The cup of the Holy Grail
Christian and Celtic cups
The term Grail derives from the Latin Gradalis, by which we designate a scutella lata et aliquantulum prufunda (Helimand de Froidmont): a cup, a vase, a chalice, a basin. These humble objects play a noble role in mythology: they are in fact symbols of the fruitful womb of the Great Mother, the Earth, and, like the inexhaustible Cornucopia of the Greeks and Romans, they bring life and abundance. The Celts' cup of life is the "Cauldron of Dagda," brought into the material world by the Tuatha De Danaan otherworldly representatives of the "little people." Many Celtic heroes (including Asterix, the famous comic book character) have had to deal with magical cauldrons; in the Gaelic poem Preiddu Annwn, King Arthur went to retrieve one even in the Underworld. Christian tradition counts at least two sacred vessels: the Chalice of the Eucharist and-surprisingly-the Virgin Mary. In the Litany of Loreto it is described asVas spirituale, vas honorabile, vas insigne devotionis, or "spiritual vessel, vessel of honor, unique vessel of devotion": in the womb (vessel) of Our Lady, in fact, divinity had become manifest.
Christian and Celtic cups
Perhaps, when at the end of the 12th century, Chretien de Troyes decided to introduce the motif of the "Sacred Vessel " into the Arthurian subject, he did so because he was aware of the Celtic myths of the Cauldron, and the subject seemed to him to be particularly on topic; or perhaps it was a random choice. Perhaps there was already an oral tradition about the Grail, and Chretien simply put it in writing; perhaps (this is the most likely hypothesis) he elaborated the ancient legends about sacred vessels in Christian terms; or perhaps the Grail was his own ingenious invention. The fact remains that - as was the case with King Arthur - for eight centuries the Grail has continued to stimulate the imagination of generations of readers: and this, in a sense, is tangible proof of its magical power.
King Arthur's Grail
The Arthurian Grail was first described by Chretien around 1190 in Perceval le Gallois ou le Compte du Graal; in the span of only twenty years (a surprisingly short time compared to the surprisingly long ones along which the Arthurian sagas developed), it was already perfectly characterized.
Thus the French poet recounts its appearance. The scene takes place in the castle of the "Fisher King," a character to whom we shall return; here the knight Parsifal watches a procession flow past the table on which dinner is to be served. First a boy with a bloody spear passes by, then two young men with a candlestick, and finally
Un graal entre ses deus mains
une damoisele tenoit
(...)
De fin or esmereè estoit
prescieuses pierres avoit
el graal de maintes manieres,
de plus riches et de plus chieres
qui en mer ne en terre soient.
("A damsel held a grail in her hands (...) It was made of pure gold, and there were in the grail many precious stones, the finest and most costly there are on land and sea.") The word "grail" is used with the generic meaning of cup (but one wonders why Chretien had made use of that already archaic term at that time); the chalice is part of a group of objects equally endowed with mystical powers, and still has no association with the blood of Jesus.
Only in the later Joseph d'Arimathie - Le Roman de l'Estoire dou Graal, an Arthurian text from the so-called "Vulgate Cycle" (where, however, King Arthur does not appear) written by Robert de Boron around 1202, is the Grail described as the chalice of the Last Supper, in which Joseph of Arimathea had collected the blood of the crucified Jesus. De Boron calls it the "Grail" only once, in an aside (admittedly somewhat unrelated to the continuity of the text) from which it is clear that the cup already had a particular history and name before it was used by Jesus: "I dare not tell, nor report, nor could I do so (...) the things said and done by the Great Sages. There are written there the secret reasons why the Grail was designated by this name" .
Arimathie's Joseph was continued and supplemented by an anonymous 13th-century author, who, in Le Grand Graal introduced some new elements. The Grail is associated (or "is" tout court) with a book written by Jesus Christ whose reading can be accessed only by those in the grace of God . The truths of faith it contains can never be uttered by mortal tongue without disrupting the four elements. For if that were to happen, the heavens would flood, the air would tremble, the earth would sink, and the water would change color. The cup-book thus possesses a fearsome power.
The Grand Grail is related to both Jewish (it is transferred to England in a container identical to the Ark of the Covenant) and Islamic traditions: it is in fact related to a land called "Sarraz," which is impossible to locate historically or geographically (it is not in Egypt, but the Great Nile can be seen from afar"; its king fights against a Ptolemy, while the Ptolomaic dynasty died out before Christ), but located nonetheless in the Middle East. From it, in fact - the author states - originated the Saracens . Around 1210, in the poem Parzival, the German Wolfram Von Eschenbach gave the Grail additional connotations. It is not a cup, but " a stone of the purest kind (...) called lapis exillis. (If a man continued to look at) the stone for two hundred years, (its appearance) would not change: perhaps only his hair would turn gray." . The term lapis exillis has been interpreted as "Lapis ex coelis," meaning falling from heaven": and, in fact, Wolfram writes that the stone was an emerald that fell from Lucifer's forehead and was brought down to earth by the angels who remained neutral during the rebellion. The esoteric tradition of sacred stones, physical trammels between man and God, is typically Eastern: the black stone preserved in the Ka' ba is the holiest object in the Islamic religion; followers of the Jewish Qabbalah use the term "Exile Stone" to designate the Shekinah, or the manifestation of God in the material world; even further East, the Urn set in the forehead of Shiva in the Hindu tradition symbolizes the "Third Eye," the metaphysical organ that enables inner vision.
The search for the grail
Why was the chalice brought specifically to England? From a literary point of view the answer is obvious: there the Arthurian myths had originated, and there, necessarily, the Grail story, linked to them, must have developed. But supporters of its material existence advance other hypotheses, admittedly rather bold ones. During his stay in Cornwall, Jesus had received as a gift a ritual cup from a Druid convert to Christianity, and that object was particularly dear to him. After the crucifixion, Joseph of Arimathea had wanted to return it to the donor further sanctified by the blood of Christ; the Druid in question was Merlin, a trait d'union between the Celtic and Christian religions. Be that as it may, the vicissitudes suffered by the Grail after its arrival in England vary considerably according to the various sources. Extrapolating from the Matter of Brittany the most recurrent episodes, it is possible to trace schematically the continuation of the story. Upon reaching his destination, Joseph entrusts the bowl to a keeper nicknamed "Rich Fisherman" or "Fish King" because, like Jesus, he fed a large number of people by multiplying a single fish. Depending on the version, the Fisher King is Hebron or Bron, brother-in-law of Joseph of Arimathea and grandfather (or uncle, or cousin) of Parsifal. In Wolfram Von Eschenbach's Parzival, he is a king named Anfortas, whose daughter marries the heroic Saracen Feirefiz and begets Priest Gianni. Centuries later, no one knows the whereabouts of the "Fisher King": the Grail is, in fact, lost. A curse comes upon Britain called the Wasteland ("The Waste Land") by the Celts, a state of both physical and spiritual famine and devastation. The Wasteland was unleashed by the "Painful Strike," that is, a blow vibrated by Balin the Savage with the Spear of Longinus (in other versions, by King Varlans with the Sword of David) into the genitals of the "Maimed King." The Maimed King is called Perlan, Pellehan, Pelles, Lambor, or is identified with the "Fisher King" himself. To undo the Wasteland, Merlin explains to Arthur, it is necessary to find the Grail, a symbol of lost purity. A Knight (Parsifal "the Pure Fool," or Galaad "the Virgin Knight") then occupies the "Perilous Desk," a chair kept empty at the Round Table, on which only "the most virtuous Knight in the world," the one who has been predestined to find the Grail, can sit (on pain of annihilation). Inspired by dreams and omens, and overcoming a series of "perilous" trials (the "Perilous Graveyard," the "Perilous Bridge," the "Perilous Forest," the "Perilous Ford," etc.), Parsifal tracks down Corbenic, the Grail Castle, and comes to the presence of the Holy Cup. However, he dares not ask the questions "What is the Grail? Whose servant is it?" thus contravening the Gospel suggestion "Knock and it will be opened to you." The Grail disappears again. After the Knight spends several years in meditation, the search resumes. Finally Parsifal (or Gilead) asks the question, which is answered. "It is the dish in which Jesus Christ ate the lamb with his disciples on Easter Day. (...) And because this dish was thankful to all it is called the Holy Grail" (the phrase-which includes the unusual etymology grato-Graal-is taken from The These of the Saint Grail, a novel by an anonymous author from the "Vulgate Cycle" of 1220). King Magagnate recovers; the Wasteland ends; King Arthur dies at Camlann; and Merlin disappears into his crystal (or air ) tomb. The Grail is brought back to Sarraz (or the Kingdom of Priest Gianni) by Parsifal and Galaad. Outside the canon We have excluded from our imagined canon the many works on the Grail after 1220, including Tennyson's The Idylls of the King (1885), in which Joseph of Arimathea is said to have hidden the Grail in the Chalice Well at Glastonbury. A little-known non-canonical Italian Grail, entirely independent of the "Matter of Brittany," is mentioned in the Lucchese tradition of the "Holy Face." In the 8th century a bishop named Gualfredo went to Jerusalem to visit the holy places; there the pilgrim performed various penances, fasts and alms. It was then that, to compensate him for his devotion, an angel appeared to him, who invited him to search with diligent devotion in the house near his own: there he would discover "the face of the redeemer," to whom he would pay worthy veneration. Thus, in the dwelling of a certain Seleucus, Gualfredo found the "Holy Face," an ancient crucifix carved from cedar of Lebanon by the apostle Nicodemus, the same one who had helped Joseph of Arimathea remove Jesus' body from the cross. In a cavity behind the cross was an ampulla with Christ's blood. Cross and ampulla were loaded onto a ship of extraordinary size, which, guided by angels and without any other crew, crossed the stormy Mediterranean and landed on the coast of Lunigiana. The relics were disputed by the Lucchese and Lunesi, and it was determined that the Holy Face would be taken to Lucca (where it can still be seen in the cathedral of San Martino), and the ampulla would remain in Luni, where traces of it have been lost.
The fate of the Grail
Around 540, then, according to the "Matter of Brittany," the Grail was brought back to the Middle East. For centuries it was never heard of again, until, toward the end of the 12th century, it suddenly leapt (or returned) to prominence. How come? What had rekindled interest in a seemingly forgotten myth? Most scholars agree that the Crusades were the triggering event. Beginning in 1095, many Christian Knights had traveled to the Holy Land, and had by necessity come into contact with the mystical and esoteric traditions there: surely some of them spoke of the Grail, a sacred object of extraordinary powers. Thanks to the Crusaders, the legend reached Europe and spread there. There are also those who believe that the Grail was tracked down by the Crusaders and brought back to the Old Continent. In that case it would still be found there, but where? The following are the most likely hiding places.
The Grail is located in the castle of Gisors.
The Knights Templar had close relations with the Sect of Assassins, an Ismailite initiatory group that worshiped a mysterious deity called Baphomet . To some, the Bafomect was none other than the Grail; before they were routed, the Assassins had entrusted it to the Templars, who brought it to France in the mid-12th century; and for that matter, Wolfram had baptized Templeisen the knights who guarded the Grail in King Anfortas' castle. If this was indeed the case, the Grail would now be found among the legendary Templar treasures (never found) in some dungeon of GISORS castle.
The Grail is located in Castel del Monte.
The Teutonic Knights - founded in 1190 - were in contact with both the Sufi mystics - an Islamic sect that worshiped the God of the three religions, Jewish, Islamic and Christian - and the 'enlightened Emperor Frederick II Hohenstaufen, himself a follower of that doctrine. Through the Teutonic Knights, the Sufis would entrust the Grail to the Emperor to preserve it from the destruction unleashed by the Crusades. In that case, the Grail would be in Castel del Monte, an octagonal cup-shaped palace built specifically to guard it. Wolfram seems to provide support for this thesis as well: in his Parzifal he had in fact highlighted the link between the Christian, Jewish and Islamic religions.
The Grail is located in Takht-I-Sulaiman.
The Arthur entry describes the hypothesis that the English ruler was a representative of Zoroastrianism. Well, the Grail Castle described - as usual - by Wolfram Von Eschenbach, is strikingly similar to Takht-I-Sulaiman, the main center of the Zoroastrian cult. Here, before they were dispersed and driven away, Zarathustra's followers worshiped the symbolic "Royal Fire," the source of knowledge. Takht-I-Sulaiman could thus be the mythical Sarraz, from which the Grail (the Royal Fire ?) came, to which it returned, and where it may still be found.
The Grail is found in the Castle of Montsegur.
After the cult of Zoroaster had been dispersed, some of its doctrines were inherited by the Manichaeans, and, later, by the Cathars or Albigensians; the latter had come to Europe from the Middle East, via Turkey and the Balkans, and settled in France in the 12th century. In 1244, after a long persecution by the Papacy and the French, they were exterminated in their fortress at Montsegur; if they had carried the Grail with them during their wanderings, it may now be found with the rest of their treasure in some impenetrable hiding place in the castle. It is Wolfram again who provides a clue in this regard: the "Grail Castle" (the one similar to Takht-I-Sulaiman) is in fact called "Munsalvaesche," meaning "Mount Saved" or " Mount Safe." In the 1930s the German Otto Rahn, SS colonel and author of Crusade contre le Graale La Cour de Lucifer, undertook some excavations at Montsègur and other Cathar fortresses with the 'support of the Nazi philosopher Alfred Rosenberg, Party spokesman and personal friend of Hitler: the episode provided the novelist Pierre Benoit, already author of the famous L'Atlantide, with the inspiration for the novel Monsalvat. On the actual hiding place of the Grail there are other theories, if possible even more fanciful:
The Grail is located in Turin.
Imported perhaps by pilgrims traveling through Europe during the Middle Ages or perhaps by the Savoy together with the Holy Shroud, the Grail would have arrived in the Piedmontese capital; the statues in the churchyard of the temple of the Great Mother of God, on the banks of the Po River, indicate, to those able to understand its complex symbolism, the hiding place of the Cup.
The Grail is found in Bari.
In 1087, a group of merchants brought the remains of St. Nicholas to Bari from Turkey, and a basilica was built in their honor. In reality, the translation of the saint was only a cover for a much more important find, that of the Grail. The merchants were actually knights on a secret mission on behalf of Pope Gregory VII. The Pontiff was aware of the power of the Chalice, but he did not intend to publicize its search, nor the eventual finding, since it was a pagan object, or at any rate the symbol of a religion even more universal than the Catholic one. He was anxious to retrieve it from Sarraz as he feared that its presence on Turkish soil would aid the Saracens (in this case the Seljuk Turks) in their expansion to the detriment of the Byzantine Empire, and would harm the planned intervention of Christian forces in the Holy Land to defend the pilgrims. It is not known where the cup was located (which, perhaps, had passed through the hands of St. Nicholas in the 6th century, and which would have given him the reputation of dispenser of abundance ) and who commanded the expedition; it is a fact that, in a deconsecrated church in Myra, the knights also took some bones, later officially identified as those of the saint. The recovery of the remains justified the expedition to Turkey and the building of a basilica in Bari; the choice to keep the Grail in that city instead of in Rome was determined by two reasons: from there the knights would embark for the Holy Land (the first crusade was banned six years after the finding) and the Grail would pour out its beneficial effects on them; in addition, its presence would protect Robert Guiscard, Norman King of Apulia, the Pope's main ally in the fight against Henry IV. As a reminder of the event, the portal of the cathedral (built several years before the popularization of the "Matter of Brittany") bears an image of Arthur and a stylized indication of the hiding place; the tomb of St. Nicholas continues to emanate a liquid called "manna," which, besides being highly nutritious, like the Grail heals from all evil.
The nature of the Grail
It is worthwhile at this point to outline a summary of the characteristics of the Grail as described by the Celtic canon and traditions up to the time it reaches England. - The Grail is both a material and a spiritual object. Its exact nature is not known: perhaps it is a stone, perhaps it is a book, perhaps it is a container; it is certain that it allows one to drink (the Last Supper), but one can also pour something into it (the blood of Christ crucified). It can heal wounds, gives a very long life, guarantees abundance, transmits and guarantees knowledge, but it is also endowed with terrible and devastating powers. - The tradition about the existence of an object with these powers is very old and widespread in a wide area of Asia, North Africa and Europe; the Grail has perhaps been identified by different names (the "Lamp of Aladdin," the "Golden Fleece," the "Ark of the Covenant," the "Amonga" cup of the Sarmatians of the Caucasus). In some unknown way Jesus came into possession of it. - The various legends about the Grail (Tuatha De Danaan, Emerald of Lucifer, Eye of Shiva, etc.) agree in giving it an otherworldly origin. Based on these cornerstones, many commentators have deduced the true nature of the Grail. In the more realistic interpretation, it is a fabulous literary invention stimulated by antecedent myths, rooted in particularly fertile soil and enriched with new details by successive generations of authors; in the more materialistic one, it is simply the cup of the Last Supper, a most precious antique. For anthropologists it is a body of doctrine elaborated through the centuries ("one can drink from it and pour into it"), perhaps supported physically by a written text. For the Christian tradition, the Grail represents the evangelization of the barbarian world, carried out by missionaries (Joseph of Arimathea), crushed by persecution and revived by a group of men of good will led by a priest (Merlin), or again, the expulsion from Eden (the Wasteland ) and subsequent redemption through the intervention of Jesus. For esotericists Renè Guenon and Julius Evola, the Grail is the heart of Christ, a powerful symbol of the Primordial Religion practiced in Agharti, of which Jesus is said to have been an exponent; for alchemists it represents knowledge, and its quest is equivalent to that of the Philosopher's Stone or the Elixir of Long Life. For Carl Gustav Jung it is an archetype of the unconscious; for Jesse Weston it is a sexual and fertility symbol; for Walter Stein, author of The Ninth Century and the Holy Grail, the Grail is connatural with the entire planet: a generator of spiritual as well as political and socioeconomic energy. For Rudolf Steiner it is "the symbol of the events of the primitive epoch perceived by the sensibility of the soul"; when, in 1913, he designed the building called the Gotheanum, the German philosopher intended to create a new "Grail Castle." For Adolf Hitler it is a magical tool with which to achieve absolute power; for science fiction novelists and proponents of the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis it is a device from outer space, or something to do with the terrible powers of nuclear fusion. And, for journalists Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln it is yet another thing....
Bloodline
One of the possible etymologies of Grail includes the attribute "San": "Saint Grail" would be the mistranscription of "Sang Real," or "Royal Blood." The blood is, evidently, that of Christ contained in the cup, but for other commentators the term blood designates a dynasty (for Dion Fortune, that of the priests of Atlantis). The lineage whose existence was discovered by researchers Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln after a passionate search is that of Jesus. Saved from crucifixion, the Redeemer is said to have fathered children, from whom the French Merovingian dynasty would be born. The hypothesis, described in The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail (The Mystery of the Grail, 1982) does not stop there. Certain mysterious papers found in 1892 by the parish priest Berenger Saunière in the altar of the church of Rennes-Le-Chateau are said to have been the starting point for the discovery of other documents which would prove that, far from having died out in 751, the Merovingians (and thus the direct heirs of Christ) are still among us, carefully protected by an ancient initiatory society called The "Priory of Sion," whose purpose is to restore the monarchy at the appropriate time. Like the "Unknown Superiors" of Agharti, the members of the Priory-whose Grand Masters have included Nicolas Flamel, Leonardo da Vinci, Ferrante Gonzaga, Robert Fludd, Victor Hugo, Claude Debussy, Jean Cocteau, among others-constitute a "Synarchy" or occult government that, for nearly a millennium now, has influenced the choices (political or otherwise) of official governments. Unfortunately," Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln point out in the sequel to The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, entitled The Messianic Legacy (The Messianic Legacy, 1986), the "Priory" has become partially corrupt in recent times, and some of its bangs maintain close contacts with the Mafia, P2 and some Italian politicians.
