From "Da Vinci Code" to "Holy Blood Holy Grail", The Holy Grail Mystery Continues to Permeate Society (as submitted to Highestwire)

Submitted by Nathan Calverley on Wednesday, June 15, 2005 at 11:58:46 AM EST.

A white lance, bleeding from the tip. A set of candlesticks, burning with the brilliance of "ten candles at the very least." A trencher, silver and gleaming with the light of the candles. A Grail, whose brilliance begets "so brilliant a light…that the candles lost their brightness like the stars or the moon when the sun rises."

Thus begins the most intriguing and inscrutable mystery ever to beguile the religious concourse. The legend of the Holy Grail has been humbling historians for centuries. Dozens of different theories exist regarding the location and true nature of the grail, and thanks to recent archaeological discoveries and literary blockbusters, new life has been given to this contagious crusade for knowledge.

The most popular contemporary theory would seem to be that proposed by Dan Brown's "The DaVinci Code", which has sold over 8 million copies worldwide. Much to the delight of Grail historians and questers, this highly successful novel has rekindled interest in the Grail and sparked new debate.

Dan Brown suggests that the old French term for "Holy Grail," san grael, was not the intended phrase, and due to some missed translation somewhere during the past 2,000 years, the true phrase, sang real, or "Holy Blood", was lost. Brown suggests that the "Holy Grail" was actually a woman called Mary Magdalene, who carried and birthed a child of Christ, thus beginning a carefully concealed lineage that continues to exist even today.

Debate has arisen as to whether or not there is any merit to Brown's claims. The theory has its supporters, but they are considered rogues in the historical field. Others, however, have entertained one suggestion that Brown made: that the Holy Grail is still around today, waiting to be found.

The most recent excitement in the search for the Grail came from a monument, carved in 1748, discovered on the Staffordshire estate in Britain, which contained ten letters inscribed in the monument. A modified painting by an artist known as Poussin, who is believed to have had ties to the Knights Templar, was also discovered.

The letters and painting are believed by many to be a secret message left by the Knights Templar to provide some clue as to the location of the Grail.

Hugh de Payens and eight other knights founded the "poor fellow-soldiers of Jesus Christ," or the Knights Templar, in 1118 C.E. as a group of knights who swore "between the hands of the Patriarch to live ever in chastity, obedience, and poverty." They were dedicated to protect and guide pilgrims to the Holy Land. The steady increase of wealth and power that the Templars saw brought attention that they would have been better without. At the dawn of the 14th century, the Templars were accused and subsequently found guilty of heresy by the Church. The Templars were disbanded, their assets annexed, and several of their leaders were jailed for life. There is no definitive proof that the Knights Templar were ever in possession of the Grail.

As would be expected, the media has pounced all over the success of Dan Brown's novel, but what does history have to say about the Grail?

The first ever mentioning of the Grail was seen in "Conte du Graal," a story written around 1190 C.E. by Chrétien de Troyes. It was revolutionary, spawning a flurry of other works about the Grail between 1190 and 1240, after which almost all Grail-themed stories ended.

Chrétien himself does not give any history of the Grail. In fact, he leaves it open to pretty much any interpretation one might want to take.

And that is exactly what many scholars have done. Some argue that it is a cup that brings everlasting life to anyone who drinks from it; others believe it to be a holy stone endowed with divine powers; some believe it to be the plate from which the paschal lamb was eaten at the Last Supper.

The truth is that we may never know if the Grail truly exists or what its tangible form may be. But these questions are a pretentious breed compared to the most important and overlooked conundrum: Why did the Grail become this object of supreme divinity and mystery when it did, in the year 1190, almost 1200 years after the Last Supper and the time of Christ?

One historian has developed the theory that the Grail legend was actually the fabrication of the Knights Templar, designed with the specific intention of restoring faith and devotion to the Roman Catholic Church by "establishing solidarity through belief in a divine mystery, a riddle whose power lies not in its solution, but rather in the pursuit of that solution."

Around 1054, an event known as the East-West Schism occurred, a split in the Catholic Church between the Eastern Orthodoxy and Western Roman Catholicism. Although the event is dated to 1054, it was not a sudden rift that formed; the schism is actually characterized as a long period of estrangement between the two halves.

The East-West schism and the conception of the Grail romances each emerged around the time that is known as the Dark Ages. The Church had collapsed, the Crusades were being waged, western civilization came to a grinding halt during this period.

But there was one uncharacteristic, highly profound development during these times of gridlock and desolation: the Grail Romances.

The theory claims that Chrétien's "Conte du Graal" is dedicated to the Count Philip, of the House of Flanders, and was entirely made possible by the Count himself, a fact which is extremely intriguing, as two of the eight founders of the Knights Templar were Payen de Montdidier and Achambaud de St-Amand, each relatives of the House of Flanders.

Chrétien informs the reader in the introduction to his "Conte du Graal" that he was given, by Philip, a story that mentions of a holy Grail, and was asked by Philip to write an epic tale of this Grail. What is unusual about this is that no author of the work given by Philip is mentioned. Chrétien died before he was able to finish his work, but several writers tried their hand at continuing Chrétien’s compelling "Conte du Graal"; all of them are purported to have been supported by Philip’s successors in the House of Flanders.

The chronologically proceeding Grail story of great historical significance, "L'Estoire dou Graal" (The History of the Grail), was told by Robert de Boron, who owed the creation of his story to his patron, Gautier de Montbéliard. Gautier was also theorized to have had connections to the Knights Templar, though his links were much more obscure and complex.

Though this theory regarding the Grail is highly speculative, it is supported by historical fact. And its claimed purpose -- to have been designed to strengthen Christianity and promote solidarity -- is indeed supported by the fact that hundreds of years after its conception, people continue to be mesmerized by the Grail.

Although many people believe the stories of the Grail to be hollow and meaningless, they continue to find that countless others find the mystery offered by the Grail irresistible. Why? Because regardless of whether or not the Grail is material, it exists within the realm that is our imagination; that is where it was born, and that is where it will continue to beg our pursuit.

--For more information on sources, contact the author.

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Original paper from which this story was taken (Word format), 46 K.

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