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Similar Pellinore, Sir Tor, Sir Breunor, Sagra, Hector de Maris | ||
Dindrane (or Dandrane, Danbrann, Dandrenor, Dindraine, etc.) is a character in the Old French Grail romance Perlesvaus, an anonymous prose adaptation of (and sequel to) Chrétien de Troyes' great unfinished work Percival, or The Story of the Grail. A sister of King Arthur's knight Percival, who rescues her from an evil kidnapper, Dandrane lives out her days as a maiden in the Grail Castle, together with her mother (Yglais, herself a sister of King Pelles and widow of Alain "the Large", lord of the valley and castle of Kamaalot) and brother (Perlesvaus/Percival).
"Grail heroine"
Contrary to popular notion, Dandrane in the 13th-century Perlesvaus, or The High Book of the Holy Grail is not the sister of Percival who dies helping him (with Galahad and Bors) achieve the Holy Grail. This distinct latter character appears, unnamed, in the Vulgate Queste del Saint Graal (Quest for the Holy Grail) and its successors—and in the same context as Agresizia in the 14th-century Italian novella La Tavola Ritonda (The Round Table).
Though frequently left unnamed, Perceval's sister is a prominent figure in many of the Grail romances, sometimes dubbed the "Grail heroine". The maiden is first encountered upon her brother (sometimes half-brother)'s return to their mother's castle, where she tells him that their mother has died. Percival leaves her in the care of their hermit uncle (or in other sources, at the Castle of Maidens). She later meets up with Percival, Galahad and Bors, telling them who she is (she does not mention her name prior to this). She proceeds to inform them of the Sword of the Strange Belt, the magical Ship of Solomon, the Tree of Life, and other aspects of her destiny.
The travellers board the Ship of Solomon, intent to complete the mystical Grail quest. After leaving the ship, they encounter a castle with a leprous mistress; told that only the blood of a maiden princess can cure the chatelaine's leprosy, Percival's sister opts to donate hers, but succumbs to the blood loss and dies.
As per her dying wish, the damsel's body is set adrift in a boat (without a crew) to float to the holy city of Sarras. In some versions, Lancelot (Galahad's father) finds her vessel and buries her in Palais Esperitel; in others, she is interred by Galahad and Bors when they land at the port of Sarras (after which they proceed to win the Grail).