The Quest Of The Holy Grail -

Penguin Classics, May 1975. Reprint. Paperback. This is a readable and stylish translation, with most helpful annotation, of one of the supreme texts of the thirteenth century. It is the key section of the so-called `Vulgate Cycle' of Arthurian stories in French prose, revealing what is elsewhere more confused by other motifs - a radical criticism of the knightly code of the time, deploring bloodshed, sexual indulgence and class pride. Against this the text sets an ideal of self-denial to the point of asceticism, to keep the spirit keen to the opportunities providence constantly puts in our paths to step outside conventional roles in order to bear witness to the dignity of the individual, poised throughout his life between heaven and hell. The text is full of meaningful incident and evocative details. Most memorable of all are the accounts of the appearances of the Holy Grail, the supreme gift of God of which the eucharist (of which in this text it is so reminiscent) is itself but a symbol. The stress on the sheer deliciousness of the food the Grail provides shows that the author deplores sensual indulgence not out of puritanism but because it blunts mind and body to truer and more lasting delights. The text may be read today as a call either to Catholic spirituality or to the life of the imagination.