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Holy Grail – legendary thing

Holy Grail – legendary thing

Holy Grail – legendary thing


The story of the Holy Grail is such an intricate tangle of European legends, oriental stories, literary narratives and conjectures, rooted not in the biblical source, as one might suppose, but almost in the pagan folklore motifs of the Celts.
The Holy Grail is most often identified as a serving dish or a chalice that was used by Jesus during the Last Supper.
The Provencal poet troubadour Chrétien de Troyes described the Grail in his novel Perceval or The Story of the Grail (1182). In this novel the Grail is presented in the form of a large dish with precious stones. However, in other works about this artifact – poems and novels – the Grail appears in the form of a bowl, a cup and even a stone. However, none of these works does not enjoy the reputation of an authoritative source of information.

The story of Joseph of Arimathea is the basis of the legend of the Grail. Joseph of Arimathea was imprisoned for several years for expressing his faith that Jesus was the Messiah, the son of God. After being released, he traveled to Britain and took the grail with him. The grail had magical qualities, providing food and assurances of the grace of God. A few generations later the powers of the vessel were lost and its existence was virtually forgotten.
Amazing Holy Grail

Amazing Holy Grail


Another legend tells that the Celtic sorcerer Merlin, who patronized King Arthur, sent the Knights of the Round Table to find the Grail. In 1100s Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote History of the Kings of Britain which included details of heroic reign of King Arthur. Much of the material was gathered from folktales and contains historical and chronological inaccuracies. Between 1160 and 1180, the French poet Chretien de Troyes wrote five major works about Arthur and his knights based on history and legend. He helped introduce and popularize the grail legend. Chretien’s unfinished manuscript was continued by others.
Around 1200, the German poet Wolfram von Eschenbach wrote a grail legend, Parzeval.
In Morte d’Arthur by the fifteenth-century English writer Sir Thomas Malory the grail becomes the object of a quest among the knights of the roundtable at King Arthur’s castle, Camelot.
Awesome Holy Grail

Awesome Holy Grail


The Holy Grail might have been developed from references to magic cauldrons that appear in many Celtic myths and practices.
But if you follow the mystical tradition, the Grail is an emerald, or a bowl made of emerald. The owner of the stone was Lucifer himself. The gemstone fell from his head and the angels made the cup, or, according to another version, the emerald was inserted into the Grail.
There is one more hypothesis, the Grail is not a stone or a cup, but the person – the mother of Jesus, the Virgin Mary.

Holy Grail – legendary thing

Bowl made for the church of St. John the Baptist in Salinas, Spain

Bowl made for the church of St. John the Baptist in Salinas, Spain

Bowl of Rheims Cathedral, 12th century

Bowl of Rheims Cathedral, 12th century

Bowl. 6th century or the beginning of the 7th century. The Metropolitan Museum. New York

Bowl. 6th century or the beginning of the 7th century. The Metropolitan Museum. New York

Crucified Christ

Crucified Christ

Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The Holy Grail

Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The Holy Grail

Great Holy Grail

Great Holy Grail

Hacker Arthur. Percival with the Grail Cup

Hacker Arthur. Percival with the Grail Cup

Holy Grail and King Arthur

Holy Grail and King Arthur

Holy Grail tapestry. The Failure of Sir Gawaine

Holy Grail tapestry. The Failure of Sir Gawaine

How Sir Galahad, Sir Bors and Sir Percival Were Fed with the Sanc Grael

How Sir Galahad, Sir Bors and Sir Percival Were Fed with the Sanc Grael

Knights of the Round Table and Holy Grail

Knights of the Round Table and Holy Grail

Leeke Ferdinand. Parsifal In Quest Of The Holy Grail, 1912

Leeke Ferdinand. Parsifal In Quest Of The Holy Grail, 1912

Legendary Holy Grail

Legendary Holy Grail

Lizzi Siddal. Sir Galahad at the Shrine of the Holy Grail

Lizzi Siddal. Sir Galahad at the Shrine of the Holy Grail

Magestic Holy Grail

Magestic Holy Grail

Oracion en el huerto de los Olivos

Oracion en el huerto de los Olivos

Sir Galahad, the Quest of the Holy Grail

Sir Galahad, the Quest of the Holy Grail

The Byzantine Cup. Silver chalice with the image of the figures of the apostles and the cross, the beginning of the 7th century

The Byzantine Cup. Silver chalice with the image of the figures of the apostles and the cross, the beginning of the 7th century

The Dream of Sir Lancelot at the Chapel of the Holy Grail, 1896, by Sir Edward Burne Jones

The Dream of Sir Lancelot at the Chapel of the Holy Grail, 1896, by Sir Edward Burne Jones

The Holy Grail. Stained glass

The Holy Grail. Stained glass

The Last Supper. Juan de Juanes. 1562

The Last Supper. Juan de Juanes. 1562

The Last Supper

The Last Supper

The Virgin and the Grail in Corbin Castle. Illustration by Arthur Rackem to the Novel about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table by Alfred Pollard, 1917

The Virgin and the Grail in Corbin Castle. Illustration by Arthur Rackem to the Novel about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table by Alfred Pollard, 1917

Waugh Frederick Judd. The Knight Of The Holy Grail

Waugh Frederick Judd. The Knight Of The Holy Grail