Religious Duality: Christianity’s Opposition and Absorption of Paganism in Arthurian Literature

Religious Duality: Christianity’s Opposition and Absorption of Paganism in Arthurian Literature

Arthurian Legend undoubtedly exhibits a deep rooted interconnectedness with the Christian religion. The tales of King Arthur and his fellow knights of the Round Table display an inextricable link to Christianity, especially with regard to the Christian ideals that drive and define knighthood. Christian symbolism and ideology prevail throughout Arthurian texts, often working in such a way that propels the narrative forward, thus rendering Christianity a driving force throughout Arthurian literature.

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Arthurian Legend arose during the Middle Ages, a period distinguished by its embrace of Christianity. Medieval Britain was characterized by a cultural shift in focus, in which people prioritized putting God first as opposed to putting people first. This religious diffusion resulted in the absorption of evangelical ideologies and beliefs into British culture, politics, and personal trials. This cultural influence is evident, as Arthurian texts demonstrate a profuse reliance, dependance, and overall emphasis on Christian thought.

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Yet despite the rich and plentiful allusions to Christianity which permeate through the texts, there still remain undeniable instances in Arthurian literature that suggest a rejection of the religion. These rejections of Christianity can further be understood as an influence and embrace of Paganism. Motifs of nature, magic, mystique, and spirituality, contingent with Pagan beliefs drive the legends forward, while simultaneously renouncing Christian ideals and faith in God.

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Upon a further investigation of these texts, remnants of Paganism can be seen scattered throughout, often appearing in the most unlikely of spots; in symbolism and imagery that appears Christian upon first encounter. Pagan influence can be seen most notably in earlier works, revealing the birth of Arthurian legend as rooted in Paganism rather than Christianity. It is not until later interpretations of the legend that authors begin to manipulate the stories conform to models of Christianity.

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Despite this seemingly linear progression of religious ideologies over the course of the texts, Paganism continues to creep into the most Christian of moments, forcing readers to question the relation between the two religions. Christianity often works to cover up influences of Paganism in Arthurian literature, mirroring the cultural erasure of the ancient religion in Britain at the time. Yet interestingly enough, in these texts Paganism becomes something that is absorbed and assimilated into rather than simply opposed. Arthurian legend perverts Paganism in order to fit into models of Christianity, yet this intrinsic rejection of Paganism is best countered by absorption into Christian thought rather than by opposition.

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Allusions to Christianity are quite obvious, persisting in conspicuous ways throughout the legend. Most notably are the several parallels that can be drawn between King Arthur and Jesus Christ. Both figures are prophesied to come as a savior of their people, and return again after death. “Hic iacet Arthurus, rex quondam, rexque futurus” (Malory 517), reads the epitaph inscribed on King Arthur’s tomb, as documented in Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur. The Latin phrase, which translates as “Here lies Arthur, the once and future king” inextricably links his identity to that of a Christian king, by equating his death to that of the death of Christ. It is in his legacy after death, that King Arthur’s attachment and devotion to Christianity are most saliently actualized. Not only is King Arthur’s messianic second coming prophesied on his tombstone, but his birth and ascension into kingship also fulfills a prophecy. He is the only knight that can lift the sword from the stone which Merlin created with the inscription “Who pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil is right wise king born of all England” (Malory 8) on the blade.

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Furthermore, the narrative of King Arthur’s life coincides with the life of Jesus Christ, presenting many discernable parallels between the two high-powered individuals. Arthur’s seemingly eternal power and influence over his kingdom, as well as the global recognition of his legend is comparable with Jesus’s influence on his apostles and generations of worshipers to follow. Arthur follows in the footsteps of Jesus leading his people with utmost bravery and nobility, adhering to Christian virtues. Arthur’s adherence to Christianity is so prevalent that the medieval author Jacques de Longuyon ranks Arthur amongst the Nine Worthies in his book Voeux de Paon. The nine worthies were historical and legendary figures that personified chivalric ideals. These figures were divided into the categories of Pagans, Jews, and Christians, with Arthur listed amongst the Christian leaders. In the preface to Malory’s Le Morte Darthur, William Caxton argues that Arthur is the “first and chief of the Christian men” (Caxton 816).

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While Arthur, in his sovereignty, strives to uphold models of Christianity, it is the very manner in which he rules that also works to untangle and distort his relationship to Christ. As Peter Meister explains in his article, Arthurian Literature as a Distorted Model of Christianity, the model of Christianity is sometimes intact, “when Arthur is expected to return after his death,” yet sometimes inverted “when Jesus’s pacifism is converted into Arthur’s military prowess” (36). Arthur’s desire for honor and greatness in his military pursuits, directly opposes the holy expeditions of Christ as he intended to help and heal his followers. Arthur leads his knights into battle, or commands them to embark on quests often involving the possibility or promise of violence. Arthur’s leadership of his knights is analogous to that of Jesus’s leadership of his disciples, yet Jesus leads his followers in peace while Arthur leads his followers in war.

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Upon even closer examination of King Arthur in relation to religion, discrepancies between Arthur and Christianity become more evident, revealing a distorted model of Christianity. The relationship between Arthurian literature and Christianity becomes more muddled as the character of Merlin is called into question. Similar to Arthur, Merlin displays similarities to Jesus, yet being a teacher and guiding force in Arthur’s life, he also exhibits similarities to God and the Holy Spirit. Peter Meiser so cleverly points out that by intermingling aspects from both the narratives of Arthur and Merlin, “it is possible to recreate a biography that is recognizably that of Jesus” (Meiser 38). This narrative is actualized by “the supernatural birth (Merlin); the amazing deed at a young age (Arthur); the gifts of leadership (Arthur) and the prophecies (Merlin); burial in a cave that is sealed with a stone (Merlin); and then, of course, the expectation that the hero will return (Arthur).” (Meister 38).

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Further perpetuating this narrative of Arthur and Merlin’s lives representing the one life of Jesus Christ is the fact that they are never seen together in The History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth, the first book from which the legend of Arthur was born. Merlin’s first utterance in The History of the Kings of Britain appears in book six, when King Vortigern sends his messengers to look for a “youth without a father,” believing that the tower he wanted built would only stand if “the boy’s blood could be mixed with the cornerstones of the tower’s foundation” (Geoffrey 127). The messengers discovered that Merlin had no father and ordered that Merlin and his mother be sent to the king. Merlin’s mother tells Vortigern “I knew no man who could have conceived this child in me. But I can tell you that once...a man in the likeness of a beautiful youth appeared to me...When he visited me in this way he would often take the shape of a man and have intercourse with me. And he left me pregnant” (128).

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Vortigern summons his sage in order to discern if what Merlin’s mother says is true. The sage states

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For as Apuleius asserts in De deo Socratis many spirits that we call incubi dwell between the Earth and the Moon. They take somewhat after human beings and somewhat after angels. They can assume human form when they so desire and have intercourse with human women. (Geoffrey 129)

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Here, Geoffrey is referencing De deo Socratis in which Apuleius states that there are “certain semi-divine spirits situated in the realm of the air between the Ether on high and the Earth below...they are the messengers and interpreters of our prayers and wishes to the gods” (129). Merlin’s magical abilities counters Christian goodness, as they seem to come from hell, given that he was fathered by a demon. According to Carol Harding in her book Merlin and Legendary Romance “Merlin has a demonic side and can be regarded as a figure for the Anti-Christ” (Harding). This examination of Merlin’s character reveals a stricter contrast to Christianity, one in which Merlin’s magical capabilities are understood as demonic opposition rather than secular ignorance.

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In spite of Merlin’s demoniacal lineage, his conception reveals strange parallels to the immaculate conception of Jesus Christ. The manner in which the demon impregnated Merlin’s mother is reminiscent of the way the Holy Spirit came down from heaven to bless the Virgin Mary with the child of Jesus Christ. Merlin’s conception also contains many similarities to the way in which Arthur was conceived, revealing a complex interrelationship between the two that is resonant of the divine mystery of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Just as Merlin’s mother was raped by a demon, Arthur’s mother Igraine was raped by Uther Pendragon who had disguised himself as Igraines husband, Duke Gorlois. “After the death of the duke, King Uther lay with Igraine more than three hours after his death, and begot on her that night” (Malory 5). Interestingly, it was Merlin who initiated Arthur’s conception, by bewitching King Uther with the magic that enabled him to disguise himself. “In Arthur's conception...we have something like the Christian unity of conceiver and conceived” (Meister 39).

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Not only is Merlin directly “responsible for the sexual union in which Arthur is conceived” (Meister 39), but he is the one that foresaw Arthur’s arrival long before he was born. In book seven of The History of the Kings of Britain, Merlin delivers a prophecy, telling of the coming of Arthur.

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The Boar of Cornwall, will be swift to offer his aid and he will trample their hills beneath his feet. The isles of the Ocean itself will submit to his power and he will possess the forests of Gaul. The House of Romulus will tremble at his ferocity, and his end will be cloaked in uncertainty. He will be celebrated by the voice of the people and his deeds will be food for poets. (Geoffrey 131)

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Merlin later identifies the Boar of Cornwall as King Arthur, who will be born in Cornwall at Tintagel Castle.

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Merlin’s magical capabilities distinguish him as a God-like figure. Merlin’s similarity to God functions to equate him with God and his holiness while simultaneously rendering him as unholy, placing him in opposition to the Christian God. Arthur’s reliance and trust in Merlin, shows a misplacement of faith, similar to the sometimes polytheistic views of certain Pagan religions, and the anti-Christian act of worshiping false gods. It may be more satisfactory to read Merlin’s godliness as akin to a classical Greco-Roman interpretation of a god rather than a Christian one. Merlin’s ability to deliver prophecy and foresee the future is reminiscent of that of ancient seers from Greek mythology that have the ability to see the future.

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Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Merlin remains one of the most Paganistic versions of the character. Appearing as a soothsayer, Merlin possesses the ability to see the future, serving to provide prophecies to the king, in which later plot points of Arthurian legend are born from. It is not until later interpretations of the legend that Merlin’s magical capabilities are expanded upon in order to conform to a Christian model of holy power. Merlin can be further understood in relation to Paganism through an investigation of the literary origins of his character and the figures which may have influenced Geoffrey of Monmouth’s development of his character.

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An analysis of his name and origin ties Merlin to Celtic mythology. Geoffrey derives Merlin’s name from that of Myrddin which “is not a proper name but a toponym, specifically [referencing] the Welsh Caermyrddin (“Merlin's Town”), referring to the city of Carmarthen, Merlin's birthplace” (Mark). Myrddin Wyllt, the figure which Merlin is most likely based on, is a legendary bard from Celtic mythology. In medieval Welsh poetry, Myrddin “is portrayed as a Wild Man of the Woods living in Coed Celyddon (the 'Caledonian Forest'),where he has fled to after losing his reason ('wandering with madness and madmen') in the northern battle of Arfderydd... with this lapse into madness Myrddin is said to have acquired the gift of prophecy (Green). Geoffrey attempts to disambiguate Myrrdin from the Celtic bard of the same name by latinizing his name as Merlinus (Mark).

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The figure of the Wild Man is a common literary motif in Celtic literature, and is characterized as a figure who is condemned to madness after seeking recluse in the woods. Joshua J. Mark states in his entry on Merlin in the World History Encyclopedia that “the character originated in Welsh folklore featuring the wildman-in-the-woods motif, a half-savage who lived on the fringe of civilization possessing great power and wisdom” (Mark). Merlin’s reclusive nature perpetuates the narrative of the wild-man motif, as in later versions of the legend, Merlin rarely interacts with the knights other than Arthur. And even when he appears to Arthur, he is often found appearing to Arthur in the woods. Famously, he appears to King Arthur, seemingly materializing from a tree, at the beginning of the 1967 film Camelot, in which he tells Arthur to “think back,” prompting Arthur’s flashback and the in media res retelling of the story.

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The origins of Merlin’s character are so confusing that Cambro-Norman priest and historian, Gerald of Wales argues that there are two Merlins, from which the final form of the character developed from.

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There were two Merlins. The one called Ambrosius, who thus had two names, prophesied when Vortigern was king. He was the son of an incubus and he was discovered in Carmarthen, which means Merlins town, for it takes its name from the fact that he was found there. The second Merlin came from Scotland. He is called Celidonius, because he prophesied in the Caledonian Forest. He is also called Silvester, because once when he was fighting he looked up into the air and saw a terrible monster. He went mad as a result and fled to the forest where he passed the remainder of his life as a wild man of the woods. The second Merlin lived in the time of Arthur. (Gerald 192-193)

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Geoffrey of Monmouth, responsible for developing and solidifying Merlin’s character, assimilating the Celtic bard into Arthurian legend, dealt with both versions of Merlin.

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Geoffrey’s more famous version of Merlin appears in History of the Kings of Britain, in which he recounts the story of Merlin, the boy prophet, also known as Ambrosius. In this adaptation of Merlin, Geoffrey uses the character as a sort of plot device. He creates a version of Merlin whose purpose is to provide an element of the mystique and supernatural to Arthur’s birth, giving notoriety to the legend. Merlin prophesied Arthur’s coming and plays a key role in the King’s conception. This is the version of Merlin that later writers of Arthurian legend adapt, using this framework to tell a story of Merlin as Arthur's teacher and mentor throughout childhood.

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About fourteen years after History of the Kings of Britain, Geoffrey writes Vita Merlini (1150), detailing an account of Merlin’s life much different than the Merlin he previously developed. In Vita Merlini, Geoffrey pertains to the mythological Celtic roots of Merlin’s character, creating a version of the character that is more contingent with Pagan influence rather than Christian influence. “In the Vita, Merlinus flees to the woods after witnessing the horrors of battle and the tragic demise of three brothers who were well known to him” (Thomas 28). The Merlin described in Vita Merlini portrays “similarities with the Merlin story in medieval Welsh (the Myrddin Fragments) Scottish (the Lailoken Fragments), and Irish sources (the saga of Suibhne)” (Thomas 28). Neil Thomas asserts in his article “The Celtic Wild Man Tradition and Geoffrey of Monmouth's ‘Vita Merlini’: Madness or ‘Contemptus Mundi?’” that “the common opinion is that the Merlin of the Vita is a composite figure inspired by Celtic traditions involving 'wild men of the woods’” (28).

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Geoffrey works to assimilate Merlin’s obvious Pagan influence into his account of the character. Geoffrey’s more popular History of the Kings of Britain, works completely to absorb these Pagan influences, especially integrating them complexly, yet almost subconsciously into Christian thought. While the version of Merlin in History almost completely ditches the wild-man in the woods motif, remnants of Merlin’s reclusive nature, and overall mysterious aura still linger. Geoffrey deals with Merlin in a strange way, the character only appearing in books six through eight of the eleven book series, with book seven being entirely dedicated to Merlin’s prophecies. Prophecies from which little meaning can be discerned with the exception of his prediction of the coming of the Boar of Cornwall [Arthur]. Merlin’s prophecies, perhaps the most Pagan-inspired of his qualities, gets absorbed right into the middle of his appearance in the story. Geoffrey’s attempts to conceal Merlin’s Paganism with his holy and divine influence on Arthur’s life are directly countered by the text’s absorption of Merlin’s original Celtic and Pagan influence, actualized in his act of his prophetic soothsaying, in the middle of his narrative in The History of the Kings of Britain.

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Further sustaining Merlin’s roots in Paganism are his ties to the Pagan monument of Stonehenge. Stonehenge is a monument consisting of several large, seemingly unmoveable rocks arranged in a circulatory formation. These stones can be found in Salisbury, England and to this day the origin of the monument is not known. In book eight of History of the Kings of Britain, Aurelius Ambrosius orders the fallen King Hengist “to be buried and for a mound to be raised over his body according to the custom of the pagans” (Geoffrey 149). Here, Geoffrey references the “pre-Christian Saxon tradition of raising a burial mound over a fallen leader” (149). Ambrosius further sends for a wooden structure to be built to honor all of his fallen soldiers, hearing this, Merlin then suggests to him ‘if you wish to honor the grave of these men with something that will last forever, send for the Ring of Giants which is in now atop Mount Killaraus in Ireland” (151).

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Merlin recounts the ancient legend of these stones to Aurelius Ambrosius, relaying the astonishingly Pagan elements of the legend in detail. According to Merlin, the Ring of Giants “consists of a formation of stones that no man in this age could react unless he employed great skill and ingenuity” (151). Merlin advises Ambrosius he should have this monument moved from its original spot to a location near Salisbury. “If they can be placed in a circle here, in the exact formation which they currently hold, they will stand for all eternity” (151). The king laughs at Merlin, as these stones are large and seemingly unmovable, but Merlin persists in his plan telling the king that the stones are “magical and possess healing powers” (151). Merlin tells the king that “The Giants brought them [the stones] long ago from the confines of Africa and set them up in Ireland...They set the Rings up thus in order to be healed of their sicknesses by bathing amid the stones, for they would wash the stones and then bathe in the water that spilled from them; they were thus cured of illness” (151).

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The stones’ magical healing properties are Pagan in nature, for Paganism is an overarching term that encompasses multiple nature-centered religions that believe in the divinity of nature. The figure of Merlin seems forever tied to the Earth, figuratively concreted in imagery of stones associated with his character. Merlin’s Earthly connection with nature is further perpetuated in Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur. In the chapter, Of Nenive and Morgan Le Fay, Merlin falls in love with Nenive. After relentlessly pursuing Nenive, she sought to get away from him, “for she was afraid of him for cause he was a devil’s son” (Malory 59). Merlin shows Nenive a “rock...wrought by enchantment that went under a great stone” (59). Nenive, “by her subtle working...made Merlin go under that stone to let her wit of the marvels there” and Merlin “never came out for all the craft he could do” (59).

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Sir Thomas Malory’s narrative of Merlin’s entrapment in a stone renders Merlin as a symbolic figure of Christianity. Merlin’s burial under a stone is synonymous with Jesus’s burial in a tomb sealed by a stone. According to the Bible, Jesus was buried in his tomb by Joseph of Arimathea where he was resurrected three days later. Merlin’s similar burial in his stone tomb renders him in the likeness of Jesus. Nenive’s placement of Merlin under the stone seals him “forever in a world he cannot escape which only she has access to, thus condemning him to an eternal death-in-life and removing the character from the narrative” (Mark). Akin to the resurrection of Christ, Merlin exists in a state of life after death upon his entombment. As Jesus lives again after his burial, after his resurrection, Merlin lives on in a state of stationary life.

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Despite these apparent allusions to Christianity that Malory is obviously trying to make, deep-rooted remnants of Pagan influence crop up, leading the reader to discern the true religious implications of Merlin’s burial. An undoubtable reference to Jesus’s burial is being made in the nature in which Merlin is buried. Despite this Christian influence, Paganism prevails in the symbolic burial of Merlin, in such an Earthly manner that works to have Merlin become one with nature. Malory’s effort to bury Merlin early in the story suggests a far more interesting interpretation. Perhaps Malory’s discomfort with Merlin, and his Pagan qualities, forces him to both literally and figuratively bury Merlin at the beginning of his story.

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Other author’s take after Malory in their efforts to bury Merlin and therefore attempt to bury all aspects of Paganism. Aside from later texts in which Merlin is the primary figure, like French poet Robert de Boron’s epic poem Merlin, many authors do not make much effort to go into the details of Merlin’s life. “In the course of Merlin's later, literary evolution the stage in the woods was typically omitted by narrators more interested in ready tales of the marvellous than in psychological exploration of character” (Thomas 28).

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Merlin often appears early on in the stories of Arthurian legend, as authors remain more interested in his birth and conception, as well as the role he plays in Arthur’s conception and his childhood. Popular Arthurian author Chrétíen de Troyes wrote five romances pertaining to Arthurian legend, yet he only makes only one mention of Merlin in his poem Eric and Enide.

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(lines 6617-6618), discarding any effort to develop implications his character may have on the story. In the later poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the role of a magical sorcerer is replaced by Morgan le Fey, Arthur’s half-sister.

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Other authors, however, expand Merlin’s story, absorbing his Pagan roots, rather than opposing or ignoring them. In Robert Wace’s Roman de Brut (completed 1155), a translation and reimagining of Geoffrey’s History of the Kings of Britain, Wace develops and expands upon Merlin’s character in more detail, “especially Merlin in the Stonehenge episode.” And even though it follows Geoffrey’s closely, [it] makes more of Merlin's magical abilities” (Mark). The later poem Merlin by Robert de Boron “focuses entirely on Merlin as hero and central character against the backdrop of the Arthurian world” (Mark). In Robert’s Merlin, the character is turned into“a Christian seer and Arthur and his knights became champions and defenders of the Christian cause” (Mark). “Robert's most significant contribution to the Arthurian tales was their Christianization which would influence later writers” (Mark). Robert de Boron is attributed to writing the very first cycle of Arthurian tales, his trilogy of French romances consisting of Joseph of Arimathea, Merlin, and Perceval. In Perceval, Robert “gave a vital new impetus to the story of the Grail left unfinished by Chrétíen de Troyes” (Bryant 1). Robert’s version of Perceval, is the first to link the Grail to Christianity. The otherwise Pagan, secular symbol was “previously a platter,” until Robert transformed it into “the Holy Grail, the cup of Christ” (Mark).

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Many versions of the Grail Quest have evolved from Arthurian literature. Aside from Robert de Boron’s version of Perceval, two of the most famous versions of the story remain Chrétíen de Troyes’s Perceval, The Story of the Grail and The Tale of the Sangrail in Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur. The meaning behind various religious iconography and symbolism in these tales becomes particularly convoluted as the influence of Paganism is called into question. Remnants of Pagan thought can be found swimming amidst a sea of seemingly Christian symbolism and imagery influence is called to mind amidst a sea of seemingly Christian thought. Comparing and contrasting these two most popular variations of the Grail Quest reveals the texts’ complex and intricate relationship with religion, both texts balancing the duality of Pagan and Christian thought. Chretien’s telling of Perceval and the Grail ultimately conveys a greater influence of Paganism, while Malory’s retelling of the Grail, featuring the holy knight Galahad, contains elements of more Christian influence.

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Perceval, The Story of the Grail predates Malory’s Le Morte Darthur by about three hundred years, and is the earliest recorded account of the Grail Quest in literature. Many authors since Chrétíen have worked with this legend, manipulating the narrative to fit a model of Christianity. However, by examining the birth of the Grail Legend in Chrétíen’s Perceval, many Pagan roots can be seen in the origin of this legend. Jessie L. Weston points out, in her book From Ritual to Romance, that scholars “have pointed to the strongly marked Folk-lore features preserved in the tale, to its kinship with other themes, mainly of Celtic provenance, and have argued that, while the later versions of the cycle have been worked over by ecclesiastical writers in the interests of edification, the story itself is non-Christian, and Folk-lore in origin” (Weston 2).

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Percival, The Story of the Grail, opens with a young boy Percival living with his mother in the woods, completely isolated from society. One day, the boy sees a group of knights in the forest, he exclaims to himself, “These are angels I behold here” (Chrétíen 341). Overcome by fear and reverie, Perceval “threw himself to the ground at once, receding his creed and all the prayers he knew” (Chrétíen 341). Perceval is utterly confused by the knights in the woods, as he has never seen one before. Immediately, he thinks them to be angels or gods. He says to them, “I never knew a knight before, and never saw one or heard talk of one. But you are more beautiful than God. I wish I were like you, so sparkling and so formed” (Chrétíen 341).

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Perceval’s awe of these knights connects his character to religion in a strange way. Based on his religious vocabulary and instinctual effort to pray upon encountering the knights, it is obvious that Perceval’s mother raised him as Christian. Yet his lack of knowledge surrounding the outside world subsequently renders him as Pagan, because he does not seem to truly grasp an understanding of Christianity. His religious ignorance thus nullifies any connection to Christianity he may have, rendering him as a symbol of Paganism. Perceval’s ascension into knighthood assimilates him to a model of Christianity in an effort to erase traces of Pagan thought and Paganistic origins of his character. Through Perceval’s worshiping of these knights, he displays a misplacement of faith, claiming these knights as his gods rather than the Christian God. Perceval notices the knights’ “bright shining helmets...the scarlet and the gold and the azure and the silver gleaming in the sun” finding everything about them “most noble and beautiful” (Chrétíen 341). From his description of the knights, it is clear that Perceval perceives the supernatural strength and beauty of these knights as more akin to Greek gods or mythological predictions of gods, rather than in the image of the Christian God.

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In later works regarding Perceval’s Grail Quest, like tales from the Vulgate Cycle and Le Morte Darthur, the Fisher King, Anfortas, is struck down from his horse and injured by Sir Balin, a Pagan knight, when the two get into combat with each other. While the king is out riding in the forest, the knight charges at him on his steed. The king draws his lance and the two race toward each other. The king kills the knight, but not before the knight penetrates his thigh with his lance, wounding him and rendering him unable to stand. After the king returns to his castle he is able to be kept alive only by the power of a magical stone, Lapis exilis. When the King’s health fails him, so fails the health of the land. In Pagan Europe, a common belief was held that the health of the King was directly tied to the health of the land. In From Ritual to Romance, Weston summarizes the basic idea of the Grail Tradition, which is “the position of a people whose prosperity, and the fertility of their land are closely bound up with the life and virility of their King, who is not a mere man, but a Divine Reincarnation.” (60)

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In his book Romance of the Grail, Joseph Campbell poses that when the Fisher King falls, his kingdom is laid to waste. The land takes on the symbolic imagery of the Waste Land a place that Campbell describes as “land of people living inauthentic lives, doing what they think they must do to live, not spontaneously in the affirmation of life, but dutifully, obediently, and even grudgingly, because that is the way people are living” (151). This imagery of the metaphorical Waste Land opposes the Pagan ideals of vitality and liveliness of the once flourishing land.

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The metaphor for Paganism being suppressed and erased by Christianity can be seen through the Christian king killing the pagan knight, and more largely in the thriving natural land becoming barren and laid to waste after the king’s injury. Paganism being struck down by newly popular and widespread Christian religion is metaphorically actualized as the Christian king strikes down the Pagan knight, thus killing him. “Nature, represented by the pagan knight emerging from the forest, aspiring to its own spiritual fulfillment as symbolized in the words The Grail inscribed on the head of the pagan lance, had been struck down by the Christian, whose own nature had been thereby undone” (Campbell 151-152). In the Middle Ages, Christianity was often placed in opposition to nature in literature. Joseph Campbell argues further that “spirit, in the medieval Chistian view was not of nature but against it, since nature had been rendered corrupt by the Fall in the Garden, and the repository of the spirit was the Church, not the heart corrupt”(152).

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The symbolism that persists throughout variations of the Grail Quest lend themselves to both Pagan and Christian interpretations. Three main symbols pervade in the Grail Quest, the Grail itself, the lance, and the figure of the Grail hero. As Joseph Campbell points out in Romance of the Grail, “In the later ecclesiastical and monastic tradition, the Grail is identified explicitly with the cup, bowl, or dish (variously) of the Last Supper, the lance with the Lance of Longinus that pierced the side of the Crucified, and the Grail Hero with Galahad –that saintly, virginal youth, wearing a red armor symbolic of the Holy Spirit” (166).

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Various authors of Arthurian legend have made great efforts to use these symbols in order to portray the utmost embodiment of Christian ideals, yet by examining these artifacts more closely, their Pagan origins can be revealed. The Holy Grail has many similarities with symbolic vessels from other cultures and religions, lending to a Pagan interpretation of the chalice before it received Christian implications. “The mythological theme of the inexhaustible vessel is associated in Celtic mythology with the hidden presence of the Earthly Paradise.” (Campbell 162). An earlier version of this symbol of the inexhaustible vessel can be seen in the cauldron of the sea god Mannanan in Irish mythology.

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Another similarity that can be drawn between Christianity and the story of the Grail Quest is the symbolism of the lance, which strikes the Fisher King. The Fisher King represents yet another figure who is analogous to Jesus Christ. Campbell argues that Christ “the Fisher of Men” is like “our Fisher King in the Grail romances, in this role of the redeemer, of Christ, of the Bodhisattva” (161). However, when the Fisher King is wounded by this lance, subsequently, the land around him falls to ruin. In this respect the Fisher King is revealed to have more Paganistic undertones, as his humanly body asks as a symbol which connects him to the land, and therefore to earthly spiritualism that is reminiscent of Pagan beliefs. Weston points out that “In the Grail King we have a romantic literary version of that strange mysterious figure whose presence hovers in the shadowy background of the history of our Aryan race; the figure of a divine or semi-divine ruler, at once god and king, upon whose life, and unimpaired vitality, the existence of his land and the people directly depends.” (62)

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The final religious symbol in the Grail Quest that requires interpretation is that of the Grail hero. “The distinctive feature of the Perceval version is the insistence upon the sickness, and disability of the ruler of the land, the Fisher King” (Weston 13). The Grail Quester’s original purpose is to restore health to the King and to the land. “The aim of the Grail Quest is two-fold; it is to benefit (a) the King, (b) the land (Weston 21). However, later versions of the quest work to distort the tasks of the quester in order to fit the model of Christianity. Sir Thomas Malory’s Grail hero, Galahad, was conceived by Lancelot and Elaine for the purpose of seeking the Grail. Malory, who manipulates the Grail into a symbol of Christianity, also manipulates the Grail hero in the light of Christian goodness, a divine figure who is chosen to find the Holy Grail. Despite Malory’s reworking of the tale, remnants of Pagan influence can be discerned, revealing that the true “task of the hero is that of restoration” (Weston 23), in regards to the restoration of both a King and kingdom for the purpose of restoring the vitality of the land.

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Many seemingly Christian aspects of Arthurian literature, when examined more closely, reveal undertones of Pagan thought, the product of an influence of Celtic mythology and Paganism. Over the years, these Pagan elements have been concealed by authors for the purpose of attributing Christianity to religious symbolism rather than Paganism. The origins of the character Merlin as well as the symbolism and imagery present in the Grail Quest are just two of the many perversions of Paganism present in Arthurian literature. While various authors made their best attempts to incorporate Christianity into their works, remnants of Paganism remain intact, persisting especially, into the most Christian of moments. Thus Paganism becomes something that is best countered by its absorption into Arthurian legend by Christianity rather than through opposition.