Faery Gates of Avalon- review

The Faery Gates of Avalon, Gareth Knight's most recent work, is an invaluable guide to the meaning and power of the
faery tradition as it appears in the main works of the mediaeval trouvére (perhaps best translated as "seeker and finder")
Chrétien de Troyes. Though widely recognised as the first of the Grail romanciers, Chrétien also wrote into his poetic tales
a large amount of material dealing with the Realm of Faery. Sometimes, as in Erec and Enide, this material is concealed,
whereas in other tales the faery elements are clearly visible.

The Faery Gates of Avalon opens with a brief introduction to Chrétien, his life and associations with the faery tradition,
and to how some of his tales are connected to Welsh redactions in the Mabinogion.

Then follows a summary of the main scenes in four of Chrétien's works: Erec and Enide, Lancelot and Guenevere (or
Knight of the Cart), Yvain (Knight of the Lion) and Le Conte du Graal. The latter is given two chapters devoted to Perceval
and Gawain, respectively, who are the two major hero figures in the tale. In addition to the clear and concise summaries,
each of these chapters contains masterful insight into the main images and magical sequences of Chrétien's faery world.

Gareth Knight's book is no mere theoretical treatise, however, but a highly practical work, something perhaps missed by
those who've come to expect "exercises" in every book. As Gareth says, Chrétien's "romances can act, not merely as
works of reference on faery tradition, but as devices for tuning consciousness toward reception of such contacts
ourselves." In order to achieve this tuning, it is useful to read Chrétien's text in conjunction with Gareth's book. Gareth
Knight is a long-time student of mediaeval French and thus is capable of reading Chrétien's verse in the original, but for
those looking for good English translations, he recommends (in a private email) the highly accessible Arthurian
Romances translated by William W. Kibler and published by Penguin Classics in 1991.

Additional practical help is given in the final two chapters of The Faery Gates. Chapter Seven deals with the key
characters, locations and situations in Chrétien's faery realm. Here we read of the significance of questing heroes, faery
partners, helpers and guides, guardians and adversaries, and mystery centres and their custodians. Chapter Eight,
entitled "Reopening the Faery Gates" presents a visionary sequence that can be followed in meditation, but which is
open-ended in a way that allows each of us to create our own "continuation", just as Chrétien's unfinished Conte du Graal
sparked a number of literary continuations.

Chrétien falls into the long line of initiate-poets and authors whose ranks include Homer, Apuleius, and Dion Fortune. His
narrative visions of the land of faery present a series of transformative, initiatory scenarios that can be entered in waking
dream-vision and drawn upon according to our level of skill and experience.

No matter what level we are at, however, Gareth Knight's Faery Gates of Avalon stands alone as the definitive guide to our
journeys.