XXIII.-A RECLASSIFICATION OF THE PERCEVAL ROMANCES In The Folk-Lore Record for 1881 (Vol. 4, pp. 1 ff.), Mr. Alfred Nutt published an article entitled "The Aryan Expulsion-And-Return Formula in the Folk- and Hero Tales of the Celts." In this article, Mr. Nutt advances the theory that the Perceval romances, the English and the Welsh versions especially, are variants of the Expulsion and Return formula. This classification has been accepted by subsequent writers, with the result that the English version, Sir Perceval, is declared to be the most faithful representative of the so-called primitive or original form of the story. It is the purpose of this study, first, to show that Mr. Nutt's classification of these stories is not well founded; and secondly, to offer a new classification, which, if correct, may have some slight bearing, perhaps, on certain current theories regarding the primitive form of the story and regarding the inter-relations of several of the versions. Let me say at the outset that I am not here concerned with the question of ultimate localization of the Perceval material; nor am I concerned with the intricate problems of the Grail legend. My problem is merely one of classification, and as a working basis for its solution, the English version, The Romance of Sir Perceval of Galles,1 is made use of. The plot of this story is as follows: Perceval's father is a brother-in-law to King Arthur and a knight of noble prowess; but in a tournament given in honor of the birth 'Printed by J. O. Halliwell in The Thornton Romances. of his son, he is slain for revenge by the Red Knight. Regarding the death of her lord as an ominous portent concerning her son, Perceval's mother, Acheflour, flees with him to a forest where he is brought up in ignorance of the practices of chivalry. Being allowed some freedom, the lad sets out one day to find the great God of whom his mother has told him, and accidentally meets Gawain, Iwain, and Kay, all mounted and clad in green. Perceval asks which one is the great God; they think that he is a fool and inform him that they are only knights of Arthur's court. He returns home mounted upon a wild mare that he has caught, and his mother sees that her precautions have been in vain. The next day, Perceval sets out to demand knighthood of Arthur. His mother gives him a ring as a parting token of remembrance, and counsels him regarding his future conduct. On his way he stops at a hall where he finds no one but a sleeping lady, from whom he takes a ring, placing his own upon her finger. He then rides forward to Arthur's hall, where his rude behavior attracts unfavorable attention from the knights; but Arthur, noticing the resemblance to the late Syr Percyvelle, receives him courteously. Perceval demands knighthood and the king promises to grant it if the youth will regain the golden cup which the Red Knight has just carried away. Perceval, destined to avenge his father's death, pursues the Red Knight, kills him, and secures the desired cup. He is about to burn the knight out of his armor as Gawain rides up and assists in removing it. The cup is sent back to the king, but Perceval dons the Red Knight's armor and sets out on adventures. He soon meets a witch, the mother of the Red Knight, and kills her. He comes to the castle of his uncle, and while there hears of Lady Lufamour, who is besieged by a Sultan who wishes to marry her. Perceval goes to her assistance and slays all the Saracens before her castle. Meantime, Arthur and three of his knights arrive on the scene and the hero is knighted. Then he kills the Sultan, weds Lufamour, and rules her land for a year, after which he sets forth to find his mother. On his way he chances upon the lady from whom he took the ring, bound to a tree. She has been left there by her lord, the Black Knight, who believed her guilty of an intrigue with a stranger. Perceval fights with the Black Knight and overthrows him; he declares that no harm was done the lady and that he will return her ring if he may have back his Then he learns that his mother's token has been given to a giant, who proves to be the brother of the slain Sultan. Perceval slays the giant, enters the castle, and secures his ring from a box of jewels turned over to him by the porter. At the sight of the ring, the porter becomes disturbed, and finally tells Perceval that own. the giant once offered it to a lady, who became distraught and ran away as soon as ever she saw it; for she recognized it and thought that the giant had slain her son. Then Perceval goes to find his mother, thus referred to, is successful, and carries her to the giant's castle. After she is restored, he returns with her to the queen, Lufamour, and all live there together. Some time later he goes to the Holy Land, where he wins many cities but eventually is killed. I am not aware that Mr. Nutt's classification of this story as a variant of the Expulsion and Return formula has been formally challenged. Several writers on the subject have consistently objected to his quoting individual Celtic folk tales (or any folk tales for that matter) as parallels to the Perceval story, asserting that the very tales quoted are no more than the "reflex of the written literature that they are intended to illustrate." 1 In addition to taking this point of view, Mr. W. W. Newell, in his papers on The Legend of the Holy Grail (Cambridge, Mass., 1902), page 10, advances the idea that the object of Chrétien's poem on Perceval was "to describe the education of a simple nature." As a parallel, Mr. Newell then cites The Legend of Barlaam and Josaphat, a Christian recast of the life of Guatama Buddha. central idea of the legend," he says, "is to set forth instruction in Christianity, so that of the Perceval is to recount education in chivalry; and it would seem necessary to seek no further for the fundamental conception of Chrestien." As the However applicable this statement may be to Chrétien's poem, it certainly has no bearing upon the English version, Sir Perceval. It may even be questioned whether that 1 See M. Gaster, "The Legend of the Grail," Folk-Lore, 1891, pp. 52 ff. See also H. Zimmer in Göttingische gelehrte Anzeigen, 1890, No. 12, pp. 510 ff. is the sole central idea of any of the versions, including Chrétien's. Moreover, Mr. Newell says nothing against Mr. Nutt's classification, the argument for which we shall now examine in some detail.1 The Expulsion and Return formula comprises thirteen incidents, tabulated by Mr. Nutt as follows:- 2 I. Hero born (a) Out of wedlock. (b) Posthumously. (d) One of twins. II. Mother, princess residing in her own country. III. Father IV. Tokens and warning of hero's future greatness. V. He is in consequence driven forth from home. VI. Is suckled by wild beasts. VII. Is brought up by a (childless couple), or shepherd, or widow. VIII. Is of passionate and violent disposition. 1 IX. Seeks service in foreign lands. In his recent book, Sir Perceval of Galles, published after this study was written and after the substance of it was presented before the 1910 meeting of the Modern Language Association of America, Mr. R. H. Griffith reconstructs what he calls the A-Stage [or primitive form] of the Perceval story and says: "The summary [of the primitive form of the story] is too specific and too detailed to be considered merely a formula, such, for example, as the Aryan Expulsion and Return Formula.'" P. 118. 'As first presented by Mr. Nutt, this formula comprised eighteen incidents. Later, in his book, The Legend of the Holy Grail, pp. 153-4, he reduced the number to thirteen as here quoted; the last five of the original list were omitted. Mr. Nutt does not say why. IX. A. Attacks and slays monsters. IX. B. Acquires supernatural knowledge through eating a fish, or other magic animal. X. Returns to his own country, retreats, and again retreats. XI. Overcomes his enemies, frees his mother, seats himself on the throne. After comparing the Welsh Peredur and the English Sir Perceval with this formula, Mr. Nutt says, "In all probability, the lost original of these two versions was in almost entire conformity with the formula." Of these thirteen incidents, Mr. Nutt says, "The English version contains the first, perhaps the sixth, the eighth, and eleventh incident in proper sequence and in perfectly recognizable form." Let us examine this statement a little. more closely. The first incident of Mr. Nutt's Expulsion and Return formula is: The hero is born out of wedlock, posthumously, supernaturally, or one of twins. As a matter of fact, Sir Perceval is born in wedlock; he is born before his father is killed; his birth is perfectly natural; and he is the only child. The poem is clear on these points. The presence of the sixth incident-the hero is suckled by wild beasts-Mr. Nutt qualifies with a mild "perhaps." The following lines are quoted by Mr. Nutt as the basis for his conclusion; I believe that they speak for themselves. 1 He in the wilde wodde went With bestez to playe, With wilde bestez for to playe. (174-177.) 'Mr. Nutt also states that Peredur is posthumously born (FolkLore Record, IV, p. 43), but I have been unable to find any ground for the statement. |