Excerpt from Sir Perceval of Galles: A Study of the Sources of the Legend
In making this investigation, many obstacles besides the scantiness of time allowed by classroom duties have had to be overcome. The University of Texas library is not a large one, and, in the field immediately concerned, is weak. Access to needed books has been had only in summer vacations and in libraries a thousand miles and more away from Austin. The difficulty continues a very present one. In seeing the book through the press, I have not been able to verify references by a comparison with original authorities, but have had to rely upon my manuscript notes. To hope that no errors have crept in is unreasonable; but I trust the reader will find them few, and will believe that I have made a painstaking endeavor to avoid them.
In seeking the origins of the Perceval tale, I have circumscribed the interpretation of "origins." It is the immediate ancestry, not the ultimate source, that has here been sought. I have made no inquiry into Old Irish literature in the expectation of pointing out its parallels to the Perceval tale, if such there be; nor any into folklore domains in the hope of tracing the tale or its elements to an origin in custom, myth, or religion. Finally, the Grail problem lies outside the limits of this investigation, since no allusion to the Grail occurs in the English poem which is taken as the point of departure.
In several ways this study is incomplete, as perhaps any study of its kind must be. The number of tales discussed is large, for I have mentioned every tale I have found that appears to throw light on the origin of the tale of Perceval as it is told in Sir Perceval of Galles; but the collection makes no pretense to finality. There are doubtless many variants now unknown to me. If the reader will indicate any such, I shall feel much beholden to him.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. Это и многое другое вы найдете в книге Sir Perceval of Galles