Fleur

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Lady Blanchefleur is Sir Percival's wife and the Grail Queen at Castle Carbonek, where she still resides.

History

She and Percival have become estranged for some time, perhaps on account of the unscrupulous activities that he carries out in his role as Mr. Duval, the head of the Illuminati. She will accompany King Arthur and Sir Griff on their adventures.

Real World Background

Blanchefleur first appears as Percival's love in Chretien de Troyes' 12th century poem, Perceval. Here she is a young noblewoman whose estate is besieged by one Sir Clamadeus, who lusts after her and her estate; Percival champions her, overthrowing Clamadeus in battle, and wins her heart. The two of them are afterwards separated when Percival continues on his adventures, and do not meet for the remainder of the (admittedly unfinished) poem.

Later medieval versions of Percival's story omitted Blanchefleur in order to keep Percival a virgin (an important requirement for achieving the Holy Grail in their eyes), but Roger Lancelyn Green reinserted her in his King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, tying her in more closely into Percival's role as a Grail Knight. Here, Percival comes upon her sleeping in a pavilion on his way to King Arthur's court for the first time, falls in love with her, and exchanges rings with her (a part of the original Percival story in Chretien, although here the lady in the pavilion is a different character than Blanchefleur); later on they meet briefly at Carbonek, where Percival learns that she has returned his love. However, when the Grail Procession takes place in the hall where they stand, Percival becomes so excited by it that he rides out of the castle vowing to go on the Quest of the Holy Grail, realizing only too late that he cannot find his way back to Carbonek or Blanchefleur afterwards. At the end of the quest, however, he and Blanchefleur are reunited at Carbonek, where she now serves as the Grail Maiden; they are wedded there (Sir Galahad himself officiating at the ceremony), and rule over Carbonek together happily.

See also

  • Fleur at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia