Chretien de Troyes weaves the Christian religion into the very fabric of his Conte del Graal; yet most critics have underestimated the pervasiveness of its religious elements. Some studies suggest Catharist, gnostic, or even more arcane influences on the work This investigation offers a critical analysis of Chretien's text, paying attention to dogmatic, devotional, liturgical, and moral themes. Under these thematic headings it examines pertinent passages, comparing them with corresponding theological, liturgical, and socio-historical materials from the poet's era The religious doctrine expressed in Chretien's narrative differs on all counts from Catharism and other heresies; it is orthodoxly Christian This investigation also develops corollary topics, such as the significance of the complete omission of the name of God from the speech of certain characters, the particularity of each set of instructions given Perceval, prejudices against Jews, the orthodoxy of calling Christ 'the holy prophet,' the reasons for naming certain saints, the Hermit's 'secret prayer,' and the sacrament of ordination to knighthood. Ultimately, it treats of the Grail and the Grail cortege and of Perceval's sin and conversion Essentially a psychological study of a young man's growth into maturity and of an adult knight's coping with the foils of human life, the narrative is set in a world reminiscent of the author's own milieu, with all its disorders, but with its Christian faith as well. Every major article of the Christian creed finds expression somehow in the Conte. Indeed, the poet develops the popular preoccupations and theological emphases of twelfth-century Christianity. Varied references to liturgy prepare us to comprehend the Grail scene and to appreciate that the Grail is neither magic nor mystery, but metaphor for the sacrament of the Eucharist. As regards the guilt of Perceval, examples of mistake, wrongdoing, and sin enable us to distinguish between the accusation of others and the reality of Perceval's own conscience. Overall, the Conte del Graal, though true to life in its description of the problematic, eschews pessimistic doom to portray mercy and reintegration, with an optimism founded on belief in the divine redemption of humanity / acase@tulane.edu
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TULANE/oai:http://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/:tulane_27267 |
| Date | January 1983 |
| Contributors | Girard, Charles Auguste Othenin (Author) |
| Publisher | Tulane University |
| Source Sets | Tulane University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Access requires a license to the Dissertations and Theses (ProQuest) database., Copyright is in accordance with U.S. Copyright law |
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