Crusade Against the Grail - Rennes-le-Chateau Research and ...

102 PART Two
"Hope is the habit of this fraternity ..."
The monk then takes Huon and Esclarmonde to Monmur on a magic cape.
According to another version of the ballad, the fisherman Mallabron, who
transforms himself into a dolphin, takes them across a great expanse of water to
Oberon's castle.
Although Oberon is awaiting death in Monmur, he has refused to die before
Huon is elected King of the Elves. Oberon heartily welcomes Huon and
Esclarmonde, and a party is organized where wine is served to all the guests from
a marvelous cup.
After the banquet, Oberon asks that his crown and javelin, the symbols of his
sovereignty over the empire of the faeries, be brought to him. Huon and
Esclarmonde are then solemnly crowned sovereigns.
The following morning, Huon, in a show of power, convokes all the faeries
and barons of the kingdom. In front of the entire faery world brought together in a
magical assembly, Oberon declares:
I cannot bear remaining any longer on Earth; I want to go to heaven
as soon as possible . . .
SONG OF HUON
Oberon says farewell to the faery world and dies. His embalmed body is
placed in his coffin, which is suspended in the air while a chorus of elves dance
beneath it. Oberon's mortal remains are finally buried in a huge cave.
Of all the similarities between the "Song of Esclarmonde" of the Huon Cycle
and the Grail poems (above all, Guyot and Wolfram's versions), we will highlight
only the most important and apparent links: The crown and the javelin correspond
to the Grail and the blood lance. The magic cup plays the role of the Grail that
distributes food. The Bocaige Auberon looks like the forest of Briciljan. Still more
shocking is the similarity between the strange monks who await their freedom and
the angels of Parsifal:
When Lucifer and the Trinity began to war with each other, Those who did
not take sides, worthy, noble angels had to descend to Earth . . .