The reader who chiefly knows the King Arthur legend through the work of Thomas Malory — or, worse, through any of the large number of lesser derivatives — does himself a great disservice. The original in this case — as is often the case — is the best, and it does, in fact, feature — in Chretien de Troyes — one who is perhaps the most underrated author in the entirety of the Western Canon. The proper Arthurian canon, then, in its in-universe order:
- The History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth (1136)
- This work by Geoffrey — itself highly underrated in the Western Canon, if one considers the effect it had — is not so much a part of our series as it is an introduction into the world that Chretien, with his coming romances, made his own.
- Joseph of Arimathea by Robert de Boron (1195)
- Merlin by Robert de Boron (1200)
- These two works by Robert were written just after the death of Chretien, and they serve as prequels that ground Chretien’s five romances in the wider canons of both Geoffrey’s world and the Bible.
- Eric and Enide by Chretien de Troyes (1170)
- Cliges by Chretien de Troyes (1176)
- Yvain, The Knight of the Lion by Chretien de Troyes (1180)
- Lancelot, The Knight of the Cart by Chretien de Troyes (1180)
- Perceval, The Story of the Grail by Chretien de Troyes (1190)
- First Continuation to Perceval (1200)
- This first continuation to Perceval, which had been left incomplete at the time of Chretien’s death, carries on the story while also acting as a sequel to the world of Chretien’s work. It has been attributed to Wauchier, author of the second continuation, but it seems more likely that its author is not known. It does, however, represent sequel at its highest quality.
- Second Continuation to Perceval by Wauchier de Denain (1205)
- This second continuation to Perceval takes up where the first left off, but it returns the narrative focus to Perceval — the first continuation focuses almost entirely on Gawain. Further continuations follow, but they are, after this, rather messy in that they were not written with knowledge of the others, and the narrative can — for now — be sensibly ended here.
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