Eternal Chalice: The Grail in Literature and Legend

by Monica Brzezinski Potkay

The goal of this course is to provide an overview of the many different ways writers of fiction and nonfiction have imagined, and reimagined, the object known as the Grail. We’ll look at how the Grail was invented as a powerful literary symbol in the late 12th and early 13th centuries by a group of medieval romancers who celebrated the Grail as a symbol of perfection. At times, this perfection was social, and the Grail functioned as a symbol of the perfect knight or of the ideal chivalric society. Most often, however, the Grail’s perfection was unmistakably religious, so that it was indeed the Holy Grail, a symbol of God’s perfect love, grace, wisdom, and joy. After being ignored for centuries, the Grail was rediscovered in the 19th century by both poets and scholars, who radically reinvented what the Grail stood for. Now, at the beginning of the 21st century, the Grail fascinates many who search for the perfect spiritual wisdom it promises. Presented on 7 Compact Disks/14 Lectures. Includes Course Guide.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Audiobook, Medieval, Philosophy, Literature

Audio CD

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Don Heiman · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 2006 Modern Scholar released William and Mary College Professor Monica Potkay’s 14 lecture course “Eternal Chalice: The Grail in Literature and Legend.” The course begins with grail-chalice mythologies that were first written in the late 12 century by Chretien de Troye. Theses opening lectures focused on the religious traditions of Jesus’ Last Supper chalice which held his transubstantiated blood. These traditions underpinned an international search for the grail. Monica then discussed how the traditions of the search for the grail featured prose trilogies, storylines of King Author and Lancelot quest for finding the grail, and Joseph of Arimathea’s ownership of the grail. Monica also explained how grail legends were featured in religious traditions in Asia, French, and British lore, fertility rites, and mystery religious belief practices. She concludes her lectures with discussion of 20th century movies and written novels that also feature grail myths . The Modern Scholar course guidebook includes course summaries, subtopic essays, glossary of terms, and a bibliography. (L)

[Peter · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave up halfway through the second lecture. A lot of this is just nonsense. The fact that the second syllable of Gauvain's name is "vain" is not a clue to his character. It's the way that the name was transliterated into Old French. And, no, the bleeding spear is not a critique of violence. This is totally unsupported by the body of Chretien's work (as though medieval people would have needed the spear to bleed to be reminded that it was a weapon).

As an alternative, try Dorsey Armstrong's wonderful King Arthur: History and Legend in the Great Courses. It's not all about the Grail but it's based on sound scholarship and it's always entertaining too.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

...and now I'm just realizing that The Wizard of Oz is a Grail Quest.

[Allan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Covers the history of the Grail legend from Medieval literary device to modern-day McGuffin.

I came to these lectures with some exposure to the early Grail stories such as Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, so I can't say that I learned a lot that was new about my area of interest. I was only familiar with 20th Century takes on the Grail legend like "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" and "The DaVinci Code" by reputation, but the closer in time one moves toward the present, it seems to me, the dodgier the purposes to which the Grail is put.

The audio delivery by Professor Potkay is somewhat uneven, with her voice often fading at the end of sentences to the point of being inaudible. She also uses the word "implication" roughly 500 times. Nonetheless, I feel much better grounded in Grail-lore thanks to these lectures.

[Stacie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay... There were some minor annoyances in the production (I found Professor Potkay's diction mildly irritating and she kept using the name of one character when referring to a different one... you always knew who she meant, but still, irritating), and she does the exact same thing she mocks one of her sources for, but I think my biggest problem getting through this, though, is that I just don't care about 'Holy Grail' stories. Not an engrossing listen, but not a waste of time either.