The Legend of the Holy Grail. 277
reconciliation takes place. Meriadeuc is a two-sworded hero ; this possession of two swords, as well as the incidents noted, is obviously- only borrowed from Crestien, of whom the writer of Chevalier as dens espees was an unblushing imitator.
So, in a version of the Chevalier au Cygne, we find the Swan- knight, when about to do battle, instructed by a wandering damsel, after the example of the son of Gawain in the continuator : as the older version of the poem does not contain these features, it is plain that their introduction is only another example of the manner in which a popular tale gave occasion for decalcomanie on the part of the average poet.
FOLK-TALES REPRESENTING THE HERO AS SIMPLETON.
It has been observed that the conception of a disinherited and outcast hero, who begins life as a rude and simple lad, is a common one in folk-tales. The connection between this theme and the story now under consideration is too general to be illuminative ; it has been thought, however, that certain narratives present a nearer ana- logy.
(a.) Peronnik Vidiot. In his Le foyer breton, St. Souvestre in- cluded a tale of this sort. Peronnik is a boy dependent on charity, and regarded as wanting in intelligence. As the story says, he can eat when he is hungry, sleep when he is tired, and sing like a bird. A knight appears at his dwelling, and asks the way to Kerglas (the Green Castle), where are kept the Gold Basin, which supplies food, cures sickness, and awakes the dead, and the Diamond Lance, which is able to slay all whom it touches. According to the instructions given the knight by a hermit, in order to reach the castle it is necessary to traverse the Deceitful Wood, take an apple from a tree defended by a dwarf armed with a fairy spear, and obtain the Flower that Laughs, guarded by a lion ; to pass the Lake of Dragons ; do battle with a Black Man armed with an iron ball which never misses, and of itself returns to the hand ; to encounter the temptations of the Vale of Pleasures, and receive directions from a lady attired in black, who will mount behind. The sorcerer, who is the lord of the Green Castle, happens to pass on his mare followed by a colt, carry- ing basin and lance. Peronnik learns the spell which summons the colt, and, under pretence of being a servant of the castle, is able to accomplish the adventure. The black lady turns out to be the Plague. The apple, fruit from the tree of Good and Evil, makes the enchanter susceptible of death, after which the Plague puts an end to his career. The Laughing Flower acts as a key to open the gates of the castle, which vanishes in an earthquake, and Peronnik escapes with basin and lance, which enable him to dispose of the enemies
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