New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-06-03
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
q SUGGESTION ABOUT THE ROMANCE OF
THE HOLY GRAIL

Professor George Mclean Harper has had reprinted
from the publications OF the Modern Language Associa
ton his dissertation for the degree OF Doctor OF
Philosophy at Princeton. The essay is an excellent
specimen Of the kind OF study which Is yearly becom
ing more widely characteristic Of the American col
legcs Its theme however, Is OF more general Interest
than most learned essays can claim "1hc Leeend oil
the Holy Grail" should have attractions for every
reader OF Tennyson and for every admrcr OF Wagncr
musical dramas. In this little work Professor Harper
the literary development Of the legend ioow
Ing think. the Celtic enthusiasts somewhat 100
faithfully There IS Of course, no question that the
skeleton plot Of the story Is Celtic But The whole
problem OF the origin OF the tale considered as 'era
ture depends. for that reason on the conamina
tlon OF non-Cetc elements For example 'he 'hris-
features could not have been ADDED until the Gets
became Christians. The whole question turns on the
point whether not the versions In the various yea
dialects OF Europe can be traced to Latin original
In his heart Professor Harper we Imagine, believes
that they can be.
The most significant passage in his book is the
last paQe where In appendix he
points ont that the puzzling name Fisher King Roi
Pecheur) may be traced in less direct way,
with some probability, to the corruption OF word in
the Old Testament vulgate "herodIus." the name of
a species OF bird which In the English Bible figures
once MS an owl and at another time as a stork The
resemblance OF this word TO the Herodes Is
obvious. and the prominence OF Ierod in the Gospel
history and In Christian apocryphal legend IS too
familiar to need mention. SO remarkable coincf
dence this, II subsantiated, would be almost
conclusive proof that the supposed Latin original OF
the Grail story really existed. Then the question
would occur whether not that Latin piece was the
work Of Walter Mapcs. We believe that inquiry also
will have to be answered In the affirmative. not only
for the general that he was the only man OF
genius In the twelfth century who had the requisite
lighness OF touch TO give popular interest to the
theme but also because OF the Oriental features
In the story point straight 10 the Koran.
The first translation OF the Koran in Europe was
that made into Latin, at the instance
OF Peter the Venerable, by Robert de
Retines and Hermann the Dalmatian. This
work completed in the year 1143. Mapcs was
O scholar at the University OF Paris about 11CO, ana
as courtier and diplomat an almost annual visitor
in France to the end Of his 1t is simply In
credible that the appearance Of the Koran In his HE
time in a language with which he was as familiar
ms II he had been born TO II could have escaped his
attention 1t is almost equally impossible TO believe
that certain episodes in the Grail legend could have
occurred to unfamiliar with the Koran. For that
reason 1t is quite safe TO put the 1143 as date
before which the Grail romance now known could
by no accident have been In existence These sue Gcs
tons are ventured because Of conviction that the
subject is OF far interest than usually at
taches to fiction and because very much modern specll
laton ur on 1t seems TO be msdlrected.