History of the
Grail
The legend of the Holy Grail has always held a place of fascination in the minds of
medievalists. This legend has a unique quality which has kept it active and alive since
the late 12th century. Most who pursue Grail Lore have a creeping curiosity whether there
might actually be a Grail. While few dispute the Grail story's pagan origins, a devotee
also realizes that there is no good reason why there can't be, (its magical powers aside.)
Considering the validity of the Shroud of Turin is still debated, the existence of a two
thousand year old cup is not that hard to swallow. Therefore, unlike most treatments of
the Grail legend, I will examine the possibility of a true Grail; a cup used by Christ at
the Last Supper, and possibly used to collect His blood after the crucifixion.
To understand the historical aspect of this legend, a series of relative events must be
established. The following is taken from The Grail; quest for the Eternal, by John
Matthews.
"The story begins with Joseph of Arimathaea, a wealthy Jew to whose care Christ's
body is given for burial and who, according to some stories, also obtains the cup used by
Christ at the Last Supper. While he is washing the body to prepare it for the tomb, some
blood flows from the wounds which he catches in this vessel. After the disappearance of
the body, Joseph is accused of stealing it, is thrown into prison and deprived of food.
Here Christ appears to him in a blaze of light and entrusts the cup to his care. He then
instructs Joseph in the mystery of the Mass and, it is said, certain other secrets, before
vanishing, Joseph is miraculously kept alive by a dove which enters his cell every day and
deposits a wafer in the cup. He is released in A.D. 70 and, joined by his sister and her
husband Bron, goes into exile overseas with a small group of followers. A table called the
First Table of the Grail is constructed to represent the Table of the Last Supper (a fish
is laid in Christ's place) at which twelve may sit down. A thirteenth seat, representing
the place of Judas, remains empty after one of the company tries to sit in it and is
swallowed up. (This seat is thereafter referred to as the Siege Perilous.)
According to some versions, Joseph then sails to Britain, where he sets up the first
Christian church at Glastonbury, dedicating it to the Mother of Christ. Here the Grail is
housed, and serves as a chalice at the celebration of the Mass in which the whole company
participate, and which becomes known as the Mass of the Grail.
In other versions Joseph goes no further than Europe, and the guardianship of the cup
passes to Bron, who becomes known as the Rich Fisher after he miraculously feeds the
company from it with a single fish, echoing Christ's feeding of the five thousand. The
company settles at a place called Avaron (perhaps the same as Avalon, the Celtic name for
the Otherworld, also identified with Glastonbury) to await the coming of the third Grail
Keeper, Alain.
A temple is built on Muntsalvach, the Mountain of Salvation, to house the vessel, and
an Order of Grail Knights comes into being. They sit at a Second Table, and partake of a
sacred feast provided by the Grail; a form of Mass also takes place at which the Grail
Keeper, now called King, serves as priest. Shortly after, he receives a mysterious wound,
variously said to be in the thighs or the genitals, caused by a spear and attributed to
one of several different causes among which are the loss of faith, the love of a woman
against a vow of chastity, or an accidental blow struck by a stranger in self-defense.
Hereafter the guardian is known as the Maimed or Wounded King, and the country around the
Grail castle becomes barren and is called the Waste Land - a state explicitly connected
with the Grail King's wound. The spear with which he is struck becomes identified with the
Lance of Longinus, the Roman soldier who in Biblical tradition pierced the side of Christ
on the cross. This spear, the Grail, a sword and a dish-shaped platter (which in more
primitive versions of the story may have borne a human head, and which later becomes
confused with the Grail itself) constitute the objects, called Hallows, to be found in the
Grail castle.
By this time we have reached the age of Arthur, and the scene is set for the beginning
of the quest. The Round Table is established by Merlin the enchanter as the Third Table
(from which the Grail itself is, however, absent) and a fellowship of knights led by
Arthur meet around it, bound by the rules of chivalry. At Pentecost the Grail makes an
appearance, floating veiled in a beam of sunlight, and the knights pledge themselves to go
in search of it. There follow a series of initiatory adventures involving most of the
fellowship, especially Lancelot, Gawaine and Bors. Two others - Perceval (Parzival or
Parsifal), nicknamed the Perfect Fool in token of his innocence, and Lancelot's son
Galahad, who is from the beginning singled out for special significance by being permitted
to sit unscathed in the Siege Perilous - are given particular emphasis, their adventures
forming the greater part of the narrative from this point.
Of the many who set out from the Arthurian court at Camelot, few catch more than a
glimpse of the elusive Grail. A series of tests are set for each knight, and their nature
explained by a succession of hermit figures who are always at hand in the deep wood where
the questers often find themselves. Lancelot comes agonizingly close to the holy vessel,
but is turned away, temporarily blinded, because of his adulterous love for Arthur's
queen. Gawaine reaches the Grail castle, but fails as it is his nature to fail, being too
much in the world and without the simplicity or the spiritual qualities required of the
true quester.
Only three succeed in finding the Grail and participating, to varying degrees, in its
mystery. They are Galahad, the stainless, virgin knight, Perceval, the holy fool, and
Bors, the humble, 'ordinary' man, who is the only one of the three to return to Camelot
with news of the quest. Perceval, after first failing and wandering for five years in the
wilderness, finds his way again to the castle of the Wounded King (who is sometimes his
uncle, as well as the Fisher King, the guardian of the way to the Waste Land) and by
asking a ritual question - usually, 'Whom does the Grail serve?' - brings about his
healing. (The answer, never explicitly stated, is the King himself, who is kept alive,
though in torment from his wound, beyond his normal life-span.) Once healed, the King is
permitted to die, and the waters of the Waste Land flow again, making it flower, Galahad,
Perceval and Bors continue their journey, eventually reaching Sarras (perhaps a corruption
of Muntsalvach) the Heavenly City in the east, where the final mysteries of the Grail are
celebrated and where the three knights take part in a Mass in which the vessel is again
used as the chalice; Christ appears first as celebrant and then as a radiant child and
finally, in the Host, as a crucified man. After this, Galahad dies in an odour of sanctity
and the Grail is taken up into heaven: Perceval goes back to the Fisher King's castle to
rule in his place, leaving Bors to return alone to Camelot."
This time line traces the Grail's existence from its origin to its disappearance from
the classic body of Grail literature. Now we must turn to the hints and legends found in
the history of the Crusades. You will recall from the above quotation that the Grail ended
up in a land called "Sarras." This is thought to be located on the border of
Egypt. Assuming this land "Sarras" came from the same origin as the people
"Saracens," this would place the Grail in the area near Israel, modern day
Syria, Jordan, and Iraq. Here enters another important place in the Grail story. Albrecht
von Scharffenberg, the 13th c. poet, wrote Der jungere Titurel, in which he describes a
"Turning Castle" where the Grail is housed. This castle bears a striking
resemblance to a building in Persia called the Takt-I-Taqdis, or Throne of Arches, built
in the 7th c. ad., which was found to have turned on large, wooden rollers. While most
agree Albrecht based his castle on the Takt, this location in Persia also has with it a
legend that another Christian artifact, the True Cross, was once there. King Chosroes II,
builder of the Takt, pillaged Jerusalem in 614 ad, reputedly taking the Cross to the Takt,
which was said to also contain the Grail.
Here, it is to be noted that in 629 ad., the Byzantine emperor Heraclius marched on and
destroyed the Takt, returning with the Cross. It is therefore possible that, if the Grail
was there, it was also taken. Now, if we turn to another alleged relic, the Shroud of
Turin, we discover another interesting lead in the Grail story. The Shroud of Turin was
said to have been kept in the city of Edessa, curing King Abgar of leprosy in the 4th c.
ad., until August 15, 944 ad. At that time, the Byzantine emperor sent his army to Edessa
to claim it. The story of the Shroud states that the Knights Templar took it from
Constantinople in 1204. Now, if we assume the leadership of Byzantium had not misplaced
all these Holy Relics, we find in one place the True Cross, the Shroud of Turin, (or
Mandilion,) and possibly the Holy Grail. It is therefore possible that the Grail could
have been taken at some point during the Crusades. If not, and we assume these other
stories are true, where was the Grail at the time of the Crusades, and who removed it?
Here we are left with three possibilities. First, the Grail was taken from
Constantinople before the Crusades. This is hardly likely since if the emperor sought out
these relics, he would probably not part with them willingly, and certainly not without
historical documentation for his legacy. Second, the Templars, Cathars, etc. claimed the
Grail and returned with it to France. This also is not likely. As we can see with the
story of the Shroud, such things kept near a great number of inquisitive people are
difficult to keep secret. Also, the Grail, seen as somewhat heretical, would not have been
welcomed back among the Catholic church leaders considering there were all sorts of
"Marian" sects, (groups worshiping the virgin Mary, instead of Christ,)
springing up. Thirdly, and most likely, the Templars or other crusaders who discovered the
Grail took it to religious zealots in the East for safe keeping, choosing to spread the
relics out for safety rather than hazard them all by public scrutiny. This may sound
familiar to anyone who has read The Sign and The Seal. Many Templar/Cathar temples can be
found throughout the middle eastern world.
So now we are left back where we began. Is the Grail reality or fiction. No one truly
knows. Most say no. However, realizing that nothing really disproves its existence, (and,
if you are a Christian, you don't discount the entirety of God or Christ,) it is equally
likely that there is a cup, out there somewhere, which could have been used by Christ; a
real life Holy Grail. That is the true quest. The possibility of the Grail, and the
interest in it which makes some search it out, whether in literature or in history, makes
it real. You, in reading this, and possibly in searching out other sources of information,
are the questers, looking for a sacred thing, asking, "What is the Grail?" and
in asking the question, achieving the Grail.
The Holly Grail
he legend of the
Holy Grail is one of the most enduring in Western European literature and art. The Grail
was said to be the cup of the Last Supper and at the Crucifixion to have received blood
flowing from Christ's side. It was brought to Britain by Joseph of Arimathea, where it lay
hidden for centuries. The search for the vessel became the principal quest of the knights
of King Arthur. It was believed to be kept in a mysterious castle surrounded by a
wasteland and guarded by a custodian called the Fisher King, who suffered from a wound
that would not heal. His recovery and the renewal of the blighted lands depended upon the
successful completion of the quest. Equally, the self-realisation of the questing knight
was assured by finding the Grail. The magical properties attributed to the Holy Grail have
been plausibly traced to the magic vessels of Celtic myth that satisfied the tastes and
needs of all who ate and drank from them. 