WALES
Another Welsh poem with an uncertain relationship with the work of Chretien de Troyes, this time Pereceval, the Story of the Grail. Peredur may preserve some of the ancient material that found its way into Chretien’s source. The sequence of events is different m Peredur and there are many orginal episodes, such as the hero’s 14-year stay in Constantinople, where he co-rules with the Empress (a remnant of a sovereignty tale). In Peredur the Holy Grail is replaced by a severed head on a platter, which is an older archetype. But in spite of these differences, it is possible that the poem was influenced by the French romance.
Peredur’s father dies when he is young and his mother takes him into the woods to raise him in isolation. He later meets a group of knights and resolves to become like them. He travels to King Arthur’s court, where he is ridiculed by Cei. He sets off on further adventures, promising to take revenge on Cei for his insults, and on those who supported Cei.
While he is traveling he meets two of his uncles. The first (taking the role of Percival’s Gomemant) educates him in the use of arms and warns him not to ask the meaning of what he sees. The second (taking the role of Chretien’s Fisher King) shows Peredur a salver bearing a man’s severed head. The young man refrains from asking any questions about this and goes on to further adventures. These include a stay with the Nine Witches of Gloucester and an encounter with the woman who wants to be his tme love: Angharad Golden-Hand.
Peredur returns to the court of Arthur, only to embark on a new series of adventures that (this time) do not correspond to incidents in Perceval. Eventually he
Discovers that the severed head at his uncle’s court belonged to his cousin, who had been killed by the Nine Witches of Gloucester. Peredur avenges the wrongs done to his family and is acknowledged and applauded as a hero. (See Religion: Headhunting; Symbols: Grail Quest.)
World History
