The Elucidation
Translated for The Camelot Project by William W. Kibler from the edition by Albert Wilder Thompson, The Elucidation: A Prologue to the Conte del Graal. New York: Publications of the Institute of French Studies, Inc., 1931.
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For a noble beginning A romance can begin worthily With the most enjoyable tale there is: That is, the [Story of the] Grail, whose secret No one should ever reveal or recount; For the story might reveal so much Before it's recited to the end That someone could suffer for it Who had not violated the secret; The wise thing, then, is to leave it And simply pass it by; For, unless Master Blihis is lying, No one should reveal the secret. Now listen to me one and all And you will hear a tale That will be a delight to listen to, For in it will be the seven guards, Who throughout the world have charge Of all the good stories that have ever been told. These writings will recount What sort of people the seven guards are, How [they act] and what end they will come to; For you have never heard the story Told or recounted truthfully; Yet how and why the powerful country Of Logres was destroyed Was noised and bruited widely; Time was, it was much discussed. The kingdom went to ruin, The land was so dead and desolate That it wasn't worth two bits; They lost the voices of the wells And the maidens who dwelled in them. Indeed, the maidens served a very important purpose: No one who wandered the highways, Whether at night or in the morning, Ever needed to alter his route In order to find food or drink; He had only go to one of the wells. He could ask for nothing In the way of fine and pleasing food That he would not have forthwith, Provided he asked reasonably. At once a damsel would come forth From the well, as I understand: Travelers could not have asked for one more beautiful! In her hand she'd be bearing a golden cup With bacon, meat pies, and bread. Another maiden would come carrying A white towel and a gold and silver Platter, in which was The food that had been requested By the man who'd come to be fed. He was warmly received at the well; And if this food did not please him, She would bring a number of others, Joyfully and generously, According to his desires. One and all, the maidens Happily and properly served All those who wandered the highways And came to the wells for food. King Amangon was the first to violate their hospitality: He behaved wickedly and underhandedly; Afterwards many others did likewise Because of the example given By the king who should have protected the maidens And guarded and kept them safe. He forced himself upon one of the maidens And deflowered her against her will And took the golden bowl from her And carried it off along with the girl, Then had her serve him ever afterwards. Ill luck was to come of it, For no maiden served again Or came forth from that well To help any man who happened by And requested sustenance there; And all other [travelers] followed [the king's example]. God! Why didn't the other vassals Act according to their honor? When they saw that their lord Was raping the maidens Because of their beauty, They likewise raped them and carried off the golden bowls. Never afterwards did any maiden serve Or come forth from any of the wells; Know that this is the truth. My lords, in this way The land went into decline And the king who had so wronged them And those who'd followed his example All met a dreadful end. The land was so wasted That no tree ever bloomed there again, The grasses and flowers withered, And the streams dried up. Afterwards no one could locate The court of the Rich Fisher, Which had made the land resplendent With gold and silver, splendid furs, Precious brocaded silks, Fine foodstuffs and cloth, Gerfalcons and merlins, Goshawks, sparrowhawks, and falcons. In earlier days, when the court could be found, There was throughout the land Such an abundance of riches, Of all those I've named here, That everyone, rich or poor, Was awestruck at the wealth. But now it has lost everything. In the kingdom of Logres Were all the riches of the world; The peers of the Round Table Came there in the time of King Arthur; None so good have been seen since then. These were such good knights, So worthy and so strong and so bold, So sturdy and so brave, That as soon as they heard Tell of the adventures They wished to restore the wells. They all swore an oath together To protect by their arms The maidens who'd come forth And the bowls they'd be carrying, And to destroy the lineage Of those who had so harmed them That they had stopped Coming forth from the wells. Whenever they captured one They had him hanged or slain. The knights gave alms and prayed To God that He might restore The wells to the state In which they had been originally; And for the honor they would thus pay them They intended to request their service. But no matter how hard they searched They could never find them; They could never hear any voices And no maiden ever ventured forth. Yet they did find something That greatly amazed them, For in the forests they found maidens More beautiful than you could wish; With them were knights Heavily armed and on their chargers; They stood beside the maidens And fought against anyone Who wished to carry them off, Killing many a knight. Because of the maidens, I believe, There were many battles in the land. King Arthur could not keep From losing many a good knight there, But he gained many a good one too, As the story will tell you. The first knight captured Was named Blihos Bliheris; Sir Gawain captured him, Thanks to the great prowess he possessed, And sent him to surrender to Arthur. Blihos mounted his horse and rode without delay To the court, where he surrendered. But the king did not recognize him, Nor did anyone else; Yet such good stories did he tell That no one grew tired Of listening to his words. The members of court asked him About the maidens who rode Through the forest; since they'd never Been there, they had every reason To ask and inquire. The knight told his stories so well That they gladly listened to him, And the maidens and knights Stayed awake many a night To hear and question him. He said to them: "You wonder indeed About the maidens you see Going through these forests, And you can't stop asking Where we were born. I'll tell you the truth: We are all offspring of the damsels— There will never be any more beautiful in the world— Whom King Amangon raped. The wrong will not be righted So long as this world lasts. The peers of the Round Table In their nobility and honor, In their worthiness and strength, Made a great effort to restore The wells that the squires, The knights and the gentlemen— I'll just tell you the essentials— The men all travel together, Along with the maidens Who have returned to that land. Through forest and countryside They must to wander thus Until God allows them to find The court from which will emanate the joy That will bring splendor back to this land. Such adventures will come to those Who seek the court As were never before experienced Or recounted in this land." What he told and related to them Was most pleasing and agreeable to all. Soon afterward The good knights of the court Met to discuss this matter: Let each knight equip himself, Then all will seek earnestly For the court of the Rich Fisher, Who was so skilled in magic That he could take on a hundred shapes; Some would seek him in one guise And others in another. My lord Gawain found the Rich Fisher During the reign of King Arthur, And truly went to his court. Later you will be told Of the joy he brought about there, Which restored the whole kingdom. But even before Gawain A very young knight Had discovered it first, And no one could find in all the world A braver knight than he. Afterwards the young man of whom I've just spoken came to the Round Table; His deeds outshone those Of all knights who'd come before Or who could still be found in all the world. First he was held in low esteem, Then found to be of noble estate; The knight who was seeking the court Sought so long throughout the land That he found it, it's true, And many among you know of him: He was Perceval the Welshman. He asked what purpose the Grail Served, but he failed to ask Why the lance bled When he saw it, or about the sword Of which half was missing And the remainder lay in the bier Upon the corpse, or the manner Of the great disappearance. But I tell you in no uncertain terms That he asked who the dead man Was who was in the room And about the precious silver cross That led the procession. Three times a day for three hours There were such loud lamentations In the room that no man would have been so brave As not to have been frightened by the noise. Then, after they had finished the service, They hung four censers On four precious candelabra, Which stood at the corners of the bier. The cries immediately ceased; At that point, everyone lay in a faint. The long and wide room Remained empty and frightful; The stream of blood flowed From a vase that held the lance Through the precious silver conduit. Then the palace completely filled With people and knights And the most sumptuous feast In all the world was prepared. Then the unknown king Came forth in splendid array; He came forth attired from a chamber. He arrived so magnificently attired That no one could describe His robe or adornments, So splendid were they; On his finger he had a beautiful ring; His sleeves were tightly laced And on his head was a golden circlet— Its stones were worth a fortune; He wore a belt with a beautiful buckle; No one could ever find A more handsome man alive. Anyone who had seen him earlier That day dressed as a fisher Would rightly be uneasy. As soon as the king took his seat You would have seen all the knights Seated at the other tables. The bread was served immediately And the wine set before them In large gold and silver bowls. Afterwards you would have seen the Grail Come through a chamber door Without servant or attendant And serve from itself most properly Onto precious gold platters Worth a great fortune. It placed the first course Before the king, then served All the others who were present; The courses that it brought them And the foodstuffs it gave them Were a marvel to behold. Then came the great marvel To which no other can compare. But you'll never hear me speak of it Because Perceval must tell it Later in the story. It's a great crime and great shame To break up such a good story And not tell it properly. When the good knight comes Who found the court three times, Then will you hear me relate Point by point, omitting nothing, The truth about whom the wells served Where the knights were, And what purpose the Grail served; And I'll tell you everything About the bleeding lance And why the sword was in The bier—I'll tell you everything And leave nothing out. I'll explain to the people Who had never heard anything about them Both the grief and the disappearing, Just as this process is meant to unfold. My lords, it is the proven truth That the court was found seven times In the seven branches of the story; But you do not know what this means. Understand that the seven branches Are in truth the seven guards; Each guard will tell for himself That he found the court; It should not be told in advance. Now in this composition it is time For me to identify each of the seven guards; I do not want to omit any one, But must identify and tell about them, Just as they are, from beginning to end. The seventh branch, the most pleasing, Is entirely about the lance With which Longinus struck the side Of the King of Holy Majesty. The sixth, without a doubt, Is about the great struggle, the great torment. The fifth will tell you in its turn About the wrath and loss of Husdent. The fourth is the Story of the Swan: No coward was Carahet, That dead knight in the skiff Who first came to Glamorgan. Next is the third, about the goshawk Which so frightened Castrar; Pecorin, Amangon's son, always Bore the wound upon his forehead; Now I've named the third for you. The second, according to the good story-tellers, Is not in verse; It is the Story of the Great Sorrows, How Lancelot of the Lake came To the place where he lost his strength. Finally, there is the last story: Since I have embarked on this task I have to tell about it, And you'll not hear me put it off; It is the Adventure of the Shield— And there's never been a better one! These are seven genuine stories That all proceed from the Grail. This adventure brought about Joy, whereby the population multiplied After the great destruction. Through these adventures the court And the Grail were truly found again, And through them the kingdom was so replenished That the streams that had stopped flowing And the springs that had surged forth Long ago but were now dried up All flowed again through the meadows; The grass was once more green and thick And the woods leafy and shaded. On the day the court was found again, Throughout all the land The forests became so dense and deep And so beautiful and thickly grown That everyone who was traveling Through the land marveled. But then there returned a band of people Full of bitter resentment: Those who had come from the wells But were not recognized. They built castles and cities, Towns, villages and strongholds, And for the damsels they built The magnificent Castle of Maidens; They built the Perilous Bridge And the great Proud Castle; Nobly and graciously They set over them a troop Of peers from the rich household; In their great pride they set up In opposition to the Round Table; This became known to everyone. Within the castle each knight had his ladylove; They led a splendid existence. There were three hundred sixty-six Defenders of the castle, And each of these had lordship Over twenty knights; The total number I'll not fail To give: they came to Seven thousand six hundred eighty-six. They exerted themselves mightily, but in vain; Know well, all you who live in the world, That you wouldn't find any of them alive today. They rode through that land And made war on King Arthur; The good knights left the court To fight against them; I know that when they captured one They held him prisoner rather than free him. King Arthur wanted to go there To sap and destroy the castle; But everyone who hated him in those days Attacked him at that point And made mighty war against him. It was pointless to seek war elsewhere. At that time the wars were so intense That they lasted a good four years— So the story tells us, As does he who wrote the book. I tell them to you one by one Because he wishes to show each of you What purpose the Grail served, For the service it performed Was revealed to him by the good master. The good purpose it served will no longer Be hushed or hidden, for he will Teach it openly to all. So you have heard from me About King Arthur, how he Was at war for four years Against the people of his land; But he brought all this to an end In such a way that no vassal or neighbor Failed thereafter to do his will, Either freely or by force; This is the proven truth. Know, moreover, that the war Redounded to the king's honor And to their shame, as most people know. Then on that day the rich household Took leave of the court And went to hunt in the forests. Those who wished to fish Followed the good rivers. This was how they comported themselves: Some spent time playing at love, Some passed their time in other ways. They relaxed thus the entire winter Until the summer came. Now Chrétien will relate here The exemplum you have heard; Then Chrétien will not have wasted His effort, for he'll have aimed and striven By command of the count To put into rhyme the best story That's ever been told in royal court: It is the Story of the Grail, The book of which was given him by the count. Now you'll hear how he acquits himself. |
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