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  "work": {
    "slug": "high-history-of-the-holy-graal",
    "name": "High History of the Holy Graal"
  },
  "parents": [
    {
      "slug": "grail-romances",
      "name": "Holy Grail Romances",
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  "chapter": {
    "num": 23,
    "slug": "23-the-high-history-of-the-holy-graal-branch-xxii",
    "title": "The High History of the Holy Graal: Branch XXII",
    "of": 36,
    "words": 1681,
    "text": "## The High History of the Holy Graal: Branch XXII\n\n\nINCIPIT.\n\nOf Lancelot the story is here silent, and so beginneth another\nbranch of the Graal in the name of the Father, and of the Son,\nand of the Holy Ghost.\n\nTITLE I.\n\nYou may well understand that King Arthur is no whit joyful. He\nmaketh the white destrier go after him, and hath the crown of\ngold full near himself. They ride until they come to the castle\nthat belonged to King Fisherman, and they found it as rich and\nfair as you have heard told many a time. Perceval, that was\nthere within, made right great joy of their coming, as did all\nthe priests and ancient knights. Perceval leadeth King Arthur,\nwhen he was disarmed, into the chapel where the Graal was, and\nMessire Gawain maketh present to Perceval of the Golden Circlet,\nand telleth him that the Queen sendeth it to him, and relateth\nalso how Nabigant had seized it, and moreover, how Nabigant was\ndead. The King offereth the crown that had been Queen\nGuenievre's. When Perceval knew that she was dead, he was right\nsorrowful thereof in his heart, and wept and lamented her right\nsweetly. He showeth them the tomb of King Fisherman, and telleth\nthem that none had set the tabernacle there above the coffin, but\nonly the commandment of Our Lord, and he showeth them a rich pall\nthat is upon the coffin, and telleth them that every day they see\na new one there not less rich than is this one. King Arthur\nlooketh. at the sepulchre and saith that never tofore hath he\nseen none so costly. A smell issueth therefrom full delicate and\nsweet of savour. The King sojourneth in the castle and is highly\nhonoured, and beholdeth the richesse and the lordship and the\ngreat abundance that is everywhere in the castle, insomuch that\ntherein is nought wanting that is needful for the bodies of noble\nfolk. Perceval had made set the bodies of the dead knights in a\ncharnel beside an old chapel in the forest, and the body of his\nuncle that had slain himself so evilly. Behind the castle was a\nriver, as the history testifieth, whereby all good things came to\nthe castle, and this river was right fair and plenteous.\nJosephus witnesseth us that it came from the Earthly Paradise and\ncompassed the castle around and ran on through the forest as far\nas the house of a worshipful hermit, and there lost the course\nand had peace in the earth. All along the valley thereof was\ngreat plenty of everything continually, and nought was ever\nlacking in the rich castle that Perceval had won. The castle, so\nsaith the history, had three names.\n\nII.\n\nOne of the names was Eden, the second, Castle of Joy, and the\nthird, Castle of Souls. Now Josephus saith that none never\npassed away therein but his soul went to Paradise. King Arthur\nwas one day at the castle windows with Messire Gawain. The King\nseeth coming before him beyond the bridge a great procession of\nfolk one before another; and he that came before was all clad in\nwhite, and bare a full great cross, and each of the others a\nlittle one, and the more part came singing with sweet voices and\nbear candles burning, and there was one behind that carried a\nbell with the clapper and all at his neck.\n\n\"Ha, God,\" saith King Arthur, \"What folk be these?\"\n\n\"Sir,\" saith Perceval, \"I know them all save the last. They be\nhermits of this forest, that come to chant within yonder before\nthe Holy Graal, three days in the week.\"\n\nIII.\n\nWhen the hermits came nigh the castle, the King went to meet\nthem, and the knights adore the crosses and bow their heads\nbefore the good men. As soon as they were come into the holy\nchapel, they took the bell from the last and smote thereon at the\naltar, and then set it on the ground, and then began they the\nservice, most holy and most glorious. The history witnesseth us\nthat in the land of King Arthur at this time was there not a\nsingle chalice. The Graal appeared at the sacring of the mass,\nin five several manners that none ought not to tell, for the\nsecret things of the sacrament ought none to tell openly but he\nunto whom God hath given it. King Arthur beheld all the changes,\nthe last whereof was the change into a chalice. And the hermit\nthat chanted the mass found a brief under the corporal and\ndeclared the letters, to wit, that our Lord God would that in\nsuch vessel should His body be sacrificed, and that it should be\nset upon record. The history saith not that there were no\nchalices elsewhere, but that in all Great Britain and in the\nwhole kingdom was none. King Arthur was right glad of this that\nhe had seen, and had in remembrance the name and the fashion of\nthe most holy chalice. Then he asked the hermit that bare the\nbell, whence this thing came?\n\n\"Sir,\" saith he to Messire Gawain, \"I am the King for whom you\nslew the giant, whereby you had the sword wherewith St John was\nbeheaded, that I see on this altar. I made baptize me before you\nand all those of my kingdom, and turn to the New Law, and\nthereafter I went to a hermitage by the sea, far from folk, where\nI have been of a long space. I rose one night at matins and\nlooked under my hermitage and saw that a ship had taken haven\nthere. I went thither when the sea was retreated, and found\nwithin the ship three priests and their clerks, that told me\ntheir names and how they were called in baptism. All three were\nnamed Gregory, and they came from the Land of Promise, and told\nme that Solomon had cast three bells, one for the Saviour of the\nWorld, and one for His sweet Mother, and one for the honour of\nHis saints, wherefore they had brought this hither by His\ncommandment into this kingdom for that we had none here. They\ntold me that and I should bear it into this castle, they would\ntake all my sins upon themselves, by Our Lord's pleasure, in such\nsort as that I should be quit thereof. And I in like manner have\nbrought it hither by the commandment of God, who willeth that\nthis should be the pattern of all those that shall be fashioned\nin the realm of this island where never aforetime have been\nnone.\"\n\n\"By my faith,\" saith Messire Gawain to the hermit, \"I know you\nright well for a worshipful man, for you held your covenant truly\nwith me.\"\n\nKing Arthur was right glad of this thing, as were all they that\nwere within. It seemed him that the noise thereof was like the\nnoise that he had heard sound ever since he had moved from\nCardoil. The hermits went their way each to his hermitage when\nthey had done the service.\n\nIV.\n\nOne day, as the King sate at meat in the hall with Perceval and\nMessire Gawain and the ancient knights, behold you therewithal\none of the three Damsels of the Car that cometh, and she was\nsmitten all through her right arm.\n\n\"Sir,\" saith she to Perceval, \"Have mercy on your mother and your\nsister and on us. Aristor of Moraine, that is cousin to the Lord\nof the Moors that you slew, warreth upon your mother, and hath\ncarried off your sister by force into the castle of a vavasour of\nhis, and saith that he will take her to wife and will have all\nher land that your mother ought to hold of right, maugre your\nhead. But never had knight custom so cruel as he, for when he\nshall have espoused the damsel, whomsoever she may be, yet will\nhe never love her so well but that he shall cut off her head with\nhis own hand, and so thereafter go seek for another to slay in\nlike manner. Natheless in one matter hath he good custom, that\nnever will he do shame to none until such time as he hath\nespoused her. Sir, I was with my Lady your sister when he maimed\nme in this manner. Wherefore your mother sendeth you word and\nprayeth you that you succour her, for you held her in covenant\nthat so you would do and she should have need thereof and you\nshould know it; for and you consent to her injury and loss, the\nshame will be your own.\"\n\nPerceval heard these tidings, and sore sorrowful was he thereof.\n\n\"By my head,\" saith the King to Perceval, \"I and my nephew, so\nplease you, will go to help you.\"\n\n\"Sir,\" saith he, \"Gramercy, but go and achieve your own affair\nalso, for sore need have you thereof; wherefore I pray and\nbeseech you that you be guardian of the castle of Camelot, if\nthat my lady mother shall come thither, for thereof make I you\nlord and champion, and albeit the castle be far away from you,\nyet garnish it and guard it, for it is builded in a place right\nfair.\"\n\nV.\n\nLords, think not that it is this Camelot whereof these tellers\nof tales do tell their tales, there, where King Arthur so often\nheld his court. This Camelot that was the Widow Lady's stood\nupon the uttermost headland of the wildest isle of Wales by the\nsea to the West. Nought was there save the hold and the forest\nand the waters that were round about it. The other Camelot, of\nKing Arthur's, was situate at the entrance of the kingdom of\nLogres, and was peopled of folk and was seated at the head of the\nKing's land, for that he had in his governance all the lands that\non that side marched with his own.",
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