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E 326K // Literature of the Middle Ages in Translation: Mysteries of the Grail

Castle Corbenic

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Corbenic The name of the castle that houses the Holy Grail and its keeper, Corbenic is the domain of the Fisher King and the birthplace of Galahad. The castle appears both in the Lancelot-Grail cycle and Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.

Located on the coast, Corbenic contains a town and features a bridge which Sir Bromell la Pleche swears to defend for a year so that he may win the affection of King Pelle's (aka Fisher King) daughter Elaine. Corbenic also has a seaward gate that is guarded by two lions and aided by either a dwarf (Le Morte, Book XVII) or a flaming hand (Lancelot-Grail cycle).
The castle is presented differently depending on the text. For example, in Le Morte d'Arthur Book XI, Sir Bors proclaims the place Castle Adventurous, "for here be many strange adventures." But in the Lancelot-Grail cycle, the castle is depicted as fairly ordinary when Sir Bors visits. Nevertheless, Corbenic is a bit like the Celtic Otherworld in castle form, in the sense that it is difficult to stumble upon and enter, and rules inside the castle do not adhere to those of the mortal realm. An example of this is Chretien de Troye's The Story of the Grail, where Perceval stumbles upon the castle by chance and later searches for five years in an attempt to find the castle again.

The origin of the name is uncertain and there are multiple etymologies. It is supposed that Corbenic means "holy vessel." There are other conjectures that suppose the name has roots in Welsh (Fort of the Peaks), Cornish/Breton (city of Raven), medieval Gaelic (the Rough), and Old French (blessed horn, blessed body, or raven/crow). According to Perlsevaus, the Grail Castle originally had other titles, such as Eden, Castle of Joy, and Castle of Souls.
~Fun Fact~
There have been some speculative real-life location identifications of Corbenic, including a castle in Spain, Wales, France, northwest England, the Isle of Man, and the Red Castle built for William I of Scotland.