Corbenic
Encyclopedia
Corbenic Carboneck (Carbonek or Carbonic), or Corbin is the name of the castle of the Holy Grail
in the Lancelot-Grail
cycle and Thomas Malory
's Le Morte d'Arthur
. It is the domain of the Fisher King
and the birth-place of Sir Galahad.
, and a room where arrows assail any who try to spend the night there. These wonders cause Sir Bors to name it the Castle Adventurous, "for here be many strange adventures" (Le Morte d'Arthur, book XI). Yet it can also appear quite ordinary: on an earlier occasion, according to the Lancelot-Grail, the same Sir Bors visited without noticing anything unusual.
(Perhaps conscious of this apparent contradiction, T.H. White in The Once and Future King
treats Corbenic as two separate places: Corbin is the relatively mundane dwelling-place of King Pelles, while Carbonek is the mystical castle where the climax of the Grail Quest takes place.)
Corbenic has a town, and a bridge which Sir Bromell la Pleche swears to defend against all-comers for a year, for love of Pelles' daughter Elaine (Morte, books XI–XII).
It is on the coast, or at least is mystically moved there for the purposes of the Grail Quest: Lancelot
arrives at Corbenic by sea at the climax of his personal quest. Corbenic's seaward gate is guarded by two lions, aided by either a dwarf (Morte, book XVII) or a flaming hand (Lancelot-Grail).
It is unclear whether Corbenic is to be identified with the castle inadvertently levelled by Sir Balin
when he delivers the Dolorous Stroke
upon King Pellam
(Morte, book II); if so, then Corbenic is in Listeneise (and is presumably rebuilt at some point). The Lancelot-Grail gives the name of its kingdom only as the 'Foreign Country'.
' Perceval, the Story of the Grail
, the first work to mention the Grail, the Grail castle is described somewhat differently than in later literature, and is given no name. In Wolfram von Eschenbach
's Parzival
, based on Chrétien, the Grail castle's name is Munsalväsche, and its history and inhabitants differ from those described in other variations of the legend.
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail is a sacred object figuring in literature and certain Christian traditions, most often identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and said to possess miraculous powers...
in the Lancelot-Grail
Lancelot-Grail
The Lancelot–Grail, also known as the Prose Lancelot, the Vulgate Cycle, or the Pseudo-Map Cycle, is a major source of Arthurian legend written in French. It is a series of five prose volumes that tell the story of the quest for the Holy Grail and the romance of Lancelot and Guinevere...
cycle and Thomas Malory
Thomas Malory
Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author or compiler of Le Morte d'Arthur. The antiquary John Leland as well as John Bale believed him to be Welsh, but most modern scholars, beginning with G. L...
's Le Morte d'Arthur
Le Morte d'Arthur
Le Morte d'Arthur is a compilation by Sir Thomas Malory of Romance tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, and the Knights of the Round Table...
. It is the domain of the Fisher King
Fisher King
The Fisher King, or the Wounded King, figures in Arthurian legend as the latest in a line charged with keeping the Holy Grail. Versions of his story vary widely, but he is always wounded in the legs or groin, and incapable of moving on his own...
and the birth-place of Sir Galahad.
Description
As befits the castle of the Grail, Corbenic is a place of marvels, including, at various times, a maiden trapped in a magically boiling cauldron, a dragonDragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
, and a room where arrows assail any who try to spend the night there. These wonders cause Sir Bors to name it the Castle Adventurous, "for here be many strange adventures" (Le Morte d'Arthur, book XI). Yet it can also appear quite ordinary: on an earlier occasion, according to the Lancelot-Grail, the same Sir Bors visited without noticing anything unusual.
(Perhaps conscious of this apparent contradiction, T.H. White in The Once and Future King
The Once and Future King
The Once and Future King is an Arthurian fantasy novel written by T. H. White. It was first published in 1958 and is mostly a composite of earlier works written in a period between 1938 and 1941....
treats Corbenic as two separate places: Corbin is the relatively mundane dwelling-place of King Pelles, while Carbonek is the mystical castle where the climax of the Grail Quest takes place.)
Corbenic has a town, and a bridge which Sir Bromell la Pleche swears to defend against all-comers for a year, for love of Pelles' daughter Elaine (Morte, books XI–XII).
It is on the coast, or at least is mystically moved there for the purposes of the Grail Quest: Lancelot
Lancelot
Sir Lancelot du Lac is one of the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. He is the most trusted of King Arthur's knights and plays a part in many of Arthur's victories...
arrives at Corbenic by sea at the climax of his personal quest. Corbenic's seaward gate is guarded by two lions, aided by either a dwarf (Morte, book XVII) or a flaming hand (Lancelot-Grail).
It is unclear whether Corbenic is to be identified with the castle inadvertently levelled by Sir Balin
Sir Balin
Sir Balin le Savage , also known as the Knight with the Two Swords, is a character in the Arthurian legend. Merlin told King Arthur he would have been his best and bravest knight. A knight before the Round Table was formed, Sir Balin hails from Northumberland, and is associated with Sir Balan, his...
when he delivers the Dolorous Stroke
Dolorous Stroke
The Dolorous Stroke is a trope in Arthurian legend and some other stories of Celtic origin.In its fullest form, it concerns the Fisher King , the guardian of the Holy Grail, who falls into sin and consequently suffers a wound from a mystical weapon...
upon King Pellam
Pellam
King Pellam of Listeneise is the name that Malory gives to the Maimed King in his rendition of the tale of Sir Balin, at whose hands Pellam suffers the Dolorous Stroke. In the Vulgate and Post-Vulgate Cycles, Malory's source for these episodes, the character is called Pellehan.The Dolorous Stroke...
(Morte, book II); if so, then Corbenic is in Listeneise (and is presumably rebuilt at some point). The Lancelot-Grail gives the name of its kingdom only as the 'Foreign Country'.
Etymology
The name has several possible etymologies:- Welsh Caerbannog ('Fort of the Peaks'); this form is used by Monty Python and the Holy GrailMonty Python and the Holy GrailMonty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1974 British comedy film written and performed by the comedy group Monty Python , and directed by Gilliam and Jones...
; - CornishCornish languageCornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
(or BretonBreton languageBreton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
) Caer BranCaer BranCaer Bran Hill Fort is an archaeological site near Sancreed and Carn Euny Iron Age village, on the Penwith peninsula in Cornwall.It is a popular location for walkers and antiquarians because it commands a stunning 360 degree panorama of the entire Penwith peninsula which probably accounts for its...
(city of 'Raven' = BranBran the BlessedBrân the Blessed is a giant and king of Britain in Welsh mythology. He appears in several of the Welsh Triads, but his most significant role is in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi, Branwen ferch Llŷr. He is a son of Llŷr and Penarddun, and the brother of Brânwen, Manawydan, Nisien and Efnysien...
; this is an extant hill-fort in Penwith; nearby an inscribed stone (Men Scryfa) gives 'RIALOBRANI CUNOVALI FILI' which in Cornish means 'Royal Raven son of the Glorious Prince'.. -ek,eg remains the BrythonicBrythonic languagesThe Brythonic or Brittonic languages form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family, the other being Goidelic. The name Brythonic was derived by Welsh Celticist John Rhys from the Welsh word Brython, meaning an indigenous Briton as opposed to an Anglo-Saxon or Gael...
possessive form, e.g Kernewek,Brythonek,etc - Mediaeval Gaelic garbh Eanric ('rough Eanric') William I of ScotlandWilliam I of ScotlandWilliam the Lion , sometimes styled William I, also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough", reigned as King of the Scots from 1165 to 1214...
(Mediaeval Gaelic: Uilliam mac Eanric), known as the Lion or Garbh, "the Rough". - Old FrenchOld FrenchOld French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century...
cor beneoit, meaning both 'blessed horn' (referring to the Grail as a horn of plentyCornucopiaThe cornucopia or horn of plenty is a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, nuts, other edibles, or wealth in some form...
) and 'blessed body' (referring to the Grail as a Eucharistic vessel); - Old French corbin, meaning 'raven' or 'crow'; a possible allusion to the Welsh hero Bran the BlessedBran the BlessedBrân the Blessed is a giant and king of Britain in Welsh mythology. He appears in several of the Welsh Triads, but his most significant role is in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi, Branwen ferch Llŷr. He is a son of Llŷr and Penarddun, and the brother of Brânwen, Manawydan, Nisien and Efnysien...
, whose tale has some similarities to that of the Fisher King. The putative form corbin beneoiz is an approximate translation of Bran's full name in Welsh, Bendigeidfran.
Location
Corbenic has been speculatively identified with a number of places:- Castell Dinas BranCastell Dinas BranCastell Dinas Brân is a medieval castle standing high on a hill above the town of Llangollen in Denbighshire, Wales. It is also the site of an Iron Age hill fort.-Early history:...
in Wales; - Peel CastlePeel Castlethumb|250px|right|Chancel of the Cathedral of St. GermanPeel Castle is a castle in Peel, Isle of Man originally constructed by Vikings. The castle stands on St Patrick's Isle which is connected to the town by causeway...
on the Isle of ManIsle of ManThe Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
. - RavenglassRavenglassRavenglass is a small coastal village and natural harbour in Cumbria, England. It is the only coastal town within the Lake District National Park...
, KeswickKeswick, CumbriaKeswick is a market town and civil parish within the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It had a population of 4,984, according to the 2001 census, and is situated just north of Derwent Water, and a short distance from Bassenthwaite Lake, both in the Lake District National Park...
, or WhitehavenWhitehavenWhitehaven is a small town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England, which lies equidistant between the county's two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and the A595 road...
, in the Lake DistrictLake DistrictThe Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
of north-west England. - Red CastleRed CastleRed Castle of Lunan is a ruined fortified house on the coast of Angus, Scotland. It is about south-southwest of Montrose.-History:The earliest structure on the site was built for King William the Lion in the late twelfth century to repel Viking invasions to Lunan Bay. Evidence shows, however, that...
built for William I of ScotlandWilliam I of ScotlandWilliam the Lion , sometimes styled William I, also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough", reigned as King of the Scots from 1165 to 1214... - Scarponnois a mediaeval county in the department Meurthe-et-MoselleMeurthe-et-MoselleMeurthe-et-Moselle is a department in the Lorraine region of France, named after the Meurthe and Moselle rivers.- History :Meurthe-et-Moselle was created in 1871 at the end of the Franco-Prussian War from the parts of the former departments of Moselle and Meurthe which remained French...
in France near Gorze AbbeyGorze AbbeyGorze Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Gorze in the present arrondissement of Metz-Campagne, near Metz in Lorraine. It was prominent as the source of a monastic reform movement in the 930s.-History:...
.
Other Grail castles
In Chrétien de TroyesChrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes was a French poet and trouvère who flourished in the late 12th century. Perhaps he named himself Christian of Troyes in contrast to the illustrious Rashi, also of Troyes...
' Perceval, the Story of the Grail
Perceval, the Story of the Grail
Perceval, the Story of the Grail is the unfinished fifth romance of Chrétien de Troyes. Probably written between 1181 and 1191, it is dedicated to Chrétien's patron Philip, Count of Flanders...
, the first work to mention the Grail, the Grail castle is described somewhat differently than in later literature, and is given no name. In Wolfram von Eschenbach
Wolfram von Eschenbach
Wolfram von Eschenbach was a German knight and poet, regarded as one of the greatest epic poets of his time. As a Minnesinger, he also wrote lyric poetry.-Life:...
's Parzival
Parzival
Parzival is a major medieval German romance by the poet Wolfram von Eschenbach, in the Middle High German language. The poem, commonly dated to the first quarter of the 13th century, is itself largely based on Chrétien de Troyes’s Perceval, the Story of the Grail and mainly centers on the Arthurian...
, based on Chrétien, the Grail castle's name is Munsalväsche, and its history and inhabitants differ from those described in other variations of the legend.