Robert de Boron (also spelled in the manuscripts "Bouron", "Beron") was a French poet of the late 12th and early 13th centuries, originally from the village of Boron, in the arrondissement of Montbéliard. He was the author of a two surviving poems in octosyllabic verse, Joseph d'Arimathe and Merlin; Merlin survives only in fragments and in later prosification. The two are thought to have been part of a trilogy (or tetralogy) which also contained a verse Perceval, and possibly a Mort Artu (Death of Arthur). The "Didot Perceval", a retelling of the Percival story similar in style and content to Robert's other works, may be a prosification of the lost sections. (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... An arrondissement is an administrative division in some francophone or Dutch-speaking countries: // France Municipal arrondissement Main article: Municipal arrondissement in France Paris Main article: Arrondissements of Paris The city of Paris, in France is divided into 20 arrondissements. ... Montbéliard (German: Mömpelgard) is a commune in the Doubs département, in eastern France. ... Joseph of Arimathea, according to the Gospels, was the man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus after his crucifixion. ... Merlin Ambrosius (Welsh: Merlin Emrys (Merlin the Wise); also known as Myrddin Wyllt (Merlin the Wild), Merlin Caledonensis (Scottish Merlin), Merlinus, and Merlyn) is the personage best known as the mighty wizard featured in Arthurian legends, starting with Geoffrey of Monmouths Historia Regum Britanniae. ... A tetralogy is a compound work that is made up of four (numerical prefix tetra-) distinct works. ... Percival or Perceval is one of King Arthurs legendary Knights of the Round Table. ... King Arthur is an important figure in the mythology of Great Britain, where he appears as the ideal of kingship in both war and peace. ...

Robert de Boron is the first author to give the Holy Grail myth an explicitly Christian dimension. According to him, Joseph of Arimathea used the Grail (the Last supper vessel) to catch the last drops of blood from Jesus's body as he hung on the cross. Joseph's family brought the Grail to Avalon, identified with Glastonbury, where they guarded it until the rise of King Arthur and the coming of Perceval. In Christian mythology, the Holy Grail was the dish, plate, cup or vessel used by Jesus at the Last Supper, said to possess miraculous powers. ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, known by Christians as Jesus Christ, as recounted in the New Testament. ... Joseph of Arimathea, according to the Gospels, was the man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus after his crucifixion. ... This article relates the event related in the New Testament of the Bible, see The Last Supper (disambiguation) for other uses, including a list of famous works of art with this name. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... Avalon (probably from the Celtic word abal: apple; see Etymology below) is a legendary island somewhere in the British Isles, famous for its beautiful apples. ... Map sources for Glastonbury at grid reference ST5039 Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry spot on the Somerset Levels, 30 miles south of Bristol. ...

What we know of his life come from brief mentions in his poems. At one point in Joseph d'Arimathe, he applies to himself the title of meisters (medieval French for "clerk"); later he uses the title messires (medieval French for "knight"). At the end of the same poem, he mentions being in the service of Gautier of "Mont Belyal"; Pierre Le Gentil identifies this noble with one Gautier de Montbéliard (the Lord of Montfaucon), who left in 1202 to take part in the Fourth Crusade, and died in Palestine in 1212. Le Gentil also argues that the mention of Avalon shows that he wrote Joseph d'Arimathe after 1191, when the monks at Glastonbury claimed to have discovered the graves of King Arthur and Guinevere. His family is unknown, though the second author of the Prose Tristan claimed to be Robert's nephew, calling himself "Helie de Boron". This is taken more as an attempt to drop a famous name than a genuine accreditation, however. // Events August 1 - Arthur of Brittany captured in Mirebeau, north of Poitiers Beginning of the Fourth Crusade. ... The Fourth Crusade (1201–1204), originally designed to conquer Jerusalem through an invasion of Egypt, instead, in 1204, invaded and conquered the Eastern Orthodox city of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. ... Map of the British Mandate of Palestine. ... Events The first Great Fire of London burns most of the city to the ground Battle of Navas de Tolosa Childrens crusade Crusaders push the Muslims out of northern Spain In Japan, Kamo no Chōmei writes the Hōjōki, one of the great works of classical Japanese... // Events May 12 - Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre. ... King Arthur is an important figure in the mythology of Great Britain, where he appears as the ideal of kingship in both war and peace. ... Queen Guinevere, by William Morris Guinevere was the Queen consort of King Arthur. ... The Prose Tristan is an adaptation of the Tristan and Iseult story into a long prose romance, and the first to tie the subject entirely into the arc of the Arthurian legend. ...

Although Le Gentil describes him as a "poet endowed with boldness and piety but with mediocre talent", his version of the Grail myth was adopted by almost all of the later writers of the Matter of Britain. Arthurian legend or the Matter of Britain is a name given collectively to the legends that concern the Celtic and legendary history of the British Isles, especially those centering around King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. ...

Resources

• Pierre Le Gentil, "Chapter 19: The Work of Robert de Boron and the Didot Perceval", Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages, A Collaborative History, (ed. R.S. Loomis). Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1959.

External links

• Works by Robert de Boron at Project Gutenberg
• Robert de Boron at Early British Kingdoms