Retelling Perceval, or The Story of the Grail
Arthurian
Introduction
This is the Mythopouch retelling of Perceval, or The Story of the Grail by Chretien de Troyes. It is written for readers aged 15 and up and uses original Mythopouch wording.
The retelling follows Chretien's surviving unfinished romance rather than supplying an ending from the later Continuations, the Vulgate Cycle, Wolfram von Eschenbach or Malory. It is not Chretien's Old French poem and it is not a translation.
What this retelling is
The retelling is arranged in ten parts:
Part I: The Boy in the Waste Forest
Part II: The Kiss and the Ring
Part III: At King Arthur's Court
Part IV: Gornemant of Gohort
Part V: Biaurepaire and Blanchefleur
Part VI: The Castle of the Grail
Part VII: The Cousin, Arthur's Court and the Loathly Damsel
Part VIII: Gawain Accused
Part IX: Good Friday and the Hermit
Part X: The Bed of Marvels and the Unfinished Ending
The retelling preserves the unfinished nature of the surviving poem. It does not manufacture a completed Grail ending for Chretien.
How to use it with the Sources page
Use Perceval, or The Story of the Grail on the Sources page when you need Charles Potvin's 1866 Old French source edition and the historical wording preserved from the medieval manuscript tradition.
Use this Retellings page when you want Chretien's surviving narrative presented as a modern educational reading. The source edition contains material associated with later continuations as well as Chretien's poem, while the Mythopouch retelling deliberately follows Chretien's surviving unfinished romance and keeps later endings separate.
The medieval source and Potvin edition are public domain. The modern Mythopouch wording is not.
Summary
A 15+ Mythopouch retelling of Chretien de Troyes' unfinished Perceval, following the Waste Forest, Arthur's court, Blanchefleur, the Grail castle, Perceval's penance and Gawain's unresolved adventures.
Copyright Note
Mythopouch original educational wording. Copyright Mythopouch 2026. Chretien de Troyes' medieval poem and Charles Potvin's 1866 edition are public-domain source material. This retelling is not a translation of the Old French and does not reproduce a later continuation as Chretien's ending.
Sources & Retellings Cultural Context Notice
Mythology developed across different cultures, periods and traditions, and there is rarely one universally accepted version of a story. Mythopouch approaches these traditions with respect while remaining faithful to the complexity of the surviving material. Retellings and educational content may interpret or adapt historical sources, but are not presented as definitive accounts of any culture, religion or belief system.