The most comprehensive account of the story of Arthur, the Round Table and the Grail is to be found in the work known as Lancelot-Grail or the Vulgate Cycle. It tells the story of the Arthurian world from the events of the Crucifixion, where the Grail originated, to the death of Lancelot after the destruction of the Round Table. It draws in many different strands, from the pseudo-historical stories about Arthur to the romances of chivalric adventure and the spiritual quest for the Grail. It consists of five works: the longest is Lancelot, a kind of chivalric history of the Round Table, which leads into the quest for the Grail and Arthur's death. The first two books were added later, and provide an account of events up to Arthur's birth. Not long after the cycle was completed, another writer retained the first two books of the Vulgate Cycle but recast the last three books with a rather different emphasis; this version is known as the Post-Vulgate Cycle, and is one of the main sources used by Sir Thomas Malory. The Post-Vulgate Cycle is a reworking of part of the Vulgate Cycle, from the end of The Story of Merlin onwards. There is no section devoted to Lancelot, and he plays a much smaller part in the story; instead, the focus returns to Arthur himself.

The Grail quest has a secular purpose, to repair the damage done by Balin's use of the Holy Lance to strike king Pellehan, which has brought divine wrath on the land. And Arthur's death is more clearly the consequence of his incest with his sister, which is introduced into the story just after his coronation. 'Adventure' predominates, but in a broader sense than in Lancelot, and there is a strong emphasis on Logres, Arthur's realm, as the 'kingdom of Adventures'. The revised version of The Quest for the Holy Grail gives a greater role to Perceval, and introduces a number of knights not found in the Vulgate; but the largest change is that much of the story of Tristan is incorporated into the narrative. The achievement of the Grail quest centres on Galahad's healing of Pellehan, accomplished once the knights reach the Grail itself. The Death of Arthur is little more than a postscript, bringing the story of the adventures of the kingdom of Logres to an end; Lancelot and Guenevere are revealed as lovers, and Arthur fights both Lancelot and then the Romans. Despite this victory, he is betrayed and killed by Mordred. The romance ends with king Mark of Cornwall's death when he attempts to kill Lancelot and Bors at the hermitage to which they have retreated.

Book jacket.