That of the Healer could no longer be adequately
fulfilled by the administration of a medicinal remedy; the relation
of Body and Soul became of cardinal importance for the Drama, the
Medicine Man gave place to the Redeemer; and his task involved more
than the administration of the original Herbal remedy. In fact in
the final development of the story the Pathos is shared alike by the
representative of the Vegetation Spirit, and the Healer, whose task
involves a period of stern testing and probation.
If we wish to understand clearly the evolution of the Grail story
we must realize that the simple Fertility Drama from which it sprung
has undergone a gradual and mysterious change, which has invested it
with elements at once 'rich and strange,' and that though Folk-lore
may be the key to unlock the outer portal of the Grail castle it will
not suffice to give us the entrance to its deeper secrets.
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VIII
While having no connection with the main subject of our study, the
Grail legend, I should like to draw the attention of students of
Medieval literature to the curious parallel between the Rig-Veda poem
of the Medicine Man or Krauter-Lied as it is also called, and
Rusteboeuf's Dist de l'Erberie. Both are monologues, both presuppose
the presence of an audience, in each case the speaker is one who
vaunts his skill in the use of herbs, in each case he has in view the
ultimate gain to himself.
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