Percival

Percival, also spelled Perceval, is a knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend and a central figure in the medieval Grail cycles. Depending on the version, he is portrayed as a young, innocent, and virtuous knight who undertakes the quest for the Holy Grail, the cup associated with Christ’s Last Supper, and the healing of the Fisher King. His upbringing is often described as he was raised in seclusion by his mother, prepared for knighthood by destiny.

Origin and name: The name derives from the Old French Perceval; in Welsh tradition the figure appears as Peredur. The character’s first literary appearance is in Chrétien de Troyes’s late 12th-century romance Le Conte du Graal, where he is introduced as a naïve squire who travels to Camelot with limited knowledge of court life.

Grail cycle: In Chrétien’s version, Percival witnesses the Grail procession but fails to ask the questions that would heal the king; in later authors such as Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival, he grows and eventually achieves the Grail and heals the land. In Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, he is portrayed as a principal knight within the Grail tradition, though Galahad is often depicted as the principal Grail knight.

Cultural impact: Percival has continued to appear in medieval and modern literature, film, and music. The name is used as a given name, and the character’s arc from naivete to spiritual insight has influenced interpretations of the Grail myth and the ideal of the virtuous knight.