Alternative Accounts

The following articles are about alternative accounts of the grail romances that have Perceval, or even Gawain, as the hero. There are many variations to the legend of Perceval and the Grail.

• Grail Continuations

• Robert de Boron and the Didot Perceval

• Perlesvaus

• Peredur

• Parzival

• Diu Krône, see Sir Gawain

Related Page

Origin of the Grail (Boron's Version)

Grail Continuations

Several authors tried to complete the story of the Grail, starting where Chretien de Troyes left off due to his untimely death. These writers wrote what are now called the Grail Continuations.

In Chretien's Arthurian Romances (translated by William W. Kibler and published by Penguin Classics), the translator provided the plots and brief summaries of the Continuations. I very much doubt that I will find any copy of the Continuations in English, in Australia; therefore I will just tell you what these notes say.

Also, the last two books were definitely influenced by Robert de Boron and possibly by the Vulgate versions, since they were written during or after that time.

• First Continuation (Gawain Continuation)

• Second Continuation

• Third Continuation (Manessier Continuation)

• Fourth Continuation

First Continuation

It was called the Pseudo-Wauchier Continuation or Gawain Continuation, because it was Gawain who became the hero of the Quest. Written in the late 12th century, the story began where Chretien left off, particularly about Gawain's adventures (see Castle of Marvels).

Gawain was trapped in the castle that belonged to his mother and grandmother, who didn't know his identity. King Arthur arrived at the castle to witness the duel between Gawain and Guiromelant. Gawain reunited Arthur with his mother and sister, and he revealed his own identity. Everyone rejoiced at the reunion.

Gawain fought and defeated Guiromelant in single combat. Gawain only spared Guiromelant's life when his sister Clarissant finally decided to return her affection to her brother's enemy. Arthur married Clarissant off to Guiromelant before Gawain could get Guiromelant to drop the charges against him.

Gawain left Arthur and later found himself at the Grail Castle, where he witnessed the procession of the Grail, like Perceval. However a new element had been added to the legend. Gawain found a man in a bier with a broken sword. Gawain discovered that the man who could mend the broken sword would understand the mysteries of the Grail. But Gawain fell into a magical slumber and found himself in a field, and the Grail Castle had disappeared.

Gawain went to King Escavalon, since he had failed to find the Bleeding Lance. Gawain was to face Guinganbresil, in a trial by combat, since he had been accused of treacherously killing Guinganbresil's lord. However, Arthur arrived and resolved the difference between the two knights by marrying Guinganbresil to Arthur's grand-daughter.

Arthur then got involved in a siege with Brun de Branlant, a lord who refused to swear fealty to him.

Girflet, who was one of the knights, went on a quest to Proud Castle, where he was captured and imprisoned. Arthur and his knights went to rescue Girflet, and became involved in a series of challenges in single combats. When Gawain won his duel, Girflet was freed.

Gawain then found his way back to the Grail Castle. The hero discovered that the Bleeding Lance was used to pierce Jesus' thigh at the Crucifixion. Gawain failed to mend the broken sword. Gawain managed to ask the right question about the Grail, but failed to hear the answer when he fell asleep again. Again he was transported to the countryside; this time, the land was restored and the earth was fertile.

There are a few other episodes in this Continuation which have nothing to do with the Grail, such as the adventures of Caradoc, and Gareth, Gawain's brother, in the swan boat.

Second Continuation

The Second Grail Continuation was called Wauchier de Denain Continuation or Perceval Continuation, because Perceval was again the main character. Wauchier de Denian wrote this work in the late 12th century.

Perceval met a beautiful maiden who would return his love, if he retrieved her magic hound and stag's head which had been stolen. In this quest, Perceval went through a series of adventures, like those written by Chretien, defeating knights in single combat and sending them off to Arthur as prisoners. Perceval also fought against Gawain's son called the "Fair Unknown", but in this contest, they fought to a draw.

Perceval also returned to Biaurepaire, the castle where he had met his sweetheart, the Lady Blancheflor. This time he defeated the Handsome Wicked Knight who was besieging Biaurepaire.

Perceval then returned home, where he met his sister for the first time. His sister told him how their mother died. Together, they went to see their uncle, the hermit he had met in Chretien's story (see Perceval's Repentance about meeting his uncle). At the Castle of Maidens, Perceval recovered the dog and stag's head, after defeating a knight named Garsulas.

As Perceval went in search of the maiden who had sent him on this quest, he meet another maiden who gave him a magic ring that he had to take to the Grail Castle, but he got sidetracked when he became involved in a tournament, held in Proud Castle. Perceval fought in disguise and defeated many of Arthur's best knights.

Perceval then went on another journey. Perceval was recognised as the greatest knight in the world, when he reached the peak of Mount Dolorous and tied his horse to a magic pillar set up by Merlin.

Perceval entered the Grail Castle for the second time. The hero mended the broken sword by joining the two sections together. The story ended before we could hear of the mystery of the Grail from the Fisher King.

Third Continuation

The Third Continuation is also called the Manessier Continuation. This continuation was written by Manessier, c. 1214-27.

It should be noted that this Continuation was by then influenced by the works of Robert de Boron, since there are references to Joseph of Arimathea.

The grieving Fisher King had crippled himself with the broken sword blade, because Partinal of the Red Tower had killed his brother.

Perceval defeated three demons. The first demon was a bodiless arm wielding a sword; the second was another demon who looked like a horse. The last demon looked like Blancheflor. Perceval avenged the death of the Fisher King's brother.

Then Perceval went and healed the Fisher King, who happened to be his uncle. When the Fisher King died years later, Perceval succeeded the Fisher King and became keeper of the Grail.

When Perceval died, his soul ascended to heaven, taking the Grail with him.

Fourth Continuation

Gerbert de Montreuil wrote the Fourth Continuation between 1226 and 1230.

It should be noted that this Continuation was by then influenced by the works of Robert de Boron and the Vulgate version, since there are references to Joseph of Arimathea.

Perceval had failed to understand the secrets of the Grail, and woke up in a middle of a meadow. The devastated land was restored even though he had failed in his test at the Grail Castle. Perceval had the sword given to him by the Fisher King repaired by the smith named Trabuchet.

Perceval restored Sagremor and Agravain of their sanity when they went to Mount Dolorous. When Perceval returned to Arthur's court, he sat on the seat that had killed six other knights (commonly known as Siege Perilous). This seat was reserved for the true grail knight. Perceval defeated many famous knights in two tournaments.

Perceval returned to Biaurepaire, where he married his sweetheart, the Lady Blancheflor. However, they never consummated their marriage, because they hoped that by keeping their virginity they could win their places in heaven.

Perceval then raised the siege at Montesclere, thereby winning the Sword with the Strange Belt. Perceval then returned to the Grail Castle, where he restored the Broken Sword. Having achieved this, the secrets of the grail were revealed to him.

Robert de Boron and the Didot Perceval

The most important author of the Grail after Chretien de Troyes was Robert de Boron. Below, I have provided some background information about Robert de Boron and some of the adaptations of his work.

• Trilogy of Robert de Boron

• Didot Perceval

Also, if you are interested in the family tree of Perceval, according to both Boron and the Didot Perceval, then you should click on the House of Perceval.

Trilogy of Robert de Boron

The next most important author after Chretien de Troyes was another French poet named Robert de Boron. Boron wrote three works: Joseph d'Arimathie, Merlin, and Perceval. It was a trilogy of the Holy Grail. These tales were written in Old French verse, around 1200.

We have Boron to thank for connecting the Holy Grail to the cup used by Jesus during the Last Supper and to Joseph of Arimathea. Boron identified the Grail as a chalice, whereas Chretien said it was a dish and Wolfram von Eschenbach thought it was a stone! You also have to thank him because it was Boron who first introduced how Arthur became king, when he drew the sword out of the stone or anvil.

The first story is titled Joseph d'Arimathie, and has to do with the origin of the Grail and its first keeper of the Grail, Joseph of Arimathea, and how the Grail was brought to Britain. See the Origin of the Grail. There is a prose version about the origin of the Holy Grail, titled Estoire de Saint Graal ("History of the Holy Grail", c. 1240), which is part of the romances of the Vulgate Cycle.

When the Arthurian romances in Vulgate Cycle were written, someone decided to rewrite Boron's Joseph d'Arimathie. This Vulgate tale was titled Estoire de Saint Graal ("History of the Holy Grail", c. 1240), and it included many new characters and adventures that were not included in Boron's original. Some of the sources for Estoire de Saint Graal come from the two original Vulgate tales: Lancelot Propre ("Lancelot Proper") and Queste del Saint Grail ("The Quest of the Holy Grail"). See the Origin of the Grail about the Vulgate history of the events.

Boron's second work was titled Merlin, but only a small fragment survived. The tale begins with the birth of Merlin and was supposed to have ended with the wizard's death. The story included the conception and birth of Arthur, how he was secretly raised by his foster parents. It was Boron who introduced Arthur drawing the sword out of the stone and becoming king. Before Arthur's coronation, the story ended abruptly because only part of Boron's text on Merlin survived.

There is a prose version of Merlin which formed part of the Vulgate Cycle (known as Prose Merlin or Vulgate Merlin); this was written about 40 years after Boron's trilogy. A third version of Merlin was titled Suite du Merlin (c. 1250), which was a continuation of the Vulgate Merlin. Suite du Merlin formed part of Post-Vulgate Cycle. You will find part of Merlin in the pages of Merlin and the Legend of Excalibur.

The last book of Boron was titled Perceval (c. 1200), but is completely lost, though we are told that the French Didot Perceval (c. 1205) contained many of the scenes from Boron's version. I can't attest to this comparison, yet it would be best that you read the Didot Perceval, sometimes known as the Prose Perceval (if you can get your hands on a copy).

The Didot Perceval doesn't really fit in with Boron's trilogy (my opinion), because the wizard Merlin died at the end of Merlin, but in Didot Perceval, the wizard was still alive after the death of Arthur and Perceval.

Two of these works were concerned with the Grail itself, while the middle book called Merlin linked the Grail through the creation of the Round Table by Merlin, particularly the Siege Perilous (Perilous Seat). The Siege Perilous remained empty and was reserved only for the Grail knight, the hero destined to win the Grail.

Didot Perceval

The Didot Perceval was influenced by the work of Chretien de Troyes' Conte du Graal, the Second Continuation (late 12th century) and Robert de Boron's poems (c. 1200). Didot Perceval was supposed to be a prose version of Boron's lost Perceval (c. 1200). Didot Perceval was written probably around 1205, by an anonymous writer.

There are two copies of the Didot Perceval that have survived: the 'D' manuscript and the 'E' manuscript. The copy that I read in the State Library belonged to the 'E' manuscript. I don't know if there are any differences between the manuscripts.

Perceval was the son of Alain de Gros and grandson of Bron, the Rich Fisher. Here, Bron was also known as the Fisher King. The Fisher King was suffering from a debilitating illness instead of being maimed.

Unlike Chretien's Conte du Graal (c. 1185), Perceval's father, Alain le Gros, was still alive, and it was he who instructed Perceval to set out for King Arthur's castle to become a knight of the Round Table. Only then did Alain die. Perceval set out for Arthur's one day, without informing his mother. His mother, thinking that his son had been killed by some wild beast, died from grief.

The Siege Perilous was first introduced in Boron's Joseph of Arimathie and Merlin. The Siege Perilous was the only seat left vacant in the Round Table; the seat was reserved for the true Grail knight, who would happen to be the greatest knight in the world. This seat was supposed to represent the seat of Jesus at the table of the Last Supper. Once, one of Joseph's followers named Moys (his name is Moses in Boron's Joseph d'Arimathie, c. 1200) thought to seat himself at the Siege Perilous of the Grail Table, but Moys was hurled into the abyss. See the Origin of the Grail, about Joseph and the Grail.

When Perceval sat upon the Siege Perilous, the stone seat was split down the middle. A voice of God or the Holy Spirit told those in Arthur's court that an enchantment had fallen upon Logres until a knight achieved the Grail. Perceval would have been swallowed up by the earth, had he not been the grandson of Bron or had the naive hero not crossed himself before sitting on the Siege Perilous.

Perceval went to the Grail Castle twice. The first time he came upon the Grail Castle by accident, where he witnessed the Grail, but he failed to ask the crucial question that would have lifted the enchantment from Logres and healed his grandfather, the Fisher King. Perceval was not aware that he was already in the castle until he left it in the morning. A damsel rebuked Perceval for not asking the question after leaving the castle, which would have completed his adventure.

Perceval tried to find the Grail the second time, but failed to find it until ten years later. During that time, his adventure followed that of the Second Continuation, losing a chess game against an invisible opponent, the hunt for the stolen white stag's head and the magic hound. It was Merlin who finally guided Perceval to the Grail Castle.

The second time, Perceval managed to ask the right question, gaining the secrets of the Grail. Perceval told Bron that he was his grandson. Bron taught him the secret words concerning the Grail. Seven days later, Bron died; the angels took the aged king's soul to heaven. Perceval then became the new keeper of Grail and king of the Grail Castle. The devastated and barren land and the Siege Perilous were miraculously restored.

Perlesvaus

There were many other authors. Sometimes, the Grail was no longer a relevant object sought in the quest. As it was the case with the tale of Le Haut Livre du Graal or Perlesvaus, written between 1200 and 1212. In this tale, Perceval is called Perlesvaus (though the translation that I have called him Perceval). Lancelot and Gawain played a more active role in the new quest with Perceval.

Perceval was the son of Alain and Yglais, and he had one sister named Dindraine. On his mother's side, he had three uncles, the Fisher King named Messios (a name that was only used once throughout the book), a Hermit-King named Pelles, and the enemy King of Castle Mortal. See the family tree on the House of Perlesvaus.

Usually, at the beginning of the tales of Perceval, Perceval's mother died when the hero left his isolated home to become a knight (like Chretien de Troyes' Conte du Graal), but in this tale Yglais lived as the widowed ruler of her husband's land, throughout Perceval's adventures. Several times the hero had to rescue her from invaders. In this tale, the Grail Castle was often referred to as the Castle of the Souls. In this book, he had already visited the Fisher King's castle and failed to ask questions about the Grail and the Bleeding Lance. His reticence had caused devastation and instability in all the kingdoms of Britain, where knights had to undertake strange adventures, including the quest for the Grail. His failure in the first meeting also caused the Fisher King to languish in a long, strange illness. Only by asking the right question about the Grail could he heal the Fisher King.

The poet seemed to assume that people had already read Chretien's Conte du Graal. So the Perlesvaus was something like a continuation of Conte du Graal.

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The story begins with Arthur's adventures and then Gawain's, and later on Lancelot's adventures are told. Perceval himself doesn't appear in the book, until just less than a third way through the book.

After Arthur's short adventure, three damsels came to Cardueil. One damsel walked on foot, and she was the most beautiful of the three damsels. She held a whip in one hand, driving two mounts before her. Another maiden was dressed like a squire and rode on a white mule, which bore a shield and a hound. A third maiden rode in a cart that was pulled by three stags and it was filled with 150 severed heads. The Maiden of the Cart would reappear many times in the books as a guide and instructor to each of the three heroes. She was bald and her right arm was suspended on a sling of gold silk, because she had received a wound from a lance. In one hand she held the head of a king, sealed with silver and a gold crown on its head.

Before they left, the Maiden of the Cart addressed and instructed Arthur that they would leave the shield and hound behind for the Good Knight (Perceval) to take with when he came to Cardueil. The shield had argent and azure bands, with a red cross on a gold boss. The shield was said to belong to Joseph of Arimathea, and he had used the blood of Jesus to paint the cross on the gold boss.

When the three maidens left Cardueil, they encountered Gawain. The maiden of the cart followed and guided Gawain in some of his early adventures. At the castle of the Black Hermit, the Black Hermit's knights stole the 150 heads from the cart of the maiden. Gawain watched helplessly, because he could not prevent them from stealing the heads, being no match for the Black Hermit.

In one adventure, Gawain arrived at the castle Kamaalot and assisted Yglais, Perceval's mother, whose castle was under siege. The Lord of the Fens, her enemy, had taken all her other castles and most of her land. Gawain defeated the Lord of the Fens in a duel, but he only won a one-year truce for Yglais. The Lord of the Fens would accept no more terms until he fought with Yglais' son (Perceval).

Gawain's long adventure to reach the Grail Castle culminated with him in two adventures: recovering the Shield of Judas Maccabee, which he kept, and the sword that John the Baptist was beheaded with. Only with this sword, could Gawain gain entry to the Grail Castle. Gawain had to kill a giant to win the sword. However, like Perceval, Gawain failed to ask the question when he saw the Grail, so the Fisher King continued to suffer. Having failed to ask the question, Gawain returned to his uncle's court in Cardueil.

Lancelot was even less successful. Because of his sin as the lover of Queen Guinevere, Lancelot did not see the Grail at all when he reached the castle. Lancelot had also become involved in a beheading game. Lancelot beheaded one knight, but he had to offer his head after one year and one day to the brother of the knight whom Lancelot had beheaded. This was similar to Gawain's adventure with the Green Knight; see Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, about the beheading game.

Gawain and Lancelot then become involved in the quest to find Perceval, when Perceval's sister arrived at Arthur's castle in Cardueil. Dindraine was searching for her brother, because her mother's land was under siege by the Lord of the Fens, the kinsman of the Red Knight whom Perceval had killed and now wore the dead knight's red armour. (See Chretien's Conte du Graal, about the Red Knight and Perceval's early adventures.)

When Perceval finally appeared in the book, he had just recovered from an illness. Perceval did go to Cardueil to fetch the shield and the hound, and departed immediately afterwards on a mysterious ship, without waiting to see his sister.

Gawain did find Perceval in the tournament at Crimson Heath, but Gawain didn't recognise him because Perceval was armed as the White Knight. The winner would take the Circle of Gold (golden circlet), which was actually the crown of thorns that the Romans had put on Jesus' head during his Crucifixion. The winner also had to avenge the death of Alain of Escavalon (not to be confused with Perceval's father, who was also called Alain), who was actually the cousin of Perceval on his father's side. The Knight of the Burning Dragon had killed Alain of Escavalon.

Both heroes fought, and both were considered the two best in the field. But Perceval left immediately without taking the Circle of Gold. Both the damsel and Gawain were distressed when Perceval left. Both the damsel and Gawain departed in different directions.

Since Perceval undertook one adventure after another, he found that he was delayed from reaching the Grail Castle and healing the Grail King. And this delay would prove to be very costly.

One day, Perceval found Dindraine weeping because she couldn't find her brother. When she recognised the shield that he wore, Dindraine was finally reunited with her brother. She informed Perceval that their mother would lose her last castle if he didn't come and save her. While Perceval set out to rescue his mother from the Lord of the Fens, Dindraine detoured to the Perilous Cemetery to fetch the sacred cloth. This cloth was needed, if Perceval was to succeed in his adventure.

Before she left the cemetery, she heard a loud voice announce that the Fisher King, her uncle, was dead. More troubling news was that the King of Castle Mortal had captured the Grail Castle and the Grail and other holy relics had vanished, taken by the angels. So Perceval had failed in his quest to heal the Fisher King.

Perceval returned to Kamaalot with his sister, where they were happily reunited with their mother. Perceval confronted the Lord of the Fens; he defeated and captured his enemy. Since the Lord of the Fens had captured his mother's land and killed so many of her knights, Perceval showed no mercy to his prisoner. Perceval killed the other prisoners he had captured, filling a vat with their blood. Then he hanged the Lord of the Fens, by his feet; his enemy was then plunged into the vat, so that the Lord drowned in his men's blood.

When he heard news that the Knight of the Dragon had attacked Arthur's kingdom, Perceval set out once again. Perceval met the damsel who carried the dead body of Alain of Escavalon in her cart. The Maiden of the Circle of Gold had loved Alain; this maiden was also a pagan queen. At this moment, the Maiden of the Circle of Gold's castle was under siege from the Knight of the Dragon. She warned Perceval of the danger, because on the Knight's shield was a magic dragonhead that could actually breathe fire. Only Perceval could defeat the Knight of the Dragon, because he had the Shield of Joseph of Arimathea that he had taken from Arthur's castle; the one left behind by the bald-headed Maiden of the Cart.

The Knight of the Dragon attacked Perceval. Although the dragon-shield sprouted fire at Perceval, he was protected by his own magic shield. Angry that he could not harm Perceval, he hurled fire at the cart, burning the body of Alain of Escavalon. Distressed by this act, Perceval cut off the Knight's sword hand. Then he thrust his sword into the mouth of the dragon. The dragon was enraged by this attack, so the dragon now attacked the owner of the shield, burning the Knight of the Dragon to a crisp.

The Queen of the Circle of Gold and her people rejoiced at the Knight's death. Since the Queen and her subjects were pagans, they gladly converted to the new religion (Christianity). The Queen had her name changed to Elyza when she was baptised. She rewarded the hero by crowning Perceval with the Circle of Gold (crown of thorns).

Since the Grail had vanished, Perceval's new quest was this Crown that he won.

Shortly after this quest was completed, Perceval sought to retake the Grail Castle from his evil uncle, the King of Castle Mortal. Perceval fought his way to the castle and defeated the knights that guarded the nine bridges.

Perceval won back his uncle's castle (Grail Castle), and King of Castle Mortal threw himself off the tower and died. Because the Fisher King had already died some time ago, Perceval became the new lord of the Grail Castle. And with Castle Mortal's death, the Grail, Bleeding Lance and other holy relics returned to the Grail Chapel.

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There were many adventures of the three heroes after Perceval won back the Grail Castle. The most interesting and different event is this.

News arrived that Sir Kay, Arthur's seneschal, had secretly murdered Loholt, the son of Arthur and Guinevere. Loholt had killed a giant named Logrin. Whenever Loholt killed his opponent in combat, he had the strange habit of sleeping on top of his dead enemy. When Kay saw Loholt sleeping, he beheaded Arthur's son and hid his body. Kay then took the giant's head, to take credit for the adventure. Arthur had unwittingly rewarded his son's killer with a large fief.

Upon discovery of Kay's treachery, the seneschal fled to Brittany and took service with Brien of the Isles, Arthur's mortal enemy. When Arthur was sent on an adventure to visit Perceval and the Grail, Brien and Kay invaded Britain with a large force. During the invasion and her husband's absence, Guinevere died from her grief over her son's death, and was buried in Avalon, at the hermitage of Glastonbury. Brien was defeated and captured; Kay being wounded, fled back to Brittany.

Instead of killing Brien, Arthur offered his enemy a position as Arthur's seneschal. Brien proved he was even more treacherous than Kay. Brien set Arthur against Lancelot, where the foolish king had thrown his friend (Lancelot) in the dungeon. Brien was also in league with King Claudas, a mortal enemy of Lancelot and Lancelot's late father. Claudas landed and invaded Britain. Many of Arthur's knights left the king, because he listened to no one except Brien's treacherous counsel. Arthur later freed Lancelot, and Brien became his enemy again.

Perceval continued to go out, seeking one adventure after another. He had to rescue his sister from Aristor of Amorave, cousin of the Lord of the Fens. Aristor had the habit of forcing a marriage to a damsel, but after one year of marriage, he would cut off her head. Perceval arrived in time to prevent the marriage from taking place. When Perceval cut off Aristor's head, even Aristor's own vassals cheered because he was a cruel and unpopular king.

The Maiden of the Cart then sent Perceval to fight the Black Hermit, who had stolen the heads in her cart. During his journey, he converted another pagan queen named Queen Jandree. He was also trapped on a ship that took him to the island where the Castle of the Four Horns stood, the Island of Plenty and the Island of Need. He also encountered his uncle's wife (on his father's side), and he helped her to rescue her son from King Gohart. Perceval also witnessed the tombs of his father and his eleven uncles. Then Perceval returned to Britain, and he defeated and killed Black Hermit.

He also met the Maiden of the Cart again. This time her hair had grown and her arm was healed from the lance wound. Her companion, who always walked on foot since the Fisher King languished, could now ride a horse. All of this happened because Perceval had regained the Grail Castle and done a lot of other good works.

Later, Perceval retired to the Grail Castle with his mother and sister. Even the three maidens stayed with Perceval at the Grail Castle. They lived together for years, leading a religious life. One by one, each woman died, living a life in devotion to the Saviour. Perceval no longer set out for adventure. After his mother and sister died, a ship with a red sail came by, and Perceval knew it was time to depart. Perceval was going to the island where his father was buried.

With his departure, the Grail and other relics vanished; taken to heaven, never to be seen again. Perceval was never seen again, too. The Grail Castle fell into ruin. As to Arthur, he was buried beside his queen, at Glastonbury Chapel, on the Isle of Avalon.

Peredur

According to the Welsh romance called Peredur Son of Evrawg, one of the tales from the Mabinogion, the hero was named Peredur. The romance followed a similar line to Chretien's Conte du Graal and the Second Continuation, yet it was also different in several areas.

Like the previous story, Peredur was brought up by his mother, ignorant of the outside world. His father was an earl from the North who had died in war along with his six sons. His mother had hoped that isolation from court life and war would prevent her last surviving son from being a knight. So Peredur grew into a young, ignorant man, skilled as a hunter. Unlike Chretien's Perceval, Peredur knew his own name and the name of his father.

His life changed when he met a knight named Owain (Yvain) and his companions in the forest, while he was out hunting in the woods. After inquiring of who and what they were, Peredur decided that he wanted to become a knight too. Peredur was determined to set out for Arthur's court.

His mother failed to dissuade her son in this adventure, so she gave him several bad pieces of advice, similar to those given in Chretien's version. Such advice as wooing a damsel who didn't want his attention; taking jewellery from the damsel and giving it to someone else; eating food from those who do not offer hospitality. All these pieces of advice were given in the hope that her son would be a fool and boorish, so that no king or knight would think of knighting her son. When he left, his mother died when she was overcome with sorrow because Peredur had abandoned her.

His adventures seemed to be the same as that of the French version, until he reached the castle of his uncle (sort of like the Grail Castle, but without the grail). These adventures included the damsel in the pavilion, which he thought was a church. Taking his mother's advice, he took food though he was uninvited, took the ring and kissed the damsel in the tent.

Then at Arthur's court, the Red Knight came into the great hall, took the gold cup out of Gwenhwyfar's hand, and threw the content in her face. (Chretien de Troyes had called the knight, the Red Knight of Quinqueroy.) Then this knight would challenge anyone to avenge the insult to Gwenhwyfar (Guinevere), to meet him in the meadow for a duel. No knights in Arthur's hall dared to accept this challenge, because they all feared this knight.

As the arrogant knight departed, Peredur arrived, and the first person he met was Kei (Kay), who heaped insults on Peredur when he said that he wanted to become a knight (Peredur was dressed poorly in his country clothes). However, when a dwarf and the dwarf's wife saw Peredur, they foretold that the young man would become the best knight in the world. Angry at this announcement, Kei struck the two dwarfs. Kei sent Peredur after the knight in the meadow, to fight and take back the cup; only by stripping the knight's armour and weapon would Peredur become a knight. Peredur did so, killing the knight at the meadow with his javelin. With the help of Owain, he stripped off the knight's armour and donned all the trappings. Peredur told Owain that he would return one day and avenge the insult to him and the injury to the dwarfs that Kei had done.

Peredur came to one castle and met a hoary-haired man who claimed to be his maternal uncle. The gentleman taught Peredur how to use the weapon and armour properly. One of uncle's pieces of advice was not to ask too many questions, which would make him look the fool. (So Peredur's uncle played the same role as Chretien's Gornemant of Gohort, as Perceval's adviser and mentor.)

At his uncle's castle, Peredur witnessed the strange procession of the bleeding lance, but instead of a holy vessel (grail), he saw two girls bringing in a severed head on a large platter filled with blood. The people in his uncle's court wept and lamented. Peredur did not understand, nor did he inquire about what he saw.

Some weeks after leaving his uncle's court, Peredur encountered a hag, one of the nine witches of Gloucester. The nine hags taught Peredur how to bear arms and to ride a warhorse.

After various adventures, Peredur came upon the Fortress of Marvels. At the fortress, Peredur played and lost a game of chess against an invisible player. Peredur angrily threw the chess board and pieces out the window. The chessboard belonged to the empress. The only way he could meet her was to kill the Oppressor. The Oppressor was the swiftest stag, with only single horn. Peredur hunted the stag for the empress using one of her dogs. (Like the Second Continuation.)

Peredur met another woman mounted on a horse. The woman was angry that he had killed her stag. To make amends with horsewoman, he must fight a black man in the forest. Peredur found and fought the black man, who escaped with Peredur's horse. Peredur walked until he reached a castle, where he met with a lame man and Gwalchmei (Gawain). He also met a youth with blonde hair, which happened to be his first cousin.

His cousin told Peredur that the head on the platter the hero saw at his uncle's court was actually Peredur's cousin, who had been murdered by nine hags from Gloucester. The hags had also crippled his uncle. His cousin told him that Peredur would have to avenge the death of their cousin (the one with his head on the platter).

Peredur and Gwalchmei gathered Arthur's men, and they encountered the hags at Gloucester. The nine hags attacked Arthur's men. Though the hags taught Peredur the use of horse and fighting, he killed one of the hags when she slaughtered three of Arthur's knights. The other hags were pursued and killed.

This was how Peredur Son of Evrawg ended. As you can see, there was no Holy Vessel in the Welsh story, unless the "head in the platter" was the Grail.

Parzival

Perhaps the best story with Perceval as the hero was the story called Parzival, created by Wolfram von Eschenbach (1200-1210). Wolfram was a German poet. To Wolfram, the Grail was a precious stone that fell from the sky. This stone was known as lapsit exillis.

Wolfram denied that he used Chretien de Troyes' work as his source, even though much of the earlier half of story resembled Conte du Graal. Wolfram claimed that his source was a writer from the Provençal (southern France), named Kyot, which may well be fictional.

Based on his work, here is a new family tree for Parzival.

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There was another German source found in the 13th century German romance, titled Diu Krône ("The Crown"), but this time it was Gawain who was the hero. However, the Grail Quest didn't begin until the second to last chapter of this book.

Here, the Grail story departed from the usual Grail King. The Keeper of the Grail was a woman; well, she was actually a goddess. God had given this duty to the goddess as the Grail's caretaker, including the kingdom and the Grail Castle, which was suffering from a curse. Only the Grail hero who asked the vital question could bring the curse and suffering to an end. It was Gawain who succeeded in the quest, where Perceval had failed.

See Sir Gawain's page about the Diu Krône.