Post by Christopher Berard

There is an element of imprecision in this article. Robert de Boron's Joseph de Arimathie (Joseph of Arimathea) is not the same text as the anonymous Estoire del Saint Graal. The former was written around 1200 and exists in both verse and prose forms. The latter was written close to thirty years later. It is an amplified reworking of the Joseph de Arimathie that serves as a prequel to the rest of the Vulgate (Lancelot-Grail) Cycle of prose Arthurian romances--the core of which consists of the Lancelot en prose, the Queste del Saint Graal, and the Mort Artu. There are also some fairly minor differences between the prose version of Robert de Boron's Estoire de Merlin and the Vulgate Cycle's version thereof. Lastly, there are at least three different Merlin continuations. There is the Vulgate Suite du Merlin, the Post-Vulgate Suite du Merlin, and the Livre d'Artus. My guess is that the first text is the Vulgate Estoire del Saint Graal, the second text is the Vulgate Estoire du Merlin, and that the third text is either the Vulgate Suite du Merlin or the closely related Livre d'Artus. I am pleased to share that at Providence College I have taught Robert de Boron's Joseph d'Arimathie and Robert de Boron's Estoire du Merlin in English translation and I have also taught large selections from the corresponding Vulgate texts. https://lnkd.in/gyVgSgVs