Page:Journal of American Folklore vol. 12.djvu/249

 Bibliographical Notes. 237

translation of an old French prose romance, edited by C. Potvin in 1866. This story Mr. Evans has turned into very agreeable English, of somewhat archaic phraseology ; for the manner in which the translator has executed his undertaking, only praise can be offered.

As to the contents of the French tale, less unqualified approval can be pronounced. The narrative belongs to the most extravagant type of the abundantly marvellous fictions concerning the history of the Holy Grail. In a series of articles contained in this Journal, it has been shown that the oldest work connected with this cycle, the celebrated poem of Crestien of Troyes, knows nothing of the Grail as a vessel of the sacrament, but only of a mysterious dish which plays quite an accidental part in the action. By subsequent misunderstanding, according to the view taken in the papers mentioned, was developed the variety of later fictions, answering to modern religious novels, in which the Holy Grail played so prominent a part. In these stories the incidents of the French poet continued to fur- nish suggestions, which were so altered and elaborated as to result in completely opposite situations. In the end, the achievement of the Grail was assigned to a chaste knight, a type of Christ according to the mediaeval conception, named Galahad. The present romance is closely connected with the tale relating to the latter ; the hero is represented as celibate and religious, but is still named Perceval. The corruption of this appellation into Pellesvaus has furnished a convenient distinctive title for the romance. (For abstract, see vol. x. pp. 309-311.) The tale has interest for the scholar, as throwing light on the evolution of the romances dealing with Galahad ; how much literary value attaches to it may be questioned. Entirely without sequence or psychologic worth, it consists of a string of wild and impossible adventures ; in the presence of more reasonable con- temporary stories having some relation to human life, it may be thought that the composition is to be allowed only archaeologic merit.

The translator has added an epilogue, in which he comments on the date of record, which he sets as between 12 14 and 1225. This is likely; but when Mr. Evans proceeds to qualify the romance as the " first and most authentic " version of the legend, he makes a claim which will scarce receive the indorsement of any scholar familiar with the cycle. On the contrary, the romance bears on every page the characteristics of the thir- teenth century, in sharp distinction from the simpler and more poetic style of the twelfth. A well-known mention of the chronicler Helinandus refers to a history of the Holy Graal \ Mr. Evans well shows that the chronicler did not write in 1204, but as late as 1227, at which time, according to Vincent of Beauvais, Guarin, who is said to have been intimate with Helinandus, became bishop of Senlis. But Mr. Evans is in error in sup- posing that the notice of the chronicle of necessity refers to the romance now in question. On the contrary, as Mr. Nutt has indicated, the refer- ence seems to be to quite another work, the so-called Grand St. Graal.

The name of the author of this romance is not mentioned. The false prologue to Crestien's Perceval speaks of a certain Master Blihis as an authority on the story of the Grail ; this notice leads Mr. Evans to assume

�� �