From the INTRODUCTION.
The Old French romance,
Perlesvaus
, with which the following pages deal, was published in 1866 in conjunction with the
Perceval
of Crestien de Troyes. Since the date of its publication, the work has several times been the object of more or less fruitful discussion. The past investigation on the subject, however, has been limited merely to the bearing the romance has on questions relating to the Holy Grail. The
, it seems, has shared the fate of most Grail works in that its importance for the history of the Grail legend has for the time being overshadowed the interest in the work itself. While several permanent contributions have been made with respect to parts of the romance, there has been thus far no independent attempt to learn definitely the origin and the nature of the work.