Startseite Literaturwissenschaften Fictional History as Ideology
Kapitel
Lizenziert
Nicht lizenziert Erfordert eine Authentifizierung

Fictional History as Ideology

Functions of the Grail legend from Robert de Boron to the Roman de Perceforest
  • Friedrich Wolfzettel
Veröffentlichen auch Sie bei De Gruyter Brill
Probleme des Artusromans
Ein Kapitel aus dem Buch Probleme des Artusromans

Abstract

Arisen from the theological controversies around the Eucharist by the turn of the twelfth century, the Grail is more than a religious symbol; as a political and ideological emblem it becomes the core of a series of alternative concepts of Sacred History whose background seems to be the crisis of chivalry. From Robert de Boron to the anonymous author of the Estoire del Saint Graal we are presented with the variants of a sacralized Arthurian history in which chivalry forms a providential genealogy. In the Queste del Saint Graal, however, the Grail has become a mighty, but vanishing ideal that will not be able to impede the breakdown of the Arthurian realm. More than a century later, in the Perceforest, the last attempt at fictional history, the loss of significance of the Grail serves to illustrate a new secularized chivalric religion.

Abstract

Arisen from the theological controversies around the Eucharist by the turn of the twelfth century, the Grail is more than a religious symbol; as a political and ideological emblem it becomes the core of a series of alternative concepts of Sacred History whose background seems to be the crisis of chivalry. From Robert de Boron to the anonymous author of the Estoire del Saint Graal we are presented with the variants of a sacralized Arthurian history in which chivalry forms a providential genealogy. In the Queste del Saint Graal, however, the Grail has become a mighty, but vanishing ideal that will not be able to impede the breakdown of the Arthurian realm. More than a century later, in the Perceforest, the last attempt at fictional history, the loss of significance of the Grail serves to illustrate a new secularized chivalric religion.

Heruntergeladen am 20.10.2025 von https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110694567-011/html
Button zum nach oben scrollen