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Útdráttur

The Story of the Grail was written in the late twelfth century. It is the best known work of Chrétien de Troyes and it inspired many authors who did not hesitate to spin an end to Chrétien’s unfinished story. Thus the idea of the grail developed significantly in the works that followed. One of the main characteristics of Chrétien’s story is the emphasis put on the search for meaning both in the prologue as well as in the story itself. For the ignorant but promising knight Perceval this search is also the search for identity which begins as soon as he leaves his mother. By contrast, Gawain is an accomplished knight; the story of his adventures in the second half of the work relates in an obscure manner to the first part. Chrétien’s unfinished romance is a story of Perceval’s mistakes and many questions are left unanswered. In this article The Story of the Grail will be presented briefly as one of the first medieval romances. We know almost nothing about Chrétien de Troyes but we know that he was concerned about the structure and the meaning of his works. In this romance the author seems to insist on the role of his readers when it comes to endowing the story in which they are entangled with meaning.