Merlin and the Grail

by Robert de Boron

  21 In her excellent Orality and Performance in Early French Romance, Evelyn Birge Vitz emphatically states that ‘for the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries [there is] no evidence at all of private or silent reading of romance.... As Joyce Coleman has shown in Public Reading and the Reading Public in Late Medieval England and France [Cambridge University Press, 1996], people who read privately were long viewed with disapproval, as being anti-social’ (pp. 220, 210). And Sandra Hindman, in an interesting study of manuscripts and their illuminations, writes that ‘written texts continued to be used in performance, creating “hearing” as a middle ground in the axis between oral “seeing” and literate “reading”.... The manuscripts of Chrétien’s romances occupy this middle ground, used in a culture unlike our own that was not yet accustomed to individual or silent reading of vernacular texts’ (Sandra Hindman, Sealed in Parchment, Chicago, 1994, p. 8).

  22 He can write intricately enough if he needs to: in describing combat, for example – which, of course, is significantly not performable.

  Joseph of Arimathea

  ALL SINFUL PEOPLE should know this: that before Our Lord came to Earth, He made the prophets speak in His name and announce His coming to this world. At the time of which I speak all people went to Hell – even the prophets. And when the demons had led them there they thought they had scored a great victory; but they were woefully mistaken, for the people took comfort in the coming of Christ. And Our Lord came, choosing to come to Earth incarnate of the Virgin Mary.

  Our Lord was gentle and kind indeed, that to redeem His sinners from Hell He made His daughter His mother; but it had to be so if He was to redeem the descendants of Adam and Eve. Hear now how He did so: He redeemed them by the Father and by the Son and by the Holy Spirit, and these three beings are one. It pleased God the Father that the Son should be born of the Virgin Mary without sin or foulness, and should take human, earthly flesh. This Lord was full of humility, willing as He was to come down to Earth and die to save the work of His Father – for the Father made Adam and Eve. But Eve had sinned through the cunning of the Enemy, and in sinning had caused Adam to do likewise. And when Adam had sinned he felt naked and ashamed, and conscious of lust; he was instantly cast out of paradise, and fell into a state of torment and wretchedness. In this state they conceived; and all their children, and the children of their children, the Enemy was determined to have; and so he did, until the Son of God came to save His Father’s work on Earth. This was Christ’s purpose in coming to this world, being born of the Virgin Mary at Bethlehem. Much could be said of this, for the fountain of His goodness is inexhaustible. So I must digress now, and turn to this work of mine, in which I pray He may by His grace direct my thought and understanding.

  It is certain truth that Our Lord travelled through the land and was baptised in the River Jordan. And he decreed that all who were baptised in water in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit would be free from the powers of the Enemy until they laid themselves open again by their own sinful deeds. Our Lord conferred this power upon Holy Church, and gave His commandments to my lord Saint Peter. And so Our Lord cleansed man and woman, father and mother, of their sinful ways, and the Devil lost his power over men – until they chose to sin again. And Our Lord, knowing that the fragility of man was such that he was sure to die [in sin], bestowed upon Saint Peter another form of baptism: confession. He ordained that if they were willing to repent and abandon their sin and keep the commandments of Holy Church, they might come to be granted grace1 by their Father.

  At the time when Our Lord was upon the Earth, most of the land of Judaea was answerable to Rome. The Romans held sway over the region where Our Lord dwelt, and the governor’s name was Pilate. This Pilate had in his service a soldier named Joseph [of Arimathea], who followed Jesus Christ to many places and loved him deeply in his heart, but dared not show it for fear of the other Jews, for Our Lord had many enemies and adversaries set against him – and also one disciple who was not as a follower should be. And because this man was not as gracious towards his fellow disciples as they were towards each other, he began to distance himself from them in his actions, misbehaving and being more cruel towards them than he had been before; they were very wary of him. But Our Lord, being God, knew all. This disciple’s name was Judas, and his hatred towards Our Lord was conceived on account of an ointment; I shall tell you now of his treachery.

  At this time it was the custom that a chamberlain received a tenth of all moneys that came into his lord’s purse, and when my lady Saint Mary Magdalene poured an ointment upon Our Lord’s feet Judas was enraged, counting in his heart that the ointment was worth three hundred pence. He did not want to lose his due; he reckoned his tenth was worth thirty pence, and was determined to recover that amount. At the earliest opportunity he sought to recover those thirty pence from God’s enemies.

  Three nights before the Passover, Christ’s enemies were at the house of a man named Caiaphas, discussing how they could capture Him. Joseph of Arimathea was present as they talked, and to him their words were sinful: they grieved him terribly. In the middle of their discussion Judas appeared, and when they saw him they fell silent, for they distrusted him, believing him to be a good disciple of Jesus. Judas, seeing them fall silent, spoke out and asked them: ‘Why are you assembled here?’

  And they replied: ‘Where is Jesus?’

  And he told them where He was and why he had come to them. And when the Jews heard Judas’s disloyalty they were overjoyed and said: ‘Tell us how we can take him prisoner!’

  And Judas replied: ‘I’ll sell him to you if you wish.’

  ‘Yes indeed,’ they said, ‘most gladly!’

  And he said he would give them Jesus for thirty pence. One of them had the money to hand, and paid it. And so Judas recovered a tenth of the three hundred pennies’ worth of ointment.

  Then they discussed how they would capture Jesus: they fixed the day and an early hour; Judas would inform them where Jesus would be, and they would be armed and ready to seize Him. And Judas warned them to be sure they did not seize James, for he looked very much like Jesus – understandably, for James was His cousin. And they asked him: ‘How then will we recognise Jesus?’

  And he replied: ‘Take the man that I shall kiss.’

  And so it was resolved.

  Joseph of Arimathea was present throughout all this, and it weighed heavily upon his heart, but he dared do nothing. They went their several ways and waited till the Thursday.

  On the Thursday evening Our Lord was at the house of Simon the Leper. I cannot and should not tell you everything He said to His disciples, but this much I can say for sure: He told them that eating and drinking with Him was one who would betray Him. Hearing Our Lord’s words, some of the disciples were afraid and swore they were not guilty. But Christ assured them it was true, and Judas asked Him: ‘Am I the one you mean?’

  And Jesus answered: ‘You say so.’

  Then Jesus told them other parables; and He washed all the disciples’ feet in the same water. My lord Saint John privately asked Jesus: ‘Lord, would you please tell me one thing? Dare I ask you?’ Our Lord gave him leave to ask, and he said: ‘Lord, tell me why you’ve washed all our feet in the same water.’

  And Jesus replied: ‘This is a parable for Peter. Just as the water was soiled by the first feet I washed, so no-one is clean of sin, and for as long as they are sinners they shall be unclean. But sinners can always cleanse away sin, just as I washed your feet in the dirty water. The first feet to be washed and the last look as clean as each other. This parable is for Peter and other ministers of Holy Church: unclean though they may be, through their uncleanness they will cleanse sinners of their sin. So long as they are willing to obey the Father, Son, Holy Spirit and Holy Church, their uncleanness can do them no harm. And no-one could know which of you I had washed, unless they had been told.’

  Thus Our Lord Jesus Christ explained this parable to Saint John the Evangelist.

  Then all
those whom Judas had informed gathered at the house of Simon the Leper, and when the disciples realised this they were filled with fear. And once the house was full, and Judas was sure they had the upper hand, he stepped forward and kissed Jesus. Seeing this the Jews seized Him from all sides, and Judas cried to them: ‘Hold him fast!’, for he knew how great was Christ’s strength. And they led Jesus away, leaving the disciples filled with grief.

  So the Jews had accomplished part of their purpose in their capture of Christ. And the vessel in which He had made the sacrament was at Simon’s house, and one of the Jews took it and kept it until the next day.

  Jesus was taken before Pilate, and many words were spoken there, the Jews charging Him with everything they could. But their power was not great: they could find no justification for putting Him to death. But the weakness of the law was such, and Pilate felt so powerless before all the Jews, that he had to accept it. Then he spoke as governor, saying: ‘To which of you shall I refer if my lord [the emperor] asks me about this matter? For I can see no reason for this man to suffer death.’

  And they all cried out together: ‘May his blood be scattered upon us and all our children!’

  Then the Jews seized Him and led Him away. Pilate stayed, and called for water and washed his hands, and said that, just as his hands were clean, so was he clean of responsibility for that man’s death. Thereupon the Jew who had taken the vessel from Simon’s house came to Pilate and gave it to him. Pilate took it and kept it safe.

  When the news came that they had put Jesus to death, Joseph was filled with grief and anguish, and he came to Pilate and said: ‘Sir, my knights and I have served you for a long while, and you’ve given me nothing for my service.’

  ‘Ask,’ said Pilate, ‘and I’ll give you whatever you wish in payment.’

  And Joseph replied: ‘Many thanks, sir. I ask for the body of the prophet whom the Jews have wrongfully put to death.’

  Pilate was astonished that he should ask for such a poor reward, and said: ‘I thought you’d ask for a greater gift. If that’s the payment you desire, you shall have it.’

  And Joseph answered: ‘Many thanks, sir. Give orders that it should be mine.’

  ‘Go and take it,’ said Pilate; but Joseph replied: ‘Sir, the Jews are strong in numbers, and will not want to give it to me.’

  ‘Yes, they will,’ said Pilate; so Joseph made his way to the cross. When he saw Jesus Christ he was filled with pity and wept most tenderly, for he loved Him deeply. He came to the Jews who were guarding Him and said: ‘Pilate has given me permission to remove the prophet’s body from this shameful place.’

  But all the Jews together said: ‘You’re not having it, for his disciples say he’s going to revive. But however often he comes back to life, we’ll kill him!’

  ‘Let me take him, sirs,’ said Joseph, ‘for Pilate has granted him to me.’

  But the Jews said: ‘We’d sooner kill you!’

  Joseph left them and returned to Pilate and told him of the Jews’ response. Pilate was amazed; but he saw before him a man named Nichodemus, and he commanded him to go with Joseph and take Christ’s body from the cross himself. And then he remembered the vessel that the Jew had given him, and he called Joseph and said: ‘Joseph, you love that prophet dearly.’

  ‘Yes indeed, sir,’ Joseph answered, and Pilate said: ‘I have a vessel of his, given to me by one of the Jews who were present at his capture, and I’ve no wish to keep anything that belonged to him.’

  And he gave the vessel to Joseph, who received it with great joy. Joseph and Nichodemus departed together, and Nichodemus went to a smith to get pincers and a hammer; then they came to the place where Christ was on the cross, and Nichodemus said to the people there: ‘You’ve done wrong in dealing with this man as you demanded of Pilate. But now he’s clearly dead, and Pilate has granted the body to Joseph and has commanded me to give it to him.’

  They all replied that he was sure to come back to life, and refused to let the body go; but Nichodemus said that nothing they could do would stop him taking it. So they all marched off to Pilate, while Joseph and Nichodemus climbed up and took Jesus Christ from the cross.

  Joseph held Him in his arms and laid Him on the ground, cradling Him tenderly and washing Him most gently. And when he had washed Him, he saw His wounds still bleeding and was dismayed, remembering the stone that had split at the foot of the cross when the drop of blood fell.

  And then he remembered his vessel, and thought the drops of blood that were falling would be better in the vessel than elsewhere. So he placed it beneath Christ’s wounds; and blood from the wounds in His hands and His feet dripped into the vessel. After gathering the blood in the vessel Joseph set it to one side, and took the body of Jesus Christ and wrapped it in a sheet that he had bought for his own use, and covered it.

  Meanwhile the crowd who had gone to Pilate gained his agreement that, wherever Joseph might put the body, it should be closely watched in case it came back to life, and they arranged for a large armed guard. When Joseph departed, they remained.

  While all this was happening, Our Lord descended into Hell, broke in and set free Adam and Eve and as many others as He pleased. And He returned to life, unknown and unseen by those who were standing guard, and He went forth and appeared to Saint Mary Magdalene and to other disciples where He chose.

  When the Jews heard He had come back to life they all assembled to hold council, and said to each other: ‘This man will do us great harm if he’s truly alive again!’

  And those who had been guarding the body declared that they knew for sure it was not where Joseph had put it. ‘It’s his fault we’ve lost him!’ they said. ‘And if harm befalls us it’ll be because of him and Nichodemus!’

  And they discussed how they could reply if they were asked for the body, or if it was requested by the master [the emperor] to whom they were subjects; and they agreed to say they had handed it over on the orders of Nichodemus.

  ‘But if anyone says “You had the body guarded where it was laid to rest – ask your guards what happened,” what answer could we give?’

  And one replied: ‘There’s a way around that. Let’s seize Joseph and Nichodemus tonight in secret, and put them to a grim death. Then after, if anyone asks us for Jesus’s body, we’ll say we gave it to them!’

  They all agreed to this, and praised the man for his cleverness. So it was agreed they would seize them by night.

  But friends of Nichodemus were present, and they informed him of the plan and he fled; and when the Jews arrived at his house they found no sign of him. So they moved on to the house of Joseph, and seized him naked in his bed; they made him dress and then led him to the house of one of the richest men in the land, where there was a tower with a dismal dungeon. Having Joseph there on his own, they beat him and asked him what he had done with Jesus.

  ‘Those who were guarding him will know,’ he replied, ‘for I did nothing secret or underhand.’

  ‘You’ve stolen him from us!’ they replied, ‘for he’s certainly not where we saw you put him. We know you’ve taken him. We’re going to throw you in this dungeon, and you’ll surely die there unless you tell us where the body of Jesus is.’

  And Joseph, knowing nothing of its whereabouts, said: ‘I’m willing to die, if that is the will of the Lord on whose account I’m your captive.’

  Then the Jews seized him and beat him dreadfully, and cast him down into the dungeon. They sealed it with a stone, so that if anyone came in search of him, they would never find him.

  And so it was that Joseph was abducted and imprisoned. When Pilate knew that Joseph was missing, he was most distressed and heavy-hearted, for he was the best of friends to him. Joseph was missing for a long time.

  But the one in whose cause he had suffered did not forget him. Being Lord and God He watched over him, and came to the dungeon where he lay, and brought him his vessel. Joseph saw a great light, and was filled with joy and with the grace of the Holy Spirit, and he marve
lled and said: ‘Almighty God, where can such a brilliant light come from unless from You?’

  And Jesus answered: ‘Joseph, Joseph, do not be afraid, for my Father’s power will guard you.’

  ‘Who are you?’ Joseph asked Him. ‘You’re so fair – I don’t know you – I cannot look upon you.’

  And Jesus said: ‘Joseph, listen to me. I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who has sent me into this world to save sinners. I came to Earth to suffer death at the command of my Father, who made Adam and from Adam made Eve, but the Enemy deceived Eve and made her sin, and she caused Adam to do likewise. They were cast into misery; and they conceived and had children and descendants, and when they died the Devil was determined they should all be his, until it pleased my Father that I should come to Earth and be born of woman. It was through a woman that the Enemy took possession of men; and as a woman had caused man’s soul to be imprisoned, it was right and necessary that it should be recovered and redeemed through a woman.

  ‘Now you have heard how the Son of God came to Earth, and why He was born of the Virgin Mary; and you have seen the torment I suffered and the great pain the Son bore in obeying the Father. Just as the tree2 bore the apple, so the Son of God died on a tree3 to save His Father’s creation. I came on Earth to work this salvation, and was born of the Virgin Mary and suffered worldly pain. Blood flowed from my body in five places.’

  ‘What, sir?’ said Joseph. ‘Are you then Jesus of Nazareth, son of the Virgin Mary the wife of Joseph? The one Judas sold for thirty pence, who was seized by the Jews and led before Pilate and crucified? The one I took from the cross and laid in a stone tomb, and who the Jews say I’ve stolen?’

  ‘Joseph, I am the very same,’ said Jesus. ‘Believe what you have said and seen, and you will be saved and have lasting joy.’

  ‘Oh Lord,’ said Joseph, ‘have pity and mercy on me: it’s for your sake I’m imprisoned here. I’ve always loved you dearly, but never dared to speak to you, for I feared, Lord, that you wouldn’t trust me because of the people I conversed with, keeping company as I did with the ones who meant you harm.’