The Red Knight and the Grail Procession in Arthurian Legend

and exercise is usurped by the Red Knight who has stolen his golden cup. • THE RED KNIGHT AND THE RECOVERY OF THE CUP: The cup is a royal insignia; indeed, in Celtic mythology it is the insignia of sovereignty over Ireland. The Red Knight's gesture is a challenge to Arthur's political power, as clarified in his statement: Arthur must submit and accept having his land not as an autonomous king, but as a vassal to whoever has taken possession of the symbol of sovereignty. By returning the cup to Arthur, Perceval restores his legitimate sovereignty. The vermillion color represents on one hand divine love because red is divine love, and on the other hand human passions. It thus becomes evident that Perceval's first adventure consists in victory over his most instinctive passions that had stolen the legitimate sovereignty of the spirit. • (OPTIONAL) THE LAUGHING LADY: a particular note can be dedicated to the Laughing Lady whom Perceval must avenge before being able to return to King Arthur's court. This lady is slapped when, laughing, she implicitly affirms that Perceval will become the best knight in existence. The fact of not being able to return before having avenged her is like saying one cannot return to King Arthur's court before having realized what she had prophesied. THE GRAIL PROCESSION Leaving aside various details and secondary stories related to Perceval's formation, we arrive at the central knot of the tale: the arrival at the Grail Castle. • THE CASTLE: Perceval is searching for his mother, whom he doesn't know is dead, when he finds two men fishing, one of whom offers him hospitality in his castle. The castle is so impossible to find that Perceval believes the fisherman has mocked him and insults him until suddenly he finds himself facing what is the Grail castle. Now, in general, the castle represents a spiritual state of consciousness. In later romances it will take the very name of Spiritual Palace upon which the flames of the Holy Spirit rain down. Sometimes it is represented as a rotating island, unreachable. Evidently this castle indicates a state that Tommaso Palamidessi indicates as that of Perpetual Vigil, completely extraordinary. The Fisher King's castle indeed is not in a precise place, in the sense that if it were findable or in an established place, Perceval—once knowing the error committed—could have simply turned back and asked the questions; conversely, the castle is unfindable, that is, it is not earthly and is not in the domain of the human, however sublime. • THE FISHER KING AND THE WOUNDED KING: In Perceval's tale, the master of the castle who hosts Perceval is a King Wounded between the thighs who, being in this condition, finds no other pleasure than fishing. This wound of his is also the origin of the desolation of the wastelands. In other romances, the two figures (that of the Fisher King and the Wounded King) are separate. The first is called Pellehan or Pellenore, the other Pelles; however, it is clear they refer to two aspects of the same figure. THE GRAIL PROCESSION Much has been written about this Procession and we will return to it; meanwhile, let us see its crucial points. When Perceval arrives at the castle, he is immediately given an invincible sword (of which only three similar ones have been made by the smith Trebuchet) destined to break on a special occasion that only he who forged it knows. Immediately after, the Grail procession manifests itself: a bleeding lance carried by a page, two candelabras carried by two pages with at least ten lights each, a golden grail studded with precious stones carried by a most beautiful damsel and which emits such light as to outshine the candelabras, and a plate carried by another damsel who immediately follows her. The grail is carried into a room and served to someone he doesn't know who it is. Subsequently the banquet begins and on the silver plate is served the thigh of a deer and then many, many courses. And before each course the Grail is served to someone in the other room. These are the central elements of the procession. What is the meaning of this procession? Meanwhile, we can say that the symbols and objects presented find a clear correspondence with the objects of Irish royal tradition. In Irish legends, the divine origins of royalty are assured by