ABOUT THE LOST TOMB OF JESUS WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE DA VINCI CODE? IS THE MOVIE AS BAD AS THE BOOK?

HOW DARK THE CON OF MAN: SOME RESPONSES TO THE DA VINCI CODE WHAT DO YOU SAY TO A DA VINCI CODE BELIEVER?

WHAT'S MISSING FROM THE DA VINCI CODE? WHAT'S THE SECRET? THE WITCH KILLING FRENZIES

THE ORIGIN OF THE "HOLY GRAIL" THE SACRED FEMININE

The Origin of the “Holy Grail”

By John Gehring

A source of enigmatic legends, adventurous quests and enduring speculation, the Holy Grail is rivaled by few myths for its power to intrigue.

Where the idea of a Holy Grail originates has long been the subject of debate and varied theories. Many scholars believe the notion of a grail imbued with magical qualities comes from a pagan Celtic legend that told of a cauldron of plenty, or vessel, that was a source of endless nourishment and regeneration. Joseph Goering, a history professor at the University of Toronto and author of The Virgin and the Grail, believes that 12th century paintings found in eight different churches in the Pyrenees Mountains between France and Spain depicts the Virgin Mary holding a radiant vessel that would have been called a grail in the local dialect.

While opinions vary as to the original inspiration for the idea of a Holy Grail, it is widely accepted that a grail, or graal in old French, (serving dish or bowl) first appears in a work of medieval French literature, Perceval, le Conte du Graal (The Story of the Grail), written in the late 12th century by the poet Chrétien de Troyes. Here a young knight marvels at a radiant dish emanating light that he sees as part of a procession at a king’s banquet. Awed into silence, the knight fails to ask about the stunning object, but later meets a hermit who explains the dish holds a single Mass wafer that keeps the crippled father of the king alive.

Not much later, in the early 13th century, Robert de Boron writes a grail story called Joseph d’Arimathie (Joseph of Arimathea). This is the first explicit depiction of the grail as the chalice or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper. In the story Joseph uses the chalice to catch drops of Christ’s blood as he is preparing his burial. When Joseph is imprisoned, the legend says that the grail helps keep him alive and his descendents eventually bring the revered chalice to the West, where it becomes the fabled object of knights’ quests.

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