Perceval and Peredur: Summaries of the Stories

Peredur: A Grail Romance? Part II

During the 19th century Lady Charlotte Guest assembled eleven medieval Welsh tales from The White Book of Rhydderch and The Red Book of Hergest to form the collection commonly known as The Mabinogion. Lady Guest grouped the tales of her Mabinogion collection as the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, Culhwch and Olwen, Rhonabwy’s Dream, The Dream of Mascen Wledig, Lludd and Llefelys, and the Three Romances.

The Welsh texts referred to as the ‘Three Romances’, ‘Peredur son of Efrog’, ‘Geraint son of Erbin’, and ‘Owain, or The Lady of the Fountain’, have been subject to much debate by scholars owing to their correspondence with the French tales of Perceval, Yvain and Érec et Énide by Chrétien de Troyes. There is clearly a connection between the three Welsh Romances and their French counterparts but there seems little agreement about the precise ways in which they interrelate; the Three Welsh Romances are often dismissed simply as copies, or adaptions, of Chrétien’s works, which is the easiest option, as the Welsh manuscripts all came later. There can be no denying the French influence apparent in the Welsh tales, yet it is a more complex issue than just manuscript dating.

The greatest debate, however, is reserved for the question of Peredur son of Efrog’s relationship with Chrétien's Perceval (Conte du Graal). The impact of Chrétien's ‘Story of the Grail’ on Medieval literature cannot be over stated; the poem was responsible for an explosion of Continental Romance that followed, introducing The Grail to the Arthurian Cycle of the Matter of Britain. It seemed unlikely, if not impossible, that the French masterpiece could have derived from a little-known Welsh tale; it is therefore easier for many to to accept that Peredur must be derived from Perceval.

As the Welsh tale in its complete form as it appears in the White Book of Rhydderch (c.1350) and Red Book of Hergest (c.1375-c.1400), both manuscripts date around two hundred years after Chrétien’s story first appeared (1180-1190), it is usually accepted that Peredur is a translation and/or adaptation of Chrétien’s text. However, as other (incomplete) versions of Peredur can be found in earlier manuscripts this may not necessarily be the case.1

For purposes of comparison here are short summaries of Perceval, or the Story of the Grail, and Peredur son of Efrog.

Perceval, or, The Story of the Grail by Chrétien de Troyes

Perceval

Summary
Perceval of Wales (Perceval le Gallois) is raised in the Welsh woods by his mother to keep him away from civilization. One day, while out riding, Perceval encounters a group of knights (unnamed) and realizes he wants to be one. His mother tells him of his father and gives him personal advice. But despite her protests he leaves for King Arthur's court. He meets a young girl who predicts greatness for him but Kay, the Seneschal, taunts him. On his way to court, he meets the Red Knight and prophesies revenge on Kay. Then Perceval kills the Red Knight and takes his vermilion armour.

He reaches Gournemant’s castle who trains Perceval how to bear arms. He then decides to return to see his mother but Gournemant’s niece Blancheflor seeks his help. Perceval rescues her from her attackers who he captures and sends them to King Arthur's court to declare his vow of revenge on Kay.

Perceval sets out to return to his mother. During the journey he comes across the Fisher King fishing in a boat on a river, who invites him to stay at his castle. At the Fisher King's castle Perceval was first presented with a sword by the lord as an act of hospitality. Perceval then sat down beside him, and he was treated with the greatest honour. And in that hall was the brightest light could ever be created by candles. Then the Grail procession commenced:

"While they were talking of one thing and another, a boy came from a chamber holding a gleaming lance by the middle of the shaft, and he passed between the fire and the pair who were sitting on the bed. Everyone in the hall saw the bright lance and its shining head. And from the tip of the lance's head came a drop of blood; and right down to the boy's hand this drop ran. The lord's guest gazed at the wonder that had appeared that night, but refrained from asking how it came to be, because he remembered the warning of the one who'd knighted him, who'd taught him to beware of talking too much; he was afraid it might be frowned upon, so he didn't ask at all. Then two other boys appeared, holding candlesticks of fine gold, inlaid with niello, they were handsome boys indeed, and in each of the candlesticks they bore were at least ten burning candles. A girl who entered with the boys, fair and graceful and beautifully attired, was holding a grail between her hands. And she entered with the grail, so radiant a light appeared in the hall that the candles lost their brightness like the stars at the rising of the moon or sun. After her came another girl, holding a silver trencher. the grail which went ahead was made of pure, fine gold, inlaid with many kinds of jewels, the richest and most precious in earth or sea: the stones in the grail surpassed all other gems without a doubt. They passed before the bed as the lance had done, and entered another chamber. The boy saw them pass, but didn't dare ask who was served from the grail: he'd taken the words of wise Gorneman to heart. I fear he may suffer for doing so: I've heard it said that sometimes a man can talk too little as well as too much! But whether it was to bring him good or ill - I don't know which - he asked nothing."2

He wakes up the next morning to find the castle deserted; he resumes his journey home. On the journey he encounters a girl in mourning, who reprimands him for not asking about the grail, as that would have healed the wounded king. He then learns that his mother has died.

Perceval captures another knight and sends him to King Arthur's court with the same message as before. King Arthur sets out to find Perceval and, upon finding him, attempts to convince him to join the court. Perceval unknowingly challenges Kay to a fight, in which he breaks Kay's arm and exacts his revenge. Perceval agrees to join Arthur's court, but soon after a loathly lady enters and reprimands him again for failing to ask whom the grail served.

The story of the Grail effectively ends here with the remaining 3,000 lines or so of Chrétien’s poem dealing with Arthur's nephew and best knight Gawain, whose adventures are not directly pertinent to the quest. As Gawain takes centre stage Perceval literally disappears from the text except for one short later passage, in which a hermit explains that the grail contains a single host that miraculously sustains the Fisher King’s wounded father. It is as if another author had picked up the story.

The tale breaks off unfinished, interrupted when a messenger arrives at Arthur's court to request his presence at Gawain's upcoming fight against Guiromelant.3

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Peredur, son of Efrog – author unknown

Summary

Peredur (Alan Lee)

Peredur inherits his father's lands in the north after his father and brothers all die in battle. The last of her son’s his mother tries to hide the idea of war from her young son and raises him in isolation in the woods. As he comes of age he meets a group of knights, Gwalchmai son of Gwyar, Gwair son of Gwystyl and Owain son of Urien. Peredur sets off for the court of King Arthur on a scraggy horse with a makeshift saddle and a fistful of sharp-pointed darts in his hand to learn how to become a knight.

At Arthur's court an unnamed knight insults the host and issues a challenge to all present. When Peredur arrives at the court the unnamed knight has departed and they laugh at him and his untidy, makeshift equipment and desire to become a knight. They tell Peredur that he must defeat the knight who insulted them if he wishes to become a knight himself. He accepts the challenge and seeks out the knight who he kills with a dart and takes the dead man's armour and horse.

Peredur decides he will journey through the land in the name of King Arthur until he has taken his revenge on the man named Cai who insulted him the most at the court. On his travels Peredur is attacked by many knights who he defeats but does not kill them. He sends them to Arthur's court to explain that they were defeated by Peredur. Cai becomes worried.

As Peredur journeys through the lands he came to a great, desolate forest, and at the edge was a lake, and on the other side was a large court and a fine fortress around it where a lame, grey-haired man is fishing. The grey-haired man reveals he is Peredur’s uncle, his mother’s brother, he asks if he knew how to strike with a sword. The man shows Peredur how to bear arms, and instructs him not to question the significance of all that he sees.

When he departs to comes to another great fortress in a forest. He enters and finds a grey-haired man sitting in the hall. The man asks him if he knew how to strike with a sword and tells Peredur to strike an iron column in the hall with a sword. He struck the column and it and the sword broke in two pieces. He put them back together and they became one. He did this two more times but on the third the sword and iron column would not join as before. The man tells him that he is the best swordsman in the kingdom and has gained two-thirds of his strength but the last third is yet to come. The man then tells him that he is his uncle, his mother’s brother and brother of the man whose court he was in last night.

“Suddenly he could see two lads entering the hall, and from the hall they proceeded to a chamber, carrying a spear of huge proportions, with three streams of blood running from its socket to the floor. When everyone saw the lads coming in this way, they all began weeping and wailing so that it was not easy for anyone to endure it. Yet the man did not interrupt his conversation with Peredur. The man did not explain to Peredur what that was, nor did Peredur ask him about it. After a short silence, suddenly two maidens entered with a large salver between them, and a man’s head on the salver, and much blood around the head.* And then they all shrieked and wailed so that it was not easy for anyone to stay in the same building. At last they stopped, and remained sitting as long as it pleased them, and drank. After that a chamber was prepared for Peredur, and they went to sleep.”4

Early the next day Peredur got up, and with his uncle’s permission he set off on further adventures in which he defeats several men and sends them to Arthur's court to tell his story. Eventually Arthur decides to venture out in search of Peredur. But on his journey Peredur has come upon the nine witches of Caerloyw who teach him horsemanship and how to master his weapons. Arthur finds Peredur who defeats each of Arthur's knights as well as Cai who is injured, jealous, and angry at Peredur. Another knight in Arthur's court named Gwalchmai befriends Peredur and leads him back to meet with Arthur who welcomes him into the court.

At Arthur's court Peredur meets Angharad Law Eurog (Golden-Hand) who he immediately falls in love with, but she does not love him. Determined to win her love he swears that he will not "utter a word to any Christian" until his love is returned. The next day he leaves the court.

On his travels Peredur meets with many people, but none of them are Christian so he keeps his word to Angharad. He eventually returns to Arthur's court, unrecognisable he meets Cai who he refuses to speak to so Cai harasses him. Peredur returns to the court and is called the Mute Knight. Unaware of his true identity Angharad declares her love for the Mute Knight. Peredur finally breaks his silence.

Eventually Peredur's travels bring him to a town where the Empress of Constantinople is visiting. She is hosting a combat tournament to find the bravest man to marry. Peredur enters the contest as ‘the Knight of the Mill’ and wins. The Empress and Peredur rule in Constantinople for 14 years.

Later, a black-haired maiden arrives at Arthur’s Court at Caerllion riding on a mule. She greeted Arthur and all his retinue but voiced her anger at Peredur (here named as ‘Peredur Baladr Hir’) who she claims is not worthy because he failed to ask about the procession he witnessed at the court of the lame king. Peredur then set out on a journey to find out more about the woman. He learns about the Fortress of Wonders and seeks it out. When he finds the fortress the gates are open and he enters. A traditional board game named gwyddbwyll is being played in the courtyard. Peredur supports a side but his chosen side loses. He becomes angry and throws the pieces into the nearby lake. The black-haired maiden enters and tells Peredur that he made the empress lose her board, and the only way to get the board is to go to the Fortress of Ysbidinongyl, where a black-haired man is destroying much of the empress’s land. The black woman tells Peredur that if he kills him he will get the board but warned him he would not come back alive.

The black-haired maiden takes Peredur on a series of adventures; killing a stag and the blackhaired man from the slab. Then Peredur came upon a fortress in a river valley. He entered to see a lame, grey-haired man sitting at the end of the hall, with Gwalchmai sitting on one side of him. They made Peredur welcome, who then sat on the other side of the grey-haired man. Then a yellow-haired lad kneeled before him and said that he came in the guise of the black-haired maiden to Arthur’s court, and the episodes of the gwyddbwyll, the black-haired man from Ysbidinongyl, the stag, and the blackhaired man from the slab. And it was the same lad that had carried the head on the salver, all covered in blood, and the spear with the blood streaming along it from its tip to its hilt. The lad explains that the head was Peredur’s cousin’s, and it was the witches of Caerloyw who killed him, and they made his uncle lame. The lad claimed he was also cousin to Peredur, and added that it is foretold that he will avenge that.

Then Peredur and Gwalchmai with Arthur and all his retinue attacked the witches of Caerloyw who were all killed.

And that is what is told of the Fortress of Wonders.

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Notes & References
1. Lowri Morgans, Peredur son of Efrawg: The Question of Translation and/or Adaptation
Handbook of Arthurian Romance; King Arthur's Court in Medieval European Literature, Edited by Leah Tether and Johnny McFadyen, De Gruyter, (paperback edition) 2019, pp.403-414.
2. The Complete Story of the Grail: Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval and its Continuations, translated by Nigel Bryant, DS Brewer, 2015 (paperback edition) 2018, pp.28-29.

3. It is difficult to provide a satisfactory précis for a text the length of Chrétien’s Perceval, over 9,000 lines, but hopefully I have included the salient points in respect to its correspondence with the Welsh Romance of Peredur. However, I am bound to have omitted a relevant point along the way.
4. Peredur son of Efrog, in The Mabinogion, Translated with an Introduction and Notes by Sioned Davies, Oxford University Press, 2007, p.73.

5. I have used the spelling 'Efrog' to be consistent with Sioned Davies translation.

(Edited 01/08/23)

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Peredur: A Grail Romance?

Part I

A Welsh Romance
During the 19th century Lady Charlotte Guest assembled eleven medieval Welsh tales from the Red Book of Hergest (dated between c.1375-c.1400), to form the collection commonly known as The Mabinogion. In her 1906 edition, Guest published the tales in the following order:

The Four Branches of the Mabinogi, The Dream of the Emperor Maxen, Lludd and Llefelys, Culhwch and Olwen, Rhonabwy’s Dream, The Lady of the Well, Peredur son of Efrog, Geraint son of Erbin, Hanes Taliesin.

Although Guest referred to these tales collectively as “The Mabinogion” they do not share common authorship or date of composition, and content varies from tale to tale; only The Four Branches seem to have been intended as a serial work, and even then it is a loose connection. Although the tales contain older material found mainly in two manuscripts (in addition to the Red Book of Hergest, we find a similar collection in the White Book of Rhydderch, c.1350), it is generally accepted that they were written down between the 11th and 14th centuries, a period when native prose and poetry was susceptible to foreign influence. 

Guest regarded the term 'mabinogion' as the plural form of 'mabinogi' and subsequently entitled her collection accordingly. However, the term is a scribal error derived from the Welsh word 'mab' meaning ‘son, boy’; thus, its original meaning was ‘youth’ or ‘story of youth’. It has been suggested that the Four Branches may refer to the life of Pryderi who is the only character appearing in all four tales, being born in the First Branch and dying in the Fourth. ‘The Four Branches of the Mabinogi’ are the mabinogi proper, as it were, being the only tales in the manuscripts that refer to themselves as such. 

Guest’s grouping brackets the tales as The Four Branches, the four Native Tales, and the three Romances with the inclusion of the Hanes Taliesin as a twelfth tale, but this late story has no place among these earlier Medieval works as it does not appear in the Red or White Book manuscripts, being first recorded in the mid-16th century by Elis Gruffydd. 

In the White and Red Book manuscripts the following groupings are common to both: 

(i) The Four Branches of the Mabinogi;
(ii) ‘Peredur son of Efrog’, ‘The Dream of the Emperor Maxen’, ‘Lludd and Llefelys’;
(iii) ‘Geraint son of Erbin’, ‘How Culhwch Won Olwen’.

Rhonabwy’s Dream, which is not included in the earliest manuscript (The White Book), is usually included in scholarly editions at the end of the ‘collection’.

In grouping the tales for her edition of the Mabinogion, it is clear that Guest did not adhere to manuscript authority. Manuscript evidence does not suggest any particular groupings for the seven tales following the Four Branches, however, traditionally, the tales of ‘Peredur son of Efrog’, ‘Geraint son of Erbin’, and ‘The Lady of the Well’ have been known as ‘the three romances’.

Lady Guest noted similarities between the Welsh tales of Peredur, Owain and Geraint and Chrétien de Troyes, Perceval, Erec, and Yvain, noting that in their existing form the Welsh tales were by no means wholly Welsh. Subsequently, the Welsh texts have been grouped together from Lady Guest’s Mabinogion in the 19th century when the relationship between them and the three corresponding late 12th century French Romances were recognised by scholars. 

In the 1948 edition of The Mabinogion by Gwyn Jones and Thomas Jones the tales, (with Hanes Talesin omitted) are presented in the following order: 

i) The Four Branches of the Mabinogi;
ii) The Four Independent Native Tales (‘The Dream of Macsen Wledig’, ‘Lludd and Llefelys’, ‘Culhwch and Olwen’, ‘The Dream of Rhonabwy’);
iii) The Three Romances (‘The Lady of the Fountain’, ‘Peredur son of Efrawg’, ‘Gereint son of Erbin’).1

The grouping of the Welsh tales combined with the obvious parallels between the three French romances has nourished an assumption that the three Welsh texts form a collective unit, of similar date and authorship. That assumption has been further encouraged by the misleading modern practice of referring to them as “the three romances,” when in fact there is no evidence whatsoever that the three Welsh texts were seen as a group in the Middle Ages. In neither manuscript, as we have seen above, are Peredur, Owain, and Geraint presented as a group, in contrast to the compilers’ treatment of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi.

Following many years of debate between scholars examining and cross-examining narrative structure, style, motifs and themes, the relationship between the Welsh and French romances has never been satisfactorily determined. However, we cannot discount the prospect of direct influence of the French on the Welsh compositions. If it is accepted that the Welsh authors derived their romances from Chrétien’s works, they certainly adapted very freely. We could argue that it is more probable that both the Welsh authors and Chrétien de Troyes drew on a common body of narrative material, which many scholars conceive as being of Celtic origin.

Lady Guest noticed that the older 'native tales' such as Culhwch and Olwen display little Norman influence and the less ancient tales such as Geraint, Owain and Peredur contain many allusions to Norman customs. Guest considered that this was evidence that the “three Welsh romances” had probably migrated from Wales to France, then returned to their homeland after several centuries absence and were re-translated with Norman additions. Guest considered that an early form of the three Welsh romances lay behind Chrétien's romances.

Clearly the authors of the White Book and Red Book manuscripts, the only two medieval manuscripts containing all of the so-called “three Welsh romances”, failed to see any connection between them and did not originally perceive them as a group at all. Owing to the absence of manuscript authority it must therefore be admitted that the grouping of these texts together in editions of the Mabinogion since the 19th century, which has undoubtedly influenced readers perceptions of them, that the concept of the “three Welsh romances” must be recognised as a modern construct.2

The Source of the Grail
However, there is an undeniable connection between the three Welsh Romances ‘Peredur son of Efrog’, ‘Geraint son of Erbin’, and ‘The Lady of the Well’ and their French counterparts of 'Perceval', 'Erec et Enide', and 'Yvain' by Chrétien de Troyes. The relationships between these texts has furnished much scholarly debate since it was recognised back in the 19th century yet the greatest disagreement has been the question of whether the Welsh text Peredur son of Efrawg is a translation and adaptation of Perceval, or Chrétien's source.

Perceval, or Le Conte du Graal (The Story of the Grail) is the earliest of the Grail romances, written in Old French by Chrétien de Troyes between 1180 and 1190, left unfinished the tale was the last of his works. Chrétien is credited with introducing the ‘Grail’ to Arthurian romance, the most important text of the Arthurian Cycle of the Matter of Britain. However, as noted above, a Celtic origin for the Grail has been claimed by some scholars which see the derivation of Chrétien’s Perceval from the Welsh Peredur as critical in their argument.

Chrétien’s Grail (or ‘graal’) is a mysterious serving dish carried in a procession with a lance and other talismans before Perceval at the castle of the lame Fisher King. Perceval fails to ask crucial questions about the Grail which would have cured the Fisher King's wound and prevented the imminent devastation of the land.

Perceval arrives at the Grail Castle, to be greeted by the Fisher King.
From a 1330 CE manuscript of Perceval ou Le Conte du Graal by Chrétien de Troyes (BnF Français 12577, fol. 18v)

At the Fisher King's castle Perceval was first presented with a sword by the lord as an act of hospitality. Perceval then sat down beside him, who treated him with the greatest honour. And in that hall was the brightest light could ever be created by candles. Then the Grail procession commenced:

"While they were talking of one thing and another, a boy came from a chamber holding a gleaming lance by the middle of the shaft, and he passed between the fire and the pair who were sitting on the bed. Everyone in the hall saw the bright lance and its shining head. And from the tip of the lance's head came a drop of blood; and right down to the boy's hand this drop ran. The lord's guest gazed at the wonder that had appeared that night, but refrained from asking how it came to be, because he remembered the warning of the one who'd knighted him, who'd taught him to beware of talking too much; he was afraid it might be frowned upon, so he didn't ask at all. Then two other boys appeared, holding candlesticks of fine gold, inlaid with niello, they were handsome boys indeed, and in each of the candlesticks they bore were at least ten burning candles. A girl who entered with the boys, fair and graceful and beautifully attired, was holding a grail between her hands. And she entered with the grail, so radiant a light appeared in the hall that the candles lost their brightness like the stars at the rising of the moon or sun. After her came another girl, holding a silver trencher. the grail which went ahead was made of pure, fine gold, inlaid with many kinds of jewels, the richest and most precious in earth or sea: the stones in the grail surpassed all other gems without a doubt. They passed before the bed as the lance had done, and entered another chamber. The boy saw them pass, but didn't dare ask who was served from the grail: he'd taken the words of wise Gorneman to heart. I fear he may suffer for doing so: I've heard it said that sometimes a man can talk too little as well as too much! But whether it was to bring him good or ill - I don't know which - he asked nothing."3

Chrétien's Grail procession is barely 200 lines of a poem in excess of 9,000, yet this mysterious episode supplies the title and overshadows the whole work. Leaving his tale unfinished was perhaps Chrétien’s master stroke, thereby ensuring the mystery of the Grail endured, which it certainly has for a thousand years. 

As for Chrétien's source, he claimed he was given a book by Count Philip of Flanders (Alsace). It seems unlikely Chrétien invented this statement as Philip outlived Chrétien by several years before he died in 1191. Yet nothing is known of this book and its origin cannot be considered any more than speculation.

Chrétien simply called the vessel carried in the enigmatic procession 'un graal' (a grail) as if it would be well known and understood by his audience and it should provide no mystery as the name of a common dish or a flat serving tray. Later texts described it as a cup, goblet or, in religious versions, as the chalice of the Eucharist it became “The Holy Grail”.

Writing shortly after Chrétien, probably within 20 years, a French poet named Robert de Boron gave the Grail a Christian dimension in his two poems written at the beginning of the 13th century; the 'Joseph d'Arimathe' and the 'Merlin'. These two works, along with a third unfinished part, the ‘Perceval’ are thought to have formed a greater opus 'Le Roman de l'Estoire dou Graal' which told the early history of the Grail. 

According to Boron, the Grail was a vessel used at the Last Supper which Joseph of Arimathea then used to catch the last drops of blood from Jesus’ body at the Crucifixion. Boron’s work has been interpreted as stating that the Grail was brought to Avalon (Glastonbury). Boron's 'Joseph d'Arimathie' provides the first history of the Grail but does not mention the bleeding lance but it does appear later in the Didot Perceval, a Grail text written between 1190 to 1215 AD, thought to be a representation of Boron's final work (the Perceval). The gleaming lance of Chrétien's Grail procession then developed into the spear of Longinus, the centurion who pierced the side of Jesus as he hung on the cross, supposedly found at Antioch in 1089; as with the Grail, Christianised as another relic of the Passion.4

As stated, Chrétien never finished his story which led to at least four different writers producing Continuations over the next 50 years in attempts to bring the tale to a satisfactory conclusion. An introduction to Chrétien’s story was included as “The Elucidation” and also a prologue known as “Bliocadran” which apparently was the name of Perceval’s father. 

In addition to the four Continuations several writers produced versions to provide the complete Grail story, and include some material apparently omitted by Chrétien: As we have seen above, Robert de Boron wrote within twenty years of the Perceval and introduced a Christian element to the Grail Story. Wolfram von Eschenbach produced an 'adapted' translation into a High German epic at the beginning of the 13th century known as Parzival. Wolfram added an Oriental element to his version of the tale in which the Grail is a mysterious stone left on earth by banished angels.

Another version, also written around the beginning of the 13th century in Old French prose was the Perlesvaus, known in English as The High History of the Grail. This tale includes many obscure elements that defy satisfactory explanation. It has been said that Perlesvaus has more decapitations than a French revolution. The local geography used in Perlesvaus has led to claims that it was written by a monk from Glastonbury Abbey. A fragment found at nearby Wells Cathedral in Somerset adds weight to the Glastonbury case.

And many more so-called Grail texts emerged over the next few centuries, all claiming to be the “True story” of the Grail. But there can only be one; a Welsh or French text.

Notes & References
1. The  order adopted by Sioned Davies in her edition of The Mabinogion, Oxford University Press, 2007: The Four Branches of the Mabinogi, Peredur son of Efrog, The Dream of the Emperor Maxen, Lludd and Llefelys, The Lady of the Well, Geraint son of Erbin, Culhwch and Olwen, Rhonabwy’s Dream.
2. Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan & Erich Poppe, The First Adaptions from French: History and Context of a Debate, pp.110-116, in Arthur in the Celtic Languages, Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan & Erich Poppe, editors, University of Wales Press, 2019.
3. The Complete Story of the Grail: Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval and its Continuations, translated by Nigel Bryant, DS Brewer, 2015 (paperback edition 2018), pp.28-29.
4. See: The First Grail Maiden 

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The Fortress Kingdom

The Wars of Æthelflæd and Edward the Elder, 899–927
Paul Hill

In the first book of a four part series The Kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons: The Wars of King Alfred 865-899 (March 2022) by author Paul Hill investigated the tactics of 9th century warfare which changed in Alfred’s time in response to the devastation of the Danish invasions from set-piece battles to a grander network of fortifications, known as burhs.

The burh had been a successful instrument of war during the Mercian domination of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy in England, c.716 and c.825, known as the Mercian Supremacy. It is without doubt that Alfred adopted this policy from the Mercians.

The success of Alfred's strategy led to the recovery of Wessex but to obtain peace with the Danes he had to accept partition of the country and cede a large part of the country in the creation of the Danelaw in a boundary roughly from London to the Wirral.

Following Alfred's passing his daughter Æthelflæd and eldest son Edward strove to recover the Danelaw through expansion of this network of fortifications throughout Mercia and the East Midlands. Paul Hill’s latest book, and second in the series, The Fortress Kingdom is the story of Æthelflæd and Edward's wars against the Danes.

Alfred’s daughter Æthelflæd and her husband Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians, commissioned the construction of a series of strongholds from 907, if not earlier. Æthelflæd and Æthelred established a network of burhs (fortified enclosures) across English Mercia in the west while the Danes held eastern Mercian under the Danelaw.

Archaeological evidence suggests a network of major royal settlements that were substantially fortified in the 8th and early 9th centuries were rebuilt in the late-9th and early-10th centuries by Æthelred and Æthelflæd, and continued by the Lady of the Mercians alone following Æthelred’s death in 911. In this process they were joined after the death of King Alfred by his eldest son Edward the Elder, brother of Æthelflæd.

Some burhs may have been purely military in character, and the struggle to locate them today suggests they did not develop beyond the wars of Æthelflæd. However, during the 10th and 11th centuries many of these burhs developed into boroughs with an urban character, as is the case with the five shire towns.

The five boroughs of of Danish Mercia were crucially important to the existence of the Danelaw with the five towns of Leicester, Nottingham, Derby, Stamford and Lincoln firmly under the control of the Vikings by the 9th century.

The Mercian Register (Annals of Æthelflæd) records that in 917 Æthelflæd took possession of the stronghold of Derby. By 918 Æthelflæd had made further in-roads into the The Five Boroughs and took control the stronghold of Leicester and ejected the raiding-parties there. It seems York was her next target, as the Register records the people there had pledged their allegiance to the Lady of the Mercians, but 12 days before mid-summer she suddenly died at Tamworth.

By the time that Æthelflæd died at Tamworth in 918, the task of subduing the Danes in Mercia was nearing completion. After his sister’s death Edward moved quickly to extend his overlordship of Mercia into direct rule.

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In 2018 I ran a series of articles on this blogsite to commemorate the 1100th anniversary of the death of Æthelflæd, the lady of the Mercians. [See: Æthelflæd & the Vikings ]

Several books were published around the same time to mark this very special lady: Founder, Fighter, Saxon Queen by Margaret C Jones; Æthelflæd by Tim Clarkson; The Warrior Queen-The Life and Legend of Æthelflæd by Joanna Arman; Mercia-The Rise and Fall of a Kingdom by Annie Whitehead; and Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians by David Horovitz. Brief mention was made of Æthelflæd: England’s Forgotten Founder by Tom Holland due publication 2019.

Whereas it is no longer my intention to provide book reviews on this blogsite, I want to mention this book by Paul Hill as an important addition to the bibliography of Æthelflæd, the Lady of the Mercians:

The Fortress Kingdom
The Wars of Æthelflæd and Edward the Elder, 899–927
By Paul Hill
Pen & Sword Military
ISBN: 9781399010610
Published: 4th October 2022

From the publisher:
"In this the second part of his four-volume military and political history of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom, Paul Hill follows the careers of Æthelflæd, Alfred the Great’s eldest daughter, and Edward the Elder, Alfred’s eldest son, as they campaigned to expand their rule after Alfred’s death. They faced, as Alfred had done, the full force of Danish hostility during the early years of the tenth century, a period of unrelenting turbulence and open warfare. But through their military strength, in particular their strategy of fortress building, they retained their hold on the kingdom and conquered lands which had been under Danish lords for generations.

"Æthelflæd’s forces captured Derby and Leicester by both force and diplomacy. Edward’s power was always immense. How each of them used forts (burhs) to hold territory, is explored. Fortifications across central England became key. These included Bridgnorth, Tamworth, Stafford, Warwick, Chirbury and Runcorn (Æthelflæd) and also Hertford, Witham, Buckingham, Bedford and Maldon (Edward), to name a few."

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Glastonbury Pilgrimages 2023

 Next weekend sees the Annual Glastonbury Pilgrimages on 7/8/9 July

The first pilgrimage to Glastonbury in modern times was in 1895 to celebrate the beatification of Abbot Richard Whiting, on the anniversary of his martyrdom 1539, when thousands of pilgrims from all over the country arrived by train and climbed the Tor where Mass was said. 

Pilgrimages took place after both World Wars by pilgrims in thanksgiving for their survival.

Every year since the early 1950’s (except for the COVID pandemic years) the Clifton Diocesan Glastonbury Pilgrimage has been held in Glastonbury.

Program for Sunday 9 July [click top right to open in PDF]

Schedules:

The Glastonbury Pilgrimage Association

The Pilgrimage is focused on the celebration of the Catholic Faith among traditional Anglicans in Britain.

Glastonbury Pilgrimage 2023 - Our Lady Queen of Peace

Friday 7th July 2023

5.00 pm: Vigil Mass in the Undercroft of the Lady Chapel

Saturday 8th July 2023

12.00 noon: Solemn Concelebrated Mass sung in the Nave of the Abbey Church 

2.00pm: Sacrament of Anointing

3.00 pm: Procession of the Blessed Sacrament to the Abbey for Solemn Benediction in the Nave of the Abbey Church

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Clifton Annual Diocesan Pilgrimage to Glastonbury 2023 - Mary, Queen of Peace

Sunday 9th July 2023

11.30am: Holy Rosary in the Shrine Church

12.00 noon: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament followed by Silent Adoration in the Shrine Church, until 3pm.

2.15pm: Rosary Procession from the Abbey, through Glastonbury Town Centre, returning to the Abbey via the Magdalene Street Gate, opposite the Shrine Church.

3.30pm: Mass in the Abbey celebrated by Rt. Rev. Declan Lang, Bishop of Clifton.

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