The Theories of the Sangraal

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    Hypothesis about Sangraal's nature

• • • "What was the Sangraal?"
       
      • (Norma Lorre Goodrich, The Sangraal, 1992)

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    • A chalice
    • 
      The Cup was the cup used at the last supper from which wine was drunk as a symbol of Jesus' blood. It is also the cup which Joseph of Arimathea used to collect the actual blood of Jesus after his crucifixion while preparing the body for burial. Other informations in the essay "An Introduction to Current Theories about The Sangraal"
       
    • A Stone
    • 
      The story of the angels fighting in heaven gives us yet another theory about the Grail. The story tells how Lucifer (although this name is commonly used to represent the Devil now, at one time it had no such association and meant simply The Light Bringer) lead one third of the heavenly host in a revolt against God but that he was defeated. As Lucifer was cast down out of heaven, a large emerald fell from his crown. This emerald is said to have been the source of his power. It is interesting to note that the Grail has been depicted as a stone in the early Arthurian legends. It is this stone, fallen to earth, which has been suggested is the Grail. Other informations in the essay "An Introduction to Current Theories about The Sangraal"
       
    • Philosophers' Stone
    • 
      Some extraordinary powers of Grail suggest it would be the mythical Philosophers' Stone. Wolfram von Eschenbach defined Grail as Lapis Exillis. The name could be a corruption of the name Lapis Elixir, the Philosophers' Stone. Other informations in the essay "An Introduction to Current Theories about Sangraal"
       
    • Ark of Covenant
    • 
      According to Graham Hancock, Grail would be the Ark of Covenant. His theories are founded on logical connections between Grail and Lost Ark, found on Bible and Graalian Texts. See his book "The Sign and the Seal - A Quest for the Lost Ark of Covenant".
       
    • Jesus' Book
    • 
      According to medieval text Grand-Saint-Graal, Grail would be a Book, associated to an astonishing light. It would start with the words "Here the reading about Holy Grail starts", and it would be written by Jesus himself. It would contain his genealogy.
       
    • A Mutant Object
    • 
      In Perslevaus Grail is described as a mutant object, able to assume different shapes:
       
      • A chalice;
      • A Tailleoir, a silver dish;
      • A broken sword;
      • A lance;
      • A secret book.

      The chalice collected Jesus' blood, the silver dish supported John the Baptist's head, the sword cut Baptist's head, the lance belonged to Longino, the Roman soldier who transfixed Jesus' chest, the book was the secret Gospel written by Jesus himself.
       

    • A cup for perfum
    • 
      According to Graham Phillips, Grail would be the cup used by Mary of Magdala to perfume Jesus' feet. In England a little onix cup has been found. According to the writer, it would be Mary's chalice, called "Marian Chalice".
       
    • Holy Shroud
    • 
      In an interesting essay, Daniel C. Scavone suggests that Grail would be Turin's Shroud. Both the objects are connected with Joseph of Arimathie and Jesus' blood and both Grail and Shroud share rituals and a "secret", deriving from the most probable etymology of grail: Latin gradalis or "by degrees". In Grail rituals the secret was its gradual revelation. In Edessan and Contantinopolitan rituals, the image on the burial Shroud was revealed to congregations only gradually, by raising it section by section. The essay is available at the section "The Shroud and the Grail".
       
    • The Gold box containing the Holy Shroud
    • 
      Professor Baima Bollone, in his italian book Sindone o no? wrote that "There are [...] connections between Grail, its legend and Shroud. Grail wouldn't be a cup, but the container of Holy Shroud. In each case, we know after 1307 the Shroud was kept by Templars in England, near Glastonbury, the old abbey connected with Grail's legends."
       
    • A round ball of glass
    • 
      Lady Flavia Anderson presented a totally new theory about the Grail in her book The Ancient Secret. In this book she claims that the Grail is a round ball of glass filled with water. This is held in a tree like stand. These she claims are the Jewish objects the Thummim and the Urim. These objects were made to light fires from the light of the sun. Other informations in the essay "An Introduction to Current Theories about The Sangraal"
       
    • A Celtic Cauldron
    • 
      Many notable writers have shown the similarity between the Celtic folklore tales and the stories of King Arthur. There were many cauldrons in Celtic tales and some had very similar properties to the Grail as described in the Arthurian tales.
      A famous welsh poem, The Preiddeu Annwn, describes Arthur and his men venturing into the Celtic underworld to steal the Cauldron of Annwn which had pearls and is blown on by nine maidens. It has the ability to restore life to dead warriors. Note that in the Christian tradition, the Cup is always carried or guarded by women and that it has life restoring capabilities.
      Another cauldron, the Cauldron of Awen had a potion brewed in it which could bestow all knowledge. A youth, Gwion, was set to stir this by the goddess Ceridwen. He spilled three drops onto his fingers and put them into his mouth. He gained all knowledge. Note too that the Grail in Arthurian legend could bestow knowledge.
      Many authors have thus tried to show that the celtic cauldrons are in some sense a forerunner to the modern Grail image. This, together, with the derivation of some Arthurian heros, such as Kay and Bedivere, from celtic ones has been explored in many texts. The author wishes to point out that although the celtic derivations are popular in theory, they by no means explain all events and descriptions within the cycles. Nor, do they explain the sudden interest at the time of Chretien in the Grail. Although the celtic cauldron derivation theory has good grounds it is by no means a complete explanation for the Grail cycles. Other informations in the essay "An Introduction to Current Theories about The Sangraal"
       
    • Jesus' blood line
    • 
      The word used for the Grail changed subtley many times. One of these words is sangreal. The word sangreal has been split to mean Holy Grail (San Greal). However, some theories have been put forward which support a different splitting of the word : Sang Real (Royal blood). The reasoning behind this theory is that Jesus Christ had a child (or children) by Mary Magdalene. The lineage of the Royal Blood was thus continued and in some theories exists to the present day. Most notable recently, this Royal Blood theory has been presented in a book called The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail.  In this book it is claimed that Christ was married to Mary Magdalene and that Christ did not die on the cross. The authors present much historical evidence to support their claim and try to show how several secret societies have guarded the secret of this blood line down the ages to the present day. They associate historical characters and places with those found in the earliest Medieval Grail texts and demonstrate how the blood line from Christ has been involved in world affairs. Other informations in the essay "An Introduction to Current Theories about The Sangraal"

      Grail could also be:
       

    • Alladin's Lamp
    • The Golden Fleece
    • The Baphomet

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    "An Introduction to Current Theories about The Sangraal" Article by Father Thomas Christianson

    The confusion arises because the word Grail is derived from the word graal which first appeared in turn of the first millenium (A.D.) prose and poetry. There is no confusion over the meaning of the word Graal, which was a dish or platter brought to the table at various stages during a meal. However, the things that the graal or grail has come to represent has changed from story to story throughout the words history. The first story in which the word appears was written by Chrétien de Troyes - "Le Conte del Graal". Chretiens' story was almost certainly based on an earlier one, but it is unknown what his actual source was or his meaning of the word Graal. Chretien did not finish his story and continuations and rewrites of the story are then free to embellish and invent as much as the authors saw fit. Now the Grail represents many different things to many different people. No one meaning seems to explain all the strange events in the Grail stories. The reader will not find a definitive answer. Nor will he read all theories as some are obscure and not yet encountered in detail by the author.
     

    • • What is the Sangraal?

    It is fair to say that to most people in the western world the Sangraal is a cup or goblet associated in some way with Jesus Christ. This image was popularised by such writers as Sir Thomas Malory in his "Morte D'Arthur". It is however not the only object that has been linked to the Grail. Indeed, it has been claimed that the Grail is not a physical object of any type but is a blood line or even a spiritual ideal presented in metaphor. One thing is certain, despite (or perhaps because of) its elusive qualities, the Grail has held and continues to hold a great fascination. The Grail promises mystery, secrecy, adventure and the obtaining of a prize or knowledge available to all but found only by a few.

    •  

    The Cup of Christ.
     

    • When Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade opened to packed houses, it was apparent that the legend of the Grail was not dead. The film on the surface perpetuates the Grail in the Cup of Christ image. If we examine the script a little closer some evidence of the Grail as knowledge or a path to God can be seen. Note in particular Professor Jones reply to the question "What did you find ?'' "Illumination" and Professor Brodies line "The search for the Cup of Christ is the search for the Divine in all of us". Nonetheless, the film is a good example of how most people see the Grail as the Cup of Christ. The Cup was the cup used at the last supper from which wine was drunk as a symbol of Jesus' blood. It is also the cup which Joseph of Arimathea used to collect the actual blood of Jesus after his crucifixion while preparing the body for burial. The legend then follows many differing stories about Joseph and the Cup. The most well known is that Joseph and his sister and her husband left Jerusalem and sailed to France. Here Joseph left his sister and his brother-in-law and sailed to England where he set up the first Christian church at Glastonbury. Some legends claim that he left the cup in the care of his brother-in-law in France while most stories tell of him bringing the Cup to Glastonbury which to this day is still associated with the Grail legends. The Arthurian stories now include stories of the Cup of Christ. It was not always so. Something called the Graal was in early Arthurian stories but it wasn't until later that this was Christianised and became the Cup of Christ. The Graal was a mysterious object which was not described in detail. The earliest story, to mention the Grail in some form, by Chretien de Troyes was left incomplete, enabling many writers since to place their own interpretation on the story. It ought to be pointed out that these legends are considered by historians to be, at best pseudo-history, and at worst complete romantic fabrications. The cup has certain powers associated with it. These are : Healing and restorative ability. Communication with God or knowledge of God. Invisibility to evil or unworthy eyes. Ability to feed those present. Immortality. Ability to call those to it who were worthy.
       

    The Urim and the Thummim.
     

    • Lady Flavia Anderson presented a totally new theory about the Grail in her book "The Ancient Secret". In this book she claims that the Grail is a round ball of glass filled with water. This is held in a tree like stand. These she claims are the Jewish objects the Thummim and the Urim. These objects were made to light fires from the light of the sun. Her book shows how man has revered light in religion and fire made from direct sunlight, through a crystal or glass ball or the like, has long thought to be holy in some sense. Often perpetual fires were kept alight in Holy places by virgins using such methods. She also demonstrates how many metaphors for light and rays of light (such as the spear and the sword) appear time and again in Arthurian legend. Not only this but the Grail is often depicted as a stone and there is constant reference to a Grail tree. Further it was often women who were in charge of fires created from objects such as these and it is women who are depicted as Grail guardians in Arthurian legend. Undoubtedly such objects existed and it is likely that the Jews at the time of Solomon used such objects. The theory goes on to state that these objects were buried along with the Ark of the Covenant in a cave system somewhere in Jordan. Interestingly, the final sequences of Indiana Jones III are filmed in the ancient ruined city of Petra in Jordan and not in Egypt as is claimed in the film itself.
       

    The Blood Line of Christ.
     

    • The word used for the Grail changed subtley many times. One of these words is sangreal. The word sangreal has been split to mean Sangraal (San Greal). However, some theories have been put forward which support a different splitting of the word : Sang Real (Royal blood). The reasoning behind this theory is that Jesus Christ had a child (or children) by Mary Magdalene. The lineage of the Royal Blood was thus continued and in some theories exists to the present day. Most notable recently, this Royal Blood theory has been presented in a book called `Holy Blood - Holy Grail'. In this book it is claimed that Christ was married to Mary Magdalene and that Christ did not die on the cross. The authors present much historical evidence to support their claim and try to show how several secret societies have guarded the secret of this blood line down the ages to the present day. They associate historical characters and places with those found in the earliest Medieval Grail texts and demonstrate how the blood line from Christ has been involved in world affairs. Another notable Grail seeker, Walter Stein, also investigated this theory for some time. His theories were discredited because of his one time association with the Nazis. He was, however not a Nazi himself and indeed was Sir Winston Churchills advisor on Nazi occult activity for a time.
       

    The Celtic Cauldrons.
     

    • Many notable writers have shown the similarity between the Celtic folklore tales and the stories of King Arthur. There were many cauldrons in Celtic tales and some had very similar properties to the Grail as described in the Arthurian tales. A famous welsh poem, The Preiddeu Annwn, describes Arthur and his men venturing into the Celtic underworld to steal the Cauldron of Annwn which had pearls and is blown on by nine maidens. It has the ability to restore life to dead warriors. Note that in the Christian tradition, the Cup is always carried or guarded by women and that it has life restoring capabilities. Another cauldron, the Cauldron of Awen had a potion brewed in it which could bestow all knowledge. A youth, Gwion, was set to stir this by the goddess Ceridwen. He spilled three drops onto his fingers and put them into his mouth. He gained all knowledge. Note too that the Grail in Arthurian legend could bestow knowledge. Many authors have thus tried to show that the celtic cauldrons are in some sense a forerunner to the modern Grail image. This, together, with the derivation of some Arthurian heros, such as Kay and Bedivere, from celtic ones has been explored in many texts. The author wishes to point out that although the celtic derivations are popular in theory, they by no means explain all events and descriptions within the cycles. Nor, do they explain the sudden interest at the time of Chretien in the Grail. Although the celtic cauldron derivation theory has good grounds it is by no means a complete explanation for the Grail cycles. The author states this in order to warn against the plethora of purely celtic origin based texts.
       

    The Emerald of Lucifer.
     

    • The story of the angels fighting in heaven gives us yet another theory about the Grail. The story tells how Lucifer (although this name is commonly used to represent the Devil now, at one time it had no such association and meant simply `The Light Bringer') lead one third of the heavenly host in a revolt against God but that he was defeated. As Lucifer was cast down out of heaven, a large emerald fell from his crown. This emerald is said to have been the source of his power. It is interesting to note that the Grail has been depicted as a stone in the early Arthurian legends. It is this stone, fallen to earth, which has been suggested is the Grail.
       

    The Philosophers Stone.
     

    • Alchemy was long thought of as false science. The basis of alchemy was to create a stone which would turn all base metals to gold. It is now often said that alchemy was a code for spiritual teachings that were considered heretical. Due to the Witch Hunts it was necessary to write in code of some form. The `gold' in alchemy is presented as being `enlightenment' or spiritual oneness with God. The base metal is what each man is before the process of alchemy, and that alchemy is a spiritual path to God. The philosophers stone has thus been associated with the Grail as it has the same property of imbuing oneness with God. It should be stressed that the philosophers stone is not considered to be a real stone of any sort but that the Grail in this case is a metaphor for the final stage of enlightenment. Sometimes this theory is tied to the Emerald of Lucifer theory in suggesting that a real stone may exist.
       

    The Grail as Knowledge.
     

    • In his book "The Spear of Destiny", Trevor Ravenscroft tells the history of the Lance of Longinus, the spear that pierced the side of Christ as he hung on the cross. He traces this spear through history and shows it to have been in the possession of some of the most influencial people in history. His teacher was Walter Stein (see above) and so much of the book concentrates on Hitler and his obsession with this object. In this book the Grail is presented as the knowledge to use this spear in some supernatural way. No evidence is presented and no cross referencing of any of the other literature available. It is simply stated. Ravenscroft claims that there are two ways to achieve this knowledge. Either through the use of "black arts" or by a much harder route of "learning the abcs of magic''. These particular quotes are from the introduction to Wolfram Von Eschenbachs `Parzival'. Once this knowledge is obtained some power that is present in the spear can be used for good or evil. The use is determined by the method that the user gained the knowledge of the Grail. If he used "black arts'' then he must wield the spear for evil, if not then he is free to chose.
       

    The Aquarian Grail.
     

    • One growing source of publications about the Grail is the New Age theory (or Aquarian Grail). This sees the Arthurian legends as somehow allegorical of spiritual paths to God. The belief is that the Grail is not a real object but union with God whilst still on Earth. Thus a grail seeker attempts through study of the legends and personal search, to find the Grail internally. Many books have been written about this, one notable writer being John Matthews. The Aquarian Grail theory says that all religions have a fundamental core of common truth and that this is best represented by the symbol of the Grail. It is part of the theories of the Grail as a mystical concept or level of achievement spiritually and not a real object at all. It should be remembered that the stories of Arthur which include the Grail (after Chretien de Troyes) were written in a time when many of the hidden ideas that this theory presents would have been considered heretical and dangerous. At the time the first mix in cultures of the far east and the west was happening through such groups as the Knights Templar. In fact, Wolfram Von Eschenbach in his Grail epic "Parzival" describes a group of knights who are the guardians of the grail. The reader is left in no doubt that he is alluding to the Templars. The trouveres and troubadors (story tellers) of the time would undoubtedly have had contact with stories and legends from eastern religions aswell as western ones for the first time. Similarly to alchemy, it would have been heresy to combine these openly but expression of this union of religions through story would be a natural and acceptable outlet
       

      • Where is the Sangraal?

    Local Legends - 1001 Grails.

    Nearly everywhere in the world, but especially in the West there are local legends of Grails. Nearly all these legends take the Christian Cup principle as a basis. This is not surprising as people now associate the Grail with this Cup and thus might claim legends relating to cups to be Grail legends.
    Here are three Grail legends:

    Roslin Chapel, Lothian Scotland.
     

    • The famous Grail Seeker Trevor Ravenscroft claimed in 1962 that he had finished a twenty year quest in search of the Grail at Roslin chapel. There appears to be a contradiction in that Ravenscroft claims the Grail to be a form of knowledge and also to be a real object (Christs Cup). This is simply explained by the fact that many people now use Grail to refer to the Cup of Christ while he himself may have felt this to not be the case. He would still have called this cup the Grail in order to communicate what he meant. There are quite a few people looking for the Grail who do not know what it actually is. They thus follow up many different theories. Ravenscroft may have believed in more than one theory. His claim was that the Grail was inside the Prentice Pillar (as it is known) in this chapel. The chapel is often visited now by Grail Seekers and many references to the Grail can be found in its stone work and windows. Metal detectors have been used on the pillar and an object of the appropriate size is indeed buried in the middle. Lord Roslin adamantly refuses to have the pillar x-rayed.
       

    The Grail in Wales.
     

    • It is said that there was a community in Wales who existed to guard a terracota cup which was inside a gold chalice. It was able to heal and was a powerful tool for good in the right hands. In 1880 a group of individuals was set up with the declared intention of studying esoteric things such as the Qabalah and Tarot divination. Their real intention was to find and destroy the Holy Grail. Over the next ten years the Grail was moved and hidden, finally finding a safe place. However, one of the guardians betrayed the others and the Grail was taken. A black mass was said over the Grail to detroy its power and then it was smashed into pieces and the pieces scattered.Most legends of Grails have many inconsequential details added to them in order to give a false authenticity. Names, dates, places and even historical figures are scattered in the legends. This is not true in this case and makes the legend unique and interesting because of this.
       

    The Narta Monga , Russia.
     

    • In the Caucasus Mountains in Russia is a small group of people who have stories of a magical cauldron called the Amonga. This chalice has properties in common with the Grail of early Arthurian stories of serving food, giving knowledge and being able to chose those worthy to serve it. The Narts were the heroic race of these Osettes. The stories of them bare a striking resemblance to Arthurian legend. The Chalice Well at Glastonbury, England. Joseph of Arimathea, so legend tells us, came to England, to Glastonbury, after the death of Jesus. With him he brought the Cup of Christ. Local legend now says that the Cup is buried somewhere under a hill called The Tor at Glastonbury. The Tor is an ancient site of ritual and religion and is still a place of pilgrimage today, standing high out of the Somerset countryside. A well, which is now a quiet place of sanctuary with surrounding gardens, flows with water from deep under The Tor. The rocks covered by the spring water are reddy in colour, representing the Blood of Christ, and the water itself leaves an aftertaste in the mouth much like blood. The Tor may have a network of underground tunnels, long ago sealed, and the Grail is supposed to be buried in one of these.
       

      • Grail Religions.

    Some religions have built up around the Grail considered as a spiritual ideal. The author has encountered two of these in some detail. These religions seem to draw heavily on Christianity as a basis for moral and historical teaching, however they do not hold to the Christian idea of `one true path'.

    The Grail Foundation.
     

    • An international charity with bases in Australia, Britain and America amongst others. The followers have books written by a man they hold in very high regard, Abd Ru Shin. He lived in Germany and died in the 1950s. They believe that he was the Grail but the author was unable to exact any reasoning for this claim. They wear a special symbol, half covered by the mens lapels in order to signify that men are less able to reach a spiritually high level than are women. The women wear the symbol openly. They hold public lectures and their books can be bought in most major bookstores.
       

    The Silver Chalice.
     

    • A small group of people who gather regularly in Edinburgh claim that the stories of Arthur and his knights are about a people who tapped into energies around us all but that only a few find. Each energy has a colour and the colour of the Grail energy is silver. The "silver chalice" as they refer to it is the set of blood vessels in the neck and the base of the skull which feed the brain. The silver energy can be used to increase the usefulness of the brain thus giving people able to tap into this energy almost super-human power. They claim to have documented proof of strange silver deposits on the insides of human skulls but the author was not shown these.
       

      • The Grail and Psychology.

    C.G. Jung was fascinated by the Grail and alchemy. Although he did not write on the Grail himself, his wife and one of his close friends did. Jung approaches the Grail legend as a story with many symbols from the unconcious mind used to express the religious attitude of the people at the time. He treats the main characters such as Merlin and Arthur as archetypes of the collective unconcious and the Grail Hallows (that is : spear, sword, cup and stone) as very potent symbols of religion from the collective unconcious. Jung believed that something fundamental was missing from Christianity as a world religion and that the Christianised versions of the Grail stories filled this gap. To him the Grail in the form of the Cup of Christ was a psychological progression in the completion of the development of Christianity. He also shows that alchemy and the Grail legends which developed around the same time had many symbols, colours , and spiritual teachings in common. Further to this, many events in the Grail cycles have been closely analysed in terms of Jungian psychology. Jung showed that the writers understood or at least unconciously expressed many fundamental elements of his psychology in the events they placed in the stories.
     

    • • Other Strange Theories...

    There are many more theories. Some of these are presented in short here :
     

    • The vegetation theory was put forward in 1906 by J.L. Weston. She showed similarities between eastern vegetation rituals and stories in Arthurian legend.
    • Onomastic theories are concerned with showing the derivation of the word Grail in history. Most of these are unsuccessful and very unconvincing.
    • The Shroud of Turin may have been guarded by the Templars. They are also associated by implication with the Grail through `Parzival'. It has been suggested that the Shroud is the Grail.
    • The tree of life is a Qabbalists way of depicting the spiritual universe. On this tree are ten spheres which have certain values or traits associated with them. A few authors have attempted to place Arthurian places and people onto this tree, most notably, Gareth Knight in his book `The Secret Tradition in Arthurian Legend'.
    • A few people such as Mary Caine and Katherine Maltwood have used zodiacal theories about the Grail. They place Arthurian characters and places on the Zodiac and have even placed characters from the zodiac and legend on ordinance survey maps of the south of Britain, particularly around Glastonbury.
    • Jessie Weston showed the Grail Hallows (these are sword, spear, stone and cauldron or cup) to be similar to the suits in Tarot cards. Today a few decks exist such as The Arthurian Tarot and the Merlin Tarot which associate Tarot directly with the Grail legends.

    • • Conclusion.

    There can be little doubt that the Grail is an elusive idea. It has taken, and will continue to take, many different forms in peoples minds. No one theory as yet has been able to explain all the details in the Grail mystery. Now, when we say "Grail", we need to clarify what we mean in detail to avoid the question "But which Grail do you mean?". It seems that each idea has merits and problems. Perhaps all are true in some sense. There is no reason why the Aquarian Grail and The Urim and Thummim theories are incompatible. The use of the word "Grail" to describe these very different concepts does not invalidate the concepts themselves. "...Above all (the Grail) is a symbol of symbolism itself. It represents the very potency by which a symbol symbolizes." by P.L. Wilson in Angels.

    Perhaps though we should ask what Chretien de Troyes meant by the "Graal". Unfortunately this question appears unanswerable as we only have one document, and that unfinished, to study. It would be foolish to hope that an ending be found. Documents from that time were often destroyed. What of Chretiens source? Many writers have claimed a source for their stories on the Grail. None have been produced. Again the same fate may have befallen such documents or perhaps the writers of ancient literature knew the value of a mystery source as much as todays journalists.
     

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