Perceval and the Holy Grail

Le Conte du Graal:

La Religion et Le Symbolism

The story of the Grail is one that has many religious influences. Throughout the story the protagonist, Perceval, is continuously learning about faith and experiences many instances that are symbolic of faith as well. First, his religious education at a young age was limited because of his mother’s decision to live in the forest away from society. Then he learns of having both faith and hope during his travels while learning to become a true knight. There is also a major influence on prayer and salvation that is worked into the story where Perceval and the reader might least expect it, as well as many figures that are Christ-like in nature. Finally, the significance of the sword, the lance, and the grail itself are symbols that are used throughout the story where Perceval experiences each but is not always keen to understand its importance. The story of Perceval and his quest to become a knight is heavily based upon religion and the symbolism that is attached to being a man of God.

Perceval’s religious education was different from other children growing up during the Middle Ages. Since his mother decided to raise him in the forest, he was not exposed to the traditional ways of learning about Christ. Instead, Perceval’s mother was his primary teacher about God and he learned to worship God freely, not in a church or abbey, “La religion de Perceval a toutefois le charme d’une religion “naturelle”: le jeune homme adore Dieu dans la forêt”( Szkilnik 84). Perceval’s mother’s main focus of his religious education was the wickedness of man, this is because of the pain and suffering that she had experienced by losing Perceval’s brothers and her husband. The mother is also a sinner. She keeps Perceval away from society because she wants to keep him for herself, meaning that he looses out on a major learning experience and his true destiny of becoming a knight. (Szkilnik)

Perceval’s mother does not give him a...