Brooks Brown
Mrs. Allen
English IV
11 March 2015

The Holy Grail The Holy Grail is a very symbolic holy relic that is recognized as the cup Jesus Christ drank out of at the Last Supper. The Grail has many different legends, myths, and controversies to discover and is one of the most debated historical artifacts in history.
The Holy Grail is thought to be a fine chalice or cup used as a drinking device. It has also been thought to be a stone, dish, cup, platter, cauldron, or horn of plenty (Day 122). The Holy Grail stands for a sacred relic that Jesus Christ drank out of; because of this many consider it the greatest item in all of Christianity. People seeking this great treasure; past and present have died looking for it. The actual object that is believed to be the Holy Grail is approximately seven inches in height. In addition to that it has 28 pearls around the cup, and is decorated with two balaxes and two emeralds. The texture of the cup is made out of stone and gold (“Holy Grail”).
There are several myths in all cultures that involve when a person comes in contact with the precious item. Some myths state that if someone drinks from the cup they will inherit the ability to raise someone from the dead. Magical qualities of the cup are never proven but do have a lot of interesting things about them. One such example includes if someone is stranded somewhere and have no way of providing food for themselves, the Grail will serve as a nourishing chalice that never runs out. It is supposed to provide the user with the best nourishment Earth can offer as long as the user remains pure unto the Grail. Immortality is associated with the Grail if the user performs a special ritual that involves several key things. Kings have gone in search of the Holy Grail because of this simple reason. In ancient tales, the explorers that seek the Grail for these reasons usually end up dying on their lustful conquest. Miraculous healing from gruesome injuries is another reason people wanted the Grail. If someone used the Holy Grail to simply clean the wound it would heal in a matter of seconds. The last miracle that coincides with the Grail is the famous fountain of youth. The healing powers of the Grail is said to make the person who drinks form it turn young again if they were an elderly man. The water would run through the veins making every fiber in their body shake and then turn young again (Day 125). Books have been written about the Grail to expose whereabouts, tell secrets, and find out who had possession. The stories that contain information about the Grail are as follows: The Perceval of Chretien de Troyes, The German Parzival, The Last Chronicle, and The Crown. The books were written by different authors over several periods of time. People or groups that were involved with protecting the Grail or possibly seeking after it have been shrouded in mystery because everyone wants to claim that they had something to with the Grail. The most common story is that of Joseph of Arimathea. He is said to have been with Jesus as he died on the cross and used the same cup that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper to collect his blood. Joseph was trapped in a tombstone for almost forty days and used the same cup to get nourishment to survive. People around heard the rumors and wanted to capture the sacred cup for themselves. Joseph naturally took the cup with him to protect it in Great Britain. Not much is known after that except some say that Joseph and his family protected it for many years and it got passed down to the royal family (“Holy Grail”). Two groups that had dealings with the Holy Grail are the Catholic Church and the Knights Templar. These groups are very intertwined with their involvement. The Catholic Church is said to have taken the Grail when it first came into existence after Jesus died on the cross. The Churches version of the story is that an unknown person came in the night and demonstrated the magical powers of the Grail and also told the story behind it. The Grail was used as a symbol of power and pure holiness. The Holy Grail was passed down through the years moving from Pope to Pope. The Grail somehow got lost in those years and now the Catholic Religion tries to find it (“Holy Grail”).
The Knights Templar is a well-respected group that protected the Holy Grail for a substantial amount of years. Knights Templar was founded in 1188. The reason the group was started was because of the Holy Wars victory twenty years earlier. “They were basically fighting Monks.” The Knights would protect every man, woman, and child that were traveling to Jerusalem. After performing such noble deeds they were rewarded by being given a headquarters in the Royal Palace. Increasing in numbers the next few years they branched out to do more helpful things in Europe. This included protecting all roads that lead into the Holy Lands and protecting artifacts, such as the Holy Grail. The Templar prided itself in being a true force in Europe but for good and not evil. The Roman legions attacked the temple where the Templar had its headquarters and took all the obvious valuable objects, except the legion overlooked the Holy Grail. This incident made the Knights protect the Grail even more (Twyman, Tracy).
The Templar practically took main possession of the Grail. They would do anything to protect it. They began to earn the nickname of “Militia of Christ”. In 1139, they officially became recognized as an army. At one point, they signed a contract with the Pope saying they would be extremely loyal to him and him only. The Knights Templar became an iconic symbol by becoming a New World Order in Europe. They built hospitals to help heal the sick and protecting Christians everywhere. This would continue for the next fifty years. In many accounts, they were the main protectors of the Holy artifact (Twyman, Tracy).
Many rumors and disbelieving thoughts also surround the Grail. The origin of the Grail, questioning if it is even real, and thinking it may not even be a Grail are all theories. Scholars have translated manuscripts that may suggest that the Holy Grail may be a dish or a plate instead of the famous chalice or cup that many believe. Manuscripts are sometimes translated to read “royal blood”. Based on this people believe that it may mean the physical liquid that is inside the cup (“Holy Grail”).
The Grail possibly could be a completely different object all together. A two handed silver chalice that was kept in a chapel near Jerusalem could be the Grail. Also, a dish that rested in Constantinople could be it. It was looted from the church Bucoleon during the fourth crusade. A hexagonal vessel called the Holy Basin could be the Holy Grail as well. It is carved from emerald and is Egyptian glass. It is eighteen inches across and very expensive (“Holy Grail”).
The historical roots of the Grail are very difficult to track and give proper ownership to because of the fact that there are so many different stories involving the piece of history. Three separate places have claimed origin for claiming the Grail. Coincidently, three different people have claimed ownership; the Oriental, Celtic, and Christian. The agreement between historians is that the Oriental version is very unconvincing and has the least amount of evidence (“The Great Grail”).
The Celtic origin claims the Perceval Story, which is a story of a young man who goes on a difficult quest to prove pure holiness. Celtic lore also lays claim to the Arthurian legend. This tale involves different vessels believed to be the Holy Grail. These tales have a similar plot, such as they both involve a common theme of vengeance. A chalice involved with blood also occurs in both stories (The Great Grail).
The Christian claim of the Holy Grail is the most commonly accepted claim. It is the story of how Joseph from Arimethea collects blood from Jesus on the cross. The cup he collected the blood into was the cup that Jesus drank out of at the Last Supper (“The Great Grail”).
People disagree with historians and take the road less traveled when it comes to even believing in the Holy Grail at all. Not all mainstream cultures teach or believe the existence of the Holy Grail. The simple fact is that it has never been found is why they do not believe in the Grail. Several cultures do not believe, including: Orthodox Arabs, Orthodox Slavs, Orthodox Romanians, and Orthodox Greeks. With so many disbelievers and skeptics it really makes a person question the reality of the situation. They often point out how flawed the account is of the Grail, as well as simply saying the cup has no magical powers or special meanings (“The Great Grail”).
With so many questions about if the Grail is real and who has the possession of this holy artifact, one big question looms over every historians head; where is it? There are many possible resting places of the Holy Grail but there are three places that really stick out of the pack. Nova Scotia, Jerusalem Sewers, and the Cathedral de Santa Maria are the three that are believed to host the Holy Grail (“The Holy Grail”).
The Knights Templar had many dealings with the Grail and it is said that they hid it in Nova Scotia during the 1300’s. There are arrangements of rocks that form a cross that are 250m long and 100m across. A deep channel is underground that has a pit and somewhere it leads out to the water surrounding the island. The water pathway has never been found because nobody has ever been down far enough to live to tell about it. The place is called the Money Pit. It was discovered by three teens in 1795. Six people have died trying to retrieve the treasure believed to lie at the bottom (“The Holy Grail”).
The Jerusalem sewers are said to house the Holy Grail because some historians believe the Knights Templar never found the Grail in the first crusade. The complex sewer lines were just too good to pass up hiding the Grail. Jews feared an attack from King Nebuchadnezzar thus hiding it in the sewers was the best choice. The disciples only knew of the exact location of the Grail. Deep in the sewer system of Jerusalem a Holy Grail might be waiting. Digging in Jerusalem today is strictly forbidden so the world will have to wait and see (“The Holy Grail”).
The Cathedral de Santa Maria is the famed place to hold the Grail because it is believed to be on display in a glass container. Nicknamed Valencia Chalice it sits on display quite often. Experts are divided on whether or not this is the real Grail or not. However, it was carbon dated to place it around 300 B.C. The Holy Grail might be on display but some do not believe that it is the Holy Grail. The world may be forever divided and may never come to a final conclusion where the Holy Grail rests (“The Holy Grail”).