The Forest that Remains Primeval: Perceval the Welshman

In Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, The Story of the Grail written at the end of the 17th century, Perceval is presented as a naive young man who has spent his childhood in the forest, raised by his mother far from the tribulations of the court. When he sets off on an adventure, his innocence often provokes comical, even dangerous, situations. Perceval, the “nice” son of the woods, is thus perceived in medieval texts as a half-wild child, as shown here by his clothes which make him look like a Welsh peasant, who can only be civilized by training as a knight.