Connotations 18.1-3 (2008/2009)

14
JOERG O. FICHTE
adventure of the tomb, allegorized by the old monk in a christological
manner as establishing Galahad as a type of Christ, Melyant’s
adventure at the crossroads is the first one by an ordinary knight to
receive a moral interpretation by a figure of authority. Thus, the
Melyant episode underscores both the spiritual nature of the Grail
adventures and the distinction between the holy knight Galahad and
the rest of the questers: success on the one hand, and failure on the
other. 5 It prepares the reader/listener for the special mode of narration
that takes place simultaneously on two levels and cautions him to
look for the spiritual significance of the conventional romance adventures
hidden under the literal surface, something Melyant was
unable to do.
3.2. A fundamental choice of two moral paths by a mature knight:
Gawain (wrong path)
The right path to be taken in the Queste is obviously the one that
makes of Arthur’s terrestrial knights God’s celestial ones. Confession
at the outset of the quest is the necessary prerequisite for successful
adventures of the Holy Grail and the vision or attainment of the Grail
itself. Confession should be followed by contrition, which means the
penitent should feel sorry for his sinful life because he has offended
God. The final step is satisfaction consisting of reparation and
amendment. The sacrament of penance that Chaucer’s Parson had
made the starting point of his tale, a treatise on penance, and that
Dante subjected himself to on his ascent of Mount Purgatory, also
dominates the Queste. When Gawain initiates the quest after the
appearance of the veiled Grail in King Arthur’s court, he embarks on
an “adventure” that is radically different from ordinary knightly
adventures. He vows not to return to the court “devant que je l’aie
veu plus apertement” (Queste 16.22) [until I have seen the Grail more
clearly]. The key word is “apertement” [clearly or openly], that is,
Gawain and the Arthurian knights joining in his vow want to see the
Grail, not realizing that the adventures of the Holy Grail leading to its