| King Arthur & the Grail
The legend of the Holy Grail is one of the most enduring in Western European literature and art. The Grail was said to be the cup of the Last Supper and at the Crucifixion to have received blood flowing from Christ's side. It was brought to Britain by Joseph of Arimathea, where it lay hidden for centuries. The search for the vessel became the principal quest of the knights of King Arthur. It was believed to be kept in a mysterious castle surrounded by a wasteland and guarded by a custodian called the Fisher King, who suffered from a wound that would not heal. His recovery and the renewal of the blighted lands depended upon the successful completion of the quest.
Equally, the self-realisation of the questing knight was assured by finding the Grail. The magical properties attributed to the Holy Grail have been plausibly traced to the magic vessels of Celtic myth that satisfied the tastes and needs of all who ate and drank from them.
The Holy Grail first appears in a written text in Chrétien de Troyes's Old French verse romance, the Conte del Graal ('Story of the Grail'), or Perceval, of c.1180. During the next 50 years several works, both in verse and prose, were written although the story, and the principal character, vary from one work to another. In France this process culminated in a cycle of five prose romances telling the history of the Grail from the Crucifixion to the death of Arthur.
The Old French romances were translated into other European languages. Among these other versions two stand out: Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzifal (early 13th century) and Sir Thomas Malory's Morte d'Arthur (late 15th century). With the passing of the Middle Ages, the Grail disappears until the nineteenth century when medieval history and legend awoke the interest of writers such as Scott and Lord Alfred Tennyson, of the artists of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and of composers, notably Richard Wagner.
The symbol of the Grail as a mysterious object of search and as the source of the ultimate mystical, or even physical, experience has persisted into the present century in the novels of Charles Williams, C.S. Lewis and John Cowper Powys. Joseph Campbell has stated that The Grail Quest is the central myth of western civilization. It continues to fire our imaginations and souls to the present day.
The best representation of the Arthurian Cycle in film is undoubtedly Excalibur by John Boorman. Produced in 1981, no film has come close to capturing the essence of the grail quest and 6th century Britain as this excellent movie. Arthurian scholars continue to debate theories and investigate the original manuscripts. Two of the best respected authors are Miranda Green & Geoffrey Ashe who have produced numerous excellent studies. The husband and wife team, John & Caitlin Matthews have emerged as perhaps the most prolific Arthurian and Celtic writers today.
Arthurian Links
Arthuriana
Arthurian Music Series
Camelot Project
The Charrette Project- Princeton
Der Heilige Gral
Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Tor
High History of the Holy Graal
King Arthur
King Arthur and the Early British Kingdoms
King Arthur and the Holy Grail
Oxford Arthurian Society
Sir Thomas Malory Society
Yvain or The Knight With the Lion
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