CHAPTER VII.

The various forms of the visit to the Grail Castle in the romances--Conte du Graal: Chrestien; Gautier-Manessier; Gautier-Gerbert--Didot-Perceval--Mabinogi--Conte du Graal; Gawain's visit to the Grail Castle--Heinrich von dem Türlin--Conte du Graal: Perceval's visit to the Castle of Maidens--Inconsistency of these varying accounts; their testimony to stories of different nature and origin being embodied in the romances--Two main types: feud quest and unspelling quest--Reasons for the confusion of the two types--Evidence of the confusion in older Celtic literature-- The Grail in Celtic literature: the gear of the Tuatha de Danann; the cauldron in the Ultonian cycle; the Mabinogi of Branwen; vessel of balsam and glaive of light in the contemporary folk-tale--The sword in Celtic literature: Tethra; Fionn; Manus--Parallels to the Bespelled Castle; the Brug of Oengus, the Brug of Lug, the Brug of Manannan Mac Lir, Bran's visit to the Island of Women, Cormac Mac Art, and the Fairy Branch; Diarmaid and the Daughter of King Under the Waves--Unspelling stories: The Three Soldiers; the waiting of Arthur; Arthur in Etna; the Kyffhäuser Legend, objections to Martin's views concerning it--Gawain's visit to the Magic Castle and Celtic parallels; The Son of Bad Counsel; Fionn in Giant Land; Fionn in the House of Cuana; Fionn and the Yellow Face--The Vanishing of the Bespelled Castle--Comparison with the Sleeping Beauty cycle--The "Haunted Castle" form and its influence on Heinrich's version--The Loathly Grail Messenger page 170