A study of Y Seint Greal in relation to La Queste del Saint Graal and Perlesvaus

Thesis

[Short abstract]. The Middle Welsh prose romance, Y Seint Greal has long been recognised as a translation of two early thirteenth century French Grail romances, La Queste del Saint Graal and Perlesvaus, but so far no comprehensive study has been made of the relationship between them, nor of the Welsh text as a work of literature in its own right. This study first puts Y Seint Greal into its proper context, as a product of the close links between France and Wales in the later Middle Ages, and as part of a surge of translation of foreign material into Welsh that began in the mid thirteenth century. Manuscript and other evidence indicates that Y Seint Greal was commissioned by the uchelwr (nobleman) Hopcyn ap Thomas of Glamorgan, at the end of the fourteenth century, both translator and scribe probably working in Neath or Margam Cistercian Abbey. The translator presents the Queste and Perlesvaus as two parts of a whole, creating a number of problems of consistency within Y Seint Greal. Moreover, comparison of the Welsh text with its French sources shows that the translator was insensitive to some of their qualities, and that his tendency to abridge has sometimes undermined the structure and coherence of the romances. However, many of the translation's apparent weaknesses can be ascribed to the redactor's concern to adapt his French material for the new audience. Overtly foreign elements are removed and efforts made to harmonise events and characters of the French romances with those of native Welsh tradition. The translator was familiar with earlier Welsh prose narrative, which has influenced his style, and he has drawn on the earlier romance of Peredur. Y Seint Greal was not intended to be a faithful translation but a bridge between Welsh and continental Arthurian traditions.

Authors: Lloyd-Morgan, C

• Publication date: 1978
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: Oxford University, UK
• Language: English
• Keywords: French prose literature; Welsh prose literature; Perlesvaus; Queste del Saint Graal; Y Seint Greal; Arthurian romances
• Subjects: French; Literature (non-English); Welsh