Göller, Karl Heinz

English

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WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY W I L L I A M O F R E N N E S : see GESTA REGUM BRITANNIAE. W I L L I A M S , C H A R L E S (1886-1945), among modern English poets, the foremost reshaper and recreator of A r t h u r i a n mythology. Wi l l iams 's A r t h u -riad is composed of two cycles of poems, Taliessin Through Logres (1938) and The Region of the Summer Stars (1944). A t his death, he left an unfinished prose work on The Figure of Arthur, w h i c h was edited by his friend C S . Lewis and published with Lewis's o w n commentary on the poems in Arthurian Torso (1948). W i l -liams's first published novel, War in Heaven (1930), depicts a modern reappear-ance of the H o l y G r a i l . The individual poems in the A r t h u r i a n cycle are complex both in structure and interrelationships, but the overall structure is clear. Taliessin Through Logres 630 WILLIAMS, CHARLES portrays the establishment, growth , and fall of the realm of A r t h u r . In a sense, it shows the progress through the earthly kingdom. The poems of The Region of the Summer Stars (the " t h i r d heaven" of poets and lovers) take up the same themes, but from a perspective sub specie aeternitatis. Wil l iams ' s original contribution to Arthur ian legend lies in his develop-ment of the myths of K i n g Ar thur and the G r a i l , their gradual coalescence, and the further history of the G r a i l . Other elements, such as the story of Lancelot and Guinevere, are represented only in passing. From the outset, the empire of K i n g A r t h u r is concerned wi th the G r a i l quest, w h i c h W i l l i a m s treats as being mystic, unchivalr ic , and ascetic. The union of the legendary k ingdom and the G r a i l is a highly complex symbol o f the fusion of Empire and Christendom, and thus of Christ 's Second C o m i n g . The cycle begins wi th the coronation of the K i n g . Even at this early point, the reader is haunted by premonitions o f disaster. M e r l i n does not take part in the coronation ceremonies. Instead, he sits in the steeple of St. Stephen's and meditates on the inevitable downfal l o f the realm. H e foresees the Dolorous B l o w , the wounding of the Grai l -keeper w i t h the Sacred Lance. M a n wounds himself, and this is an image of O r i g i n a l Sin, o f the Fal l . The result is the destruction o f order and the spread of anarchy. B a l i n kil ls his brother, Balan, without recognizing h im. The Fall and the first murder destroy the innocence of the kingdom; the disease of disorder spreads throughout the land. Even A r t h u r is affected. In the early versions of the M a t t e r of Br i ta in , M o r d r e d was nephew to the K i n g , but in later versions he became the son conceived in incest. This crime was usually recounted by medieval authors without expl ic i t comment, even though they recognized that the result was the traitor M o r d r e d , the destroyer of the Arthurian w o r l d . In Wi l l i ams ' s Taliessin cycle, however, incest has become a symbol o f egotistic self-love, which Wi l l iams calls " G o m o r r h a , " and A r t h u r has thus become an antagonist of the G r a i l , which he betrays through his egotism, as wel l as his lack of Caritas and largesse. Arthur is an unmoved mover, the passive center o f his k ingdom. Another must act in his stead, and as in M a l o r y this is Lancelot, beloved by both K i n g and Queen. H e serves as the poet's example for the W a y o f A f f i r m a t i o n , just as the nun Dindrane, who sacrifices her blood for a leper, is an example of the Negative W a y of the soul's quest for the Eternal. ( "This also is thou; neither is this thou.") Guinevere is marginal for W i l l i a m s : he feels no sympathy for her. A n d so she can only sit, wait , and love. Galahad, the purest of knights, cannot be born f rom her. His mother must stem from the family of the G r a i l kings; his father must belong to the leaders of secular knighthood. O r i g i n a l l y , Wi l l iams considered making A r t h u r the father of Galahad but gave up the plan because the fate of the Round Table had to be determined through the K i n g . W i t h Galahad's conception, Mer l in ' s task is fulf i l led; he disappears into the mystic darkness whence he came. In the person of Galahad, the symbols of stone and shell are united: the geometric and the vi ta l , B y z a n t i u m and Broceliande. Wi l l i ams calls this process the f inding of identity. Galahad is an image of the 631 WILLIAMS, CHARLES N e w M a n , exemplary incarnation of the union of A r t h u r ' s w o r l d and the G r a i l . The poem on Galahad closes w i t h Taliessin's vision o f the ascent of the soul to the inner heaven. L ike Dante, W i l l i a m s regards the planetary spheres as levels o f holiness and as grades of spiritual development. The first planet is M e r c u r y , the god of opposition and o f change, an image of competit ion among the planetary houses. Venus is the sphere of orientation and decision, that is, " o f preference." Jupiter, w i t h its two moons, refers to irony and defeated irony, w h i c h does not take umbrage at the unavoidable vicissitudes of this w o r l d but smiles at the apparent absurdity of things. Saturn is the planet o f loneliness and meditat ion, promise and symbol o f a future Golden A g e . Logres, Ar thur ' s k ingdom, has so far reached only the sphere of Jupiter. There , Galahad and Lancelot live side by side, the unrest of the human heart and the misery of existence. But the path o f the future is already clearly recognizable. The enormous forces of Brocel iande have created Galahad but have exhausted themselves in the effort. Logres becomes B r i t a i n . Carbonek and Camelot are farther apart than ever before. Like Galahad, w h o has already seen the H o l y G r a i l in Camelot , Perceval and Bors are the Elect o f the G r a i l . They are l i v i n g flesh and blood but at the same time incarnations of typical attitudes toward l i fe . Perceval is the pure lover, ful l o f spiritual questions and problems; Bors is the ordinary morta l , marr ied and the father o f chi ldren, a person str iving toward perfection but entangled in the needs and problems o f everyday l ife. Galahad, however, is of a different make. H e is not a "chr is t l ike f i g u r e " but a symbol o f the divine spark in human beings, that is, the human "capaci ty for C h r i s t . " In Carbonek, after Galahad has healed the wounded k ing , he sees a vision o f Chr is t in the H o l y G r a i l . As instructed, he travels to Sarras, where he disappears f r o m sight. This marks the final separation of the A r t h u r i a n w o r l d and the G r a i l . A r t h u r ' s thoughts center more and more on his o w n power, w h i c h results in his loss of Caritas and largesse. He begins war w i t h Lancelot; M o r d r e d betrays the K i n g ; father and son k i l l one another. The poem "Prayers of the P o p e " ends the cycle. A s a k i n d of refrain, we hear the desperate cry: "Send not, send not the r ich empty a w a y . " The realm has been split into w a r r i n g factions. The pope feels the schism w i t h i n himself, the return of chaos and thus of spiritual death. The vis ion o f the development of humankind toward the Epiphany has dissolved. A magnificent opportunity has remained unused. But W i l l i a m s does not dismiss us without hope. Taliessin's household w i l l remain and the work w i l l go on. Above a l l , there is the hope of Brocel iande. The roots o f the forest grip the tentacles of Po ' l 'u ; the forces of death are held in check and bound fast by the M o t h e r of M a k i n g . The constellation of characters, symbols, and images in W i l l i a m s ' s A r t h u -riad is mapped out in a universe of the poet's o w n creation. Logres stands for both the genuine realm of B r i t a i n and the mythic w o r l d o f A r t h u r . The 632 WILLIAMS AND THE ARTHURI AD visionary city of Byzant ium, like London, is the navel o f the empire, the legendary N e w Jerusalem, and the emperor w h o reigns there is a symbol of G o d - i n - a c t i o n , the D i v i n e M o v e r , or even Fate. The vision recedes; Logres is, on the surface of things, lost. But Brocel iande, the realm of forest and sea, points the way to hope. It stands for the untapped resources o f the subcon-scious, the future path o f the soul on its quest. In apparent defeat, humil ia t ion, and even death rests the seed of salvation. The poems leave us w i t h the certainty o f the ultimate good. The rites of passage lead on. W i l l i a m s has widened the dimensions of the A r t h u r i a n story, reminding us of M i l t o n and his representation of the Fal l . Heaven and earth are united in a new mythic empire, w h i c h is not the less real because it never existed. Indeed, the poet has always in mind the spiritual reality behind the tagade of material appearances. His A r t h u r i a d is not a stylized portrait o f a Utopian phantastikon but a universally valid representation of the modern human situation. The same tenor of thought underlies the plays and novels of the author, as wel l as his essays on literature and on Chr is t iani ty . In many aspects, it is related to views shared by his old O x f o r d companions, C . S . Lewis and J . R . R . Tolk ien , part icularly in a tendency toward elements o f fantasy and the supernatural. Cer ta in themes re-echo: the primacy of the transcendental, the nature o f love as a m i r r o r of the D i v i n e and as a mystical perception of the whole human relationship, the painful way of the soul in quest o f perfection, and the image of the C i t y as an image of the C h u r c h . W i l l i a m s returns the H o l y G r a i l to a modern setting in his novel War in Heaven (1930), in w h i c h the struggle between G o o d and E v i l for possession o f the G r a i l takes place on both the physical and spiritual levels. The inadequacy of human reason to comprehend the reality of the mystical w o r l d again leaves humankind spiritually impoverished. It can only be regretted that the work o f Charles W i l l i a m s , and in particular his poetry, has not yet found the appreciation it deserves. W i l l i a m s recognized the potential o f the A r t h u r i a n myth better than his predecessors, and he has expressed what others have only vaguely anticipated. [ K H G ] W i l l i a m s , C h a r l e s . Taliessin Through Logres. L o n d o n : O x f o r d U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1938. . The Region of the Summer Stars. L o n d o n : O x t o r d U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1944. . The Figure of Arthur. In Arthurian Torso, by C h a r l e s W i l l i a m s and C . S . L e w i s . L o n d o n : O x f o r d U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1948. . " O n the A r t h u r i a n M y t h . " In W i l l i a m s ' s The Image of the City and Other Essays, c d . A n n e R i d l e r . L o n d o n : O x f o r d U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1958. C a v a l i c r o , G l e n . Charles Williams: Poet of Theology. L o n d o n : M a c m i l l a n , 1983. Göl ler , K a r l H e i n z . " F r o m Logres to C a r b o n e k : T h e A r t h u r i a d oi C h a r l e s W i l l i a m s . " Arthurian Literature, 1 (1981), 121-73. L e w i s , C . S . Williams and the Arthuriad. In Arthurian Torso, by C h a r l e s W i l l i a m s and C . S . L e w i s . L o n d o n : O x f o r d U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1948. WILLIAMS AND THE ARTHURIAD: see L E W I S , C . S . 633 

Williams, Charles

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Williams, Charles

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