The High History Of The Holy Graal

The original Book of the Grail was written early in the 13th century, but only fragments of the manuscript survive. Originally titled The High History of the Holy Graal, this book was compiled in 1866 from a 16th-century copy of the original that was written in French by an anonymous author. This is the most complete version of the Grail story and is an essential addition to the library of anyone who is interested in this most enduring of legends about Perceval de Gallois and his sacred quest. Here is the most popular of all the ancient romance legends of the hero-king Arthur, the knights of the Round Table, the mysterious coming of the Holy Grail, the crown of thorns, the king who is a fisher of men (the fisher king), the reputed visit of Joseph of Arimathea (the Jerusalem tin-merchant whose tomb in that city was used by Jesus after his crucifixion), to the English town of Glastonbury. Is this book an allegory for the sacred blood lineage of Mary Magdalene and Jesus of Nazareth? A rare and important book.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Reproduction of the original.

The High History of the Holy Graal was originally written in the 13 century as a continuation of Chretien DeTroyes' unfinished work "Perceval, or the Knight of the Graal." This book is translated from the first volume of "Perceval le Gallois ou le conte du Graal"; edited by M. Ch. Potvin for 'La Societe des Bibliophiles Belges' in 1866. Sebastian Evans concludes the introduction by saying "With these testimonies to its age and genuineness, I commend the "Book of the Graal" to all who love to read of King Arthur and his knights of the Table Round. They will find here printed in English for the first time what I take to be in all good faith the original story of Sir Perceval and the Holy Graal, whole and incorrupt as it left the hands of its first author."

The Old French Lancelot-Graal is an important but massive work, providing a place for King Arthur not only in the history of Britain but also in Christian history. This new translation of one section, the Quest of the Holy Grail, will be a flexible addition to courses on medieval literature or romance. The notes and guides are designed to help readers enjoy the text while appreciating its relationship to social and literary history. Appendices include translations of material from two of Chrétien de Troyes’s romances (Perceval and Yvain); translations from other parts of the Lancelot-Grail Cycle (the early history of the Grail and the conception of Galahad); and excerpts from apocryphal works (from French versions written at about the same time as the Quest).