How at the Castle of Corbin a Maiden Bare in the Sangreal and Foretold the Achievements of Galahad: illustration by Arthur Rackham, 1917

According to Christian mythology, the Holy Grail was the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper, said to possess miraculous powers. The connection of Joseph of Arimathea with the Grail legend dates from Robert de Boron's Joseph d'Arimathie (late 12th century) in which Joseph receives the Grail from an apparition of Jesus and sends it with his followers to Great Britain; building upon this theme, later writers recounted how Joseph used the Grail to catch Christ's blood while interring him and that in Britain he founded a line of guardians to keep it safe. The quest for the Holy Grail makes up an important segment of the Arthurian cycle, appearing first in works by Chrétien de Troyes.^[1] The legend may combine Christian lore with a Celtic myth of a cauldron endowed with special powers. Holy Grail can refer to: The Holy Grail, a mystical object in the Arthurian legend Holy Grail (song), a song by Hunters & Collectors. ... Grail may refer to: Holy Grail Grail (web browser) The grail community of Pinner, England is a group of Catholic women, who have translated the Psalms in a renowned version. ... Image File history File links Sangreal. ... Image File history File links Sangreal. ... An illustration from Alices Adventures in Wonderland Arthur Rackham (September 19, 1867 – September 6, 1939) was a prolific English book illustrator. ... Christian mythology is the body of traditional narrative associated with Christianity. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... For the painting by Leonardo da Vinci, see The Last Supper (Leonardo). ... Joseph of Arimathea by Pietro Perugino. ... Robert de Boron (also spelled in the manuscripts Bouron, Beron) was a French poet of the late 12th and early 13th centuries, originally from the village of Boron, in the arrondissement of Montbéliard. ... This page is about the title, office or what is known in Christian theology as the Divine Person. ... For other uses, see King Arthur (disambiguation). ... Chrétien de Troyes was a French poet and trouvère who flourished in the late 12th century. ... A myth is a story with deep explanatory or symbolic significance, and thus, without addressing any issues of core beliefs of Christianity, Christian mythology is therefore a body of stories that explain or symbolise Christian beliefs. ... Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, apparently the religion of the Iron Age Celts. ... Three-legged iron pots being used to cater for a school-leavers party in Botswana. ...

The development of the Grail legend has been traced in detail by cultural historians: It is a legend which first came together in the form of written romances, deriving perhaps from some pre-Christian folklore hints, in the later 12th and early 13th centuries. The early Grail romances centered on Percival and were woven into the more general Arthurian fabric. Percival or Perceval is one of King Arthurs legendary Knights of the Round Table. ...

Some of the Grail legend is interwoven with legends of the Holy Chalice. This article is about the Christian relic. ...

[edit] Origins of the Grail

[edit] The Grail

The Grail plays a different role everywhere it appears, but in most versions of the legend the hero must prove himself worthy to be in its presence. In the early tales, Percival's immaturity prevents him from fulfilling his destiny when he first encounters the Grail, and he must grow spiritually and mentally before he can locate it again. In later tellings the Grail is a symbol of God's grace, available to all but only fully realized by those who prepare themselves spiritually, like the saintly Galahad. Percival or Perceval is one of King Arthurs legendary Knights of the Round Table. ... For other uses, see Galahad (disambiguation). ...

[edit] Early forms of the Grail

There are two veins of thought concerning the Grail's origin. The first, championed by Roger Sherman Loomis, Alfred Nutt, and Jessie Weston, holds that it derived from early Celtic myth and folklore. Loomis traced a number of parallels between Medieval Welsh literature and Irish material and the Grail romances, including similarities between the Mabinogion's Bran the Blessed and the Arthurian Fisher King, and between Bran's life-restoring cauldron and the Grail. Other legends featured magical platters or dishes that symbolize otherworldly power or test the hero's worth. Sometimes the items generate a never-ending supply of food, sometimes they can raise the dead. Sometimes they decide who the next king should be, as only the true sovereign could hold them. Roger Sherman Loomis (1887-1966) was an American scholar of Arthurian literature. ... Alfred Trubner Nutt (1856-1910) was a British publisher, now known for his writing as folklorist and Celticist. ... Jessie Laidlay Weston (1850-1928) was an independent scholar and folklorist, working mainly on mediaeval Arthurian texts. ... Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, apparently the religion of the Iron Age Celts. ... Medieval Welsh literature is the medieval literature written in the Welsh language from before 1100 to the 16th century. ... The Mabinogion is a collection of prose stories from medieval Welsh manuscripts. ... Bran the Blessed, also known as Bran Vendigaid, Bendigeidfran or Branovices, is a giant and king of Britain in Welsh mythology. ... This article is about the Fisher King from Arthurian legend. ...

On the other hand, some scholars believe the Grail began as a purely Christian symbol. For example, Joseph Goering of the University of Toronto has identified sources for Grail imagery in 12th century wall paintings from churches in the Catalan Pyrenees (now mostly removed to the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona), which present unique iconic images of the Virgin Mary holding a bowl that radiates tongues of fire, images that predate the first literary account by Chrétien de Troyes. Goering argues that they were the original inspiration for the Grail legend.^[2][3] The University of Toronto (U of T) is a public research university in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... This article is about the Spanish Autonomous Community. ... Pic de Bugatetin the Néouvielle Natural Reserve Central Pyrenees For the mountains in Victoria, Australia, see Pyrenees (Victoria). ... The Palau Nacional which houses the Museu Nacional dArt de Catalunya The National Art Museum of Catalonia (Museu Nacional dArt de Catalunya - MNAC) in Barcelona, Spain is a museum of Catalan visual art. ... Location Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Barcelona (Catalan) Spanish name Barcelona Nickname Ciutat Comtal (City of Counts) Postal code 08001–08080 Area code 34 (Spain) + 93 (Barcelona) Website http://www. ... Saint Mary and Saint Mary the Virgin both redirect here. ... Chrétien de Troyes was a French poet and trouvère who flourished in the late 12th century. ...

Another recent theory holds that the earliest stories that cast the Grail in a Christian light were meant to promote the Roman Catholic sacrament of the Holy Communion. Although the practice of Holy Communion was first alluded to in the Christian Bible and defined by theologians in the first centuries AD, it was around the time of the appearance of the first Christianized Grail literature that the Roman church was beginning to add more ceremony and mysticism around this particular sacrament. Thus, the first Grail stories may have been celebrations of a renewal in this traditional sacrament.^[4] This theory has some basis in the fact that the Grail legends are a phenomenon of the Western church (see below). Catholic Church redirects here. ... In Christian belief and practice, a sacrament is a rite that mediates divine grace, constituting a sacred mystery. ... The Eucharist is either the Christian sacrament of consecrated bread and wine or the ritual surrounding it. ... For other uses, see Bible (disambiguation). ...

Most scholars today accept that both Christian and Celtic traditions contributed to the legend's development, though many of the early Celtic-based arguments are largely discredited (Loomis himself came to reject much of Weston and Nutt's work). The general view is that the central theme of the Grail is Christian, even when not explicitly religious, but that much of the setting and imagery of the early romances is drawn from Celtic material.

[edit] Etymology of grail

The word graal, as it is earliest spelled, appears to be an Old French adaptation of the Latin gradalis, meaning a dish brought to the table in different stages of a meal. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, after the cycle of Grail romances was well established, late medieval writers came up with a false etymology for sangréal, an alternative name for "Holy Grail." In Old French, san graal or san gréal means "Holy Grail" and sang réal means "royal blood"; later writers played on this pun. Since then, "Sangreal" is sometimes employed to lend a medievalizing air in referring to the Holy Grail. This connection with royal blood bore fruit in a modern bestseller linking many historical conspiracy theories (see below). Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories corresponding roughly to the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from around 1000 to 1300. ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... As a literary genre, romance or chivalric romance refers to a style of heroic prose and verse narrative current in Europe from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ... A false etymology is an assumed or postulated etymology which is incorrect from the perspective of modern scholarly work in historical linguistics. ... Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories corresponding roughly to the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from around 1000 to 1300. ...

[edit] The beginnings of the Grail in literature

[edit] Chrétien de Troyes

The Grail is first featured in Perceval, le Conte du Graal (The Story of the Grail) by Chrétien de Troyes, who claims he was working from a source book given to him by his patron, Count Philip of Flanders. In this incomplete poem, dated sometime between 1180 and 1191, the object has not yet acquired the implications of holiness it would have in later works. While dining in the magical abode of the Fisher King, Perceval witnesses a wondrous procession in which youths carry magnificent objects from one chamber to another, passing before him at each course of the meal. First comes a young man carrying a bleeding lance, then two boys carrying candelabras. Finally, a beautiful young girl emerges bearing an elaborately decorated graal, or "grail." Perceval, the Story of the Grail (French:Perceval, le Conte du Graal) is the unfinished fifth romance of Chrétien de Troyes. ... Chrétien de Troyes was a French poet and trouvère who flourished in the late 12th century. ... Philip of Alsace was count of Flanders from 1168 to 1191. ... Events April 13 - Frederick Barbarossa issues the Gelnhausen Charter November 18 - France Emperor Antoku succeds Emperor Takakura as emperor of Japan Afonso I of Portugal is taken prisoner by Ferdinand II of Leon Artois is annexed by France Prince Mochihito amasses a large army and instigates the Genpei War between... // Events May 12 - Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre. ...

Chrétien refers to his object not as "The Grail" but as un graal, showing the word was used, in its earliest literary context, as a common noun. For Chrétien the grail was a wide, somewhat deep dish or bowl, interesting because it contained not a pike, salmon or lamprey, as the audience may have expected for such a container, but a single Mass wafer which provided sustenance for the Fisher King’s crippled father. Perceval, who had been warned against talking too much, remains silent through all of this, and wakes up the next morning alone. He later learns that if he had asked the appropriate questions about what he saw, he would have healed his maimed host, much to his honor. The story of the Wounded King's mystical fasting is not unique; several saints were said to have lived without food besides communion, for instance Saint Catherine of Genoa. This may imply that Chrétien intended the Mass wafer to be the significant part of the ritual, and the Grail to be a mere prop. Inedia is the alleged ability to live without food. ... Saint Catherine of Genoa, a member of the noble family of Fieschi, part of the Guelph family,[1] was born in 1447 and spent her life and her means in succouring and attending the sick, especially during the plague which ravaged Genoa in 1497 and 1501. ...

[edit] Robert de Boron

Though Chrétien’s account is the earliest and most influential of all Grail texts, it was in the work of Robert de Boron that the Grail truly became the "Holy Grail" and assumed the form most familiar to modern readers. In his verse romance Joseph d’Arimathie, composed between 1191 and 1202, Robert tells the story of Joseph of Arimathea acquiring the chalice of the Last Supper to collect Christ’s blood upon His removal from the cross. Joseph is thrown in prison where Christ visits him and explains the mysteries of the blessed cup. Upon his release Joseph gathers his in-laws and other followers and travels to the west, and founds a dynasty of Grail keepers that eventually includes Perceval. Robert de Boron (also spelled in the manuscripts Bouron, Beron) was a French poet of the late 12th and early 13th centuries, originally from the village of Boron, in the arrondissement of Montbéliard. ... // Events May 12 - Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre. ... // Events August 1 - Arthur of Brittany captured in Mirebeau, north of Poitiers Beginning of the Fourth Crusade. ... Joseph of Arimathea by Pietro Perugino. ...

[edit] The Grail in other early literature

After this point, Grail literature divides into two classes. The first concerns King Arthur’s knights visiting the Grail castle or questing after the object; the second concerns the Grail’s history in the time of Joseph of Arimathea.

The nine most important works from the first group are:

• The Perceval of Chrétien de Troyes.
• Four continuations of Chrétien’s poem, by authors of differing vision and talent, designed to bring the story to a close.
• The German Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach, which adapted at least the holiness of Robert’s Grail into the framework of Chrétien’s story.
• The Didot Perceval, named after the manuscript’s former owner, and purportedly a prosification of Robert de Boron’s sequel to Joseph d’Arimathie.
• The Welsh romance Peredur, generally included in the Mabinogion, likely at least indirectly founded on Chrétien's poem but including very striking differences from it, preserving as it does elements of pre-Christian traditions such as the Celtic cult of the head.
• Perlesvaus, called the "least canonical" Grail romance because of its very different character.
• The German Diu Crône (The Crown), in which Gawain, rather than Perceval, achieves the Grail.
• The Lancelot section of the vast Vulgate Cycle, which introduces the new Grail hero, Galahad.
• The Queste del Saint Graal, another part of the Vulgate Cycle, concerning the adventures of Galahad and his achievement of the Grail.

Of the second class there are: Perceval, the Story of the Grail (French:Perceval, le Conte du Graal) is the unfinished fifth romance of Chrétien de Troyes. ... Parzival is one of the two great epic poems in Middle High German. ... Portrait of Wolfram from the Codex Manesse. ... The Three Welsh Romances are three tales associated with the Mabinogion. ... Peredur son of Efrawg is one of the three Welsh Romances associated with the Mabinogion. ... The Mabinogion is a collection of prose stories from medieval Welsh manuscripts. ... Perlesvaus, also called Li Hauz Livres du Graal (The High History of the Holy Grail), is an Old French Arthurian romance dating to the first decade of the 13th century. ... Diu Crône (The Crown) is a long Arthurian poem written in German. ... Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Gawain (Gwalchmei, Gawan, Gauvain, Walewein etc. ... For other uses, see Lancelot (disambiguation) and Sir Lancelot (disambiguation). ... The Lancelot-Grail, also known as the prose Lancelot, the Vulgate Cycle, or the Pseudo-Map Cycle, is a major source of Arthurian legend. ... For other uses, see Galahad (disambiguation). ... The Lancelot-Grail, also known as the prose Lancelot, the Vulgate Cycle, or the Pseudo-Map Cycle, is a major source of Arthurian legend. ...

• Robert de Boron’s Joseph d’Arimathie,
• The Estoire del Saint Graal, the first part of the Vulgate Cycle (but written after Lancelot and the Queste), based on Robert’s tale but expanding it greatly with many new details.

Though all these works have their roots in Chrétien, several contain pieces of tradition not found in Chrétien which are possibly derived from earlier sources.

[edit] Ideas of the Grail

Galahad, Bors, and Percival achieve the Grail

The Grail was considered a bowl or dish when first described by Chrétien de Troyes. Other authors had their own ideas; Robert de Boron portrayed it as the vessel of the Last Supper, and Peredur had no Grail per se, presenting the hero instead with a platter containing his kinsman's bloody, severed head. In Parzival, Wolfram von Eschenbach, citing the authority of a certain (probably fictional) Kyot the Provençal, claimed the Grail was a stone that fell from Heaven, and had been the sanctuary of the Neutral Angels who took neither side during Lucifer's rebellion. The authors of the Vulgate Cycle used the Grail as a symbol of divine grace. Galahad, illegitimate son of Lancelot and Elaine, the world's greatest knight and the Grail Bearer at the castle of Corbenic, is destined to achieve the Grail, his spiritual purity making him a greater warrior than even his illustrious father. Galahad and the interpretation of the Grail involving him were picked up in the 15th century by Sir Thomas Malory in Le Morte d'Arthur, and remain popular today. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (960x332, 85 KB) Galahad, Bors and Percival achieve the Grail by William Morris,1870 Museum and Art Gallery of Birmingham File links The following pages link to this file: Holy Grail ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (960x332, 85 KB) Galahad, Bors and Percival achieve the Grail by William Morris,1870 Museum and Art Gallery of Birmingham File links The following pages link to this file: Holy Grail ... For other uses, see Galahad (disambiguation). ... In Arthurian Legend, Sir Bors was a Knight of the Round Table. ... Percival or Perceval is one of King Arthurs legendary Knights of the Round Table. ... KYOT is a commercial Smooth Jazz music radio station located in Phoenix, Arizona, broadcasting on 95. ... This article is about the star or fallen angel. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      In Christianity... For other uses, see Lancelot (disambiguation) and Sir Lancelot (disambiguation). ... Elaine (a form of Helen) is a name shared by several different characters in Arthurian Legend. ... Corbenic (also Carbonek and Corbin) is the name of the castle of the Holy Grail in the Lancelot-Grail cycle and Thomas Malorys Le Morte dArthur. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... Sir Thomas Malory (c. ... The Last Sleep of Arthur by Edward Burne-Jones Le Morte dArthur (spelled Le Morte Darthur in the first printing and also in some modern editions, Middle French for la mort dArthur, the death of Arthur) is Sir Thomas Malorys compilation of some French and English Arthurian...

Various notions of the Holy Grail are currently widespread in Western society (especially British, French and American), popularized through numerous medieval and modern works (see below) and linked with the predominantly Anglo-French (but also with some German influence) cycle of stories about King Arthur and his knights. Because of this wide distribution, Americans and West Europeans sometimes assume that the Grail idea is universally well known. The stories of the Grail, however, are totally absent from the folklore of those countries that were and are Eastern Orthodox (whether Arabs, Slavs, Romanians, or Greeks). This is true of all Arthurian myths, which were not well known east of Germany until the present-day Hollywood retellings. Nor has the Grail been as popular a subject in some predominantly Catholic areas, such as Spain and Latin America, as it has been elsewhere. The notions of the Grail, its importance, and prominence, are a set of ideas that are essentially local and particular, being linked with Catholic or formerly Catholic locales, Celtic mythology and Anglo-French medieval storytelling. The contemporary wide distribution of these ideas is due to the huge influence of the pop culture of countries where the Grail Myth was prominent in the Middle Ages. Orthodox icon of Pentecost. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ...

[edit] The later legend

Belief in the Grail and interest in its potential whereabouts has never ceased. Ownership has been attributed to various groups (including the Knights Templar, probably because they were at the peak of their influence around the time that Grail stories started circulating in the 12th and 13th centuries). For other uses, see Knights Templar (disambiguation). ...

There are cups claimed to be the Grail in several churches, for instance the Saint Mary of Valencia Cathedral, which contains an artifact, the Holy Chalice, supposedly taken by Saint Peter to Rome in the first century, and then to Huesca in Spain by Saint Lawrence in the 3rd century. According to legend the monastery of San Juan de la Peña, located at the south-west of Jaca, in Huesca, Spain, protected the chalice of the Last Supper from the Islamic invaders of the Iberian Peninsula. Archaeologists say the artifact is a 1st century Middle Eastern stone vessel, possibly from Antioch, Syria (now Turkey); its history can be traced to the 11th century, and it presently rests atop an ornate stem and base, made in the Medieval era of alabaster, gold, and gemstones. It was the official papal chalice for many popes, and has been used by many others, most recently by Pope Benedict XVI, on July 9, 2006.^[5] The emerald chalice at Genoa, which was obtained during the Crusades at Caesarea Maritima at great cost, has been less championed as the Holy Grail since an accident on the road, while it was being returned from Paris after the fall of Napoleon, revealed that the emerald was green glass. The Cathedral of Valencia. ... This article is about the Christian relic. ... St Peter redirects here. ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... Huesca (Aragonese Uesca, Catalan Osca) is a city in Aragon, Spain. ... Saint Lawrence (225 – 258) (Latin Laurentius, laurelled) was one of the seven deacons of Rome who were martyred under the persecution of Roman Emperor Valerian in 258. ... Aerial view of the monastery. ... Jaca is also another name for the jackfruit. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Antakya. ... Papal Arms of Pope Benedict XVI. The papal tiara was replaced with a bishops mitre, and pallium of the Pope was added beneath the coat of arms. ... is the 190th day of the year (191st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Genoa (disambiguation). ... This article is about the medieval crusades. ... Caesarea Palaestina, also called Caesarea Maritima, a town built by Herod the Great about 25 - 13 BC, lies on the sea-coast of Israel about halfway between Tel Aviv and Haifa, on the site of a place previously called Pyrgos Stratonos (Strato or Stratons Tower, in Latin Turris Stratonis). ... For other uses, see Napoleon (disambiguation). ...

In Wolfram von Eschenbach's telling, the Grail was kept safe at the castle of Munsalvaesche (mons salvationis), entrusted to Titurel, the first Grail King. Some, not least the monks of Montserrat, have identified the castle with the real sanctuary of Montserrat in Catalonia, Spain. Other stories claim that the Grail is buried beneath Rosslyn Chapel or lies deep in the spring at Glastonbury Tor. Still other stories claim that a secret line of hereditary protectors keep the Grail, or that it was hidden by the Templars in Oak Island, Nova Scotia's famous "Money Pit", while local folklore in Accokeek, Maryland says that it was brought to the town by a closeted priest aboard Captain John Smith's ship. Turn of the century accounts state that Irish partisans of the Clan Dhuir (O'Dwyer, Dwyer) transported the Grail to the United States during the 19th Century and the Grail was kept by their descendents in secrecy in a small abbey in the upper-Northwest (now believed to be Southern Minnesota). ^[6] Corbenic (also Carbonek and Corbin) is the name of the castle of the Holy Grail in the Lancelot-Grail cycle and Thomas Malorys Le Morte dArthur. ... This article is about the Spanish Autonomous Community. ... Rosslyn Chapel. ... Glastonbury Tor is a teardrop-shaped hill at Glastonbury, Somerset, England, which features the roofless St. ... This article is about the Oak Island in Nova Scotia. ... Motto: Munit Haec et Altera Vincit (Latin: One defends and the other conquers) Capital Halifax Largest city Halifax Regional Municipality Official languages English (de facto) Government Lieutenant-Governor Mayann E. Francis Premier Rodney MacDonald (PC) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament House seats 11 Senate seats 10 Confederation July 1, 1867... This article is about the Oak Island in Nova Scotia. ... Accokeek is an unincorporated community in Prince Georges County, Maryland, United States. ... Statue at Jamestown VA, photo Aug 2007 Captain/Sir John Smith (1580–June 21, 1631), was an English soldier, sailor, and author. ... Dwyer may refer to: // Alice Dwyer German Actress Benjamin Dwyer, Irish musician Bernard Dwyer, rugby player Bernard J. Dwyer, U.S. politician Bil Dwyer, American comedian Bill Dwyer (gangster), US gangster and prohibition bootlegger Bill Dwyer (hippie activist), English hippie activist Bob Dwyer, rugby union coach Budd Dwyer, U.S...

[edit] Modern interpretations

[edit] Modern retellings

The Damsel of the Sanct Grael by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

The story of the Grail and of the quest to find it became increasingly popular in the nineteenth century, referred to in literature such as Alfred Tennyson's Arthurian cycle the Idylls of the King. The combination of hushed reverence, chromatic harmonies and sexualized imagery in Richard Wagner's late opera Parsifal gave new significance to the grail theme, for the first time associating the grail – now periodically producing blood – directly with female fertility.^[7] The high seriousness of the subject was also epitomized in Dante Gabriel Rossetti's painting (illustrated), in which a woman modelled by Jane Morris holds the Grail with one hand, while adopting a gesture of blessing with the other. Other artists, including George Frederic Watts and William Dyce also portrayed grail subjects. The Holy Grail, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1860s) This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... The Holy Grail, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1860s) This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Dante Gabriel Rossetti (May 12, 1828 - April 10, 1882) was an English poet, painter and translator. ... Lord Tennyson, Poet Laureate Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (August 6, 1809 - October 6, 1892) is generally regarded as one of the greatest English poets. ... The Idylls of the King (1856 - 1885) are a cycle of poems by Alfred, Lord Tennyson that express the legend of King Arthur in terms of the psychology and concerns of nineteenth-century England. ... Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (22 May 1813 – 13 February 1883) was a German composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his operas (or music dramas as they were later called). ... Parsifal is an opera, or music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner. ... Dante Gabriel Rossetti (May 12, 1828 - April 10, 1882) was an English poet, painter and translator. ... Jane Burden was the embodiment of the Pre-Raphaelite ideal of beauty. ... George Frederic Watts, as depicted in a biography available from Project Gutenberg Hope painted in 1885 and given to the nation in 1897 George Frederic Watts (23 February 1817 - 1 July 1904; sometimes spelt George Frederick Watts) was a popular English Victorian painter and sculptor associated with the Symbolist movement. ... King Lear and the Fool in the Storm William Dyce (September 19, 1806, Aberdeen, Scotland—February 14, 1864, London) was a distinguished Scottish artist]. Dyce began his career at the Royal Academy schools, and then traveled to Rome for the first time in 1825. ...

The Grail later turned up in movies; it debuted in a silent Parsifal. In The Light of Faith (1922), Lon Chaney attempted to steal it, for the finest of reasons. The Silver Chalice, a novel about the Grail by Thomas B. Costain was made into a 1954 movie (in which Paul Newman debuted), that is considered notably bad by several critics, including Newman himself. Lancelot du Lac (1974) is Robert Bresson's gritty retelling. In vivid contrast, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) (adapted in 2004 as the stage production Spamalot) deflated all pseudo-Arthurian posturings. Excalibur attempted to restore a more traditional heroic representation of an Arthurian tale, in which the Grail is revealed as a mystical means to revitalise Arthur himself, and of the barren land to which his depressive sickness is connected. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and The Fisher King place the quest in modern settings, one a modern-day treasure hunt, the other robustly self-parodying. Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Lon Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930), nicknamed The Man of a Thousand Faces, was an American actor during the age of silent films. ... The Silver Chalice is a 1952 historical novel by Thomas B. Costain. ... Thomas Bertram Costain (1885-1965) was a Canadian journalist who became a best-selling author of historical novels at the age of 57. ... This article is about the American actor and race team owner. ... Lancelot du Lac is a stylistic 1974 French film of the fall of Camelot directed and written by Robert Bresson. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... Robert Bresson (French IPA: ) (September 25, 1901 – December 18, 1999) was a French film director known for his spiritual, ascetic style. ... Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1975 film written and performed by the comedy group Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin), and directed by Gilliam and Jones. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Monty Pythons Spamalot is a comedic musical lovingly ripped off from the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975). ... Excalibur is a 1981 film which retells the legend of King Arthur. ... Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Denholm Elliott, Julian Glover, Alison Doody, River Phoenix, and John Rhys-Davies. ... The Fisher King is a movie from 1991 written by Richard LaGravenese and directed by Terry Gilliam. ...

The Grail has been used as a theme in fantasy, historical fiction and science fiction; a quest for the Grail appears in Bernard Cornwell's series of books The Grail Quest, set during The Hundred Years War. Michael Moorcock's fantasy novel The War Hound and the World's Pain depicts a supernatural Grail quest set in the era of the Thirty Years' War, and science fiction has taken the Quest into interstellar space, figuratively in Samuel R. Delany's 1968 novel Nova, and literally on the television shows Babylon 5 and Stargate SG-1 (as the "Sangreal"). Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon has the grail as one of four objects symbolizing the four Elements: the Grail itself (water), the sword Excalibur (air), a dish (earth), and a spear or wand (fire). The grail features heavily in the novels of Peter David's Knight trilogy, which depict King Arthur reappearing in modern-day New York City, in particular the second and third novels, One Knight Only and Fall of Knight. The grail is central in many modern Arthurian works, including Charles Williams collections of poems about Taliessin, Taliessin Through Logres and Region of the Summer Stars, and in feminist author Rosalind Miles' Child of the Holy Grail. In the manga-anime Sailor Moon S, the three Sailor Senshi: Sailor Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn searched for the Holy Grail Bernard Cornwell OBE (born February 23, 1944) is a prolific and popular English historical novelist. ... The Grail Quest novels are a series of books written by the historical novelist Bernard Cornwell dealing with a 14th Century search for the Holy Grail, around the time of the Hundred Years War. ... A map of Europe in the 1430s, at the height of the Hundred Years War The Hundred Years War is the name modern historians have given to what was actually a series of related conflicts, fought over a 116-year period, between the Kingdom of England and France; beginning in... Michael John Moorcock (born December 18, 1939, in London, England) is a prolific English writer primarily of science fiction and fantasy who has also published a number of literary novels. ... The War Hound and the Worlds Pain is a fantasy novel by Michael Moorcock, the first of the von Bek series of novels. ... Combatants Sweden  Bohemia Denmark-Norway[1] Dutch Republic France Scotland England Saxony  Holy Roman Empire Catholic League Austria Bavaria Spain Commanders Frederick V Buckingham Leven Gustav II Adolf â€  Johan Baner Cardinal Richelieu Louis II de Bourbon Vicomte de Turenne Christian IV of Denmark Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar Johann Georg I... Samuel Ray Delany, Jr. ... Nova (1968) is a science fiction novel by Samuel R. Delany. ... Babylon 5 is an epic American science fiction television series created, produced, and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. ... Stargate SG-1 (often abbreviated as SG-1) is a science fiction television series, part of the Stargate franchise. ... A holographic representation of the final stage of the Sangraal. ... Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley (June 3, 1930 – September 25, 1999) was an American author of fantasy novels such as The Mists of Avalon and the Darkover series, often with a feminist outlook. ... The Mists of Avalon is a 1979 novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley, in which she relates the Arthurian legends from the perspective of the female characters. ... Peter Allen David (often abbreviated PAD) (born September 23, 1956) is an American writer, best known for his work in comic books and Star Trek novels. ... Charles Walter Stansby Williams (September 20, 1886 – May 15, 1945), was a British writer and poet, and a member of the loose literary circle called the Inklings. ... Taliesin or Taliessin (c. ... Rosalind Miles was born and raised in England and now lives in both Los Angeles & Kent, England. ... This article is about the comics created in Japan. ... Animé redirects here. ... This article is about the third story arc of Sailor Moon. ... The Sailor Team. ... Haruka Tenoh Haruka Tenoh (天王 はるか Tenō Haruka) is a Sailor Senshi, one of the central characters of the anime and manga Sailor Moon. ... Michiru Kaioh Michiru Kaioh (海王 みちる Kaiō Michiru) is a character in the Japanese manga and anime metaseries known as Sailor Moon. ... Sailor Saturn ) is one of the central characters in the Sailor Moon metaseries. ...

[edit] Non-fiction

The Grail has also been treated in works of non-fiction, which frequently connect it to conspiracy theories and esoteric traditions. According to the notorious Italian traditionalist philosopher Julius Evola (1898-1974), the Holy Grail was an initiatory "Hyperborean mystery" and also "a symbolic expression of hope and of the will of specific ruling classes in the Middle Ages (namely, Ghibellines), who wanted to reorganize and reunite the entire Western world as it was at that time into a Holy Empire, that is, one based on a transcendental, spiritual basis."^[8] For the book by Chuck Palahniuk titled Non-fiction, see Stranger Than Fiction: True Stories. ... For other uses, see Conspiracy theory (disambiguation). ... Julius Evola born Giulio Cesare Andrea Evola, aka Baron Evola (May 19, 1898-June 11, 1974), was an Italian esotericist and occult author, who wrote extensively on Hermeticism, the metaphysics of sex, Tantra, Buddhism, Taoism, mountaineering, the Holy Grail, militarism, aristocracy, on matters political, philosophical, historical, racial, religious, as well... In Greek mythology, according to tradition, the Hyperboreans were a mythical people who lived to the far north of Greece. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting, respectively, the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire in Italy during the 12th century and 13th century. ... This article is about the medieval empire. ...

In The Sign and the Seal, Graham Hancock asserts that the Grail story is a coded description of the stone tablets stored in the Ark of the Covenant. For the authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail, who assert that their research ultimately reveals that Jesus may not have died on the cross, but lived to wed Mary Magdalene and father children whose Merovingian lineage continues today, the Grail is a mere sideshow: they say it is a reference to Mary Magdalene as the receptacle of Jesus' bloodline.^[9][10] In their book Swords at Sunset, Canadian authors Michael Bradley and Joelle Lauriol connect the Grail to the pseudohistorical legend that Henry Sinclair came to the Americas (specifically Lake Memphremagog in Vermont, USA) 100 years before Columbus.^[11] In an argument drawing more closely on earlier "pro-Celtic" research, English author John Grigsby attempts to connect themes of the Grail to other Indo-European myths, including Osiris, Adonis and the Greek Dionysos in his book Warriors of the Wasteland.^[12] This article needs a complete rewrite for the reasons listed on the talk page. ... Graham Hancock (born August 2, 1950) is a British writer and journalist. ... The Ark of the Covenant (ארון הברית in Hebrew: aron habrit) is described in the Hebrew Bible as a sacred container, wherein rested the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments as well as other sacred Israelite objects. ... Book cover of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail 2005 illustrated hardcover edition. ... This article is about the disciple of Jesus. ... For other uses, see Merovingian (disambiguation). ... Henry I Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, Baron of Roslin, and Lord of Shetland (c. ... Lake Memphremagog (Lac Memphrémagog in Quebec) is a freshwater lake located between Newport, Vermont, United States and Magog, Quebec, Canada. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Christopher Columbus (1451 – May 20, 1506) was a navigator, colonizer, and explorer and one of the first Europeans to explore the Americas after the Vikings. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For the language group, see Indo-European languages. ... For other uses, see Osiris (disambiguation). ... In Greek mythology Adonis (Greek: , also: Άδωνις) is an archetypal life-death-rebirth deity of Semitic origin, and a central cult figure in various mystery religions. ... Bacchus by Caravaggio Dionysus, the name of a god, is occasionally confused with one of several historical figures named Dionysius. ...

(16th century illuminated, heraldic, stained glass panel, depicting the Holy Grail) and the coat of arms of Sir Robert Bell

These works of non-fiction have inspired a number of works of modern fiction. The best known is Dan Brown's bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code, which, like Holy Blood, Holy Grail, is based on the idea that the real Grail is not a cup but the womb and later the earthly remains of Mary Magdalene (again cast as Jesus' wife), plus a set of ancient documents telling the "true" story of Jesus, his teachings and descendants. In Brown's novel, it is hinted that Jesus was merely a mortal man with strong ideals, and that the Grail was long buried beneath Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland, but that in recent decades its guardians had it relocated to a secret chamber embedded in the floor beneath the Inverted Pyramid near the Louvre Museum. The latter location, like Rosslyn Chapel, has never been mentioned in real Grail lore. Yet such was the public interest in this fictionalized Grail that for a while, the museum roped off the exact location mentioned by Brown, lest visitors inflict any damage in a more-or-less serious attempt to access the supposed hidden chamber. Image File history File links The-Arms-of-Sir-Robert-Bell. ... Image File history File links The-Arms-of-Sir-Robert-Bell. ... Heraldry in its most general sense encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms. ... Strictly speaking, stained glass is glass that has been painted with silver stain and then fired. ... A modern coat of arms is derived from the medi val practice of painting designs onto the shield and outer clothing of knights to enable them to be identified in battle, and later in tournaments. ... Sir Robert Bell (d. ... This article is about the writer. ... The Da Vinci Code is a mystery/detective novel by American author Dan Brown, published in 2003 by Doubleday. ... This article is about the disciple of Jesus. ... Rosslyn Chapel. ... The Inverted Pyramid La Pyramide Inversée (The Inverted Pyramid) is a skylight constructed in an underground shopping mall in front of the Louvre Museum in France. ... This article is about the museum. ... Rosslyn Chapel. ...

[edit] See also

• Cornucopia and sampo are other mythical vessels with magical powers.
• Relics attributed to Jesus

Cornucopia held by the Roman goddess Aequitas on the reverse of this antoninianus struck under Roman Emperor Claudius II. The cornucopia (Latin Cornu Copiae), literally Horn of Plenty and also known as the Harvest Cone, is a symbol of food and abundance dating back to the 5th century BC. In... In Finnish mythology, the Sampo was a magical artifact constructed by Ilmarinen that brought good fortune to its holder; nobody knows exactly what it was supposed to be. ... There are many relics attributed to Jesus that people believe or believed to be authentic relics of the Gospel accounts. ...

[edit] References

Il Mistero del Graal e la Tradizione Ghibellina dellImpero (The Mystery of the Grail and the Gibelin Imperial Concept); translated as The Mystery of the Grail: Initiation and Magic in the Quest for the Spirit. ...

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Holy Grail

• The Holy Grail at the Camelot Project
• The Holy Grail at the Catholic Encyclopedia
• The Holy Grail today in Valencia Cathedral
• The Holy Grail in Rome
• The Holy Grail, an episode of In Our Time (BBC Radio 4), a 45 minute discussion is available for listening at the page.