The Post-Vulgate Cycle is a cycle of literary novels, composed between 1230 and 1240. It is essentially a rehandling of the earlier Vulgate Cycle (also known as the Lancelot-Grail Cycle), with with some significant changes, including material from the Prose Tristan, de-emphasis on the love affair between Lancelot and Guinevere in favor of the Quest for the Holy Grail. It does not survive complete, but has been reconstructed from French, Castilian Spanish, and Portuguese fragments.
They are integral parts of the cycle of post-Vulgata: This cycle of works was one of the most important sources of Thomas Malory's Le Morte d’Arthur. The work is divided into four sections.
- The Estoire del Saint Grail, which did not differ significantly from the Vulgate version. It tells the story of Joseph of Arimathea and his son Josephus, who brings the Holy Grail to Britain.
- The Estoire de Merlin (also called the Vulgate or Prose Merlin), which also bears few changes from the Vulgate. It concerns Merlin and the early history of King Arthur. To this section is added the Post-Vulgate Suite du Merlin, also known as the Huth-Merlin, the first departure from the source material. It adds many adventures of Arthur and the early Knights of the Round Table, and includes details about Arthur's incestuous begetting of Mordred and receiving Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake that are not found in the Vulgate. The author added some relevant material from the Vulgate's Lancelot Proper section and the first version of the Prose Tristan to connect the events to the Queste section.
- The Queste del Saint Graal. The Post-Vulgate Queste is very different in tone and content from the Vulgate version, but still describes the knights' search for the Holy Grail, which can only be achieved by the worthy knights Galahad, Percival, and Bors. Elements from the Prose Tristan are present, including the character Palamedes and King Mark's invasions of Arthur's realm.
- The Mort Artu, concerning Arthur's death at the hands of his son Mordred and the collapse of his kingdom. It is closely based on the Vulgate Mort but was written with greater connectivity to the previous sections.
See also the Post-Vulgate (charts)