Percival - Fictional Background

Fictional Background

Chrétien de Troyes wrote the first story of Perceval, le Conte du Graal; Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, and the now lost Perceval of Robert de Boron are other famous accounts of his adventures.

There are many versions of Perceval's birth. In Robert de Boron account Saint Graal he is of noble birth; his father is stated to be Alain le Gros either King Pellinore or another worthy knight. His mother is usually unnamed but plays a significant role in the stories. His sister is the bearer of the Holy Grail, she is sometimes named Dindrane. In tales where he is Pellinore's son his brothers are Sir Aglovale, Sir Lamorak and Sir Dornar, and by his father's affair with a peasant woman he also has a half-brother named Sir Tor.

After the death of his father, Perceval's mother takes him to the Welsh forests where she raises him ignorant to the ways of men until the age of 15. Eventually, however, a group of knights passes through his wood, and Perceval is struck by their heroic bearing. Wanting to be a knight himself, the boy leaves home to travel to King Arthur's court. In some versions his mother faints in shock upon seeing her son leave. After proving his worthiness as a warrior he is knighted and invited to join the Knights of the Round Table.