Peredur: From Caerllion to Constantinople

 Peredur: A Grail Romance? Part III

Mabinogionfrage
Traditionally, the Middle Welsh tales of ‘Peredur son of Efrog’, ‘Geraint son of Erbin’, and 'Owain, or The Lady of the Well’ have been known as ‘the three romances’ in part because they correspond to the late-12th century French romances of Chrétien de Troyes. 

The general consensus is that all three of the Welsh Romances are adaptions derived from Chrétien de Troyes's original works: Owain (Chwedl Iarlles Y Fynawn) is clearly related to Chrétien's Ywain, Le Chevalier du Lion; Geraint (Chwedl Geraint ab Erbin) closely follows Erec et Enid, and Peredur (Historia Peredur ab Efrawg) is typically seen as a Welsh version of Perceval, or Le Conte du Graal. However, scholars have long debated the exact nature of this relationship.

Since the 19th century scholars have grouped the Three Welsh romances together as a collective group in editions of The Mabinogion and these three texts certainly hold an affinity to their French counterparts. Yet as we have seen in Part I: Peredur: A Grail Romance? there is no manuscript authority for such a grouping of the three Welsh romances which hold no connection in date or authorship between them. Yet the Mabinogion grouping has certainly influenced the general perception of the three Welsh romances as counterparts of the French texts.

However, the relationship with Chrétien’s works differs from one Welsh romance (Welsh: ‘rhamantau’) to another, the tales in their extant form exhibit varying degrees of influence from the French sources; or is it the other way around? The ongoing controversy surrounding the influences of the three rhamantau and their French analogues is termed the ‘Mabinogionfrage’. 

Unlike the other Welsh rhamantau that have clear relationships to their French counterparts, the story of Peredur exhibits distinct variations to its continental equivalent, Chrétien de Troyes’s Perceval. It is said that Perceval is the source for Peredur, or that Peredur is the source of Perceval, or they both derive from a common source. There seems a reluctance to give priority to the Welsh text, consequently the ‘common source’ is seen as a satisfactory compromise.

However, we are not looking at a simple adaption of one text or the other, as the long versions of Peredur found in the Red Book and White Book roughly mirror its French counterpart at the beginning and the end, but the central part of the Welsh tale is unique.

The Roman Remains at Caerleon probably influenced
Geoffrey of Monmouth in locating King Arthur's Court there.

Arthur’s Court
The three Welsh Romances have as their focus the court at Caerllion (Caerleon) on Usk, home to King Arthur and Gwenhwyfar, his queen. But here Arthur's role is similar to that of the Continental romances where he is generally on the periphery of the story with the main adventure focused on his knights.

In each adventure the hero embarks on a journey in order to prove himself; once he has moved beyond Arthur’s court he comes to mysterious castles with grey-haired noblemen and beautiful maidens; challenging knights who must be defeated and vulnerable widows who must be defended. However, in each of the Welsh Romances the emphasis is different, so that although the three tales share common themes, which indeed set them apart from the other Mabinogion tales, they should not be regarded as a structured group or the work of a single author. 

Indeed, it may be significant that in both the White Book and Red Book collections ‘The Dream of the Emperor Maxen’ is preceded by ‘Peredur son of Efrog’. The author of 'Maxen' certainly had an interest in Caernarfon, and the author of the earliest version of 'Peredur' has been identified as coming from North Wales1; it seems probable that both texts are a product of the court of Gwynedd.2

Indeed, as we have seen, they have not been copied as a group in the extant manuscripts; neither do they share a common manuscript tradition. Moreover, although they exhibit some of the broad characteristics of romance, such as acts of chivalry and knightly virtues, they do not sit comfortably within that genre, so that the misleading term ‘the three romances’ becomes inappropriate. If we accept that they may be very loose retellings of Chrétien’s tales, they have certainly been adapted for the native audience with structure and style sitting comfortably within the Welsh narrative tradition.3

The Three Welsh Romances are far removed from another Mabinogion tale seen in the world of ‘How Culhwch Won Olwen’ where Arthur holds court in Celli Wig in Cornwall. It would appear the relocation of Arthur's court to Caerllion is influenced by Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th century chronicle Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain). In his preface to Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur William Caxton describes ruins sounding very like the Roman fortress of Isca (Caerllion),“in Camelot, the great stones and the marvelous works of iron lying underground, and the royal vaults which many now living have seen.”

In Peredur the hero’s initial journey transforms him from a country bumpkin (as Sioned Davies describes him4) into a skillful knight; after a series of adventures he gains the love of Angharad (Golden-Hand), before winning the admiration of the empress of Constantinople, with whom he rules for fourteen years; finally he embarks on a series of further adventures that leads him to the Castle of Wonders, where the procession is explained and he gains vengeance on the witches of Caerloyw.

Yet, the Welsh text has been criticised for being poorly written and showing a lack of development of the character, displaying no interest in feelings or motives, with the emphasis firmly on the adventures.5

Peredur is structurally different to the other Welsh Romances; whereas the 'full' (or long) version is found in the White Book and Red Book, there is also two incomplete versions, one found in manuscript Peniarth 14, which breaks off mid-sentence during Peredur's visit to his second uncle, and an earlier version is found in MS Peniarth 7 which is deficient of the opening section and ends with Peredur ruling with the empress of Constantinople.

For the purpose of this essay I am referring to the full version of the tale as contained in the White Book and Red Book.6 The tale contains logical breaks in the story using a stand formula; each section beginning and ending at Arthur’s court.

The first section begins in the Welsh Woods with Peredur and his mother where she has taken the last of her sons away from society so as not to loose him to battle or tournaments as with her husband Efrog of the North and other sons, and ends after Peredur befriends Gwalchmai and they returned to Caerllion.

The next section commences with "The first night Peredur came to Caerllion to Arthur's court" when he met Angharad Law Eurog (Golden Hand). After a series of adventures, he returns to Arthur's court as the ‘Mute Knight’ and wins the love of Angharad.

The next section begins "Arthur was in Caerllion ar Wysg" and ends with Peredur, now known as the ‘Knight of the Mill,’ ruling with the empress of Constantinople for fourteen years ... "according to the story."

The final section again begins with the same formula "Arthur was in Caerllion ar Wysg". A black, curly-haired maiden arrives on a yellow mule and greeted Arthur but told Peredur he was not worthy of her greeting because when he went to the court of the lame king and saw the young man carrying the spear with a drop of blood streaming down to the young man’s fist, and other wonders, he did not question their meaning. To redeem himself Peredur sets off on another series of adventures ending at the Castle of Wonders.

The first section shows close proximity to Chrétien’s text, corresponding to the first part of the French tale in that it tells of the hero's days in the Welsh woods, first sighting of knights and desire to become such, meeting the maiden in the pavilion; arrival at Arthur's court; animosity from Cai (Kay); the Red Knight who insulted the queen with the goblet of wine; and the visits to the castles of the two uncles, where at the second he witnesses the strange procession. However, it must be stressed the Welsh text should not be considered a mirror of the French as there are certainly some scenes in Peredur that are absent from Chrétien’s tale and others placed in different order.

The second and third sections, featuring Angharad Law Eurog and ending with the empress of Constantinople are entirely absent from the French text.

The fourth and final section of the Welsh text has the feel of a bolt-on episode, perhaps written by a different author, with the appearance of the black, curly-haired maiden being equivalent to Chrétien’s Ugly Damsel who takes the hero to task for not asking questions about the procession. In Chrétien’s version Perceval is first taken to task directly after the episode at the Grail Castle in the first section. After leaving the Grail Castle he immediately meets a young maiden who cradles a dead knight. She calls him ‘Perceval the Wretched’ because he failed to question the meaning of the procession. She reveals herself as Perceval’s cousin and tells him that his mother has died.

If the Welsh version were a copy of Chrétien’s text then the copyist has inserted the second and third sections with Angharad and the empress before the hero is chastised by the black, curly-haired maiden for not asking the meaning of what he witnessed at the castle of the lame grey-haired man, Chrétien’s Fisher King. Significantly, there is no mention of the word “Grail” in the Welsh text.

Notes & References
1. Canhwyll Marchogyon: Cyd-destunoli Peredur, editors Sioned Davies, Peter Wynn Thomas, University of Wales Press, 2000.
2. Sioned Davies, editor and translator, The Mabinogion, Oxford University Press, 2007, Introduction, p.xx.
3. Ibid. p.xi.
4. Ibid.p.xxiv.
5. Ian Lovecy, Historia Peredur Ab Efrawg, in Arthur of the Welsh, edited by Rachel Bromwich, A.O.H. Jarman, Brynley F. Roberts, University of Wales Press, Second edition, 2008, pp.171-182.
6. I have used the version of Peredur son of Efrog contained in Sioned Davies edition of The Mabinogion, Oxford University Press, 2007, pp.65-102.

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