Post-Vulgate Cycle: Difference between revisions
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The '''Post-Vulgate Cycle''', also known as the '''Post-Vulgate Arthuriad''', the '''Post-Vulgate ''Roman du Graal''''' ('''''Romance of the Grail''''') or the '''Pseudo-Robert de Boron Cycle''',<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MQoKeohhNkMC&pg=PA1418|title=Medieval France: An Encyclopedia|last1=Kibler|first1=William W.|last2=Zinn|first2=Grover A.|date=1995|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=9780824044442|language=en}}</ref> is one of the major [[Old French]] [[prose]] [[Literature cycle|cycles]] of [[Arthurian]] literature from the early 13th century. It is considered essentially a rewriting of the earlier and more popular [[ | The '''Post-Vulgate Cycle''', also known as the '''Post-Vulgate Arthuriad''', the '''Post-Vulgate ''Roman du Graal''''' ('''''Romance of the Grail''''') or the '''Pseudo-Robert de Boron Cycle''',<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MQoKeohhNkMC&pg=PA1418|title=Medieval France: An Encyclopedia|last1=Kibler|first1=William W.|last2=Zinn|first2=Grover A.|date=1995|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=9780824044442|language=en}}</ref> is one of the major [[Old French]] [[prose]] [[Literature cycle|cycles]] of [[Arthurian]] literature from the early 13th century. It is considered essentially a rewriting of the earlier and more popular [[Lancelot-Grail]] (also known as the ''Vulgate Cycle'' cycle), with much left out but also much added, including characters and scenes from the [[Prose Tristan|Prose ''Tristan'']]. The cycle did not survive in its entire original form, but has been reconstructed from fragments in several medieval languages. | ||
== History == | == History == | ||
Latest revision as of 08:15, 4 July 2025
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Template:Infobox book The Post-Vulgate Cycle, also known as the Post-Vulgate Arthuriad, the Post-Vulgate Roman du Graal (Romance of the Grail) or the Pseudo-Robert de Boron Cycle,[1] is one of the major Old French prose cycles of Arthurian literature from the early 13th century. It is considered essentially a rewriting of the earlier and more popular Lancelot-Grail (also known as the Vulgate Cycle cycle), with much left out but also much added, including characters and scenes from the Prose Tristan. The cycle did not survive in its entire original form, but has been reconstructed from fragments in several medieval languages.
History
The Post-Vulgate Cycle, written anonymously probably between 1230 and 1235 (different estimates of the beginning date) to 1240 (1250 according to J.D. Bruce[2]) in its original form. It did not survive complete, but has been reconstructed from various Old French (considered original yet only survived in two fragments known as the Huth Merlin and La Folie Lancelot[3]), Castilian, Old Spanish, and Galician-Portuguese fragments.[4]
Earlier theories postulated that, known then as the so-called "pseudo-Boron" cycle, named so due to one manuscript's attribution of its authorship to Robert de Boron, it was either older than the Vulgate or derived from the same common and now lost original source.[5] As such, Gaston Paris had the P-V Suite du Merlin dated as early as 1125—1230.[2]
The Post-Vulgate Cycle borrowed material from the first version of the Prose Tristan, and in turn was partially incorporated in its second version.[4] The Post-Vulgate itself (or at least its Suite du Merlin section[6]) was later also one of the most important original sources for Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, along with indirectly through the second version of the Prose Tristan.[7]
Structure and contents
The work is divided into four parts, named similar to their corresponding Vulgate Cycle versions. It is an attempt to create greater unity in the material, and to de-emphasise the secular love affair between Lancelot and Guinevere in favor of the religious and spiritual Quest for the Holy Grail. As such, it omits great most of the Vulgate Cycle's Lancelot Proper section, making it shorter and much less Lancelot-centered than its source.
Instead, it borrows from the first version of the legend of Tristan and Iseult, including Tristan himself as a prominent character. It further distinguishes from the Vulgate by its more pessimistic tone, its darker portrayal of several major characters such as Merlin, Morgan, and Gawain, and its bleak ending.[8][9][10]
- The Post-Vulgate Estoire del Saint Grail, which did not differ significantly from the Vulgate version. It tells the story of Joseph of Arimathea and his son Josephus, who bring the Holy Grail to Britain.
- The Post-Vulgate Estoire de Merlin, which also bears but few changes from the Vulgate. It concerns Merlin and the early history of Arthur.
- To this section is added the Post-Vulgate Suite du Merlin, or the Suite Post-Vulgate, the first major departure from the source material. It adds many adventures of Arthur and the early Knights of the Round Table, and includes details about Arthur's incestuous begetting of Mordred and receiving Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake that are not found in the Vulgate. It is best known from the French manuscript known as the Huth-Merlin. One version was printed twice as the Template:Ill.
- An incomplete fragment known as La Folie Lancelot (as published by Fanni Bogdanow), that is Lancelot's Madness, combines material from the Vulgate Lancelot Proper (otherwise missing from the Post-Vulgate Cycle) and the first version of the Prose Tristan to connect the events to the Queste section.[11] Some gaps are also filled in other surviving fragments.[12]
- The Post-Vulgate Queste del Saint Graal describes the knights' search for the Holy Grail, which can only be achieved by the worthy knights Galahad, Perceval, and Bors. The Post-Vulgate Queste is very different in tone and content from the Vulgate version. Elements from the Prose Tristan (first version) are present, such as the character Palamedes and King Mark's invasions of Arthur's realm. Its most complete version is the Portuguese Demanda do Santo Graal. This part of the cycle has been repeatedly printed in Spain as the Demanda del Santo Grial.
- The Post-Vulgate Mort Artu, concerning Arthur's death at the hands of his son Mordred and the collapse of his kingdom. It is based more closely on the Vulgate Mort but was rewritten with greater connectivity to the previous sections. Like the Queste, the P-V Mort is longer than the Vulgate version.
Modern editions
The first full English translation of the Vulgate and Post-Vulgate cycles were overseen by N.J. Lacy.