Post-Vulgate Cycle

Early 13th century Arthurian literature

Post-Vulgate Cycle

Morgan le Fay gives King Arthur the fake Excalibur in a 14th-century copy of the Post-Vulgate Suite de Merlin

Author| Unknown (self-attributed to Robert de Boron), probably an anonymous single scribe (speculated to be a member of the Cistercian Order)
Language| Old French (originally)
Subject| Matter of Britain
Genre| Chivalric romance

Publication date

| Estimated 1230–1240 (original version)
Publication place| Kingdom of France

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 Vulgate Cycle (also known as the Lancelot-Grail 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

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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

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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 Baladro del Sabio Merlín [es].
* 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 and total destruction 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

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The first full English translation of the Vulgate and Post-Vulgate cycles were overseen by N.J. Lacy.

* Lacy, N.J., ed. (1992–1995). The Old Lancelot-Grail: The Lady of the Lake French Arthurian Vulgate and Post-Vulgate in translation. New York, NY: Garland. OCLC 26129837.
* "The Quest for the Holy Grail", "The Death of Arthur", and "The Merlin Continuation". Volume 4 of 5. The Post-Vulgate, part I. Translated by Burns, E. Jane; Lacy, Norris J.; Asher, Martha. April 1995. ISBN 0-8153-0748-9.
* "The Merlin Continuation" (end), "The Quest for the Holy Grail", "The Death of Arthur", and "Chapter Summaries and Index of Proper Names". Volume 5 of 5. The Post-Vulgate, parts I-III. Translated by Asher, Martha; Golembeski, Daniel; Lacy, Norris J.; Rosenberg, Samuel N. May 1996. ISBN 0-8153-0757-8.
* Lacy, N.J., ed. (2000). The Lancelot-Grail Reader: Selections from the Medieval French Arthurian cycle. New York, NY: Garland. ISBN 0-8153-3419-2.
* Lacy, N.J., ed. (c. 2010). Lancelot–Grail: The Old French Arthurian Vulgate and Post-Vulgate in translation. Cambridge, UK: D.S. Brewer. OCLC 491912745.
* "The Merlin Continuation". Volume 8 of 10. The Post-Vulgate Cycle. Translated by Lacy, Norris J.; Asher, Martha. March 2010. ISBN 9781843842385.
* "The Quest for the Holy Grail" and "The Death of Arthur". Volume 9 of 10. The Post-Vulgate Cycle. Translated by Lacy, Norris J.; Asher, Martha. October 2010. ISBN 9781843842330.
* "Chapter Summaries for the Vulgate and Post-Vulgate Cycles and Index of Proper Names". Volume 10 of 10. Translated by Lacy, Norris J.; Rosenberg, Samuel N.; Golembeski, Daniel. March 2010. ISBN 9781843842521.

## References

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1. ^ Kibler, William W.; Zinn, Grover A. (1995). Medieval France: An Encyclopedia. Psychology Press. ISBN 9780824044442.
2. ^ a b Bogdanow, Fanni (1966). The Romance of the Grail: A Study of the Structure and Genesis of a Thirteenth-century Arthurian Prose Romance. Manchester University Press.
3. ^ Victoria Guerin, M. (1995). The Fall of Kings and Princes: Structure and Destruction in Arthurian Tragedy. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-2290-2.
4. ^ a b Busby, Keith; Dalrymple, Roger (October 2006). Arthurian Literature XXIII. Boydell & Brewer. ISBN 978-1-84384-097-8.
5. ^ Bogdanow, Fanni (1966). The Romance of the Grail: A Study of the Structure and Genesis of a Thirteenth-century Arthurian Prose Romance. Manchester University Press. p. 40.
6. ^ Romance Rewritten. Boydell & Brewer. 2018. doi:10.2307/j.ctv1ntgs3. ISBN 9781843845096. JSTOR j.ctv1ntgs3. S2CID 240036368.
7. ^ Norris, Ralph C. (2008). Malory's Library: The Sources of the Morte Darthur. DS Brewer. ISBN 978-1-84384-154-8.
8. ^ Kennedy, Edward Donald (18 October 2013). King Arthur: A Casebook. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-36720-6.
9. ^ Busby, Keith; Thompson, Raymond H. (8 November 2005). Gawain: A Casebook. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-78352-4.
10. ^ Goodrich, Peter H. (June 2004). Merlin: A Casebook. Routledge. ISBN 1-135-58339-0.
11. ^ Busby, Keith; Dalrymple, Roger (2005). Arthurian Literature XXII. DS Brewer. ISBN 978-1-84384-062-6.
12. ^ Kibler, William W. (22 July 2010). The Lancelot-Grail Cycle: Text and Transformations. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-78640-0.

## Sources

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* Bogdanow, Fanni (1966). The Romance of the Grail: A study of the structure and genesis of a thirteenth-century Arthurian prose romance. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-071900167-3. LCCN 66070926. OCLC 2522396 – via Internet Archive (archive.org).
* Bogdanow, Fanni (1986). "La chute du royaume d'Arthur: Evolution d'un thème" [The fall of Arthur's kingdom: Evolution of a theme]. Romania (in French). 107 (428): 504–519\. doi:10.3406/roma.1986.1804.
* Lacy, Norris J., ed. (2000). The Lancelot-Grail Reader. New York, NY: Garland. ISBN 0-8153-3419-2.