The Complete Story of the Grail by Chrétien de Troyes

Author:Chrétien de Troyes
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781782048763
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Group Ltd
Published: 2013-03-15T16:00:00+00:00

The Castle of the Maidens

He didn’t stop riding all day long till evening, but didn’t see a castle, town or house of any knight where he could go for lodging: he had to sleep in the forest till dawn next morning when he saw the sun shine bright. Then he remounted his destrier and set off through the forest once more; but though he kept up a steady pace, in all that day he didn’t find a single man or knight, any house or any living thing, and again he had to spend the night in the forest. What bothered him most was finding nothing to eat – that was the worst of all.

On the third day he made another long ride; and before mid-afternoon he came to a great river. He followed a cart track upstream, further than the range of a crossbow shot; but the river was deep and wide, and he couldn’t see any way to cross. Then he looked into the distance and thought he could see a little bridge, but he wasn’t sure. So he carried on to the top of a rocky height, and as he looked down to the plain below he saw the fairest meadowland and open country he’d ever seen in all his life. And then he caught sight of a splendid castle: all its walls and battlements were of coloured marble, red and yellow, and it had a handsome, lofty tower as perfect as a picture, and a great, imposing hall, as fine as any from there to Carthage. It was a well-appointed castle indeed. Perceval didn’t dally, but spurred his horse straight on and over the bridge, and rode in through the mighty gate. And the moment he was inside, the gate shut fast behind him, all by itself; Perceval was baffled – he couldn’t see a soul; and he was troubled to see the gate shut tight.

He went straight to the hall. At the door he saw four pedestals of copper, most handsome and beautifully wrought, inlaid with Arcadian gold; whoever had made them was skilled indeed: no columns of such fine workmanship were ever seen in any land. And on them was laid a table, the finest ever beheld by man: of intricately decorated brass it was, and six yards long but only five feet wide; and from it, on a silver chain, hung a steel hammer of wondrous kind, gilded with purest gold. Every inch of the table, too, was superbly gilded and richly engraved and worked. Perceval gazed at this gorgeous table, and the pedestals and the hammer, and saw how handsome and fine they were, and examined the patterning on the table and thought it quite superb, exceptional work indeed. Having studied the whole table he dismounted and tethered his horse to a column; then he entered the beautiful hall. But he didn’t find a soul inside – no knight, no maid, no lady, servant, page or squire. He started looking everywhere, but he

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