Perceval, the Story of the Grail

Chrétien de Troyes’s original text of Perceval, or the Story of the Grail is unfinished, with no clear indication of how much more of the story remained or the directions it would take (beyond the barest outline offered by Gawain’s final adventure). The unfinished nature of the text is evident in its abrupt end in the middle of a scene at King Arthur’s court, which has just received an invitation to join Gawain. Chrétien may have intended to bring the narrative to a quick conclusion in a climactic reunion between Arthur and his mother, but it is also possible that he intended to provide many more tales relating to Perceval and Gawain. After Chrétien’s death, several different writers made attempts to fill out the remaining story, leading to four major continuations that were published within a half-century of Perceval’s release.

The First Continuation is a complex text that exists in both short and long versions, and while its authorship is unknown, it was traditionally attributed to Wauchier de Denain. Depending on its version, the First Continuation doubles or triples the length of Chrétien’s original poem. It resolves the unfinished episode dealing with Gawain’s invitation and Arthur’s reunion with his mother, then goes on to add many other episodes with Gawain and other Arthurian knights (though not Perceval).