What do you think?
Rate this book
The Holy Grail: Its Origins, Secrets, and Meaning Revealed
Was the Holy Grail Christ's cup of the Last Supper, or was it originally a Celtic Cauldron of Rebirth? Did Joseph of Arimathea bring the holy chalice to the Isles of Avalon in Britain, or was the Grail a treasure of the heretical Cathars? Did the Grail cause the failure of King Arthur's Fellowship of the Round Table, or was it the inspiration for the Knights Templar of Jerusalem to create the tarot cards? Did the Grail carry the sacred blood of Christ, or was Mary Magdalene the lover of Jesus who carried his blood in the form of their child? Does the Church disclaim what must be its most sacred relic, or is the Grail actually in direct opposition to the Pope in Rome?
These are just some of the questions raised by this fascinating and provocative book. The enigma of the Grail is explored in a way which has never been attempted before. In this volume no less than nine major versions of the legend are retold, from sources as diverse as the pagan Celts, the courtly troubadours, the Cistercian monks and the greatest "novelist" of the 13th century.
Lavishly illustrated with maps, photographs of locations, and original artwork showing both the mythic Arthurian realm of knightly valor, the historical world of the twelfth century, and the living Grail legend of our own era.
Twelfth Century Europe was a time of unprecedented spiritual awakening. The Crusades to the Holy Land had returned with new esoteric secrets from the East. The heretical Cathars were challenging the authority of a divided and corrupt Church of Rome and women were at last accorded a new power and position, forming their own Courts of Love. Out of this extraordinary new age arose a legend which was to surpass all previous Western myths - that of a mystical object called the Holy Grail and a knightly Quest in search of it. Between 1190 and 1220, there was an outpouring of stories about this sacred artifact. Deemed heretical by the Church and yet said to hold the blood of the crucified Christ, the Grail chalice was supposedly brought to Britain two thousand years ago. And although the legend is set in the Arthurian Britain of the sixth century, tradition traces the cup of the last supper to a Cathar stronghold in the Pyrenees, under the guardianship of the Knights of the Temple of Jerusalem. The legend of the Holy Grail is not one story, but many, and this book explores the major, and very different, accounts which appeared within a thirty-year span. The legends of the Quest are taken from many sources including the earliest pagan tales of the Celtic Peredur, the unfinished, courtly epic of Cretien de Troyes, Le Conte del Graal, and a little-known poetic gem called the Diu Crone, or the Jeweled Crown.
The great Cistercian epic of the Vulgate Cycle, which includes the Queste del San Graal, is probably the account known best to Western readers, yet many more are examined including Perlesvaus, Joseph d'Arimathie, Merlin, the Didot-Perceval and Parzival.
In addition we discover that Mary Magdalene is a central figure within the legends and that the miraculous Black Virgin statues, still found throughout Europe today, have strange and intimate ties with the Grail. Even tarot cards contain the sacred Hallows along with a complete blueprint for the Grail Quest, devised by the Templar knights, who spread its heretical secret while being hidden from the Inquisition.
Lavishly illustrated, this though-provoking book bridges an eight-hundred year gap with a living legend.
These are just some of the questions raised by this fascinating and provocative book. The enigma of the Grail is explored in a way which has never been attempted before. In this volume no less than nine major versions of the legend are retold, from sources as diverse as the pagan Celts, the courtly troubadours, the Cistercian monks and the greatest "novelist" of the 13th century.
Lavishly illustrated with maps, photographs of locations, and original artwork showing both the mythic Arthurian realm of knightly valor, the historical world of the twelfth century, and the living Grail legend of our own era.
Twelfth Century Europe was a time of unprecedented spiritual awakening. The Crusades to the Holy Land had returned with new esoteric secrets from the East. The heretical Cathars were challenging the authority of a divided and corrupt Church of Rome and women were at last accorded a new power and position, forming their own Courts of Love. Out of this extraordinary new age arose a legend which was to surpass all previous Western myths - that of a mystical object called the Holy Grail and a knightly Quest in search of it. Between 1190 and 1220, there was an outpouring of stories about this sacred artifact. Deemed heretical by the Church and yet said to hold the blood of the crucified Christ, the Grail chalice was supposedly brought to Britain two thousand years ago. And although the legend is set in the Arthurian Britain of the sixth century, tradition traces the cup of the last supper to a Cathar stronghold in the Pyrenees, under the guardianship of the Knights of the Temple of Jerusalem. The legend of the Holy Grail is not one story, but many, and this book explores the major, and very different, accounts which appeared within a thirty-year span. The legends of the Quest are taken from many sources including the earliest pagan tales of the Celtic Peredur, the unfinished, courtly epic of Cretien de Troyes, Le Conte del Graal, and a little-known poetic gem called the Diu Crone, or the Jeweled Crown.
The great Cistercian epic of the Vulgate Cycle, which includes the Queste del San Graal, is probably the account known best to Western readers, yet many more are examined including Perlesvaus, Joseph d'Arimathie, Merlin, the Didot-Perceval and Parzival.
In addition we discover that Mary Magdalene is a central figure within the legends and that the miraculous Black Virgin statues, still found throughout Europe today, have strange and intimate ties with the Grail. Even tarot cards contain the sacred Hallows along with a complete blueprint for the Grail Quest, devised by the Templar knights, who spread its heretical secret while being hidden from the Inquisition.
Lavishly illustrated, this though-provoking book bridges an eight-hundred year gap with a living legend.
255 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1994
17 people are currently reading
129 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 23, 2014
This book surprised me. While it is generally an overview and doesn't go all that deeply into any of the topics presented, it is a good start.
It follows three main 'branches' (Gaelic myth, Christian monasticism and Near Eastern thought - alchemy, astrology, etc.) that have influenced the stories about the Grail.
For example, W. B. Yeats observed a parallel between the Four Treasures of the Tuatha de Danaan and the four Aces of the Rider Waite deck. It continues:
"...And when we compare the four isolated aces from the Waite tarot pack with the four hallows of the Grail we do find that they have an uncanny resemblance to each other." The hallows and corresponding cards are Sword (Sword,) Paten (Pentacle,) Grail (Cup) and Spear (Wand.)
The book also tells how the best known version of the Grail story was probably influenced by the 'courts of love' in twelfth century France.
A good overview of the Grail stories. While there were a few dry spots, it certainly did it's job and sparked my interest to dig a little deeper into a few new areas as well.
It follows three main 'branches' (Gaelic myth, Christian monasticism and Near Eastern thought - alchemy, astrology, etc.) that have influenced the stories about the Grail.
For example, W. B. Yeats observed a parallel between the Four Treasures of the Tuatha de Danaan and the four Aces of the Rider Waite deck. It continues:
"...And when we compare the four isolated aces from the Waite tarot pack with the four hallows of the Grail we do find that they have an uncanny resemblance to each other." The hallows and corresponding cards are Sword (Sword,) Paten (Pentacle,) Grail (Cup) and Spear (Wand.)
The book also tells how the best known version of the Grail story was probably influenced by the 'courts of love' in twelfth century France.
A good overview of the Grail stories. While there were a few dry spots, it certainly did it's job and sparked my interest to dig a little deeper into a few new areas as well.
January 10, 2018
There is much information on the origin of the Grail stories and the development of their various threads. The presentation is at times confusing but facilitates a casual read, since there is one page per chapter. This information seems researched and comes across as accurate. After the information on the origin of the Grail stories is presented, however, the author falls off a cliff with unfounded speculation that really doesn’t even amount to anything profound. It is amazing that anyone can present as if it were fact a bit of truth followed by an extension that is only speculation or just plain wrong, and just continue to follow a thesis into even more absurd conclusions.
June 15, 2009
I would almost give Godwin's effort a second star for the gorgeous photography, but as it seems to want to support the supposition put forward in Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, the best I can muster is one star. The photography, however, is exceptional. The text--what little of it I could stand--is fantasy, the author's. Legends themselves usually have some basis in fact.
October 13, 2019
This is a very interesting book which stays to the facts pretty much. It shows how the legend of the Holy Grail changed considerably when Christianity took over from the original non-Christian people. Some of the main points of the book include:
The Church of Rome subsumed all local myths and stories into its own grand scheme.
There was a weird hated of Eve by the Church.
The original oral tradition was one of romances.
There is no one single absolute concept of what the Grail actually is. It could be a physical object such as a platter or a cup. It could be a person. It could be something else. (Maybe it actually doesn't even exist.)
There are several branches to the story including the original Celtic Branch, the Christian Branch and the Chymical Branch.
The book points out where one thing became another such as in the Celtic Blessed Horn of Plenty being changed in the Blessed Body of Christ.
Christian Grail texts hate women.
The book also discusses the Knights Templar and what happened to them.
The Christian Church also hated the gnostics.
Peter hated Mary Magdalene.
The people of the Neolithic period were more oriented towards Goddess worship and they were more peaceful than those who came after them.
The book also discusses the tarot.
Among old artifacts found (some 30,000 of them) around the time where the Goddess was being worshiped none of them were actually weapons of war.
The Castle of the Fisher King is discussed along with the idea of the wounded King and any attempts to heal him.
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are also covered.
There's a lot more in the book. If you are interested in the historical origins of the Grail myth and the belief systems that were involved then this is a book you will want to read/
The Church of Rome subsumed all local myths and stories into its own grand scheme.
There was a weird hated of Eve by the Church.
The original oral tradition was one of romances.
There is no one single absolute concept of what the Grail actually is. It could be a physical object such as a platter or a cup. It could be a person. It could be something else. (Maybe it actually doesn't even exist.)
There are several branches to the story including the original Celtic Branch, the Christian Branch and the Chymical Branch.
The book points out where one thing became another such as in the Celtic Blessed Horn of Plenty being changed in the Blessed Body of Christ.
Christian Grail texts hate women.
The book also discusses the Knights Templar and what happened to them.
The Christian Church also hated the gnostics.
Peter hated Mary Magdalene.
The people of the Neolithic period were more oriented towards Goddess worship and they were more peaceful than those who came after them.
The book also discusses the tarot.
Among old artifacts found (some 30,000 of them) around the time where the Goddess was being worshiped none of them were actually weapons of war.
The Castle of the Fisher King is discussed along with the idea of the wounded King and any attempts to heal him.
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are also covered.
There's a lot more in the book. If you are interested in the historical origins of the Grail myth and the belief systems that were involved then this is a book you will want to read/
July 5, 2013
I rarely give a book five-stars, but this fully deserves it. Thoroughly covers the history of Grail literature (all three traditions: Celtic, Christian and alchemical) in a volume beautifully illustrated. Also takes the time to explain why the Grail story is relevant to the present day. Recommended for Grail enthusiasts, of course, but also to those only vaguely familiar with the tradition. You will be inspired. (Only drawback: not sure how easy it is to get. Only available in hardcover. Amazon has a few.)
September 4, 2023
An interesting tome published in the 1990s and a very heavy hardback given that it is printed on high quality photographic paper. The chief interest is in the illustrations which include a lot from medieval manuscripts and the like.
The first part of the book traces the development of the Grail legend from the original Celtic stories which came from Ireland and then Wales, to the stories documented by monks principally the Cistercians, and the final flowering in the troubadour culture. Once the stories became European artefacts they were blended with elements from Moorish Spain and the Holy Land via the Knights Templar among others. The summary of the stories are a bit repetitive and dry but there is also some interesting commentary on the subversive content derived from Gnostic ideas, probably via the Cathars and Albigensians who were eventually brutally suppressed by the Catholic church.
Part Two deals with the relevance of the legends in modern times especially their 'restoration of paradise' aspect, and also discusses the anti-women aspect of the Christian Church. It is very clear that the author has an axe to grind on this subject, as in his view Christianity is more women-hating/anti female than various other religions - personally, I don't think it has a monopoly on that. Anyway, there is an assumption that Europe was once a paradise of women-led agriculturalists and pastoralists who knew no weapons and were subsequently crushed by an invasion of male chauvinist warriors who imposed a culture that the world has been stuck with ever since for the last five millennia. This is put across as a matter of proven fact.
So given the lack of balance in places, but the more useful information in part one and the plentiful illustrations I would rate this at 3 stars overall.
The first part of the book traces the development of the Grail legend from the original Celtic stories which came from Ireland and then Wales, to the stories documented by monks principally the Cistercians, and the final flowering in the troubadour culture. Once the stories became European artefacts they were blended with elements from Moorish Spain and the Holy Land via the Knights Templar among others. The summary of the stories are a bit repetitive and dry but there is also some interesting commentary on the subversive content derived from Gnostic ideas, probably via the Cathars and Albigensians who were eventually brutally suppressed by the Catholic church.
Part Two deals with the relevance of the legends in modern times especially their 'restoration of paradise' aspect, and also discusses the anti-women aspect of the Christian Church. It is very clear that the author has an axe to grind on this subject, as in his view Christianity is more women-hating/anti female than various other religions - personally, I don't think it has a monopoly on that. Anyway, there is an assumption that Europe was once a paradise of women-led agriculturalists and pastoralists who knew no weapons and were subsequently crushed by an invasion of male chauvinist warriors who imposed a culture that the world has been stuck with ever since for the last five millennia. This is put across as a matter of proven fact.
So given the lack of balance in places, but the more useful information in part one and the plentiful illustrations I would rate this at 3 stars overall.
June 3, 2010
A survey of the myth of the Holy Grail. Godwin examines the history of the Celtic, Christian and Alchemical origins of the grail myth and its ties to Tarot symbolism, suppression of the feminine in the modern world and the Wasteland.
December 21, 2007
This was the first book I read where it dealt with an alternative meaning for the holy grail. I really enjoyed it
October 6, 2008
A very interesting grail history.
January 28, 2017
Wonderful images and decent information. It doesn't go into much depth and has some bias, but worth the look.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews