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| Arthur Hacker, Percival with the Grail Cup |
Every country, every nation has its own
legends and ancient tales and the UK, of course, it’s not an exception. The Matter of Britain is their legendary epic.
The legend of King Arthur and his Knights
of the Round Table is not only a worldwide known tale, but also an important
part of English literary heritage. I’d
like to talk about one of the most prominent characters of the legend, Sir
Percival, in a sort of short story. But, before we start, it’s important to
note that there isn’t a single version of the story of Percival. There are lots
of them and they are also contrasting,
so, to create a story as coherent and enjoyable as possible, I will use as a
basis the story narrated in Perceval,
the Story of the Grail, by Chrétienne
de Troyes, adding to it, at the same time, some elements from other stories, mainly
Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach
and Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir
Thomas Malory.
And now,
let’s start.
