In pre-Christain and pre-Anglo-Saxon England the Celtic peoples had a thriving culture. Among their many tales was that of a cauldron that would heal the wounded and raise the dead in addition to speaking wisdom and producing many wonders. This story is what inspired The Black Cauldron story by Lloyd Alexander, which was itself made into a Disney movie a few years back. The original tale would eventually be woven into the pre-Christain Grail cycle with heroes like the Fisher King, Perceval, and Gawain -- itself a part of the larger Arthurian legends.

At this point the grail is not a cauldron, but a platter or chalice with the head of a fallen warrior upon it. Once Christainity came to Great Britain the Arthurian tales took on a Christain flavor (around 600 AD). This was something that Christain monks did to old tales to keep them around after all pagan myths and rituals were abandoned. The grail then became then vessel which Jesus drank out of at the Last Supper and which caught his blood at the crucifixtion, later brought to England by Joseph of Arimathea (the man who donated Jesus's tomb).

Through the French romances of Arthur we see the Holy Grail become an object of questing and holy reward for a chaste and sinless life. The truth is that no knight ever quested for the grail, sacred feminine methaphor or otherwise. The roots of the grail legends lay not in Christainity, nor pagans responding to Christainity -- but in the mythology of people who had never heard of Christains.

This is an exerpt the following article.

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Join the Discussion

What are your opinions of the Holy Grail? A chalice or a human being? Share your perspectives.

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Further Reading:
Celtic Myth and Legend. Squire, Charles. New Page Books 2001.

Dan Brown and the Grail that Never Was. Lacy, Norris. Arthuriana 14.3. 2004.