The Grail, the Quest and the World of Arthur (review)

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Reviewed by: The Grail, the Quest and the World of Arthur Don Hoffman Norris J. Lacy , ed. The Grail, the Quest and the World of Arthur. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 2008. Pp. xvii, 214; 54 color illustrations. ISBN: 9–781843–841708. $95.00. It is to be expected that a volume edited by Prof. Lacy would be of the highest quality, and this volume does not disappoint. What is most impressive and appealing about the volume is the degree to which it fulfills its promise to cover the world of Arthur. While the majority of contributors are Americans, the scholarly world is well represented by contributors from Canada, Britain, Brazil, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, and Germany (although the number of countries is somewhat skewed since the last three are represented by the surprisingly mobile Richard Trachsler). More impressive and more important than the nationality of the contributors, however, is the wide range of literatures covered: Dutch, German, Occitan, Icelandic, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and others in passing. There is also a diversity of media (film and art as well as literature) and genre (chronicle, history, and annals in addition to narrative). If the world of Arthur seems predominantly a Western world, that is due to the less than universal interest in Arthur (however ubiquitous he may seem to American and British readers). There is, however, some space devoted to the east in Antonio Furtado's study of the Crusaders, who necessarily give us a very European and frequently hostile view of the East. Norris Lacy provides a taut and cogent introduction to the volume limning the contours of a map of the world of 'Arthur and/or the Grail.' Then the topic reaches a high note with Martine Meuwese's 'The Shape of the Grail in Medieval Art,' a rich survey of the surprisingly varied shapes of Grail objects in medieval art. Meuwese carefully distinguishes between actual Grails and Eucharistic utensils often misread as Grails. The shape of the Grail may even vary in illustrations within a single manuscript. Meuwese carefully follows the shape-shifting Grail [End Page 104] from Chretien's dish to Wolfram's rock, to Italy where 'the Grail looks like a flower pot' (27). This essay is the gem of the collection, not only for the impressive mass of material covered with clarity and grace, but for the quantity of beautiful illustrations that accompany it. It is a feast for the eye and a valuable source for a great variety of rare images. If none of the other essays offers the visual pleasure of Meuwese's contribution, they certainly provide a wealth of information and analysis. Since space prohibits my commenting on every essay in the collection, I will discuss only a few of the 'best,' bearing in mind that in this excellent volume the choice of 'best' depends primarily on the interests and expectations of the reviewer/reader and not on any deficiency in the essays not discussed. With that caveat in mind, I would like to single out the contributions of Boardman, Field, Carley, and Barber. In 'Grail and Quest in the Medieval World of Arthur,' Philip Boardman opens with a statement as witty as it is surprising that 'our almost reflexive linking of the two terms, in "Grail Quest," assumes a marriage that, in late medieval England at least, is rocky' (126). Boardman goes on to demonstrate the far from universal linkage of grails (of which there are many) and quests (also fairly numerous) in English literature, and concludes that the English may have been so fond of Sir Gawain, in part because his prowess and courtesy, always tottering, was also tested, and, in part, because he was never lumbered with a Grail. In 'Malory and the Grail,' P. J. C. Field continues to enrich our understanding of Malory by analyzing his discussion of the one of the few actual Grail Quests in English investigating its literary and devotional sources to suggest that the narrator of the Morte Darthur 'seems to stumble into his unique moment of illumination in much the same way as his favorite knight had stumbled into the Grail Chapel, to receive a measure of grace beyond his deserving...