. Frappier, Chrétien de Troyes, History, (see above, n. 3), p. 173. Note: Chrétien mentions an ancient chronicle from the cathedral Saint-Pierre de Beauvais, about 80km North of Paris. 21. Ibid, pp. 163, 171. 22. Frank N. Magill, Great Events from History, Vol. 2, (Englewood Cliffs, 1973), p. 1086.

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According to the Oxford English Dictionary, grail is derived from the “med. L. gradalis a cup or platter, of uncertain origin,”23 but further research allows us to dispel that uncertainty by tracking down where it is first documented: The location is Urgell in the Pyrenees of Catalonia,

Spain, where three independent sources confirm Chrétien’s etymological puzzle:

1. Etymology: The Glossarium of du Cange, first published in 1678, traces the etymology of gradalis-graal to the earliest document with gradal in the testament of Count Ermengol I of

Urgell (1010 CE),24 a son of Borrell II, Count of Barcelona, Girona, Osona and Urgell (945-993).

The philologist Joan Coromines shows that gradal was used in Urgell again, in 1030, in the testament of Ermengol’s sister Ermengarda. “Gradals” are large platters or bowls, common household items, that are known in some regions of Catalonia today as “griala” and “grala.”25

2. Genealogy: The earliest genealogy of the counts of Barcelona is the Gesta comitum

Barcinonensium.26 It introduces Guifré el Pilós who is celebrated as the first count of Barcelona and Urgell, and as founding father of Catalonia. We will show below that his vita is startlingly similar to Perceval’s first adventures. Furthermore, the Gesta relates that Guifré was raised by the counts of Flanders,27which would make Count Philip notionally a qualified informant.

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23. Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, Vol. VI, (Oxford, 1989), p.734. 42. C. du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium mediæ..., (Niort, 1885), Tom. IV, p.91. 24. C. du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium mediæ..., (Niort, 1885), Tom. IV, p.91. 25. Joan Coromines, Diccionari Etimològic Complimentari de la Llengua Catalana, Vol. IV, (Barcelona, 1984), p.637: “del cat. Greala ‘escudella’ (cat. arcaic gradal, f.) La dada més antiga que es té del mot en qualsevol país es troba en una escriptura catalana, i més concretament urgellesa en latí en l’any 1010 (du C.) 'ad Sancta Fide coenobio gradales duas de argento'... d’Ermengarda, filla del comte Borrell de Barcelona, any 1030, tornem a trobar 'vexela de auro et de argento, id sunt enapos V, et gradals II... 26. Pierre de Marca, Marca hispanica sive limes hispanicus…, ed. Etienne Baluze, (Paris, 1668). 27. Gesta, (see appendix B), p. 34, ll. 14-15.

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3. Religious Art: Nine Romanesque churches are known in the high Pyrenees near Urgell that used to possess frescoes of the “Holy Grail”28 where the transformation of an enclosed reliquary to an open “grala” is documented visually. The details below are from the churches

Sant Pere de Burgal (at left) and Sant Climent de Taüll, painted roughly between 1095 and 1123

CE, over half a century before Chrétien’s coining of the word “graal”.

These frescoes became known in 1909 when Joan Vallhonrat, a friend of Picasso, had painted several copies. Because the originals could not be protected at their isolated locations they are now exhibited at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona. Among the first scholars to connect them to grail romance was Chandler R. Post, who wrote in 1930 that the above vessel “has been tentatively explained as the Holy Grail.”29 Charles L. Kuhn added in the same year: “…in some of the frescoes red lines of light are radiating from the cup, showing definitely that it was considered as a representation of the Holy Grail.”30 In 1968, another art historian, Otto Demus, described the virgin of Taüll (above right) as follows: "The grotesquely expressive figure raises with her covered left (hand) a bowl filled with the red-glowing blood of

Christ, which is a depiction of the grail that suggests Catalonia was a center of grail worship."31

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28. Manuel Castiñeiras and Jordi Camps, Romanesque Art in the MNAC collections, with Joan Duran- Porta, tr. Andrew Langdon-Davies and Andrew Stacey, (Barcelona, 2008) pp. 27-28. See also Joseph Goering, The Virgin and the Grail: origins of a legend, (New Haven, 2005). 29. Chandler R. Post, A History of Spanish Painting, (Cambridge, Mass., 1930), vol. I, p. 195. 30. Charles L. Kuhn, Romanesque mural painting of Catalonia, (Cambridge, Mass., 1930), p. 20. 31. Otto Demus, Romanische Wandmalerei, (Munich, 1968), p. 160. 7

Now that we have visual support of Chrétien’s etymological key, the chronicle with the genealogy of the counts of Barcelona becomes an important piece of the puzzle. The first modern study of the Gesta was made by Rudolf Beer in 1908,32 and a detailed investigation by Barrau-

Dihigo and Massó followed in 1925.33 These Catalan scholars compared several versions of the chronicle and printed the "definitive edition" from ms B, one of four copies from Santa Maria de

Ripoll of a lost original, which they regarded as the most authentic.

The link from the Gesta to Chrétien, howevere, can only be made with a chronicle that predates all of the above. It is not the lost manuscript, but a "primitive redaction" that Baluze disregarded for some reason.34 He published what Barrau-Dihigo and Massó considered the

“definitive edition”, to which, furthermore, a printing error in Baluze’s work assigned misleading dates,35which might explain why it has been overlooked as a possible source for grail romance.

Chrétien began his poem after 1179, and probably “closer to 1182”, according to

Frappier.36 The count was a powerful man, however, and if the reversed flattery is a valid interpretation, a date after Philip’s death in 1191 is probably more likely. For other reasons, recent studies support a later date as well: Joseph J. Duggan sides with Fourrier “in placing

Chrétien’s early activity in the 1170s”, but he follows Claude Luttrell (and Armel Diverrès) to

“situate Perceval in the late 1180s and perhaps as late as 1190.”37

______32. Rudolf Beer, Die Handschriften des Klosters Santa Maria de Ripoll, CLVIII, 2. Abhandlung, (Vienna, 1908), pp. 53-54. 33. L. Barrau-Dihigo, J. Massó Torrents, Gesta comitum Barcinonensium, (Barcelona, 1925), p. XXII. 34. Paris, Bibliothèque Royale: 3855; reg. 284 Baluze, now BnF, Latin 5132. 35. Pierre de Marca, Marca (see above, n. 44), p. 538. (“MCXC” and “MCCXC”) 36. Frappier, Mythe (see above, n. 4), p. 51: He follows Fourrier who suggested ca.1182-1183. 37. Joseph J. Duggan, The Romances of Chrétien de Troyes, (New Haven and London, 2001) 38. Armel Diverrès, Culture and the King: the social implications of the Arthurian legend…, ed. Martin B. Shichtman. (New York, 1994), p. 69. Diverrès writes in note 32: “I have expressed my arguments in favour of 1190 as the likely date for the start of Perceval in ‘The Grail and the Third Crusade’.

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Barrau-Dihigo and Massó, meanwhile, assigned the chapters of the Gesta that contain

Guifré's vita in a “primitive redaction” to around 1162, because the author of chapter V was a contemporary of Ramon Berenguer IV (d. 1162).38 In 1991, Coll i Alentorn expanded the time to 1162-1184,39 and in 2008, Stefano M. Cingolani attributed the work of the first redactor to

1180-1184, which suggests that the first chapters about Guifré were written around 1180.40

This therefore coincides neatly with the time in which Chrétien is believed to have started his poem, allowing it to be considered as one of his sources. Coll concludes that Guifré's vita in the Gesta only pretends to be a popular legend, whereas it is in fact rather “erudite, and probably dreamt up for pragmatic reasons.”41 Cingolani follows this in saying “the forger seems to have been very familiar with history.”42 These findings support our conjecture that Chrétien rhymed a

“meillor conte” because they are fully independent of his poem. None of these scholars, from

Baluze to Cingolani, mention Chrétien or grail romance.

The fabrication of the life of the founder of the house of Barcelona would have had some political impact because the counts of Barcelona were highly influential in wider Europe. Ramon

Berenguer IV had married the royal heiress of Aragon and forged alliances with Frederick I and

Henry II of England that endured until his death in 1162. His son Alfons I (1162-1196) was the first to hold the titles King of Aragon and Count-Marquis of Catalonia together, to which rule over the county of Provence was added in 1181 after the death of his brother.43 The death of the count of Provence was a newsworthy event that could have started a wide-ranging discussion at

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38. Barrau-Dihigo, Gesta (see above, n. 33), p. XXII. 39. Miquel Coll i Alentorn, Historiografia, (Barcelona, 1991), p. 56. 40. Stefano Maria Cingolani, Gestes dels comtes de Barcelona I reis d’Aragó, (Valencia, 2008), p. 29. 41. Coll, (see above, n. 39), p. 54. 42. Cingolani, (see above, n. 40), p.44. 43. Mercè Aventín i Josep M. Salrach, Història medieval de Catalunya, (Barcelona, 1998), pp. 74-77.

9 the courts of many kingdoms. A historical chronicle making the claim that the founding father of this dynasty had scandalously married a daughter of the counts of Flanders, protecting the “sang real” by keeping her grandfather the king of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor anonymous, would have had a ready audience in this environment.

The details are surprisingly plausible because Guifré became count of Urgell in 870, when Charles was king of the Western Franks and his daughter Judith married to Baldwin I, the first count of Flanders. The first to expose the Gesta’s claims as false was the Catalan historian

Jeroni Pujades in the early seventeenth century.44 His findings are fully confirmed today, as

Soldevila put it: “Guifré married Guinidilda, a lady of noble Catalan lineage, in all probability, and not the daughter of the counts of Flanders as the legend claims.”45

Conte du Graal vs. Gesta comitum Barcinonensium

That some connection between the two texts must be envisioned is made surpassingly clear by a direct comparison between them, which follows. It is supported by a rough translation of the Latin text (see appendix B, pp. 35-38); the Conte du Graal is quoted from ms. A (Paris,

BnF, fr. 794). (The entire text is available on-line at the University of Ottawa, see above, n. 1).

There are ten major points of resemblance, which in view of Chrétien’s sense of humor, could be another pun on “conte” meaning the count’s (ten) commandments.

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44. Geronimo Pujades, Crónica Universal del Principado de Cataluña, (Barcelona, 1830), vol. VI, pp. 274, 279. Because Baldwin abducted Judith in 862 CE and Guifré is documented in 870 CE, Pujades shows that the eight-year interval is too short for Judith to have gotten pregnant with a daughter old enough to get pregnant herself. 45. Ferran Soldevila, Historia de Catalunya, 2nd edition, (Barcelona, 1963), p. 61.

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1. Both the Gesta and the Conte du Graal open with specific references to Flanders.

The author of the Gesta claims that the king of the Franks sent young Guifré to be raised

by the count of Flanders. According to Chrétien, a descendant of this count provided the

book for his Conte, and most scholars maintain it was written in Flanders.

2. The fathers of Guifré and Perceval were wealthy, noble knights and rulers.

The Gesta describes Guifré’s father as highly esteemed for his great wealth, strength and

wisdom, and as ruler of the county of Barcelona.46 Chrétien says about Perceval’s father:

“There was no worthier knight, no knight more feared or respected… he held extensive

lands and great treasures as a nobleman…”47

Historical information: According to Ramon d’Abadal, the father of Guifré did indeed

hold extensive lands: Sunifred was first “Count of Urgell and Cerdanya” (834-848), and

after the death of Bernard of Septimania, he was rewarded for his support of Charles the

Bald with the additional counties of “Barcelona, Girona, and Narbonne (844-848).”48

3. Guifré and Perceval are children when their father dies, which forfeits them their heritage.

Guifré’s father is killed in Guifré’s presence, but his age is not specified, only that he is

still a child.49 Perceval’s father dies while Perceval is “barely over two years old.”50

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46. Gesta, appendix B, p. 33, ll. 3-5. 47. Chrétien, vv.414-417 “N'ot chevalier de vostre pris, tant redoté ne tant cremu, biax filz, con vostre peres fu an totes les Isles de mer”. Vv. 436-438 “Sa granz terre, ses granz tresors, que il avoit come prodom…” 48. Ramon d’Abadal i de Vinyals, Els Primers comtes Catalans, (Barcelona, 1958), pp. 21, 23. 49. Gesta, p. 34, ll. 14,19. 50. Chrétien, vv. 628-631:” Et vos…Petiz esteiez, aleitanz, po aveiez plus de .ii. anz.”

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(There are no documents about Sunifred after 848, which led Bofarull, Abadal, Coll,

Salrach, et al. to conclude he probably died in that year. They suspect that he may have

been killed during the rebellion of William, the son of Bernard of Septimania.51)

Speculations about Guifré’s birth date range from 840 to 850 CE.)

4. They are both raised in a large forest.

Guifré is raised by the counts of Flanders,52 who are identified as Judith and Baldwin I,

first forester-count of Flanders. The forests were part of the “Forêt Charbonniere”53 from

Roman times. Chrétien mentions repeatedly that Perceval is raised in a forest region.54

5. Both boys have a first encounter, involving “maidens”, that changes their life.

In the Gesta, Guifré gets the young daughter of the Flemish count pregnant.55 According

to Chrétien, Perceval meets knights in the forest who are in hot pursuit of “maidens” and

he wants to become like them. This suggests that the recitation may have become

interactive entertainment for those in Chrétien’s audience who already knew the “mellor

conte”. They would have voiced their objections each of the three times the poet offered a

much too subtle allegory for the erotic scene that was about to follow.

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51. Josep M. Salrach, Els comtes sobirans de la Casa de Barcelona, De l’any 801 a l’actualitat, (Barcelona, 2002), p. 33. 52. Gesta, p. 34, l. 14. 53. Ch. Duvivier, La Forêt Charbonnière (CARBONARIA SILVA), Extrait 1. II Revue d’Histoire et d’Archéologie, (Brussels, 1861), p. 6. 54. Chrétien, vv.74-75: “ que li filz a la veve dame /de la Gaste Forest soutainne”, vv. 388-390: “Teisiez, mere ! Ne vi ge ores les plus beles choses qui sont, qui par la Gaste Forest vont ?”, vv.448-449: “Vostre peres cest manoir ot / ici an ceste forest gaste”. 55. Gesta, p. 34, l. 15. 56. Chrétien, vv.182-83: ” Veïs tu hui an ceste lande .v. chevaliers et trois puceles ?” vv. 252-255: “Vaslez, fet il, ne te soit grief, mes des .v. chevaliers me di et des puceles autresi se les ancontras ne veïs.“ And vv.276-278: “Vaslez, se Damedex t'aïst, se tu me sez dire noveles des chevaliers et des puceles?” 12

6. As a consequence, both learn about their heritage and decide to reclaim it.

In the Gesta, the countess of Flanders fears that her daughter will loose her reputation if

the pregnancy is discovered, and she informs Guifré about his heritage. Before he leaves

to reclaim it, the boy promises to marry her when he has become count of Barcelona.57

In the Conte, Perceval thinks that “knights are more beautiful than God and the angels”,

and when he learns from his mother that his father held extensive lands, and that his

father and older brothers were famous knights, he leaves her to fulfill his destiny.58

7. They both depart wearing strange, foreign clothes.

Guifré is dressed for his journey in “dirty, old clothes like a foreigner.”59 Chrétien makes

it a comedy and has Perceval like a fool: He wears a shirt of rough burlap like a Gaul,

with the pants attached to the socks, heavy boots, an overall, and a circular cap of deer

leather.60

On the second day, when Perceval reaches a clearing in the forest, Chrétien supplies the

missing “pucelle-allegory”. The young fool mistakes a colorful tent for a church and

enters to pray. But instead of an altar, he finds a frightened maiden in bed. He jumps on

top of her and "embraces her with his strong arms, as she defends herself, and kisses her,

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57. Gesta, pp. 34-35, ll.19-21. 58. Chrétien, vv.390-392: “Il sont plus bel, si con ge cuit, que Dex ne que si enge tuit...” until vv. 525- 530: “Biaus filz, .i. san vos vuel aprandre / ou il vos fet mout bon antandre; et s'il vos plest a retenir, granz biens vos an porra venir. Chevaliers seroiz jusqu'a po, filz, se Deu plest, et je le lo”. 59. Gesta, p. 35, ll.21-22. 60. Chrétien, vv. 496-502: “…si li aparoille et atorne de chenevaz grosse chemise et braies feites a la guise de Gales, ou l'an fet ansanble braies et chauces, ce me sanble; et si ot cote et chaperon de cuir de cerf clos anviron”.

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whether she wants to or not, about twenty times". To symbolize the events in Flanders,

Chrétien has Perceval take her emerald ring, drink her wine, and eat her fine patés. When

he leaves, the girl is crying.61

It may be a pun on the Gesta and “Forêt Charbonnière“ that Perceval meets a charbonnier

next and asks him for “the way to Carduel, where King Arthur is said to make knights.”62

8. Both reach a destination by the sea, and learn that a knight has unrightfully taken property.

Guifré travels all the way to Barcelona, which is on the shore of the Mediterranean, and

is reunited with his mother who introduces him to the nobles. Because of the fraudulent

way his father was killed, which deprived him of his heritage, they will recognize his

leadership if he removes Salomon, a Gaul and the count of Barcelona.63 Perceval reaches

Carduel, a castle by the sea, and hears that the Red Knight at the gate has stolen a golden

cup and taken King Arthur’s land. When Perceval requests to be made a knight, the king

offers his hospitality, but the youth demands the weapons and armor of the Red Knight.

______61. Chrétien, vv.639-653: “Li trez fu granz a grant mervoille; l'une partie fu mervoille et l'autre fu d'orfrois bandee; l'une partie fu doree; An l'aigle feroit li solauz, qui mout luisoit clers et vermauz... Li vaslez vers le tref ala, et dist ainz que il venist la : Dex, ci voi ge vostre meison”. vv. 698-758: “Li vaslez avoit les braz forz, si l'anbrace mout nicemant, car il nel sot fere autremant, mist la soz lui tote estandue, et cele s'est mout desfandue et deganchi quanqu'ele pot; mes desfansse mestier n'i ot, que li vaslez an .i. randon la beisa, volsist ele ou non, .xx. foiz, si con li contes dit, tant c'un anel an son doi vit, a une esmeraude mout clere… Li vaslez par la main la prant, a force le doi li estant, si a l'anel an son doi pris et el suen doi meïsmes mis… Il la sozlieve, et desoz trueve .iii. bons pastez de chevrel fres… et manjue par grant talant, et verse an la cope d'argent del vin, qui n'estoit pas troblez, s'an boit sovant et a granz trez… la dameisele, ainz plore fort; mout durement ses poinz detort”. 62. Chrétien, vv.831-839: “Atant s'asist et si manja, et li vaslez tant chevalcha qu'il vit un charbonier venant, devant lui .i. asne menant. ‘Vilains, fet il, ansaigne moi, qui l'asne mainnes devant toi, la plus droite voie a Carduel; Le roi Artus, que veoir vuel, ‘qui fet chevaliers’, ce dit an”. 63. Gesta, pp. 35-36, ll. 26-30.

14

This angers the seneschal, who replies sarcastically: “My friend, you’re so right; just go there and take his armor, it is yours. You were no fool coming here and asking for it!”64

9. Both kill a knight in a surprise attack to claim “their possession”.

Guifré is shown by the nobles where to find Salomon and he kills him “with his own

hands”, which makes him ruler of the entire county, from Narbonne to Hispania.65

Perceval asks the Red Knight for his weapons, who fails to take him seriously and is

killed by a sudden throw of Perceval’s javelin. Afterwards, Perceval puts on the armor,

takes the Red Knight’s shield and weapons, and leaves attired as his dead foe.66

(Salomon is documented in 862, 865, and 868. According to Abadal, King Charles the

Bald transferred Salomon’s counties of Urgell, Cerdanya and Conflent to Guifré in 870

at the assembly of Attigny, which is the first historical document of his existence.67 )

10. Guifré and Perceval and marry noble ladies and become vassals of the king.

It is established that Guifré was loyal to King Charles and neither raised in Flanders nor

married to the daughter of the counts. His wife Guinedildis was almost certainly of local

descent. In Chrétien’s poem (see below), Perceval returns to the forest, where he meets

and marries Blanchefleur. He also becomes a knight of King Arthur’s Round Table.

______64. Chrétien, vv. 970-71: “Feites moi chevalier, fet il, sire rois, car aler m'an voel.” vvv. 992-1005: “Foi que je doi le Criator, fet li vaslez, biax sire rois, ne serai chevaliers des mois, se chevaliers vermauz ne sui. Donez moi les armes celui que j'ancontrai defors la porte, qui vostre cope d'or an porte. Li senechax, qui fu bleciez, de ce qu'il ot s'est correciez, et dit: ‘Amis, vos avez droit. Alez les prandre orandroit, les armes, car eles sont voz. Ne feïstes mie que soz qant por ce venistes ici’...”. 65. Gesta, p. 36, ll. 30-32. 66. Chrétien, vv.1080-1083: ‘Metez les jus, les armes, ne les portez plus, que li rois Artus le vos mande!” vv. 1174-87: “Yonez les chauces li lace, puis li a le hauberc vestu tel c'onques nus miaudres ne fu… et de l'espee li anseigne que laschet et pandant la ceigne. Puis li met le pié an l'estrier, sel fet monter sor le destrier… Yonez l'escu li aporte et la lance, puis si li baille.” 67. Abadal, (see above, n. 48), p. 31. 15

One of Chrétien’s continuators confirms this identification by joking that Joseph of

Arimathea hid the grail so well that "neither anyone hairy nor bald knew about it."68

It seems that Chrétien used the fictive scenario of King Arthur and the Knights of the

Round Table as recurring characters like an “ensemble,” which makes him the inventor of, among many other things, the successful formula of many TV series. This allowed the poet to entertain his audience by letting his popular, fictitious characters play real historical figures.

That he had a roman à clef in mind in this case is also supported by his handling of the differences between the Gesta and the Vita of Guifré. On the surface, Chrétien’s "corrections" seem quite elegant and done in a fine courtly style. In view of the sexual encounters in both versions, it is understandable that the Gesta would protect the royal family by not identifying the king and the counts. But Chrétien went even further by anonymising Flanders into a large forest region, and by replacing the daughter of King Charles with Perceval's mother to hide the pregnancy behind a poetic veil. Only after Perceval has traveled some distance does he violate the girl.

Later in the poem, when Perceval meets his future wife Blanchefleur, Chrétien links her to the girl in the tent by their tears, because she is also to be found crying in front of Perceval.69

To prepare his audience for the fusion of both maidens, he had joked earlier that “at her deserted castle are neither bread, patés nor wine available.”70 Finally, Perceval asks Blanchefleur to stop

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68. The text is preserved in five MMSS: A, L, M, Q, U (Potvin, vol. II, pp. 343–347, and Roach II, pp. 524–530), according to Sandkühler, (see above, n. 11), pp.169, 223. 69. Chrétien, vv. 1962-64: Plorant est de la chanbre issue et vient au lit ou cil se dort, et plore et sopire mout fort. 70. Chrétien, vv. 1769-71: “Ensi trova le chastel gaste, que n'i trova ne pain ne paste ne vin…”

16 crying and he "kisses her” and contrary to the girl he had violated “she doesn’t seem to mind it, and they sleep all night, side by side, mouth by mouth, until morning when the day begins".71

On the surface, Chrétien creates the impression that he is protecting the royal court and

“sang real” by splitting Guifré's wife into the girl in the tent and into Blanchefleur. However, a closer look at the poem reveals that Perceval is raised in the same forest where his father and mother die, where he violates the girl, where he meets Blanchefleur – and where he finds the grail castle. This could be taken for a naive, poetic simplification and is certainly typical for the period. But in view of Chrétien’s genius, we can instead suggest that he corrects the Gesta here by showing that everything happened in the hero’s homeland, that is, therefore, in Catalonia.

Again, there is etymological evidence: One interpretation of Guifré’s nickname “el Pilós” is from the Latin “comes Pilosus, an equivalent of comes hirsutus, comes silvestir,” which suggests that he was the count of a “prickly and wild” forest region because "the county of

Barcelona was covered by an abundance of forests".72

Chrétien adds other clues that identify Catalonia: the deserted forest and the deserted castle of Blanchefleur. There is a well-established tradition that some regions in the South of the

Pyrenees were abandoned by the Christians during the Moorish occupation, and that “Guifré el

Pilós initiated the repopulation of Berguedà, Osona, el Bages, a part of Ripoll, and the Vall de

Lord.73We find Chrétien so informed that he mirrors Guifre’s endeavors, although according to

Jonathan Jarrett, these were “a political fiction already being created in the early tenth century.”74

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71. Chrétien, vv. 2047-64: “Confortez vos, ne plorez plus et vos traiez vers moi ceisus... Si l'a soz le covertor mise tot soavet et tot a eise; et cele suefre qu'il la beise, ne ne cuit pas qu'il li enuit. Ensi jurent tote la nuit, li uns lez l'autre, boche a boche, jusqu'au main que li jorz aproche.” 72. Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada, Vol. 70, (Madrid, 1922), p. 231, s. "Wilfredo". 73. Salrach, (see above, n. 51), p. 471. 74. Jonathan Jarrett, Power over Past and Future: Abbess Emma and the nunnery of Sant Joan de les Abadesses, Early Medieval Europe, Vol. 12, (Oxford, 2003), pp. 229-258. 17

How the “praise” turns into an equally strong attack

We have seen that Chrétien combined the Scriptures with an etymological word play of

“conte” in the prologue, and that line 64 is ambiguous because it could either mean that the poet rhymed a “better conte” by command of Count Philip, or because a lesser calculation or story was circulated at the royal court. The first interpretration indicates that Chrétien may have followed Count Philip to Flanders, which would be a sad end for one of the greatest poets of the

Middle Ages as he apparently needed to flatter a new patron for room and board to live out his golden years.

However, the alternative interpretation reveals that Philip’s book contained some kind of story or calculation. It would be consistent with a master of his sophistication that the book contained nothing about Guifré el Pilós, which enabled him to rhyme a “better story”. Hence, if

“nothing” was the only contribution of Count Philip to the Conte du Graal, we have a first, entertaining example that the “lavish praise” comprised an equally strong attack on the count.

This would mean that the praise was meant in geste, and that Chrétien’s audience reacted with laughter, especially to the suggestion that the count had provided a book about thre grail.

Although the Scriptures are quoted widely in the prologue, they are used by the poet to establish the first part of the Conte du Graal as a comedy. In fact, his concept rivals Cligès as

“the most amusing of Chrétien's romances” (Frappier) because he elevates Perceval, a minor character there, to the position of hero of the Conte du Graal, and by continuing the comedy.

This makes the Conte a ‘prequel’, because young Perceval is still so ignorant that he mistakes the sound of knights in the forest for the approaching devil (v.115). It is the branches of the trees that cause the horrible, metallic noise by colliding with the armor and shields of the knights, not vice versa. Then, when they appear in the sunlight, Perceval takes the shiny knights for angels and

18 falls to his knees. He believes that the most beautiful one is God and recites every prayer his mother had taught him (vv.136-143). He doesn’t even know his name (vv.145-148), mistakes a colorful tent with a golden eagle on top for a church (vv. 637-655), and when he enters to pray, finds a maiden in bed and virtually rapes her (vv.680-779).

To help us imagine how Chrétien would have presented such a religiously themed comedy, an analysis by Frappier shows that he used rhyme and rhythm, and the placement of

75 vowels and consonants to “translate the audio-visual perceptions of the hero.” The grail procession with the blanche lance is described with long vowels that enhance the mystery, and a dramatic scene with birds is animated by interchanging rhythms to show the contrast between a disturbed flock of wild geese and the linear flight of an attacking falcon. William Kibler noticed a “spectacular use of vocalic harmonies, repetition and chiasmus” in Yvain, “where the repetition of the ui and oi diphthongs and the high vowels u and i underscores the mental anguish of the girl caught in a storm in the forest”.76

If we apply these techniques to the prologue of the Conte du Graal, which is also religiously themed, we find that the “lavish praise” must indeed be read against the grain. In this case, Chrétien would have chanted the beginning like a benediction – that is, as if it were the

Gospel truth. The first lines certainly suggest the familiar rhythm and pious intonations:

“Qui petit seme petit quialt, et qui auques recoillir vialt an tel leu sa semance espande que fruit a cent dobles li rande.”

The chanting would have a dual function because it splits the audience into two groups:

Roman Catholics would take the presentation literally, because Chrétien opens with the planting

______75. Frappier, Mythe (see above, n. 4), pp. 267-272. 76. Chrétien de Troyes, Arthurian Romances, tr. William W. Kibler, (London, 1991), p.20. 19 of a seed and paraphrases a parable of Jesus, according to St Matthew77 and St Paul78, to praise thew count as “the most noble man in the Roman empire”. Heretics, however, and their sympathizers would get the impression that Chrétien is mimicking the ecclesial hypocrisy of his time, as we shall now see.

Orality, performance, and audience participation

An ambiguous concept is already apparent in the first twelve lines of the prologue, where the chanting only seems to pretend humility, because the poet’s rhetorical claims remain open to interpretation: According to the original text, only “if the seeds are sown in a good soil, it would not be without great rewards”, because Chrétien is allegedly doing it for “the most noble man in the Roman empire.”79 Before he actually identifies the count, however, Chrétien breaks with the usual octosyllables and extends line 12, which has only seven syllables, to chant an unctuous

“l’em-pi-re” or “de Rom-me”, which his audience would rewarded with laughter.

______77. The Holy Bible, New International Version, (Michigan, 1978), p.1306, Mt. 13. 6-9: “Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear.” 78. Ibid, p.1529, 2 Cor. 9.6: “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows generously will also reap generously”. 79. Lines 9-12 reduce the “sowing” of the romance to ambiguous speculation, which is usually lost in the translations. Key is “et si le seme an si bon leu” in l.9, where the first “si” is ignored by all translators. They may be relying too much on the 1957 version in modern French by Lucien Foulet. See Chrétien de Troyes, Perceval le Gallois ou le Conte du Graal, La légende arthurienne, le graal et la table ronde, (Paris, 1989), p.3: “Chrétien veut semer le roman qu’il commence en si bon lieu qu’il ne puisse manquer d’en tirer une riche moisson; car il le fait pour...” The unconditional interpretation is followed by Nigel Bryant, Perceval, The Story of the Grail, (Cambridge,1982), p. 1: “Chrétien now sows and lays the seed of a romance that he begins, and sows it in so good a place that he cannot fail to have great reward; for he is doing it for…”. It is also followed by Martín de Riquer, Li Contes Del Graal – El Cuento del Grial, (Barcelona, 1985), pp. 83-84: “Chrétien sembra y echa la semilla de una novela que empieza, y la siembra en lugar tan bueno que no se puede quedar sin gran provecho, pues lo hace para el...” The German translator Konrad Sandkühler, Perceval, vol.1, (Stuttgart, 1977), p. 7., ignores every condition: “Chrestien sät und streut den Samen eines Romans, den er beginnt, und er streut ihn in einen so guten Boden, dass es ihm nur zu grossem Nutzen sein kann, tat er es doch für den...” 20

The addition of a pause is also required because lines 13-24 change to a different type of satire that mimics the guttural accent of the Flemish: “C‘est li cuens Phelipes de Flandres. Qui mialz valt ne fist Alixandres…” While entertaining with short vowels and harsh consonants,

Chrétien praises Count Philip as much worthier than Alexander, of whom he only reveals: “it was said about him he is doing so much good” although he was reallyy “vicious and evil”.

Catholics were led to believe that he meant Alexander III “the Great” of Macedon, as modern scholarship has assumed, while sympathizers of the heretic sects might identify no other than the same Pope Alexander III, who “understood clearly that the Roman Church was the proper heir to the Roman Empire”.80Alexander had also decreed at the Third Lateran Council in

1179 that because of their “loathsome heresy” the “Patarenes, Publicani”, and “others by different names” are “under anathema,” including “those who hire, keep or support them.” 81 The faithful were encouraged to “take up arms against them,” an exhortation that anticipated the

Albigensian Crusades.

This interpretation of line 12 is also supported by the fact that if Chrétien’s praise of the pious count had not been ambiguous, he would have surely said “Christendom” instead of

Roman empire, since the Count was not a subject of the Empire. This may be the reason why

Bryant82 chose the word “Christendom” in his translation.

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80. Peter Munz, intr. Boso’s Life of Alexander III, (Oxford, 1973), p. 9. 27. He follows G. Le Bras, Le droit romain au service de la domination pontificale, Nouvelle revue historique de droit francais et étranger, (Paris, 1949). 81. Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, Nicæa I to Lateran V, vol.1, ed. Norman P. Tanner S.J., (Georgetown, 1990) , pp. 224-225. According to Munz, (see above, n. 29), p.16, Alexander III “was firmly set against the growing ‘heretical’ movement and at the Council of Tours in 1163 he laid down the basic principles on which the Inquisition was later to be founded.” 82. Bryant, Story of the Grail, p. 1, (see above, n. 79). Bryant does not consider any of the heretic implications and translates: “…for he is doing it for the worthiest man in Christendom.”

21

Such a reference to current events would mirror Cligès where “scholars have found intriguing analogies in several of its situations to contemporary politics between 1170 and

1175,”83 and that it “reflected real events which interested the courts of Byzantium, Germany,

France, and Champagne.”84If we consider the Third Lateran Council and its effects, we see that

Count Philip continued the legacy of Pope Alexander, who had died in August of 1181 CE, by punishing heretics “unmercifully with righteous cruelty,”85 and “in 1182 a great number of heretics were burned in Flanders… accused of renewing Manichaeism and Arianism.”86

Reading the prologue as a performance, then, a pattern emerges: Chrétien divided it into five units of twelve lines, each followed by a brief pause, closing it with the eight lines that introduce the grail. This is supported by the third unit, lines 25-36, where Chrétien returns to a pious tone so as to preach that “the count hates all evildoers because he loves justice and is loyal to the Holy Church”. From the difference between good (seeds) and evil (weeds) he develops the argument that the count is far more generous than commonly known because, according to St

Matthew (Mt. 6, 3-4), the good deeds of his right hand must be so secretive that he has to keep them from his own left hand. With this entertaining satire of one of the strangest metaphors in the Gospels, Chrétien reveals rhetorically that none of the count’s good deeds are known.

Lines 37-48 explain why the Gospel proclaims that the left hand should not know the good his right hand is doing: the left hand signifies a vain glory that comes from false hypocrisy.

Chrétien’s argument thus leads to the conclusion that only the actions of the count’s left hand are publically known, which condemn him as a vicious and evil hypocrite.

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83. Kibler, Romances, (see above, n. 76), pp. 7-8. 84. Frappier, Chrétien de Troyes, History, (see above, n. 3), p. 171. 85. Ralph of Coggeshall, Chronicon Anglicanum, tr. Robert I. Moore, The Birth of Popular Heresy, (Toronto, 1995), p. 86. 86. André J. Panckoucke, Abrégé chronologique de l’histoire de Flandre, (Dunkirk, 1762), p. 111. 22

Then, Chrétien goes on to celebrate “charité”, which is “charity” for Paul, and “love” for

John, and continues the theme of mistaken identities by attributing a popular quote from St John to St Paul, and by insisting he had read it there himself:

43. Charité, qui de sa bone oevre Charity, which does not boast of its 44. pas ne se vante, ençois la coevre, good deeds, but hides them, 45. que nus ne le set se cil non so that only He whose name 46. qui Dex et Charité a non. is God and Charity knows them. 47. Dex est charitez, et qui vit God is Charity, and he who abides 48. an charité, selonc l'escrit, in charity, according to the Holy Writ (Pause) (Pause) 49. sainz Pos lo dit et je le lui, – Paul states it and I read it there – 50. qu'i maint an Deu et Dex an lui. he abides in God and God in him.

Most experts regard line 49 as a scribal error, which is probably why Bryant changed it to

“Saint Paul says, and I say to him”87. But if the pause is inserted, and the passage considered as a performance, it would be divided into two entirely different statements that eliminate the error:

The first statement ends in lines 47-48, following John (I Jn 4:16) : “God is love and who lives in love – as it is written.”

Then, after a brief pause, a separate statement opens the fifth unit of twelve lines, 49-60:

“St Paul said it and I read it, he lives in God and God in him.” This is something Chrétien could indeed have read as claimed: Paul addressed his epistles in the name of God, as in 1 Cor. 1-3, which implies he lives in God and God in him, and he wrote to the Ephesians 4.6: “…one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all and in all.”

After the jeu de mots that introduces the grail, Chrétien tells his audience in the last line of the prologue to “hear” how he delivers the poem, but the Gospel is here also ambiguous

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87. Bryant, Story of the Grail, p. 1, (see above, n. 79) 23 because, as the audience might know, it itself continues with a lesson that fanatics could interpret as a divine command to burn heretics at the stake.88

To laud so pious and powerful a man as Count Philip with quasi-heretical ambiguities would have been dangerous indeed, and we can only wonder if Chrétien was playing with fire in another jeu de mots (vv.3250/51):

“Qu'aussi bien se puet an trop teire Con trop parler a la foiee.”

This is said after Perceval has seen the grail for the first time; carried in a procession by a beautiful maiden. Loomis notes that Chrétien’s depiction of “the sacramental vessel in the hands of a woman… was already condemned in the sixth century, and according to conciliar decrees and episcopal edicts …regarded as an abuse down to the thirteenth century”. He points out, therefore, that “Chrétien’s account of the Grail violates not only common sense but the most solemn sacramental usage” and “the ecclesiastics who composed the Didot Perceval, the Queste del Saint Graal, and the Estoire del Saint Graal carefully substituted for the beautiful maiden a youth or a priest.”89 The distinguished scholar may have been too involved with the Celtic origins of the grail myth to consider that heretic sects like the Cathars allowed both men and women in their clergy.90

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88. Mt. 13.37- 43: “‘The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the devil, and the enemy who sows them is the devil… As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of this kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where they will be weeping and gnashing their teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.” 89. Loomis, The Origin of the Grail Legends, History (see above, n. 3), pp. 277-78. 90. Malcolm Lambert, The Cathars, (Oxford, 1998), pp. 62-64.

24

It fits this context that the prologue opens with the microcosmic seed, and that the first jeu de mots links it directly to the macrocosmic “graal” which shines so brightly in the grail castle “that the light of the candles fades like stars when the sun or the moon rises.”91 And, in view of the heteric implications, the jeu de mots on “conte” is a puzzle which allowed us to reverse the “praise” of Count Philip to accusations that he was a vicious and evil hypocrite.

Continuators and imitators

Unfortunately, the Conte du Graal ends in the middle of a scene, which might imply to the suggestible that Chrétien paid the ultimate penalty for insulting the count! Most scholars still estimate that he composed the poem in the 1180s, which they base on references to political events in that period. However, a medieval romance is not a publication with a specific date, but an ongoing performance that was developed and tested before audiences over a period of years.

Even though the Conte prematurely ends “abruptly at vs. 9234”92, it was Chrétien’s longest work, with the length of at least three Shakespeare plays. Based on the many manuscripts that have survived, he obviously recited parts of the poem frequently, probably until his death, and because of its length had contract players perform some passages. That professional jongleurs were used is confirmed by Geoffrey of Monmouth, Wace, and Chrétien himself.93 For example, Chrétien recommends his Erec as “a well-organized narrative…, whereas those who earn their livelihood by reciting, spoil and mangle it.”94After Chrétien’s death, jongleurs with different talents would have recited the Conte at other courts, and pious patrons may have

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91. Chrétien, vv. 3225-3229: “Atot le graal qu’ele tint, Une si granz clartez i vint Qu’ausi perdirent les chandoiles Lor clarté come les estoiles Quant li solauz lievre ou la lune.” 92. Frappier, Chrétien de Troyes, History, (see above, n. 3), p.184. 93. Loomis, The Gral Diffusion, History, (see above, n. 3), p. 58. 94. Frappier, Chrétien de Troyes, History, (see above, n. 3), p.165.

25 preferred ecclesiatics as performers. In fact, it is clear that some were commissioned to invent continuations when the original story ended.

According to Albert W. Thompson, “of the fifteen existing Old French manuscripts of

Chrétien’s Perceval, only four stop at the end of the work of the original author.”95 It is not surprising, therefore, that “In the majority of the Perceval manuscripts, there is no indication of a

96 change of author” , which shows that some continuations were passed off as Chrétien’s work.

Two continuations are “ascribed to Wauchier de Denain…”, although he is still disputed as the author because “he was a pious writer of saints’ lives, referred to as an authority rather than as an author of the Perceval.”97 Loomis has however shown us that ecclesiastics “composed the Didot Perceval, the Queste del Saint Graal, and the Estoire del Saint Graal”, which shows that churchmen like these were happy to diffuse Chrétien’s popular, but heretical ideas.

This might explain why the Manessier continuation was added under the patronage of

Countess Jehane of Flanders (1205-1244), and why some manuscripts replace Chrétien’s prologue with an Elucidation.98 This overlong introduction mimics the style of Chrétien, but it distorts his story and even fails to maintain the octosyllabic rhymes. The proof that it replaced

Chrétien’s prologue is offered by the last lines, which are almost identical to his version:

478 Crestiiens qui entent et paine 479 A rimoier le mellor conte, 480 Par le commandement le Conte, 481 Qui soit contés en court roial: 482 Cou est li contes del Gréal, 483 Don’t li Quens li balla le livre; 484 S’orez coment il se delivre.

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95. Albert Wilder Thompson, History, (see above, n. 3), pp. 206-207. 96. Bryant, (see above, n. 79), p.106. 97. Ibid., p. 334. 98. Thompson, History, (see above, n. 3), pp. 209-212. 26

It may have been a part of Countess Jehane’s effort to restore the tarnished reputation of her late great-uncle, Count Philip, that a relic of the “Precious Blood” was brought to Bruges where it is still venerated today. Although some local legends connect it to the pious count, it is in all probability a Byzantine trophy from the Fourth Crusade (ca. 1204).99

Chrétien may have composed his prologue after Count Philip’s death in 1191, which

Duggan, Luttrel, and Diverrès propose for independent reasons.100 Hence, the poet would have been alive in the 1190s, and his death might have had natural causes.

We don’t know how Chrétien intended to resolve Perceval’s failure at the grail castle, and everything about his fate would be transmitted only by continuations that distort the original and promote the “Matter of Britain” and Celtic folklore. This is a great loss because they not only contradict Chrétien, but each other as well. Some of these continuators were however more knowledgeable about the French master’s original purpose than others.

An important second opinion from the period

The German poet Wolfram von Eschenbach adapted, changed, and expanded Chrétien’s poem and brought the two quests of Gauvain and Perceval to perhaps the the most meaningful conclusion of those offered by these successors. The quality of Wolfram’s Parzival shows that he understood the concept of the French master, and that he might even have been his disciple.

Most experts agree that Wolfram created his poem between 1200 and 1210, because of specific

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99. Nicholas Vincent, The Holy Blood: King Henry III and the Westminster Blood Relic, (Cambridge, 2001), p.73. 100. Armel Diverres, Culture and the King, ed. Martin Shichman and James P. Carley, (New York, 1994), p. 69. He writes: “I have expressed my arguments in favour of 1190 as the likely date for the start of Perceval in ‘The Grail and the Third Crusade’, Arthurian Literature 10 (1990) 13-109, esp. 97-100, also ref. to Claude Luttrell, The creation of the first Arthurian romance, (London, 1974), pp. 32, 237.

27 references to other poets and historical events. His Parzival is more than twice the size of

Chrétien’s, and so complex that it could have taken him more than a decade to complete. If we consider that only two other, lesser works are known, it was clearly the ultimate achievement of his career. His “initiation” and the adjusted time line of Chrétien’s work, allows the conjecture that their lives overlapped in the 1190s, and that they had personal contact.

The last chapter of Parzival begins with: “If Master Chrétien failed to tell the right story this might irritate Kyôt who reported it correctly.”101 By praising his mysterious informant Kyôt, whom he may have invented, Wolfram’s ambiguity echoes Chrétien, and could be seen as an homage to the French master. He also makes the playful claim that his story is not from a book because he was “unable to read”,102which was disproven by Otto Springer who points out: ”the structure of Parzival with its total of 24,810 lines is a masterpiece of poetic composition. The deliberate organization of this mass of material shows even in the smallest subdivisions of thirty lines each.”103The poem was divided into 16 books by Lachmann, but Springer identifies a precise, external structure of 7 groups of 108 times 30 lines, with the “ninth book” (of 16) about the grail with 70 times 30 lines. This may be the key to Wolfram’s esoteric concept because the first group of 108 times 30 lines tells the story of Parzival’s parents, and when the second group begins (109,1-5) his widowed and pregnant mother feels the first signs of Parzival’s life.

This indicates that Wolfram went beyond Plato’s Timaeus, which was popular among the

Medieval clergy, and based his structure on Plutarch’s de defectu oraculorum, where these

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101. Wolfram von Eschenbach, Parzival, Studienausgabe based on 6th edn. by Karl Lachmann, (Berlin, 1998), p. 831, P. 827, 1-4: Ob von Troys meister Christjân / disem maere hât unreht getân / daz mac zürnen Kyôt, / der uns diu rehten mare enbôt. 102. Ibid., p.64: P. 115, 25-30: “…swer des von mir geruoche, dern zels ze keinem buoche. ine kan decheinen buochstap. dâ neurent genuoge ir urhap: disiu âventiure vert âne der buoche stiure.” 103. Otto Springer, Wolfram’s Parzival, History, (see above, n. 3), p. 247.

28 numbers are discussed in detail. In view of Hesiod’s phoenix riddle,104 this would explain why

Wolfram attributes the rebirth of the phoenix to the powers of the grail. The puzzle here is the generations of “vigorous men”, which could mean thirty or one, and even 108 years, which is the foundation of Wolfram’s numerical structure, as pointed out by Springer. As part of this concept,

Wolfram seems to have followed Chrétien’s “conte” by calculating that Parzival’s mother lived

“eleven generations” earlier.105 It is one generation from Wolfram to Count Philip, and then ten to Judith, the daughter of Charles the Bald,106which would make Parzival a contemporary of

Guifré and confirm the Gesta as a source for grail romance.

Just as we have used Latin chronicles such as the Gesta and Philip’s genealogy, Wolfram had “the wise Master Kyôt” search for “Latin books about a people that would be worthy of guarding the grail”.107 “He read the chronicles of many lands, of Britain and elsewhere, of France and Ireland.”108 Another clue is “it helped Kyôt that he was baptized,”109 which implies that a

Christian had better access to the monasteries where these chronicles were penned by monks.

That Catalonia is part of the above “elsewhere” is suggested by names in Wolfram’s poem, which Chrétien had kept anonymous. The good example is muntsalvatsch (Munsalvaesche),110 the name of the grail castle, which is similar to the Catalan Munsalvatje and Montsalvatge.

______104. Plutarch’s Moralia, de defectu oraculorum, tr. Lionel Pearson and F. H. Sandbach, Vol, XI, (Cambridge, Mass., 1965), pp. 381-383. 105. Parzival, (see above, n. 103), p. 131, P. 128, 30: “…ir sippe unz an den eilften spân!” 106. The eleven generations are: 1. Philip of Alsace – 2. Thierry I – 3. Thierry II via Gertrude – 4. Robert I – 5. Baldwin V – 6. Baldwin IV – 7. Arnulf II – 8. Baldwin III – 9. Arnulf I – 10. Baldwin II, and 11. Baldwin I “Bras-de-Fer.” 107. Parzival, (see above, n. 103), p. 459, P. 455, 2-8: “Kyôt der meister wîs diz mære begunde suochen in latînschen buochen, weâ gewesen wære ein volc dâ zuo gebære daz ez des grâles pflæge unt der kiusche sich bewæge…” 108. Ibid., P. 9-11: ” …der lande chrônicâ ze Britâne unt anderswâ, ze Francrîche unt in Yrlant.” 109. Ibid., p. 457, P. 543, 18: “ez half daz im der touf was bî”. 110. Ibid., p. 504, P. 500, 10

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Another match is the Trimuntane (temuntâne)111which Wolfram mentions in a love letter.

Unaware of the Catalan origins, some translators took it for the “Polar Star” (Northern Star), which is based on a corrupt Marco Polo letter of 1298. But, according to Coromines, the Catalan scholar Ramon Lull (ca.1232-1315) identifies the tremuntana as one of the four principal winds in Catalonia.112Anyone familiar with the Eastern Pyrenees, from Urgell to Cadaques, respects the violent force of this wind, which caused the bizarre rock formations we know from Dali’s works, and which reaches as far as the Balearic Islands where Lull was born. Wolfram uses the warmth of the South to symbolize the steadiness of love that resists this cold and dry wind from the

North.113 The region is also confirmed by “Kyôt of Catalonia,”114who is not however Wolfram’s informant, but Parzival’s uncle, a duke who renounced the world and became a monk.

That Wolfram followed Chrétien’s etymological key, where gradalis is changed to gradal and graal, is indicated by his shortening to “grâl” which is typical for the Catalan and

Occitan languages. In fact, Arthurian Romance may have had some roots in the South of the

Pyrenees. Rita Lejeune has discovered that “…at the very moment when Chrétien was at work on Erec, the knights of the Round Table were already celebrated in far-away Catalonia.”115

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111. Parzival (see above, n. 103) p. 719, P. 715 14-20: The common spellings are “Trimuntane” (Ms. D, Sanct Gallen) and “temuntâne” (Ms. G, Munich). 112. Coromines, (see above, n.43), Barcelona, 1985, Vol. V, p. 840, under Tramuntana, according to Ramon Lull: “… lo vent qui és engendrat a tremuntana, és poer vapors seques e fredes .” 113. Parzival, (see above, n. 103) p. 719, P. 715 14-20: ich mac wol dîner güete jehn / stæte âne wenken sus, alz pôlus artanticus gein dem temuntâne stêt, der neweder von der stete gêt: unser minne sol in triwen stên und niht von ein ander gên.” 114. Ibid, p. 803, P. 799, 8-9: “von Katelangen der herzog Kyôt.” 115. Rita Lejeune, The Troubadours, History, (see above, n. 3), p. 394.

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Conclusions

Chrétien’s genius seems to have been widely underestimated. His interactive concept, the ambiguous flattery, his sense of humor and other innovative ideas make the Conte du Graal his ultimate masterpiece. We have seen that the traditional interpretation of line 64 in the prologue merely led to speculation that Chrétien may have lived out his life in Flanders, while ours took us to “fiery grails” in the Pyrenees that predate the poem by half a century, to testaments where

“gradal” is first recorded, and to Guifré el Pilós, the count of Urgell and a Conte du Graal.

Chrétien would have had the original idea in Troyes, during the “pressing courtship” of

Philip of Alsace when his genealogy became a major contribution to the Conte du Graal, but only because it contained nothing and disproved the subversive testimony of the Gesta.

The alternative version of events that Chrétien and others knew, or came to know, inspired the French master to invert the dedication to the count even more dramatically than the

“épingle de jeu” against Marie de Champagne: he attacked a hypocrite with his own weapons by creating the illusion of a lavish praise for a man he despised and regarded as vicious and evil.

In regards to the Gesta, we are confident of having shown that its story did indeed travel

North, to wherever Chrétien produced the Conte du Graal, and gave him the framework for his crowning masterpiece, a stinging reversal of the Flanders genealogical orthodoxy as well as a dalliance with unorthodoxy of other kinds. Although the work was clearly much performed even in Chrétien’s lifetime, its culmination in written form was left to the poet’s literary heirs, some of whom clearly knew these origins of the material that we have since had to reconstruct. Now, we may be able to rejoin the crowds heckling the master poet’s measured delivery of his “meillor conte”, in something more like full knowledge of the games he was playing.

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Appendix A (Prologue)

Le Conte du Graal (Perceval), Chrétien de Troyes, ms. Paris, BnF. fr. 794 (ms. A). 1. Perceval chez sa mère, effectué par Pïerre Kunstmann (Laboratoire de Français Ancien, Université d'Ottawa). Note: the spaces are added below to visualize Chrétien’s kunstpausen .

1. Qui petit seme petit quialt, 37. L'Evangile, por coi dit ele: 2. et qui auques recoillir vialt 38. « Tes biens a ta senestre cele? » 3. an tel leu sa semance espande 39. La senestre, selonc l'estoire, 4. que fruit a cent dobles li rande; 40. senefie la vainne gloire 5. car an terre qui rien ne vaut, 41. qui vint de fause ypocrisie. 6. bone semance i seche et faut. 42. Et la destre, que senefie ? 7. Crestiens seme et fet semance 43. Charité, qui de sa bone oevre 8. d'un romans que il ancomance, 44. pas ne se vante, ençois la coevre, 9. et si le seme an si bon leu 45. que nus ne le set se cil non 10. qu'il ne puet estre sanz grant preu, 46. qui Dex et Charité a non. 11. qu'il le fet por le plus prodome 47. Dex est charitez, et qui vit 12. qui soit an l'empire de Rome. 48. an charité, selonc l'escrit,

13. C'est li cuens Phelipes de Flandres, 49. sainz Pos lo dit et je le lui, 14. qui mialz valt ne fist Alixandres, 50. qu'i maint an Deu et Dex an lui. 15. cil que l'an dit qui tant fu buens. 51. Donc sachoiz bien de verité 16. Mes je proverai que li cuens 52. que li don sont de charité 17. valt mialz que cist ne fist assez, 53. que li bons cuens Phelipes done, 18. car il ot an lui amassez 54. c'onques nelui n'an areisone 19. toz les vices et toz les max 55. fors son franc cuer le debonere, 20. dont li cuens est mondes et sax. 56. qui li loe le bien a fere. 21. Li cuens est tex que il n'escote 57. Ne valt mialz cil que ne valut 22. vilain gap ne parole estote, 58. Alixandres, cui ne chalut 23. et s'il ot mal dire d'autrui, 59. de charité ne de nul bien ? 24. qui que il soit, ce poise lui. 60. Oïl, n'an dotez ja de rien.

25. Li cuens ainme droite justise 61. Donc avra bien sauve sa peinne 26. et leauté et Sainte Iglise, 62. Crestiens, qui antant et peinne 27. et tote vilenie het; 63. a rimoier le meillor conte, 28. s'est plus larges que l'an ne set, 64. par le comandement le conte, 29. qu'il done selonc l'Evangile, 65. qui soit contez an cort real. 30. sanz ypocrisie et sanz guile, 66. Ce est li contes del graal, 31. qui dit: « Ne saiche ta senestre 67. don li cuens li baille le livre, 32. le bien, quant le fera la destre. » 68. s'orroiz comant il s'an delivre. 33. Cil le saiche qui le reçoit, 34. et Dex, qui toz les segrez voit 35. et set totes les repostailles 36. qui sont es cuers et es antrailles 32

Appendix B

Gesta comitum Barcinonensium, primitive redaction.

Quoted from Barrau-Dihigo, (see above, n. 51), pp. 3-5. (Rough translation is for context only and needs to be revised by a Latin expert!)

1. I Antiquorum nobis relatione compertum est quod miles quidam fuerit nomine Guifredus de According to ancient reports there was once a knight by the name of Guifredus who resided

2. uilla que uocatur Arrianum, que et sita est in territorio Confluente iuxta amnem Thetim, haut in a castle named Arià, located in the territory of Conflente near the river Tet, not far

3. procul a monasterio Sancti Michaelis Coxanensis. Hic igitur miles, diuitiis, armis et consilio from the monastery St.Miquel de Cuixà. The knight, respected for his wealth, mastery of arms,

4. opinatissimus, comitatum Barchinonensem a rege Francorum sua adeptus est probitate. Quodam and wisdom received the county of Barcelona from the king of the Franks because of his

5. autem tempore, cum ad uisendos legatos regis cum filio suo nomine Guifredo, qui honorability. One day, while on the way to meet legates of the king with his son Guifred, who

6. cognominatus est Pilosus, Narbonam occurisset, in seditione militari per barbam a quodam was known as “hairy”, it occurred in Narbonne, that during a military uprising he was pulled

7. Franco tractus, educto gladio eum qui hoc fecerat interemit. Ob hoc igitur ilico comprehensus, by a Frank by his beard (insulted?), and he killed the man with his sword. He was arrested

8. cum ad regem in Franciam duceretur, commota iterum in uia seditione, uolens se de sua and while on the way to the Frankish royal court he was put to death by his captors

9. captione ulcisci, ab his qui eum deducebant haut procul a Podio Sancte Marie interfectus esse near Puig St Mary (Puy-en-Velay, France?), according to the narration. 33

10. narratur. Predictus autem filius eius Guifredus, qui cum eo ducebatur, regi Francorum oblatus The above named son Guifred, who had accompied him, was then presented to the king

11. est, et quid de patre eius in uia accidisset eidem relatum est. Contristatus itaque rex factum of the Franks with a report of what had happened to his father. With sadness, the king

12. uituperauit, et quia hoc ita factum fuerat, honorem Guifredi regi Francorum in perditionem condemned the deed, and noted that, in view of the facts, Guifred might forfeit

13. posse in posterum uenire nuntiauit. his rightful heritage.

14. II Susceptum tamen [rex] puerum cuidam comiti, ut fertur, de Flandres ad nutriendum Nevertheless, the king decided to send the boy to the count, it seems, of Flanders to raise him.

15. commendare studiosissime curauit; cuius comitis filiam factus adolescens grauidauit, nullo When he was older, he got the daughter of the count pregnant, which no one knew except her

16. tamen conscio preter matrem puelle, que hoc sagaciter agnouit, agnitumque pudore magis mother, who recognized her condition and kept it a secret, more out of embarrassment than

17. quam facinoris assensu celauit. Hesitans igitur mater cuinam posset uiro filiam suam tradere, acceptance of the deed. After much hesitation, not knowing if a man would ever want her

18. timens etiam ne si hoc ad aliquorum notitiam perueniret, puella in obprobrium omnium daughter, and fearing it could be found out and the girl would loose her reputation, she had

19. incideret, hoc tandem consilium adinuenit: predictum etenim puerum ad iusiurandum coegit, a good solution: she made the above boy swear an oath that he would restore, with the help of

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20. ut si aliquando uolente Deo honore paterno, comitatu scilicet Barchinonensi, reindueretur, God, his paternal heritage and become ruler of the county of Barcelona, and return and

21. predictam puellam in matrimonium sibi copularet. Que facto, sordidis eum uestibus induit, et marry the girl. When this was agreed, she dressed him in dirty, old clothes to look like a

22. sub habitu peregrini cum quadam uetula ad matrem suam, que adhuc uiua in uiduitate foreigner, and let him travel with an old woman to his mother, who remained living as

23. permanebat, in Barchinonense territorium delegauit. Quem mater cognoscens, quod in a widow in the region of Barcelona. When his mother recognized him, because he was

24. quibusdam insolitis in corpore hominis partibus Pilosus erat, unde et Pilosi nomen accepit, hairy on an unusual part of his body, which is why he was known as “the Hairy”, she

25. conuocatis magnatibus ac proceribus totius patrie sue, qui patrem eius nouerant et ei fideles had a conference with the important nobles in the country, who knew his father and were

26. extiterant, filium suum eis occulte ostendit. Recogitantes igitur omnes illi magnates et loyal, and she introduced her son to them secretly.The nobles recognized the fraudulent and

27. optimates quanta fraude et obprobrio pater eius occisus fuerit et iste exheredatus, pro domino shameful way in which his father was killed, which deprived him of his rightful heritage, and

28. eum susceperunt et ei fidem tanquam domino suo se seruaturos iurauerunt. Constituto igitur accepted him as their lord and promised to follow his leadership. They met on a specific day

29. die, conuenerunt omnes simul cum puero in locum ubi Salomonem, natione Gallicum, and place with the boy, because they had learned where Salomon, a Gaul, and

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30. comitem tunc Barchinonensem, debere interesse didicerant; ibique communi consilio Count of Barcelona, would make his appearance; and as mutually agreed, the boy

31. predictus puer, manibus propriis, prefatum comitem euaginato gladio coram omnibus killed, with his own hands, the above count in front of their eyes and thus took control of the

32. interemit, eiusque comitatum a Narbona usque in Hispaniam solus, dum uixit, obtinuit. entire county from Narbonne to Hispania, as his sole possession as long as he lived.

33. Missis deinde legatis in Galliam, filiam supradicti comitis de Flandres, sicut He sent legates to Gaul regarding the daughter of the count of Flanders and,

34. promiserat, in matrimonium accepit, occurens illi congruo loco et die. Consilio igitur et ope as promised, met and married her at an agreed time and place. The advice and support of

35. amicorum puelle actum est ut gratiam et amicitiam regis haberet; et accipiens per manum eius the girl’s friends brought him the grace and friendship of the king; he received from him

36. honorem suum, in ipsius curia diutius remansit... much honor and remained long in his council…

Copyright © 2010 by W. von Chmielewski

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