“Chrétien shall gain, since he has striven

at the command the count has given

and made endeavors manifold

to rhyme the best tale ever told

in any royal court: this tale

is called the Story of the Grail.

The count has given him the book;

now judge what Chrétien undertook.”

This quote represents the end of the poem’s introductory section, before it shifts to the first scene with Perceval. Here Chrétien de Troyes references his own work in putting the story of Perceval into verse. The next-to-last line, which appears to reference a book that Count Philip had given to Chrétien, has sparked speculation among scholars that the poem might be loosely based on an earlier written source that is no longer extant.

“‘I haven’t met a knight before,’

the youth replied, ‘nor seen one, nor

heard talk about them, which is odd

but you are handsomer than God.

If only I could look so fine

and be as strong as you, and shine!’”

Perceval (“the youth”) is interacting with the group of knights whom he encounters in his local woods, in a series of conversations marked by the motif of comic folly (See: Symbols & Motifs). Having first mistaken the knights for angels, and then for God, Perceval overflows with enthusiasm at the sight of their armor. This gives an example of the winsome blundering of Perceval’s character—ignorant but cheerfully unaware of his own ignorance—and also shows his immediate and early desire to become a knight.

“My son, soon you will be a knight

God willing; I am sure I’m right.

If you find, near or at a distance

a lady who requires assistance

or a distressed and troubled maid

who tells you she has need of aid

with her request you must concur:

all honor lies in helping her.”

This quote comes from Perceval’s conversation with his mother, after she has failed to dissuade him from his plan to become a knight. Having resigned herself to this fate, she tries to give him an explanation of Chivalry and the Meaning of Knighthood. The first precept she gives in exposition of that theme is that a knight must assist any woman who stands in need of aid.

“Above all else I recommend

that church and chapel you attend.

Pray to Our Lord, that He may give

great honor to you while you live

and in such deeds your life expend

that you may come to a good end.”

Here Perceval’s mother continues her instruction on the ideals of knighthood, adding a precept which underscores the importance of actively observing one’s faith. This quote illustrates the fact that Chrétien’s context was that of medieval Catholicism, in which the Christian faith was a central aspect of one’s life. Similar religious content recurs throughout the poem, and particularly in the instructions Perceval receives from his mother, Gornemant of Gohort, and the holy hermit.

“‘I want to see King Arthur there

for he makes knights, so they declare.’

‘In that direction, lad,’ said he

‘there is a castle by the sea.

Dear friend, if you will go that way

you’ll find King Arthur sad and gay.’”

This quote underscores The Significance of Questing, as Perceval sets out with his first goal in mind: to find King Arthur’s court and be made a knight. His interlocutor, a charcoal seller, points him in the right direction and makes reference to Arthur’s castle, thus tying in with one of the recurring symbols of the narrative: Castles as representations of each episodic adventure (See: Symbols & Motifs). The charcoal seller hints that Arthur’s condition is a complex one (“sad and gay”), but by the time Perceval reaches the court he has forgotten this interaction and is solely interested in his own goal, showing little attention to the king’s concerns.

“The young man did not care a chive

for anything the king related

and in no way commiserated

with his wife, shame, or suffering.

‘Make me a knight, my lord the king,’

was what the youth was heard to say

‘I’m eager to be on my way.’”

The motif of comic folly is present here, as the rustic young adventurer enters the grandeur and refinement of Arthur’s court but fails to think about anything other than himself (See: Symbols & Motifs). His lack of manners makes for an awkward and silly scene. To Chrétien’s readers, Perceval’s staggering ignorance would be obvious here: The process of becoming a knight was one that took many years and included significant training before being knighted, but he appears to have no understanding of how the system works.

“She greeted him and then began

to laugh, and laughing, said, ‘Young man

if you have long enough to live

deep in my heart I’m positive

no knight will be acclaimed or found

in any land the world around

to be a better knight than you

and I feel certain it is true.’”

A woman in Arthur’s court greets Perceval cheerfully, not taken aback by his rustic manners (as many of the others in the scene are), but charmed by his carefree self-possession. She recognizes his potential, and her prediction of his success takes on the nature of a prophecy which is gradually proven true as he sends back prisoners and messages which demonstrate his victories. For her prediction, however, the woman suffers a slap from Sir Kay, which motivates Perceval to return and avenge the blow.

“You can learn any lesson new

that you are willing to pursue.

So, my dear friend, to make a start

in all professions, you need heart,

hard work, and practice; you will see

we gain all knowledge by those three.”

Gornemant of Gohort speaks these lines to Perceval, encouraging him to persevere in the disciplines of knightly training. This quote also highlights the importance of Knowledge as the Key to Healing and Growth (“we gain knowledge by those three”), one of the major themes of Chrétien’s poem. In Perceval’s case, however, it is clear that he needs more than just heart, hard work, and practice to attain knowledge, for one might argue that he already has those three virtues—what he truly needs is instruction, such as what he receives from his mother, Gornemant, and the holy hermit.

“You must not talk too freely, for

no one can talk too long before

he makes a statement lacking sense

or which is rude and gives offense.

The wise man’s saying’s always been

that ‘Too much talking is a sin.’”

Like Perceval’s mother, Gornemant outlines some aspects of Chivalry and the Meaning of Knighthood for Perceval. Among the precepts he adds to the rules of chivalry are this recommendation not to talk too much. Unfortunately, Perceval takes this advice too far, which leads to scenes both comic and tragic in the subsequent episodes.

“They watched the young man visiting

their lady, but the youth refrained

from conversation and remained

completely silent, for he thought

about the lesson he was taught

so firmly by the nobleman.

Before too long the knights began

some conversations of their own.

The men said in an undertone

‘Do you suppose this man is dumb?’”

Here the motif of comic folly appears again, as Perceval takes Gornemant’s advice too far, creating a situation awkward for those involved but entertaining for the poem’s audience (See: Symbols & Motifs). The residents of Blancheflor’s castle are observing the young knight sitting with their lady, expecting and hoping that the two might have some chemistry with one another. Unfortunately, Perceval doesn’t speak at all, which leads to their whispered speculation that he might be mute. The awkwardness is eventually lifted by Blancheflor in the subsequent lines, when she decides to speak first.

“Go as a prisoner to King Arthur

greet him, and ask on my behalf

to see the maid who had to laugh

when she saw me, the maid whom Kay

the seneschal had slapped that day

and when he introduces her

you will become her prisoner.

And, if you please, tell her thereby

I pray God will not let me die

before I have avenged that blow.”

Perceval speaks these lines to the knight Anguingueron after defeating him in battle, thus demonstrating once again his extraordinary prowess. Perceval sends him to Arthur’s court as a reminder to them of his continuing success and as a warning to Sir Kay that the slap he gave the young woman will still be accounted for. This repeated pattern of sending prisoners back with that message (which also happens to Clamadeu and the Proud Knight) adds narrative threads that keep Perceval’s adventures tied to a larger narrative arc of his procession and return to King Arthur’s court.

“All saw him bear, with measured tread

the pure white lance. From its white tip

a drop of crimson blood would drip

and run along the white shaft and

drip down upon the squire’s hand

and then another drop would flow.

The knight who came not long ago

beheld this marvel, but preferred

not to inquire why it occurred

for he recalled the admonition

the lord made part of his tuition

since he had taken pains to stress

the dangers of loquaciousness.”

This quote is a description of the bleeding lance, and thus is a direct portrayal of one of the poem’s central symbols, that of the lance and the grail, which appear together in this scene (See: Symbols & Motifs). While the lance may draw from symbolic archetypes in earlier Celtic legends, its main significance appears to be as a reference to the Lance of Longinus, a spear used by a Roman soldier at Jesus’s crucifixion to pierce his side. Perceval is unwilling to ask any questions about the mysterious relic because of his desire to follow Gornemant’s advice on the rules of chivalry.

“The young man saw the maids’ procession

and did not dare to ask a question

about the grail or whom they served

the wise lord’s warning he observed

for he had taken it to heart.

I fear he was not very smart

I have heard warnings people give:

that one can be too talkative

but one can also be too still.”

Following shortly after the previous quote, this shows part of the text’s description of the grail and focuses again on Perceval’s hesitancy to speak. The “wise lord” in this context is Gornemant, and the one served by the grail is later revealed to be the Fisher King’s father, who subsists solely on a communion wafer borne by the grail. Uncommonly for the poem, Chrétien inserts his own commentary here, indicating to the audience that Perceval’s silence is a mistake, though readers will not learn why it was a mistake until after Perceval leaves the castle. 

“Unlucky Perceval, it’s such

a dreadful pity you did not

ask all these questions on the spot!

To ask one question would procure

the king’s recovery and his cure.

When the good king had once regained

use of his limbs, he would have reigned

in his land, to your benefit

for much good would have come from it.

Now learn disasters will ensue

for other people and for you;

misfortunes caused by nothing other

than your great sin against your mother:

because of you, she died of grief.”

Perceval’s cousin, whom he meets after leaving the Fisher King’s castle, speaks these lines, explaining the healing question and its potential effects on the Fisher King and his realm. It remains unexplained, however, why the question would have had this effect on the Fisher King—this is left as an unresolved element of the mystery throughout the poem. Perceval’s cousin connects his failure to ask the question with his prior sin of abandoning his mother (a connection also later made by the hermit). This is the first time Perceval hears news of his mother’s fate.

“In God’s name, sire, who is this knight

who vanquished, by his arms alone

so fine a knight? I’ve never known

or seen or ever heard the name

of any warrior who came

from all the islands of the sea

whose feats of arms and chivalry

could rank with any he can claim.”

These lines come from the transitional section in the middle of the poem, wherein the main action shifts from Perceval to Gawain. Gawain speaks these lines to King Arthur, referencing Perceval himself, whom they have just encountered standing in the snow after having received repeated messages from his defeated prisoners. This quote underscores the theme of Chivalry and the Meaning of Knighthood while essentially acknowledging the fulfillment of the prediction made by the young woman on the occasion of Perceval’s earlier visit to the court (See: Quote 7 above).

“You saw the time and place were right

for asking, yet were taciturn.

You had the perfect chance to learn

but kept still in an evil hour.”

This is part of the speech given by the so-called “ugly maiden” who appears at King Arthur’s court after Perceval rejoins them, and she directs this rebuke to Perceval himself. Her words echo those of Perceval’s cousin, calling out his failure to ask the healing question at the Fisher King’s castle. Chrétien’s thematic emphasis on Knowledge as the Key to Healing and Growth appears in this quote, evident in its reference to “the perfect chance to learn.”

“‘God grant me aid

I think, for such a little maid

she’s spoken with such dignity

I never could refuse her plea.

So, as she wishes, I will fight

tomorrow and will be her knight

a short while,’ Sir Gawain avowed.”

Here Gawain responds to Sir Tiebaut’s younger daughter, who has just made an appeal to him to enter the tournament on her father’s side, riding to her defense against her sister’s abusive actions. Although he has resisted all other attempts to persuade him to enter the tournament, he accedes here. This shows his steadfast adherence to the rules of chivalry, which demand that he respond to any request a lady in need might make of him.

“‘Until I have grown old and gray,’

the lord Gawain said gallantly

‘dear maid, wherever I may be

and it may be some distant land

I’ll ever be yours to command

and never too far, if I learn

you need assistance, to return.

All my commitments I will leave

at the first message I receive.’”

This is Gawain’s final word to Tiebaut’s younger daughter after successfully riding for her cause in the tournament. Here we see the noble sentiments and lofty ideals of the code of chivalry, expressing lifelong, faithful service to a lady even though Gawain has only known her for a few short days. Knighthood, in Chrétien’s vision, consists not only in a series of abstract rules but in the application of those rules in authentic interpersonal relationships.

“The man committed treachery

the day he took your father’s life

therefore, no wonder there was strife

nor that he was attacked, because

they hate him to the death, with cause.

Still, you must do your very best

to shield him, since he is your guest,

from death and from imprisonment.”

This quote gives us another view of chivalry, this time expressed by Gawain’s enemies. Here the knight Guinganbresil speaks to his master, the young king of Escavalon, regarding their charge of treason against Gawain for the death of the former king. Despite their legal case against him and the townspeople’s hatred of him, Guinganbresil says that they must shelter Gawain because of his current status as a guest in their castle. This prioritization of one’s duty toward others over whatever grievances one may hold was one of the features of Chivalry and the Meaning of Knighthood in Arthurian stories.

“As Perceval knelt down in awe

the good man called him, for he saw

the knight was humble and was weeping;

the water from his eyes was sweeping

in rivulets down on his chin.

The knight, in terror of the sin

he feared he had committed, grasped

the hermit by the foot, and clasped

his hands, and bent down low, and prayed

the hermit for advice and aid

of which he was in urgent need.”

Perceval goes to the hermit to confess his sins on Good Friday. The scene not only interrupts the sequence of Gawain’s adventures, but also shows Perceval in a whole new light. For the first time, his character appears capable of self-reflection and penitence, a transformation apparently effected by his preceding interaction with the knights and ladies along the way who reminded him of the whole story of the Christian gospel, including the necessity of having one’s sins atoned by the sacrifice offered in the death of Jesus. Driven by a sense of conviction over his own sinfulness, he finds the hermit and seeks absolution. In the process he is also given a more complete understanding of what he witnessed at the Fisher King’s castle, reinforcing Knowledge as the Key to Healing and Growth.

“You were a foolish man to fail

to learn whom they serve from the grail.

The man they serve is my own brother;

my sister, and his, was your mother;

and also the rich Fisherman

is that king’s son, son of the man

who has himself served with the grail.

Now do not let the thought prevail

that from the grail he takes food like

a salmon, lamprey, or a pike

because from it the king obtains

one mass wafer, and it sustains

his life, borne in the grail they bring;

the grail is such a holy thing.”

Here the hermit speaks to Perceval, illuminating the mysteries of both the grail’s function and of Perceval’s own hidden family connections to the Fisher King’s castle. The theme of Knowledge as the Key to Healing and Growth is prominent here, as a series of new revelations brings Perceval to a transformation of character: first an exposition of the Christian gospel, then an assessment of Perceval’s own sin, and finally, the unveiling of the mysteries of the Fisher King’s castle, all of which work together to bring Perceval to pledge himself to a life of faithfulness and penitence. This quote is also notable because it is the only point in Chrétien’s text where the grail is referred to as holy—most of the poem does not use the familiar Arthurian terminology of the “Holy Grail.”

“Love God, believe in God, arise

and worship God time and again;

respect good women and good men

when priests are in your presence, stand.

……………………………………….

Perform this penance in all places

so that you may regain the graces

that, years ago, you once possessed.”

The hermit speaks these lines to Perceval, outlining the rules of penance he must follow. The stipulations include a daily observance of Christian worship, respecting others (especially clergy), and serving all those who are in need of his assistance. According to medieval Catholic theology, as expressed here, sin cuts one off from the experience of God’s grace, and doing one’s penance serves to restore the communication of that grace to one’s soul.

“But no, the sea will turn to ice

before a knight without a vice

appears and stays alive in there.

The knight must be entirely fair,

intelligent, uncovetous,

bold, nobly born, brave, generous,

and loyal, free from vice and sin.

If that knight came and lived therein

he’d rule the castle, and restore

the ladies’ lands, and end the war

and marry off the maidens then

and make knights of the younger men

and banish every magic spell

from the enchanted citadel.”

The ferryman who hosts Gawain after crossing the wide river speaks these lines, describing the enchanted nature of the castle nearby. This is one of the poem’s clearest expositions of Chivalry and the Meaning of Knighthood, emphasized by the poetic rhythm built into its rapid-fire list of virtues. The fact that this list of chivalrous ideals does not only speak about character qualities but also the effects those virtues will have on the lives of others emphasizes Chrétien’s vision of chivalry as necessarily including interpersonal relationships and not just one’s own inner character.

“‘I dare not claim, since you inquired

to be among the most admired;

I would not rank me with the first

nor think myself among the worst.’

‘My very dear sir,’ answered she

‘you’ve spoken with great courtesy

when you reject the best men’s fame

and yet reject the worst men’s shame.’”

Gawain and Queen Ygerne converse in these lines, following on the queen’s questions about King Arthur’s court and Gawain’s place among the knights. Gawain’s answer reveals his honesty and humility, both of which are among the prime virtues of knightly honor. The queen recognizes that his answer shows his good character and commends him for it. The term “courtesy” as used here does not simply mean good manners, but the morally exemplary deportment expected of those who represented a royal court.