Holy Grail

<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

The Holy Grail also known as the sangraal or sangreal is traditionally defined in legend as the chalice that Jesus used at the Last Supper. It also has been described as the cup that caught the blood of Jesus as he was being crucified or as the platter used at the Last Supper. There are also definitions that say it is a spiritual quest, Mary Magdalene, or that it refers to an alleged bloodline of Jesus. In addition, there are those who believe that the Knights Templar passed to the Freemasons special knowledge of the Grail.

1 Origin
2 Books
3 See Also
4 References

Origin

It may have originated in Christian lore, or it may have origins in early Celtic myth, as both have stories of cups with magical powers. In Western Christian lore, the Grail is the vessel that either: caught the blood of Christ at the Crucifixion or was used at the Last Supper. The Grail is completely absent from the lore of Eastern Orthodox (i.e. Arabs, Greeks, Romanians, or Slavs) countries, suggesting that it originated with Anglo-French lore, particularly Arthurian legend. In Old French, San Greal (San Graal) means "Holy Grail" while Sang Real means "Royal Blood." This first mention of the Grail is in the unfinished Percival, the Story of the Grail; c. 1180 by Chretien de Troyes. However, Chretien didn't call it "The Grail," but simply "a grail," and never says that it is a Christian object. He describes it as a wide bowl. Wolfram von Eschenbach, an illiterate Bavarian, was a poor noble who composed the Germanic verse, Parzival (c. 1220), and identified the Grail as a stone. It is thought that he based his work on Chretien de Troyes' Perceval; although, he cites his source as Kyot the Provencal, a suspected fictional French poet. Wolfram says that Kyot found a manuscript written by Flegetanis, a Muslim astronomer, in which Flegetanis learned about the Holy Grail from the stars. Kyot learned Arabic and traveled Europe to learn about the Grail, the brotherhood that protected it, and about Percival's family. Kyot also said that the Grail was a stone that fell from Heaven.