Over centuries the concept of a Holy Grail has come to
represent the highest of spiritual ideals, although the nature of the Grail
itself varies from story to story.
The
symbol of a Grail first appeared in about 1190 in the French poet Cretien de
Troyes’s Conte del Graal (Story of the
Grail) in which young Perceval, from the court of King Arthur, visits the
castle of the mysterios Fisher King. During dinner a handsome youth enters the
room, carrying a lance that drips with blood, followed by a beautiful young
woman bearing the Grail.
Although
not specifically described by Chretien not specifically described by Chretien
de Troyes, the Grail is said to have been fashioned of pure refined gold and
set with many precious stones – the richest and most costly – and to have had
an extraordinary radiance. It is passed round the dinner table. Because the
mystified Perceval asks no questions about the Grail or the bleeding spear, the
Fisher King will not be cure of two crippling wounds in the thigh; the land
will be ruined; hundred of knights will die; and many widows and orphans will
mourn.
The
meaning of Chretien de Troyes’s unfinished poem is not explained, but many
other interpretations of the Grail followed, usually in a Christian context.
The Grail in the Burgundian poet Robert de Boron’s Joseph of Arimathea, written
about 1200, is the cup from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper, and in which
Joseph collected the blood of Christ after the crucifixion. The risen Christ
directs Joseph or his descendants to take the chalice west to the vales of
Avalon, now associated with Glastonbury, in England.
Writing
at about the same time, the German poet Wolfram von Eshencbach in Parzival
describes the Grail as a stone symbolising humility, guarded by a secret
brother-hood of Knights, for whom it provides all the sustenance they need. The
Quest for the Holy Grail, which dates to 1215-1230, introduces Galahad, the son
of Lancelot, as the chaste and pure knight who finds the Grail the dish from
which Christ ate the lamb at the Last Super. As Galahad dies in ecstasy, a hand
appears from heaven and takes the Grail away.
Scholars
believe that stories of the Grail originated in pre-Christian Welsh and Irish
tales of heroes who visited their gods and were richly fed from cauldrons of
plenty, like the Welsh Platter of Rhydderch, which provided whatever food was
desire, There are also links to a legendary king of Britain, Bran the Blessed,
who was wounded in the thighs like Chretien’s Fisher King, and whose land was
then ruined. It was said that his decapitated head on a silver platter
prophesied to his people for many years. In Several thirteenth century Poems
the Fisher King is called Bron. This is also the name of Joseph’s
brother-in-law, who may have accompanied him to England with the sacred
chalice.
The Christianisation
of Celtic legends may have been a deliberate move to replace ancient references
to cauldrons of plenty with references to Christian practices and beliefs,
specifically that the wine of the Eucharist is or smbolises Christ’s blood. In
1191 tombs were discovered at Glastonbury – allegedly where the chalice was
hidden. The possibility that the tombs were those of Arthur and Guinevere
established the Grail’s links with Arthur’s court and Glastonbury. At that time
the abbey was in desperate need of funds for restoration after a devastating
fire in 1184, and Henry 2nd, searching for a strong traditional
figure to rally his people, decided to exploit the mystique of Glastonbury for
his political ends.
Other
stories of the Grail have identified it as a dish, a jewel and a healing
cauldron. Whatever form the Grail may take, if indeed it does have a form, it
remains the most potent symbol of purity and perfection.
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