Talk:Perceval, the Story of the Grail

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 27 August 2018 and 12 December 2018. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Mpohlman2000.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 06:23, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Chretien's contribution under-represented?
Maybe I'm mistaken, but Le conte du graal may only technically be the first part of the work by Chretien de Troyes, with the rest being just "Continuations of Le conte du graal." A subtle difference perhaps, but this is not like the Roman de la Rose where both parts are considered equal or as a unit by modern scholars. It's certainly the most important and merits much more attention than the various continuations. IMHO, analysis, significance, symbolism, style, interpretation etc. should be sandwiched in between the plot summary of Le conte du graal and the continuations, which should be relegated towards the bottom, perhaps with their own analysis, if needed. Just my opinion as a CdT fanatic.Portia1780 02:29, 9 November 2007 (UTC)
 * PS - I added a redirect from Le conte du graal. Portia1780 02:30, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

Disambig note
While working on the Knights Templar article, I found myself frequently running into confusion between Perceval's story of the grail, and Parzival's story of the grail. As such, I think it's reasonable to have a disambiguation note at the top of this page. --Elonka 03:14, 17 April 2007 (UTC)


 * I disagree. Disambiguation notes are for when a single title can refer to more than one thing. This title is unambiguous. Further, Parzival is never called Perceval, even in English, and is never referenced with the subtitle "the Story of the Grail". There is already a disambiguation page for other works called Perceval or featuring the character Percival.--Cúchullain t/ c 06:18, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Location of writing
It's not exactly clear as to where the story of Perceval was written. If anyone knows anything about this, I think some clarification would benefit the article greatly. ItsPugle 08:55, 18 February 2018 (UTC)

Date of Authorship discrepancies.
On Chrétien de Troyes' page, it's written that the story of Perceval was written between "1181 and 1190" (Chrétien de Troyes), whereas it's written here that it was "Probably written between 1135 and 1190" (Perceval, the Story of the Grail). ItsPugle (talk) 01:41, 25 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Changed - those were Chrétien's life dates. Johnbod (talk) 14:52, 25 February 2018 (UTC)
 * I saw your change - Thanks! ItsPugle (talk) 22:24, 25 February 2018 (UTC)

Proposed Edits to Synopsis, Influence, & Interpretations Sections
The following is a summary of edits I intend on adding to this wiki article, based on research conducted for a Medieval Civilizations undergrad course. All edits are intended to improve clarity & accuracy.

For the synopsis, I have added more details on the conflict between Perceval and Sir Kay, as this subplot guides much of Perceval's actions. I also reorganized a few sentences that appeared out of chronological order. I have added a citation of Burton Raffel & Joseph J. Duggan's translation of the story, as there were previously no citations on the synopsis.

For the section currently titled "Perceval 's Influence," I have re-titled this as "Perceval's Influence on Medieval Literature." I also have removed the following line: "French filmmaker Éric Rohmer directed an eccentric adaptation titled Perceval le Gallois in 1978. T. S. Eliot cited the story of Percival, particularly the scene depicting his encounter with the Fisher King, as one of the primary symbolic backdrops in his poem The Waste Land." This keeps the section focused on Medieval Literature, thus improving clarity.

For the section currently titled "Interpretations," I have re-titled this as "Interpretations on Historical Context" to better reflect the content. Also, I have added research included in Burton Raffel & Joseph J. Duggan's translation that suggests connections between traditional Celtic mythology and Chrétien's Perceval. Mpohlman2000 (talk) 15:57, 26 November 2018 (UTC)


 * There is no such thing as "traditional Celtic mythology". Well, maybe in 1500 BCE you could talk of "traditional Celtic mythology", but certainly not in the late 12th century CE when Chretien wrote. Cagwinn (talk) 17:39, 26 November 2018 (UTC)


 * Noted, I'll edit the wording to be more accurate. Thanks! Mpohlman2000 (talk) 19:32, 26 November 2018 (UTC)

4th continuation vs. Elucidation, Bliocadran, and Perlesvaus
Since Elucidation, Bliocadran and Perlesvaus are given in italics, it is very easy to get confused (if you haven't take a look onto the table of contents) and to think of them as for subheadings to the 4th Continuation. I think it would be best to remove italics there.