Perceval encounters five armored knights in a forest and, captivated by their armor, decides to seek King Arthur's court.

Perceval's mother gives him rules of chivalry and then collapses in despair as he rides away.

Perceval arrives at King Arthur's court and is mocked by Sir Kay for his rustic appearance and presumption.

Perceval defeats the Red Knight in single combat and claims the man's red armor for himself.

Gornemant of Gohort trains Perceval in knighthood and formally confers the order of knighthood upon him.

Blancheflor visits Perceval at night to reveal the full extent of her castle's siege by Clamadeu's forces.

Perceval defeats Clamadeu in single combat and sends him as a prisoner to King Arthur's court.

Perceval meets the injured Fisher King fishing on a river and follows him to a mysterious castle.

Perceval fails to ask about the bleeding lance and radiant grail carried through the Fisher King's hall during dinner.

Perceval's cousin in the forest reveals that his silence at the Fisher King's castle could have healed the king.

Perceval defeats Sir Kay in combat and is brought by Gawain back to King Arthur's court.

The Ugly Maiden rebukes Perceval at court for his silence; Guinganbresil arrives and charges Gawain with treason.

Gawain is trapped and besieged in a tower at Escavalon after being recognized as the killer of the former king.

Guinganbresil negotiates a one-year reprieve for Gawain and charges him with seeking the mystical bleeding lance.

Perceval confesses to a hermit who reveals himself as Perceval's uncle and explains the true meaning of the grail.

Perceval, a sheltered Welsh youth, abandons his mother to seek King Arthur's court and quickly proves his prowess by defeating the Red Knight and claiming his armor. After training under Gornemant and rescuing Blancheflor's realm from siege, Perceval visits the Fisher King's mysterious castle and fatally fails to ask about a bleeding lance and a radiant grail. His cousin later reveals that his silence could have healed the Fisher King, and that his mother has died of grief. Perceval returns to Arthur's court, defeats Kay, and is welcomed, but the Ugly Maiden arrives to rebuke him for his failure while Guinganbresil charges Gawain with treason. Gawain sets out on his own quest, survives a siege at Escavalon, and earns a one-year reprieve before being sent on a seemingly impossible quest for the bleeding lance. The story reaches a spiritual turning point when Perceval confesses to a hermit uncle who finally reveals the secret meaning of the grail.

Perceval's rise from ignorant youth to knight, and Gawain's quest for honor.

Perceval enters a tent thinking it is a chapel, kisses a sleeping woman without consent, and takes her ring.

The Proud Knight returns to the tent and condemns the woman to public shame, vowing to find Perceval.

King Arthur predicts Perceval could become a great knight but will likely perish from his ignorance and impulsiveness.

A young woman at Arthur's court cheerfully predicts Perceval's greatness; Sir Kay slaps her for showing him support.

Perceval sends a message via the squire promising to one day avenge Sir Kay's slap on the young woman.

Gornemant instructs Perceval in the use of weapons and in the moral rules of chivalric knighthood.

Perceval arrives at Blancheflor's ruined, depopulated castle with empty fields and a town in disrepair.

Perceval defeats Anguingueron in single combat and sends him as a prisoner to King Arthur's court.

Grain barges arrive to relieve Blancheflor's siege just as Clamadeu prepares another assault on the castle.

Perceval wakes to find the Fisher King's castle completely empty and rides away frustrated and confused.

Perceval encounters the Proud Knight of the Moor and the degraded woman from the tent and defeats the knight.

Perceval stands transfixed in the snow, staring at drops of blood on the ground that remind him of Blancheflor.

Sagremore rides out to confront the transfixed Perceval standing in the snowy field and is defeated.

Gawain defeats Meliant in the tournament at Tiebaut's castle and defends the younger daughter's honor.

Gawain retrieves the palfrey of the so-called evil maiden from a field despite warnings from bystanders and a large knight.

Perceval's adventures begin with a series of blunders, including his disastrous intrusion into a sleeping woman's tent and his awkward debut at King Arthur's court, where a young woman predicts his greatness before Kay slaps her. His early victories over Anguingueron and Clamadeu are shown from the perspective of Arthur's court, where Kay faces repeated humiliation as prisoners arrive with messages of warning. The aftermath of the Fisher King's castle shows Perceval waking to emptiness, and later stumbling across the humiliated tent woman and her abusive companion again. Perceval then stands entranced by blood on snow, enduring two more duels before Gawain finally brings him to court. Gawain's own adventures show him defeating Meliant at tournament and setting off on a path that leads him to retrieve a palfrey for the strange evil maiden, setting the stage for the dangerous final section of the poem.

The smaller moments and supporting scenes that shape both knights' journeys.

Perceval's mother reveals the deaths of his father and brothers to explain her deep fears about him pursuing knighthood.

The Fisher King presents Perceval with a specially crafted sword as a gift during the evening meal.

A squire carries a white lance dripping drops of crimson blood through the hall of the Fisher King's castle.

A maiden carries a radiant jeweled grail through the hall during dinner; Perceval never asks whom it serves.

Perceval's cousin reveals that his mother has died of grief following his abandonment of her.

After the Ugly Maiden's rebuke, Perceval pledges to seek the grail's meaning rather than joining other knightly quests.

Tiebaut's younger daughter personally pleads with Gawain to fight in her defense; he agrees to be her knight.

A nobleman in Escavalon recognizes Gawain and reveals to the king's sister that Gawain killed her father.

Greoreas, healed by Gawain's care, immediately steals Gawain's horse in revenge the moment he recovers.

Travelers on Good Friday rebuke the armed Perceval for bearing weapons on that holy day and direct him to a nearby hermit.

The hermit reveals that Perceval's abandonment of his mother is the root sin behind his failure at the Fisher King's castle.

Gawain sits on the Wondrous Bed and survives a storm of arrows and a lion attack, breaking the castle's enchantment.

The Guiromelant reveals to Gawain that the women in the enchanted castle are his own grandmother, mother, and sister.

Gawain reveals his identity to the Guiromelant, who proposes a formal duel to be witnessed by Arthur's entire court.

The evil maiden repents and reconciles with Gawain after the Guiromelant reveals the painful backstory behind her behavior.

The story's deepest revelations begin when Perceval's mother warns him of his family's tragic history with knighthood, establishing the ignorance that will define his early adventures. At the Fisher King's castle, the specific spectacles of the bleeding lance and radiant grail pass before Perceval without prompting a single question, a silence that his cousin later reveals has cost his mother her life. After the Ugly Maiden's rebuke, Perceval makes a defining pledge to pursue the grail's meaning above all other quests, while Gawain's narrative turns on the dramatic recognition scene at Escavalon and the treacherous theft of his horse by Greoreas. A chance encounter with travelers on Good Friday sends Perceval to a hermit who reveals the full truth of his family's hidden connections and the meaning behind his suffering. The poem's final revelations come as Gawain breaks the enchantment of the Wondrous Bed, learns his grandmother and mother reside in the mysterious castle, and confronts the Guiromelant in a scene left unresolved by the poem's unfinished ending.