Wisdom and the Grail: The Image of the Vessel in the Queste Del Saint Graal and Malory's Tale of the Sankgreal

"Whereas the anonymous author of the Queste, who was deeply influenced by the monastic tradition of mystical theology, conceived of the Holy Grail as a symbol of Divine Wisdom personified, Malory's concentration of the vessel was eucharistic and rooted in the lay devotion of later medieval England. Faced with the illuminative concept of the vessel that he found in his source, Malory chose to treat the symbol in terms which recall popular contemporary emblems of the eucharistic sacrifice. Malory's act of translation and adaptation necessitated the breaking of the vessel he found in the Queste. However, he created a symbol that corresponded in function to that of the Queste - to direct the reader's thoughts towards complete union with God - but was essentially different in conception. In the Sankgreal Malory has brought about the restoration of the vessel, albeit drained of its original meaning."--BOOK JACKET.