Percival or Perceval is one of King Arthur's legendary Knights of the Round Table. King Arthur is a legendary British leader who according to medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against the Saxon invaders Knights of the Round Table were those men awarded the highest order of Chivalry at the Court of King Arthur in the literary cycle the Matter of Britain In Welsh literature his name is Peredur (see the Peredur article for the historical figure). The term Welsh literature may be used to refer to any Literature originating from Wales or by Welsh writers. Peredur is the name of a number of men from the boundaries of history and legend that was Dark Age Britain. He is most famous for his involvement in the quest for the Holy Grail. According to Christian mythology, the Holy Grail was the dish plate or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper, said to possess miraculous powers

Scenes from Perceval, from a medieval illumination.

There are many versions of Percival's birth. In most accounts he is of noble birth; his father is either King Pellinore or another worthy knight. King Pellinore is the king of Listenoise or of "the Isles" (possibly Anglesey, or perhaps the medieval kingdom of the same name) according to Knight is the English term for a social position originating in the Middle Ages. His mother is usually unnamed but plays a significant role in the stories. His sister is the bearer of the Holy Grail, she is sometimes named Dindrane. According to Christian mythology, the Holy Grail was the dish plate or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper, said to possess miraculous powers In Arthurian Legend, Dindrane ( Welsh: Danbrann also named Dindraine Heliabel Amide or Agrestizia depending on the sources is the sister (sometimes the half-sister In tales where he is Pellinore's son his brothers are Sir Tor, Sir Aglovale, Sir Lamorak, and Sir Dornar. Sir Tor is a Knight of the Round Table according to Arthurian legend. Sir Aglovale (or Agloval de Galis is the eldest legitimate son of King Pellinore in the Arthurian legend. Lamorak is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend. He was the son of King Pellinore and the brother of Tor, Aglovale,

After the death of his father, Percival's mother takes him to the Welsh forests where she raises him ignorant to the ways of men until the age of 15. Eventually, however, a group of knights passes through his wood, and Percival is struck by their heroic bearing. A hero (from Greek grc ἥρως hērōs) in Greek mythology and Folklore, was originally a Demigod, the offspring of a mortal and Wanting to be a knight himself, the boy travels to King Arthur's court, and after proving his worthiness as a warrior he is knighted and invited to join the Knights of the Round Table. Knights of the Round Table were those men awarded the highest order of Chivalry at the Court of King Arthur in the literary cycle the Matter of Britain

Even in the earliest stories he is connected to the Grail Quest. According to Christian mythology, the Holy Grail was the dish plate or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper, said to possess miraculous powers In Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, le Conte du Graal, he meets the crippled Fisher King and sees the Holy Grail, but he fails to ask the question that would heal the injured king. Chrétien de Troyes was a French poet and Trouvère who flourished in the late 12th century. Perceval the Story of the Grail (Perceval le Conte du Graal is the unfinished fifth romance of Chrétien de Troyes. The Fisher King or the Wounded King figures in Arthurian legend as the latest in a line charged with keeping the Holy Grail. According to Christian mythology, the Holy Grail was the dish plate or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper, said to possess miraculous powers Upon learning of his mistake he vows to find the Grail castle again and fulfill his quest, as detailed in his part in the Grail legend. Perceval the Story of the Grail (Perceval le Conte du Graal is the unfinished fifth romance of Chrétien de Troyes.

Galahad, Bors, and Percival achieve the Grail

In later accounts, the true Grail hero is Galahad, Lancelot's son. Sir Galahad is a knight of King Arthur 's Round Table and one of the three achievers of the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend. Bors (Bohort Julius Tiberius circa 540s-580s is the name of two knights in the Arthurian legend, one the father and one the son Sir Galahad is a knight of King Arthur 's Round Table and one of the three achievers of the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend. In the Arthurian legend, Sir Lancelot ( Lancelot du Lac, also Launcelot) is one of the Knights of the Round Table. But though his role in the romances had been diminished, Percival remained a major character and was one of only two knights (the other was Sir Bors) who accompanied Galahad to the Grail castle and completed the quest with him. Bors (Bohort Julius Tiberius circa 540s-580s is the name of two knights in the Arthurian legend, one the father and one the son

In early versions, Percival's sweetheart was Blanchefleur and he became the King of Carbonek after healing the Fisher King, but in later versions he was a virgin who died after achieving the Grail. Corbenic (also Carbonek and Corbin) is the name of the castle of the Holy Grail in the Lancelot-Grail cycle and Thomas Malory The Fisher King or the Wounded King figures in Arthurian legend as the latest in a line charged with keeping the Holy Grail. In Wolfram's version, Percival's son is Lohengrin, the Knight of the Swan. Lohengrin is a character in some German Arthurian literature The son of Parzival (Percival he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a The story of the Knight of the Swan, or Swan Knight, is a Medieval tale about a mysterious rescuer who comes in a Swan -drawn boat to defend a damsel

Chrétien wrote the first story of Percival; Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, and the nonextant Perceval of Robert de Boron are other famous accounts of his adventures. Chrétien de Troyes was a French poet and Trouvère who flourished in the late 12th century. Parzival is a major medieval German Epic poem attributed to the poet Wolfram von Eschenbach, written in the Middle High German Sir Thomas Malory (c 1405 – 14 March 1471 was an English writer the author or compiler of Le Morte d'Arthur. Le Morte d'Arthur (spelled Le Morte Darthur in the first printing and also in some modern editions Middle French for la mort d'Arthur Robert de Boron (also spelled in the manuscripts "Bouron" "Beron" was a French poet of the late 12th and early 13th centuries originally from the village

In modern times his story has been used in such varied retellings as T. S. Eliot's modernist poem The Waste Land, Richard Wagner's opera Parsifal, John Boorman's Excalibur and the novel and film The Natural. Thomas Stearns Eliot, OM (September 26 1888 – January 4 1965 was a poet Dramatist, and Literary critic. Modernism describes an array of Cultural movements rooted in the changes in Western society in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century The Waste Land ( 1922) is a highly influential 434-line modernist poem by T Parsifal is an Opera, or Music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner. John Boorman (born January 18, 1933) is an English filmmaker currently based in Ireland best known for his feature films such as Point Excalibur is a 1981 Fantasy film which retells the legend of King Arthur. The Natural is a 1952 novel about Baseball written by Bernard Malamud. The Natural is a 1984 film adaptation of Bernard Malamud 's 1952 baseball novel of the same name. ^[1] The movie The Fisher King is a modern retelling with Jeff Bridges as Percy, and Robin Williams as the Fisher King. The Fisher King or the Wounded King figures in Arthurian legend as the latest in a line charged with keeping the Holy Grail. Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is a four-time Academy Award -nominated American Actor and Musician. Robin McLaurim Williams (born July 21 1951 or 1952 is an American television stage and film actor and Comedian who has won an Academy Award for his performance Eric Rohmer's 1978 film Perceval le Gallois is an eccentrically staged interpretation of Chrétien de Troyes's original poem. Éric Rohmer (born Jean-Marie Maurice Scherer, 4 April 1920 Tulle, France) is a French Film director and Screenwriter. Perceval le Gallois is a 1978 French film directed by Éric Rohmer.

While some scholars once believed that Percival, along with the legend of the Holy Grail, was of Persian origin, those theories have been rejected by the weight of scholarly opinion. Persian literature ( spans two and a half millennia though much of the pre- Islamic material has been lost In that legend, as described in the Fargads of the Vendidad (see Avesta) and later, in verse, in the Shahnameh, Jamshid had a magical seven-ringed cup filled with the elixir of immortality. The Avesta is the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language. Shāhnāmé, or Shāhnāma ((alternative spellings are Shahnama Shahnameh Shahname Shah-Nama, etc Jamshēd, Jamshīd ( or Jam ( in Middle- and New Persian, or Yima in Avestan is a mythological figure of Greater The cup was said to be in (the hands of) the Parsi-Var, or Var of the Persians, thus giving rise to the speculation that the character of Percival was derived from this legend. The Cup of Jamshid (Cup of Djemscheed or Jaam-e Jam, in Persian: جام جم is a cup of Divination which in Persian mythology,

See also

References

• Chrétien de Troyes, Nigel Bryant (translator) (1996) Perceval, the Story of the Grail, D. S. Brewer. ISBN 0-85991-224-8.
• Chrétien de Troyes, D. D. R. Owen (translator) (1988) Arthurian Romances, Tuttle Publishing, reprinted by Everyman. ISBN 0-460-87389-X.

External links

• Perceval page from the Camelot Project at the University of Rochester