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Available
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Blackwell Publishers (1970), Hardcover, 32 pages
User reviews
LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26
A Breton Grail Quest is retold in this picture-book from French illustrator Monique Michel-Dansac, originally published in 1969. Young Peronnique, an orphan boy who lives on the kindness of others until he finds regular work with a local farmer, learns of a knight's quest to find Kerglas Castle,
Unlike the friend who recommended this one to me - thank you, Gundula! - I had not encountered this story before, although I am very happy to read it now. An engaging quest tale, and an example to Grail Lore (that much is obvious), it is apparently connected to the Parsifal legend. It follows a particular kind of formula, in which the hero learns of an impossible goal, which he then decides to pursue, encountering a series of tests and challenges along the way. I was impressed that in this example from Brittany the hero is a humble young boy, rather than a nobleman or the son of a king, and I enjoyed reading the story. The artwork by Monique Michel-Dansac wasn't in a style that particularly appeals to me - I found some of the vivid purple and orange hues unattractive - but somehow complemented the tale, for all that. I see that this story has also been retold in Peronnik, which I may have to track down as well, in order to see how it has been interpreted by a different artist.
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and to win back the Lance and Cup stolen by the wicked wizard Rogear from the king. Watching for Rogear from this time forward, Peronnique gathers the things he will need to pass the various tests and trials he must face in order to succeed in the quest himself. Capturing the wizard's foal one day, Peronnique follows after Rogear, winning the apple that will make him mortal and the Smiling Flower that will open the gates of Kerglas Castle. Conquering the many dragons in the lake he must cross, evading the giant with six eyes, and resisting the temptation of the valley with abundant food, Peronnique meets up with Lady Pest, and together they defeat Rogear. It falls to the young hero to find the Lance and Cup and to return them to the king, whereupon he is given a quest of a different kind...Unlike the friend who recommended this one to me - thank you, Gundula! - I had not encountered this story before, although I am very happy to read it now. An engaging quest tale, and an example to Grail Lore (that much is obvious), it is apparently connected to the Parsifal legend. It follows a particular kind of formula, in which the hero learns of an impossible goal, which he then decides to pursue, encountering a series of tests and challenges along the way. I was impressed that in this example from Brittany the hero is a humble young boy, rather than a nobleman or the son of a king, and I enjoyed reading the story. The artwork by Monique Michel-Dansac wasn't in a style that particularly appeals to me - I found some of the vivid purple and orange hues unattractive - but somehow complemented the tale, for all that. I see that this story has also been retold in Peronnik, which I may have to track down as well, in order to see how it has been interpreted by a different artist.
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LibraryThing member gundulabaehre
Peronnique (or Peronnik as he is more commonly known) is a poor orphan with no home. But he does have courage, ingenuity and common sense. When he hears that the wicked sorcerer Rogear has stolen a powerful lance and cup from the king, he plans to defeat Rogear and retrieve the king's stolen
Peronnique: A Celtic Folk Tale from Brittany is considered to be a Breton grail story, a tale where the hero is a simple, but sensible, clever boy, and not the usual knight of noble birth. According to the brief and rather sparse notes located on the side flaps of the dust cover (and my own independent research on the internet, as the former did not provide nearly enough information to satisfy my own folkloric interest), the story originated among the Celtic peoples of Brittany and was first recorded in the early part of the 19th century by Émile Souvestre (it is included in Souvestre's Le Foyer Breton and most other versions of the Peronnik story, including The Castle of Kerglas in Andrew Lang's The Violet Fairy Book seem to be based on Émile Souvestre's version of the tale). There is actually some doubt wether the story of Peronnik should be considered an actual folktale, as a few folklore experts wonder wether the tale was, in fact, invented by Émile Souvestre. For most scholars however, the story of "Peronnik" is considered to be a "primitive" Breton version of the Parsifal tale (although Peronnik does not make the same types of mistakes as the latter, he is much less of a "fool" than Parsifal). While in other versions of this tale, Peronnik's future career as a knight (maybe even a grail knight) is described in detail, Peronnique: A Celtic Folk Tale from Brittany just alludes to that future at the very end, as most of the story concentrates on his quest to retrieve the lance and cup.
Peronnique: A Celtic Folk Tale from Brittany is basically a typical hero's quest story (a grail quest). A simple, but courageous, witty and above all sensible young orphan succeeds in overcoming seven (the magic number seven) deadly obstacles on his way to Kerglas Castle, and most of these magical obstacles are surmounted not by the use of magic, but by intelligence, cleverness and just plain common sense. What I find very interesting is that the sorcerer Rogear is actually surprisingly mundane and inactive. He relies almost entirely on the protection of his magical obstacles and does not even suspect that Peronnique (and by extension Lady Pest) might be the instrument(s) of his downfall and demise. Rogear can perhaps be seen as a supernatural opponent, but an opponent who relies exclusively on the magical obstacles he has set up for his protection, an opponent who fails when faced with and confronted by simple cleverness. Thus, the ferocious lion with his mane of poisonous serpents is defeated not by magic, but by his own curiosity and greed (he sticks his head into the bag of feathers and glue Peronnique has prepared), and Peronnique overcomes the urge to eat the magical, but deadly food spread out in front of him by filling his nose with the scent of rancid, evil-smelling fat.
I had a copy of this very picture book (but in German translation) when I was a child. The story is called Florian und der Zauberer in German (Florian and the Magician), and it was one of my very favourite picture books (one of my very favourite folktales), mostly because Florian (Peronnique, Peronnik) was able to use his wits and common sense to achieve his goals, that he was able to defeat a powerful sorcerer without making use of hardly any magic. But for me, the figure of Lady Pest (she of the deadly touch, who finally kills the magician Rogear after he has been made mortal by eating the apple of mortality, which is interesting in itself, as more often than not, one reads about apples of inmortality) was and is even more special, even more poignant a character. Lady Pest clearly demonstrates a positive female fairy and folktale role, and although her touch is deadly, she is not forbidding, she is not an object or agent of evil. However, I have always felt and even today feel more than a bit sorry for her (it must be both difficult and sad to be cursed with and by a deadly touch, she can never receive even a simple handshake); I have always loved the figure of Lady Pest, but she and her role have always saddened me somewhat as well (I often wish that she could have lost her deadly touch, that she might have become Peronnique's foster mother or wife).
About Monique Michel-Dasac's illustrations, I loved these as a child and still find them simply wonderful (they are both colourful and expressive and look delightfully 70ish, especially the hairdos of Lady Pest and Peronnique); they are a perfect complement to and mirror of the text, although some of the depictions, such as the lion with its snaking hair might be a bit frightening for younger children (who might also be somewhat taken aback by Lady Pest's green face). I would probably recommend Peronnique: A Celtic Folk Tale from Brittany for and to children above the age of six or seven. The text is easy enough to understand and the themes of death and potential danger notwithstanding, not all that frightening. There is however, quite a lot of narrative and some of the words and expressions might be a bit advanced for very young children.
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treasures from Kerglas Castle (although he has been warned that countless knights have failed in this very endeavour).Peronnique: A Celtic Folk Tale from Brittany is considered to be a Breton grail story, a tale where the hero is a simple, but sensible, clever boy, and not the usual knight of noble birth. According to the brief and rather sparse notes located on the side flaps of the dust cover (and my own independent research on the internet, as the former did not provide nearly enough information to satisfy my own folkloric interest), the story originated among the Celtic peoples of Brittany and was first recorded in the early part of the 19th century by Émile Souvestre (it is included in Souvestre's Le Foyer Breton and most other versions of the Peronnik story, including The Castle of Kerglas in Andrew Lang's The Violet Fairy Book seem to be based on Émile Souvestre's version of the tale). There is actually some doubt wether the story of Peronnik should be considered an actual folktale, as a few folklore experts wonder wether the tale was, in fact, invented by Émile Souvestre. For most scholars however, the story of "Peronnik" is considered to be a "primitive" Breton version of the Parsifal tale (although Peronnik does not make the same types of mistakes as the latter, he is much less of a "fool" than Parsifal). While in other versions of this tale, Peronnik's future career as a knight (maybe even a grail knight) is described in detail, Peronnique: A Celtic Folk Tale from Brittany just alludes to that future at the very end, as most of the story concentrates on his quest to retrieve the lance and cup.
Peronnique: A Celtic Folk Tale from Brittany is basically a typical hero's quest story (a grail quest). A simple, but courageous, witty and above all sensible young orphan succeeds in overcoming seven (the magic number seven) deadly obstacles on his way to Kerglas Castle, and most of these magical obstacles are surmounted not by the use of magic, but by intelligence, cleverness and just plain common sense. What I find very interesting is that the sorcerer Rogear is actually surprisingly mundane and inactive. He relies almost entirely on the protection of his magical obstacles and does not even suspect that Peronnique (and by extension Lady Pest) might be the instrument(s) of his downfall and demise. Rogear can perhaps be seen as a supernatural opponent, but an opponent who relies exclusively on the magical obstacles he has set up for his protection, an opponent who fails when faced with and confronted by simple cleverness. Thus, the ferocious lion with his mane of poisonous serpents is defeated not by magic, but by his own curiosity and greed (he sticks his head into the bag of feathers and glue Peronnique has prepared), and Peronnique overcomes the urge to eat the magical, but deadly food spread out in front of him by filling his nose with the scent of rancid, evil-smelling fat.
I had a copy of this very picture book (but in German translation) when I was a child. The story is called Florian und der Zauberer in German (Florian and the Magician), and it was one of my very favourite picture books (one of my very favourite folktales), mostly because Florian (Peronnique, Peronnik) was able to use his wits and common sense to achieve his goals, that he was able to defeat a powerful sorcerer without making use of hardly any magic. But for me, the figure of Lady Pest (she of the deadly touch, who finally kills the magician Rogear after he has been made mortal by eating the apple of mortality, which is interesting in itself, as more often than not, one reads about apples of inmortality) was and is even more special, even more poignant a character. Lady Pest clearly demonstrates a positive female fairy and folktale role, and although her touch is deadly, she is not forbidding, she is not an object or agent of evil. However, I have always felt and even today feel more than a bit sorry for her (it must be both difficult and sad to be cursed with and by a deadly touch, she can never receive even a simple handshake); I have always loved the figure of Lady Pest, but she and her role have always saddened me somewhat as well (I often wish that she could have lost her deadly touch, that she might have become Peronnique's foster mother or wife).
About Monique Michel-Dasac's illustrations, I loved these as a child and still find them simply wonderful (they are both colourful and expressive and look delightfully 70ish, especially the hairdos of Lady Pest and Peronnique); they are a perfect complement to and mirror of the text, although some of the depictions, such as the lion with its snaking hair might be a bit frightening for younger children (who might also be somewhat taken aback by Lady Pest's green face). I would probably recommend Peronnique: A Celtic Folk Tale from Brittany for and to children above the age of six or seven. The text is easy enough to understand and the themes of death and potential danger notwithstanding, not all that frightening. There is however, quite a lot of narrative and some of the words and expressions might be a bit advanced for very young children.
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Language
Original publication date
1970-03-20
Physical description
32 p.; 11.2 inches
ISBN
0631124802 / 9780631124801
Local notes
A clever but poor boy devises a method to recapture the king's stolen goods from the wicked wizard.