Perceval, the Story of the Grail

The dual symbols of the grail and the bleeding lance (which are usually referred to together) are referenced throughout the text, and appear as a central aspect of the narrative after they are seen in the Fisher King’s castle. Though they are only present in that single scene, their significance becomes one of the driving questions of the unfolding story from that point on.

Whereas later traditions develop the grail story beyond its initial appearance in the Perceval epic, ultimately taking it to refer to the cup which was used by Jesus to establish the rite of holy communion on the night before his crucifixion, in Chrétien de Troyes’s usage it appears to be a serving-dish. The connections with the rite of communion remain, however, since the hermit reveals that it was used to bear a consecrated communion wafer. Chrétien never refers to it by the familiar full title of “the Holy Grail,” but simply as “the grail” (though it is described as being holy on one occasion in the text, in the explanation given by the hermit).

The bleeding lance, which appears in the same scene as the grail, is said to be all white except for a spot on its tip where droplets of blood continually emerge.