From Ritual to RomanceWeston, Jessie L. (Jessie Laidlay)
Religion
From Ritual to Romance
Weston, Jessie L. (Jessie Laidlay)
Grail -- Legends -- History and criticism; Romances -- History and criticism
The evidence is of course incomplete, but it does provide us with a
personality fulfilling the main conditions of a complex problem. Thus,
we have a man of the required name, and nationality; living at an
appropriate date; of the requisite social position; on excellent terms
with the French nobles, and so well acquainted with their language as
to sign himself officially ‘The Interpreter.’ We have no direct
evidence of his literary skill, or knowledge of the traditional history
of his country, but a man of his birth could scarcely have failed to
possess the latter, while certain peculiarities in that section of the
national Chronicle which deals with the aid given by him to the Norman
invaders would seem to indicate that Bledri himself may well have been
responsible for the record. Again, we know him to have been closely
connected with the locality from which came the writer who refers to
the famous story-teller of the same name. I would submit that we have
here quite sufficient evidence to warrant us in accepting Bledri ap
Cadivor as, at least, the possible author of the romantic Grail
tradition. In any case, so far, there is no other candidate in the
field.[13]
Shortly after the publication of the second volume of my _Perceval_
studies, I received a letter from Professor Singer, in which, after
expressing his general acceptance of the theories there advanced, in
especial of the suggested date and relation of the different versions,
which he characterized as “_sehr gelungen, und zu meiner Alffassung der
Entwickelung der Altfranzösischen Literatur sehr zu stimmen_,” he
proceeded to comment upon the probable character of the literary
activity of Bleheris. His remarks are so interesting and suggestive
that I venture to submit them for the consideration of my readers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account