The Grail Legend

Writing in a clear and readable style, two leading women of the Jungian school of psychology present this legend as a living myth that is profoundly relevant to modern life. 17 illustrations.

The medieval legend of the Grail, a tale about the search for supreme mystical experience, has never ceased to intrigue writers and scholars by its wildly variegated forms: the settings have ranged from Britain to the Punjab to the Temple of Zeus at Dodona; the Grail itself has been described as the chalice used by Christ at the Last Supper, a stone with miraculous youth-preserving virtues, or a vessel containing a man's head swimming in blood. In his classic exploration of the major versions, Roger Sherman Loomis shows how the Grail, once a Celtic vessel of plenty, evolved into the Christian Grail with miraculous powers. Loomis bases his argument on historical examples involving the major motifs and characters in the legends, beginning with the Arthurian legend recounted in the 1180 French poem by Chrétien de Troyes. Loomis's book builds suspense as he proceeds from one puzzle to the next in revealing the meaning behind the legends.--From publisher description.

The Grail legend is the centerpiece of Arthurian literature, and this classic work by the renowned scholar Arthur Edward Waite ranks among the most informative and profound books ever written on the subject. While the myths surrounding the Holy Grail are seemingly in harmony with orthodox religion, Waite reveals that beneath their pious surface, they are as subversive as any other form of mysticism — illustrating the symbolic nature of doctrinal teachings, no more intended for literal interpretation than is any fiction. With this informative study, Waite restores the full and true meaning of the knightly quests for honor and adventure as journeys of the soul.

Tells stories of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.

The legend of the Holy Grail is known throughout the world. Most people however, believe that it is no more than a story that has been greatly exaggerated over time. Servants of the Grail is a groundbreaking book that will change even the most skeptical of minds. Based on years of detailed and painstaking academic research, author Philip Coppens has uncovered evidence proving that that Grail story is based on real-life events and people in a specific timeframe, 1104 to 1137, and in a specific location ¿ the royal court of Aragon in northern Spain, as well as identifying the Grail as a foundation stone rather than a cup or chalice as is commonly believed. The result is a unique and revelatory book that will change our understanding of one of the most widely known myths in human history.

The mysterious and haunting Grail makes its first appearance in literature in Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval at the end of the twelfth century. But Chrétien never finished his poem, leaving an unresolved story and an incomplete picture of the Grail. It was, however, far too attractive an idea to leave. Not only did it inspire quite separate works; his own unfinished poem was continued and finally completed by no fewer than four other writers. The Complete Story of the Grail is the first ever translation of the whole of the rich and compelling body of tales contained in Chrétien's poem and its four Continuations, which are finally attracting the scholarly attention they deserve. Besides Chrétien's original text, there are the anonymous First Continuation (translated here in its fullest version), the Second Continuation attributed to Wauchier de Denain, and the intriguing Third and Fourth Continuations - probably written simultaneously, with no knowledge of each other's work - by Manessier and Gerbert de Montreuil. Two other poets were drawn to create preludes explaining the background to Chrétien's story, and translated here also are their works: The Elucidation Prologue and Bliocadran. Only in this, The Story of the Grail's complete form, can the reader appreciate the narrative skill and invention of the medieval poets and their surprising responses to Chrétien's theme - not least their crucial focus on the knight as a crusader. Equally, Chrétien's original poem was almost always copied in conjunction withone or more of the Continuations, so this translation represents how most medieval readers would have encountered it. Nigel Bryant's previous translations from Medieval French include Perlesvaus - the High Bookof the Grail, Robert de Boron's trilogy Merlin and the Grail, the Medieval Romance of Alexander, The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel and Perceforest.

The Holy Grail is one of the most fascinating themes in medieval literature. It was described as the vessel used by Jesus to celebrate the first Eucharist and it became the object of the greatest quest undertaken by King Arthur’s knight. This book examines the traditions attached to the Holy Grail from its first appearance in medieval romance through its transformation into an object of mystical significance in modern literature and film. It is a journey filled with knightly quests, mystics and holy relics, poets and novelists, outlandish speculation and serious thought.

A single, consistent and accessible narrative of the Grail story, constructed from the principal motifs and narrative strands of all the original Grail romances. The quest for the Holy Grail is one of the most important elements in the story of King Arthur. Yet even among the many interested in the stories of the Round Table, very few have read at first hand the medieval masterpieces whichover a period of some forty years, in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, together became the foundation of the legend of the Grail. These romances, full of bewildering contradictions and composed by a numberof different writers with very different preoccupations, dazzle with the sheer wealth of their conflicting imaginative detail. In this new compilation, the enthralling material becomes truly accessible through his interweaving ofthe principal motifs and narrative strands of all the original Grail romances to construct a single, consistent version of the Grail story, while clearly tracing the development of its enigmatic and potent theme. All the mystery and drama of the Arthurian world are embodied in the extraordinary adventures of Perceval, Gawain, Lancelot and Galahad in their pursuit of the Grail. Told here as a unified, coherent narrative, the Grail legend reasserts its relevance as one of the great works of imaginative literature of the middle ages. NIGEL BRYANT's previous Arthurian books include The High Book of the Grail (Perlesvaus), Chretien de Troyes' Perceval and its Continuations, and Robert de Boron's Merlin and the Grail.

In this fascinating work, Barber traces the history of the legends surrounding the Holy Grail, beginning with Chrtien de Troyes's great romances of the 12th century and the medieval Church's religious version of the secular ideal.

What would happen if someone were charged with a modern-day quest to find the Holy Grail? What mysteries would they uncover? Where might their journey lead them and would they find the true Grail? The Holy Grail - the cup of the Last Supper used to collect the Holy blood of Jesus - has a darker side than the one we know from medievil romance. Andrew Collins, one of the foremost alternative history writers in Britain today, discovers extaordinary new evidence about the true origins of this sacred vessel, unveiling a 2000-year-old secret teaching passed down from the time of Christ concerning the dual role played in the foundation of the Christian Church by Mary Magdalene and John the Evangelist. These forbidden teachings were suppressed by the Church of Rome, yet they managed to survive as part of an underground stream of knowledge kept alive by the Cathar heretics of the French Languedoc, the Knights Templar, Renaissance painters and modern occultists such as Aleister Crowley. This gripping personal quest into the cryptic and shadowy world of arcane societies and esotoric knowledge takes the reader on a journey of visions and mystery before culminating in a dramatic conclusion. Herein lies the colourful and passionate story of strange Gnostic sects and the dark side of Catholic history. Twenty-First Century Grail kicks the Grail legend into modern era and redefines it's boundaries for a new generation.