Chapter 4 -- The Legend of Percival

In English literature, an important early collection of stories is the set of tales contained in Sir Thomas Mallory's “La Morte d'Arthur”, the story of King Arthur, the knights of the round table and the quest for the Holy Grail.

The Arthurian legends are full of sorcery and magic, spells and demons, and tell of the ongoing conflict between good and evil where objects have special powers and symbolism; where battles and conflicts between supernatural powers lie just below the surface of normal workings.

In this world—and to those who wrote them and read them—sorcerers and demons are as real as the space shuttle or things reported from on the Internet from the other side of the world are to us.

One of the important characters is a knight is named Percival. Percival is a very unusual character. He does not remember his past, he does not remember his parents or his childhood, but seems to more or less have been born as a full grown adult. He is innocent and naïve. He is able to communicate as an adult, but can only see the world through the eyes of an innocent child.

This man-child is then able to accomplish what many other brave and intelligent knights are not able to—save a king.

If all of this seems fantastic, it is. However, our legends and our myths often present some of the clearest windows into our inner workings.

This one in particular gives a very clear picture into the Medieval Era in Western Europe.

Material copyright 2016 by Gary Daum, all rights reserved. All photos and illustrations by Gary Daum unless otherwise noted. Unlimited use granted to current members of the Georgetown Prep community.