Chapter Summaries and Index of Proper Names

by Lacy, Norris J.; Chase, Carol J. (CON); Asher, Martha (CON); Hood, Cynthia K. (CON); Longley, Anne P. (CON)

• ISBN13: 9781843842521
• ISBN10: 1843842521
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-03-30
• Publisher: Ds Brewer

Summary

The most comprehensive account of the story of Arthur, the Round Table and the Grail is to be found in the work known as Lancelot-Grail or the Vulgate Cycle. It tells the story of the Arthurian world from the events of the Crucifixion, where the Grail originated, to the death of Lancelot after the destruction of the Round Table. It draws in many different strands, from the pseudo-historical stories about Arthur to the romances of chivalric adventure and the spiritual quest for the Grail. It consists of five works: the longest is Lancelot, a kind of chivalric history of the Round Table, which leads into the quest for the Grail and Arthur's death. The first two books were added later, and provide an account of events up to Arthur's birth. Not long after the cycle was completed, another writer retained the first two books of the Vulgate cycle but recast the last three books with a rather different emphasis; this version is known as the Post-Vulgate Cycle, and is one of the main sources used by Sir Thomas Malory.