The Legend of the Holy Grail

No other medieval fable is so rich in symbolism, so diverse and, in many cases, as contradictory in its meaning as the legend of the Holy Grail .

Is there any historical proof that allows us to suppose that there was a Grail that could be found? Or its legend is nothing more than a charming literary tale created by troubadours to entertain the members of the European courts?

The legend of the Grail was recorded in history at the end of the 13th century.The mind of a talented French poet called Chretien de Troyes .

However, when he wrote his Grail Story , Chretien included a host of pre-Christian elements.The legend went back, in fact, several centuries ago, to the Celtic stories of King Arthur , to the Irish tales, to the Welsh bards, where Christianity had not yet arrived.

In fact, for the first Christian narrator of the legend of the Grail , Chretien de Troyes , the Holy Grail was not even a glass, but appears as a lavish and magical dish whose function is never fully cleared.

Later the legend of the Grail took a new turn by nourishing itself with elements of the Jewish hut, and alchemy. Wolfram von Eschenbach readjusted the fable in his version of the legend of the Grail , which he called Parzival.

So, to speak of the Grail as a single legend is an error.It is rather a central story interwoven with multi-colored threads belonging to different authors and that arise from very different traditions.

However, there are also many elements in common.What seems to predominate in the different versions, both in Celtic, Christian and esoteric, is the path of a hero destined to crown the search for an enigmatic prodigious object known as the Grial.

That hero is known by names as diverse as Arturo , Gawain , Perceval , Peredur , Parzival , Parsifal , Galahad , and others.In general, the character's conception is the result of the union of parents with mysterious characteristics.

The hero grows surrounded by simplicity, and is characterized by possessing a peculiar innocence, which in some cases makes him receive nicknames like the Fool , or the great Fool.

When he left childhood, his first wish is to become a great gentleman.it is like he gets to know the knights of the Round Table, in the court of the king Arturo .His behavior and his actions, although a little awkward, seem to indicate that he is a chosen one, or someone very special.

In this context, our hero is framed in the search for Holy Grail , a strange object that appears in the court of King Arthur.The feats performed by the knights in their search varies according to the different versions of the story, but they always end with the hero who finds the Holy Grail and restores peace in the kingdom.

It is not difficult to find the legend of the Holy Grail in the pattern of any modern adventure movie , or novelaepica, where a hero of humble origins manages through his honesty and simplicity to reach his long-awaited desire along a winding path that advances and go back.

And what exactly is the Grail, what are its supposed functions? Not all authors are as ambiguous as Wolfram von Eschenbach when he says: "there was an object they called Grail , the flower of all earthly desires, the fullness that would never decline".

Contrary to current popular knowledge, the Grail appears in legends with various aspects and shapes: plate, cauldron, chalice, the cup of the Ultima Dinner , the emerald that emerges from the crown of Lucifer when it falls to hell, philosopher's stone, a beatific vision, etc.

Its function also varies according to the narrative tradition, its powers are so varied as the same object that is intended to be found.It is linked with rebirth and restitution, with eternal youth, with enlightenment and wisdom, with individuality and internal search, or many times with God Himself.

Sources: Godwin, M.: The Holy Grail Wolfram von Eschenbach: Parzival