Dr. Sommer gives no summary of Bohort's Grail adventures, so I cannot tell if there be any interesting variants between the French versions, but both 1533 and D. L. contain two features, not reproduced in M., which seem to indicate a knowledge of an older Grail tradition. In both the old man tells Bohort that he has seen 'la lance Vengeresse' the 'wrake spere,' he who sits in the Siege Perilous shall know the truth of adventure.'[171] (This, of course, might be Perceval equally as well as Galahad.) Galahad and Lancelot are not mentioned throughout.[172] The Maimed King and the Fisher King are one and the same person. All these points confirm my suspicion that the Corbenic adventure was originally taken over from an earlier, probably a Gawain, Queste.
In the events relating Elayne's visit to the court and Lancelot's madness, 1533 and D. L. in the main agree with S., but with small variants. In both Elayne leaves the court of her own free will, but Arthur does not escort her; she speaks to Bohort before leaving. The knight encountered by Bohort is alone in D. L., thus agreeing with M.; while in 1533 he does not meet him till after he has rejoined Lionel and Hector. The knights who go in search of Lancelot are in D. L. thirty-two in number, and as later on we are told that twenty-five have returned, this does not seem to be a mistake for twenty-three, as we might otherwise think. 1533 does not give the original number as thirty-two, but agrees with D. L. as to those who return, which confirms this supposition.
In all that relates to Perceval and his first appearance at court, D. L. and 1533 agree on the whole with S. rather than with M., but neither of them give any names of Perceval's brothers (save Agloval, who fetches him from his home), nor say how many there were. Lamorak is never mentioned (I believe this character belongs to quite a late redaction). In this and in the reference to Gawain's having slain Perceval's father, I think we have the influence of the Tristan.
In the account of Perceval's being driven from court by the mockery of Kay and Mordred, D. L. has a remark which again shows the influence of an earlier tradition: Perceval is described as 'Eene harde jonge creature, ende die wel simpel sceen te dien.' Nowhere else is there any sign of the simplicity which is a primitive trait of Perceval's character. Later on, after the 'Patrides' adventure (which appears to be differently related from S. as it is from M., Patrides and the lady having fled together, been overtaken, and imprisoned), both 1533 and D. L. agree in the words spoken by Patrides (D. L.) or the king (1533), i.e. that Kay and Mordred have driven from court one who should be a better knight than all save Gawain.
'Ghi hebt entrouwen, dat secgic u,
Uter herbergen verdreven nu
Den besten ridder dier in was
Sonder Walewein sijt seker das.'—ll. 36247-50.
(1533 says 'When he is grown to manhood' he shall be as good, etc.) This certainly points to an earlier stage of tradition, when Perceval and Gawain are the leading knights and Lancelot subordinate to both.
In view of what we now know, I think it is not an unreasonable hypothesis that these two versions, which agree so closely, represent an earlier pseudo-Borron Lancelot-Perceval redaction, which has been worked over in the interest of the later pseudo-Map Galahad version.[173]
Book XII. M. gives the account of Lancelot's frenzy and subsequent cure. Here D. L. agrees with M. in saying that Lancelot strikes the shield as if X. knights did it, whereas both S. and 1533 give XII. Later on D. L. is alone against the other three in saying that Lancelot has only his ankles fettered, whereas the other three versions give ankles and wrists. Nevertheless here I think D. L. is right, as when Lancelot rushes after the boar both S. and 1533 agree in saying that he breaks the rings on his ankles, and make no mention of those on the wrist. Again D. L. makes no mention of hunters, the horse Lancelot takes he finds tied at the castle gate. As later on, when he comes up with the quarry no hunters are mentioned in any version, I think it probable that they were not in the original, but introduced later by some copyist to account for the boar.
At this point D. L. departs abruptly from the other versions, taking up the Perceval story. It is impossible to say whether this be due to a lacuna in the source, which the compiler filled up as he pleased, or whether this really represents an important (and apparently lost) Lancelot redaction. In the remainder of the incidents represented by this book 1533 agrees on the whole with S., with this important difference, that it makes it quite clear throughout that there is a period of some years involved. The reader quite understands all the details of Galahad's arrival at the abbey, his age, etc. Very probably the compiler of 1513 (Dr. Sommer's source) condensed here, as elsewhere, thus causing the confusion noted on p. 205 of the Studies.