Today it is believed by some (such as editors of the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''<ref name=EB/>) that a group of anonymous French Catholic monks wrote the cycle{{dash}}or at least the ''Queste'' part (where, according to Fanni Bogdanow, the text's main purpose is to convince sinners to repent<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Sir Thomas Malory and "The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell" Reconsidered|author=Norris, Ralph|year=2009|journal=Arthuriana|volume=19|issue=2|pages=82–102|doi = 10.1353/art.0.0051|jstor = 27870964|s2cid = 162024940}}</ref>),. The evidence of asthis evidentwould bybe its very [[Cistercians|Cistercian]] spirit of [[Christian mysticism]] (with [[Augustinians|Augustinian]] intrusions<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Augustinian Intrusions in the "Queste del Saint Graal": Converting 'Pagan Gold' to Christian Currency|author=Frese, Dolores Warwick|year=2008|journal=Arthuriana|volume=18|issue=1|pages=3–21|doi = 10.1353/art.2008.0001|jstor = 27870892|doi-access=free}}</ref>), including the Cistercian Saint [[Aelred of Rievaulx]]'s idea of "spiritual friendship" seen in the interactions between the Grail knights ([[Galahad]], [[Percival]], and [[Bors]]).<ref>https://www.jstor.org/stable/24643529</ref> Others doubt this, however, and a compromise theory postulates a more secular writer who had spent some time in a Cistercian monastery.<ref>Karen Pratt, [https://reading.ac.uk/nmsruntime/saveasdialog.aspx?lID=115714&sID=416690 The Cistercians and the Queste del Saint Graal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200831213402/http://www.reading.ac.uk/web/FILES/GCMS/RMS-1995-04_K._Pratt,_The_Cistercians_and_the_Queste_del_Saint_Graal.pdf |date=31 August 2020 }}. King's College, London.</ref> [[Richard Barber]] described the Cistercian theology of the ''Queste'' as unconventional and complex but subtle, noting its success in appealing to the courtly audience accustomed to more secular romances.<ref>{{Cite book |jstor = 10.7722/j.ctt9qdj80.7|chapter = Chivalry, Cistercianism and the Grail|last1 = Barber|first1 = Richard|title = A Companion to the Lancelot-Grail Cycle|year = 2003|pages = 3–12|publisher = Boydell & Brewer|isbn = 9780859917834}}</ref>

The ''Lancelot-Grail Cycle'' may be divided into three<ref name=EB>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Vulgate-cycle|title=Vulgate cycle {{!}} medieval literature|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2018-12-10}}</ref> main branches, although more usually into five,<ref>{{Cite book|url= The Oxford Guide to Arthurian Literature and Legend - Alan Lupack - Google Books https://books.google.com/books?id=D8nAQgAACAAJ|title=The Oxford Guide to Arthurian Literature and Legend |last=Lupack|first=Alan|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2005|isbn=978-0-19-280287-3 |language=en}}</ref> with the romances ''Queste'' and ''Mort'' regarded as separate from the Vulgate ''Lancelot'' (the latter possibly initially standalone in the original so-called "short version").<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.lancelot-project.pitt.edu/LG-web/TheStory-Outline.htm|title=The Story: Outline of the Lancelot-Grail Romance|website=www.lancelot-project.pitt.edu|access-date=2019-06-09}}</ref> In particular, the ''Lancelot'', the ''Queste'' and the ''Morte'' are 'so divergent fromas theto ''Lancelot''leave that there is 'no doubt that they are the work of different authors'.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.co.ukcom/books/about/The_Death_of_King_Arthur.html?id=Jr4a3Je-k_0C&redir_esc=y |title=The Death of King Arthur |last=Cable|first=James|publisher=Penguin Books|year=1971|isbn=978-0-14-044255-7 |language=en}}</ref> The story of Lancelot was actually the first to be written (beginning {{Circa|1210–1215}}).<ref name=EB/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195396584/obo-9780195396584-0216.xml|title=Lancelot-Grail Cycle - Medieval Studies - Oxford Bibliographies - obo|website=www.oxfordbibliographies.com|language=en|access-date=2019-06-09}}</ref> The stories of Joseph and Merlin joined the cycle late (before {{Circa|1235}}), serving as "prequels" to the main story.{{sfn|Lacy|2010|p=6}}

The cycle has a narrative structure close to that of a modern novel in which multiple overlapping events featuring different characters may simultaneously develop in parallel and intertwine with each other through the technique known as interlace (French: ''entrelacement''). Narrative interlacing is most prominent in the ''Queste'', anda would[[interlacing bein The Lord of the Rings|literary technique]] used by modern authors such as [[J. R. R. Tolkien]], as detailed in the article [[interlacing in The Lord of the Rings|interlacing in ''The Lord of the Rings'']].

The '''Vulgate ''Estoire del Saint Graal''''' (''Story of the Holy Grail'') is the religious tale of early Christian [[Joseph of Arimathea]] and how his son [[Josephus of Arimathea|Josephus]] brought the [[Holy Grail]] to Britain from the [[Holy Land]]. Set several centuries prior to the main story, it is derived from Robert de Boron's poem ''{{ill|Joseph d'Arimathie (poem)|lt=Joseph d'Arimathie|fr|Joseph d'Arimathie (roman)}}'' with new characters and episodes added.

The '''Vulgate''' '''''Estoire de Merlin''''' (''Story of Merlin''), or just the '''Vulgate ''Merlin''''', concerns [[Merlin]]'s complicated conception and childhood and the early life of [[King Arthur|Arthur]], which Merlin has influence over. It is a redaction of the [[Merlin (Robert de Boron poem)|Prose ''Merlin'']], itself a conversion of Robert de Boron's poem by the same title. It can be divided into:

The cycle's centerpiece part '''''Lancelot en prose''''', also known the '''''Estoire de Lancelot''''' (''Story of Lancelot'') or '''''Le Livre de Lancelot du Lac''''' (''The Life of Lancelot of the Lake''), follows the adventures of the eponymous hero as well as many other [[Knights of the Round Table]] during the later years of King Arthur's reign up until itsthe appearance of end[[Galahad]] followingand the start of the Grail Quest. The separate parts of the ''Lancelot''–''Queste''–''Mort Artu'' trilogy isdiffer madegreatly of three mainin sectionstone, of which tone the first (composed {{Circa|1215–1220}}) can be characterized as colorful, the second ({{Circa|1220–1225}}) as pious, and the third ({{Circa|1225–1230}}) as sober:<ref name=":5" />{{sfn|Lacy|2010|p=8}}

* The '''Vulgate ''Lancelot propre''''' ('''''Lancelot Proper'''''), also known as '''''Le Roman de Lancelot''''' (''The Novel of Lancelot'') or just '''''Lancelot du Lac''''', is the longest part, making up fully half of the entire cycle.{{sfn|Lacy|2010|p=6}} It is inspired by and in part based on Chrétien's poem ''[[Lancelot, le Chevalier de la Charrette]]'' (''Lancelot, or the Knight of the Cart'').<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.lancelot-project.pitt.edu/LG-web/What-is-LG.html|title=What is the Lancelot-Grail?|website=www.lancelot-project.pitt.edu|access-date=2019-06-09}}</ref> It primarily deals with a series of episodes of [[Lancelot]]'s early life and with the [[courtly love]] between him and Queen [[Guinevere]], as well as his deep friendship with [[Galehaut]], interlaced with the adventures of Gawain and other knights such as [[Yvain]], [[Hector de Maris|Hector]], [[Sir Lionel|Lionel]], and [[Bors]]. The ''Lancelot Proper'' is regarded as having been written first in the cycle.{{sfn|Dover|2003|p=87}} The actual [''Conte de la''] ''Charrette'' ("[Tale of the] Cart"), an incorporation of a prose rendition of Chrétien's poem, spans only a small part of the Vulgate text.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5149/9781469658629_weigand.4|jstor=10.5149/9781469658629_weigand|doi=10.5149/9781469658629_weigand|title=Three Chapters on Courtly Love in Arthurian France and Germany|year=1956|isbn=9781469658629|last1=Weigand|first1=Hermann J.|volume=17|publisher=University of North Carolina Press}}</ref> Due to its length, modern scholars often divide the ''Lancelot'' into various sub-sections, including the ''Enfances Lancelot'' ("Lancelot's youth") or ''Galehaut'' (sometimes ''Galeaut''), further split between the ''Charrette'' and its follow-up the ''Suite de la Charette'' (''Continuation of the Charrette''); the ''Agravain'' (named after Gawain's brother [[Agravain]]); and the ''Preparation for the Quest'' linking the previous ones.{{sfn|Lie|1987|p=14}}{{sfn|Brandsma|2010|p=11}}<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eDdZMging60C&pg=PA246|title=The Legacy of Chrétien de Troyes: Chrétien et ses contemporains|last1=Lacy|first1=Norris J.|last2=Kelly|first2=Douglas|last3=Busby|first3=Keith|date=1987|publisher=Rodopi|isbn=9789062037384|language=en}}</ref><ref>Chase & Norris, p. 26-27.</ref> It was perhaps originally an independent romance that would begin with Lancelot's birth and finish with a happy ending for him, discovering his true identity and receiving a kiss from Guinevere when he confesses his love for her.<ref name=":0" />{{sfn|Brandsma|2010|p=15}} [[Elspeth Kennedy]] identified the possible non-cyclic Prose ''Lancelot'' in an early manuscript known as the [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b52505520s/f1.image BNF fr. 768]. It is about three times shorter than the later editions and notably the Grail Quest (usually taking place later) is mentioned within the text as already having been completed by Perceval alone.{{sfn|Dover|2003|p=87}}{{sfn|Sunderland|2010|p=98}}{{sfn|Brandsma|2010|p=4}}

The '''Vulgate ''Queste del Saint Graal''''' ('''''Quest for the Holy Grail'''''), also known as '''''Les Aventures ou La Queste del Saint Graal''''' (''The Adventures or The Quest for the Holy Grail'') or just the '''Vulgate ''Queste''''', is, like the ''Estoire del Saint Graal'', another highly religious part of the cycle. It relates how the Grail Quest is undertaken by various knights including [[Perceval]] and Bors, and achieved by Lancelot's son [[Galahad]], the perfect holy knight who here replaces both Lancelot and Perceval as the chosen hero.{{sfn|Lacy|2010|p=6}} Their interlacing adventures are purported to be narrated by Bors, the witness of these events after the deaths of Galahad and Perceval.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FY3P_DUGTyAC&pg=PA50|title=Arthurian Literature XXV|last1=Archibald|first1=Elizabeth|last2=Johnson|first2=David F.|date=2008|publisher=Boydell & Brewer Ltd|isbn=9781843841715|language=en}}</ref> It is the most innovative part of the cycle as it was not derived from any known earlier stories, including the creation of the character of Galahad as a major new Arthurian hero.

The '''Vulgate ''Mort le roi Artu''''' ('''''Death of King Arthur'''''), also known as '''''La Mort le Roy Artus''''' or just the '''Vulgate ''Mort Artu''''' / '''''La Mort Artu''''', a tragic account of further wars culminating in the king and his illegitimate son [[Mordred]] killing each other in a near-complete rewrite of the Arthurian chronicle tradition from the works of [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] and his redactors. It is also connected with the so-called "Mort Artu" epilogue section of the {{ill|Didot Perceval|fr|Perceval en prose|lt=Didot ''Perceval''}}, a text uncertainly attributed to Robert de Boron, and which itself was based on [[Wace]]'s ''[[Roman de Brut]]''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ywEEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA294|title=The Arthur of the French: The Arthurian Legend in Medieval French and Occitan Literature|date=15 October 2020|publisher=University of Wales Press|isbn=9781786837431 |via=Google Books}}</ref> In a new motif, the ruin of Arthur's kingdom is presented as the disastrous direct consequence of the sin of Lancelot's and Guinevere's adulterous affair.{{sfn|Lacy|2010|p=6}} Lancelot eventually dies too, as do the other protagonists who did not die in the ''Queste'', leaving only Bors as a survivor of the Round Table. The mortally wounded Arthur is put on a barge commanded by his sister, [[Morgan le Fay|Morgan]], and taken to an uncertain destiny.

As the stories of the cycle were immensely popular in medieval France and neighboring countries between the beginning of the 13th and the beginning of the 16th century, they survived in some two hundred manuscripts in various forms<ref name=":2" />{{sfn|Dover|2003|p=219}} (not counting printed books since the late 15th century, starting with anJean le Bourgeois and Jean Dupré's edition of the ''Lancelot'' printed in Paris in 1488). The Lancelot-Graal Project website lists (and links to the scans of many of them) close to 150 manuscripts in French,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lancelot-project.pitt.edu/LG-web/Arthur-LG-ChronGeog.html|title=Lancelot-Grail Manuscripts- Chronology and Geographical Distribution|website=www.lancelot-project.pitt.edu|access-date=2019-06-09}}</ref> some fragmentary, others, such as [[British Library]] Add MS 10292–10294, containing the entire cycle. Besides the British Library, scans of various manuscripts can be seen online through digital library websites of the [[Bibliothèque Nationale de France]]'s Gallica<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://expositions.bnf.fr/arthur/gallica/index.htm|title=BnF - La légende du roi Arthur: Manuscrits numérisées|website=expositions.bnf.fr|access-date=2019-06-12|language=fr}}</ref> (including these from the [[Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal]]) and the [[University of Oxford]]'s Digital Bodleian; many illustrations can also be found at the IRHT's Initiale project.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://initiale.irht.cnrs.fr/|title=Initiale|website=initiale.irht.cnrs.fr|access-date=2019-06-12}}</ref> The earliest copies are of French origin and date from 1220 to 1230.