The Holy Grail

From 12th century French poet Chrétien de Troyes to Harrison Ford's modern day Indiana Jones, the Holy Grail has piqued the interest of many scholars and theologians, as well as authors, poets and even filmmakers. The Holy Grail is a term given to the vessel Jesus used at the Last Supper to serve the wine and in which he made a covenant for the forgiveness of sins which represented his blood as told in the Gospel of Matthew. Chrétien de Troyes portrayed the holy vessel as a bowl or dish; Hélinand of Froidmont described the holy vessel as a "wide and deep saucer"; Robert de Boron referred to it as "the vessel of the Last Supper". Also known as the Holy Chalice, the interest in its potential whereabouts has never ceased [even unto this day] and many legends have surfaced in its wake. 

Holy Chalice of Valencia

Many claims of the holy artifact have been reported, which has given rise to the legend of the Holy Grail. Although Catholics do not include the Holy Grail in their tradition, both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have venerated the chalice at the Cathedral of Valencia, but neither papal authority ever formally pronounced it as authentic. While the Vatican recognizes the artifact as a "historical relic", they lay no claims to it being the actual cup from which Jesus drank.

Christian mythology dictates the legend of the Holy Grail and many believe in the existence of this holy vessel. Many has attributed the holy chalice to various groups, such as the Knights Templar. Other claims to the holy relic include:

Wolfram von Eschenbach, citing the authority of Kyot the Provençal, claimed the Holy Grail was a stone that fell from Heaven and was considered the safe sanctuary of the neutral angels who took neither side during Lucifer's rebellion and fall from Heaven. This holy stone was kept safe at the castle of  Munsalvaesche and entrusted to the first "Grail King", Titurel. The Benedictine monks of Montserrat have identified the castle with the real sanctuary of Montserrat in Catalonia, Spain. 

Saint Mary of Valencia Cathedral who believes St. Peter (from the 1st century) transported the holy cup to Rome, then later was taken to Spain by St. Lawrence of Rome in the 3rd century. Legend tells the monastery of San Juan de la Peña, in the province of Huesca protected the holy relic of the Last Supper from Islamic invaders of the Iberian Peninsula.  

Antonio Beltrán says the ancient artifact is a 1st century Middle Eastern stone vessel, possibly from Antioch, Syria (present-day Turkey). The relic can be traced to the 11th century and this certain chalice has been used by many popes over the centuries, with the most recent being Pope Benedict XVI, who used it in 2006. 

There is an emerald chalice at Genoa, which was obtained at Caesarea Maritima during the Crusades, but it is less championed as the "Holy Grail" since it was discovered [after the fall of Napoleon] that the emerald was indeed just green glass. 

Some claim the Knights Templar hid the Holy Grail beneath Roslyn Chapel in the Sinclair family crypt. It was said the Sinclair crypt was once accessible from a descending staircase at the rear of the chapel, but it was sealed and by 1837, when the 2nd Earl of Roslyn died and wished to be buried in the original tomb of the Sinclairs, the mysterious staircase could not be found. Others claim the holy artifact can be found deep in the spring at Glastonbury Tor, while other stories dictate the Holy Grail was hidden in the famous "Money Pit" of Oak Island, Nova Scotia by the Knights Templar. Other tales include the local folklore of Accokeek, Maryland (USA) in which the story proclaims a closeted priest aboard Captain John Smith's ship brought the holy chalice to the small American settlement. 

The earliest written story of the Grail is first featured in Perceval, le Conte du Graal (The Story of the Grail) by Chrétien de Troyes. The 12th century poet claimed he was working from a source book entrusted to him by Count Philip I of Flanders. And while the poem (written between 1180-1191) is incomplete, the narrative does not refer to the grail object as 'holy'. However, he describes a beautiful young girl who emerges carrying an elaborately decorated graal (grail). It is interesting to note that Troyes refers to his vessel as "a grail", which indicated that this was a common noun during that era of time.   

Though Troyes account of the 'grail' is the earliest, and in some cases the most influential, it was Robert de Boron works that made the Grail truly become the "Holy Grail", making his story the most familiar one to the modern world. According to his romance verse in Joseph d'Arimathie (written between 1191-1202), this ancient poet tells the story of Joseph of Arimathea acquiring the holy vessel. According to legend, Joseph is consequently thrown into prison, where he is visited by Jesus, who gives Joseph the vessel and explains the mysteries of the sacred cup. Upon his release from prison, Joseph collects his family, as well as a few followers, and travels to the west; there he sets up a dynasty of Grail keepers in Great Britain to keep the holy object safe. Later authors recounted how Joseph used the holy vessel to catch Jesus' blood while interring the Him and how he founded the sacred line of guardians. Some scholars believe the legend combines Christian lore with the Celtic myth of a cauldron endowed with special powers.    

Depiction of Mary Magdalene

Other modern literary works connect the Grail to conspiracy theories and esoteric traditions. The Sign and the Seal by Graham Hancock declares that the Grail story is basically a coded description of the Ark of the Covenant; the authors of the book entitled Holy Blood, Holy Grail assert that their research ultimately reveals that Jesus did not die on the cross, but survived the crucifixion and wed Mary Magdalene. It was suggested by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln (authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail) that Jesus fathered children with Mary Magdalene (known as the Merovingian lineage, which is reputed to continue into our modern times). Such works have inspired a number of fictional books, with the best known being Dan Brown's bestselling novel entitled, The Da Vinci Code.

Belief in the Holy Grail and the interest in its whereabouts have plagued mankind's curiosity for nearly 1,000 years. This sacred object has been attributed to many different people and groups over the last ten centuries and the stories are many, yet the quest for the holy chalice continues even unto our modern times. While it is not known who is entirely correct in their summations of the Holy Grail, it has been recorded in the Christian Bible that such a 'holy relic' was used at the Last Supper of Jesus Christ: 

"And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." - Matthew 26:27-28 (KJV)