The Knights of the Round Table saw their mission in the search for and protection of the Holy Grail. Close contemplation of the cup grants immortality, and the liquid drunk from it atones for sins ... Did the Holy Grail exist? Or is it fiction? Bowl is this? Or a stone? Or some relic?
Holy grail. Assumptions about the occurrence
According to medieval Celtic legends, this magic item is the cup from which Jesus Christ drank at the Last Supper. Joseph of Arimathea collected the blood of the crucified Savior in this shrine and brought it to Britain. There is another interpretation of the concept - “living stone”. On giving, he was brought by angels to the earth and possessed magical power. The “Holy Grail” also refers to the baby born to Mary Magdalene from Jesus Christ. The phrase is often used to describe the wonderful world, sacred fire, blessed
cornucopia, and even
church hymns. Also found in the role of cherishing desire and purpose.
Church Sacrament or Celtic Myth
Almost every nation has its own answer to the question of whether the Grail is what it is. In Egyptian writings a hieroglyph was found, which denotes a heart. The sign had the form of a magic vessel. The Celts considered the Grail a full cup of wine, honey or beer, which the young girl brought to the king. It was a symbol of the supreme power of the tribe. Adherents of the Christian faith believed that the Holy Grail is the heart of Christ. According to legend, it was created from an emerald that fell from Lucifer's forehead. Using a magical item, the blood of Christ atoned for the sin of a fallen angel. Tradition also tells that the cup was handed over to Adam, but after the fall remained in paradise. He who finds her there will atone for the sins of mankind. Of course, only the most worthy seeker can discover the Grail.
Divine sound
The formula for the Original Sound is the Grail. What is it? God made this sound when He created the material universe. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." This sound has the power that transforms matter by making changes to the basic matrix of being. The wise men from Shambhala, the Bodhisattvas, brought the Grail to the world of people.
The legend says that during the Last Supper Jesus scribbled the formula of the Primary Sound at the bottom of a wooden dish. After supper, he handed over the cup to Mary Magdalene, saying the following: "This is Magdala of My Church ...". Thus, he dedicated the virgin to a certain secret, the value of which only she understood.
A thousand years after the arrival of the Savior, the Bodhisattva Agapit brought the Holy Grail to the world again. It was given in the form of a formula of 12 characters. In the period XI-XII centuries, the subject was found. The people who kept it organized the Knights Templar.
Order of the Knights
In the IV century BC, the Grail became a symbol of the spirit of adventure, the magic of the world, the interweaving of myths and mysticism of the teaching of Christ. Ancient Egypt during this period became the site of the creation of the Order of the Grail Knights. Its occurrence is associated with the attack of Lucifer on the castle of Montsegur, which was owned by the first Grail King Titurel. To protect the knights united in the Order and vowed to always be on guard of a magic item. After some time, this society was located in Palestine. King Solomon, who ruled there, wore the Grail in the form of a stone in a ring. Later, the magical item turned into a cup, the guardians of which were the knights of the Round Table of King Arthur.
When the world became too sinful, the Order of the Grail Knights decided to move the cup to a holy place. They went to the East, where they ended up in the country of Shambhala. This is a mysterious place with eternal spring and beating springs of youth. Here, on Mount Monsalvat, the knights build a castle that becomes the haven of the Grail. Around the mountain, according to legend, lies the Star Ocean and the river of Times flows. Only the elite called by a magic item can enter the castle.
The search for the bowl
Who just did not seek the Holy Grail. Many knights traveled the world in his search. In each era there were seekers. Even Hitler was obsessed with finding the chalice, sending expeditions to all corners of the world. Why is this item needed? According to legend, the one who finds the cup will gain power over the world and gain eternal life.
At the beginning of the XIV century, during a riot in France, the king of the country Philip IV, nicknamed the Beautiful, began to search. The desired item was hidden in Temple - the Parisian residence of the Knights Templar. Passing through the underground corridors of the castle, the king saw a treasury, which seemed to cost several times more than all his property. When the uprising subsided and Philip IV left the fortress, he was not left alone in thoughts of myriad wealth. Realizing that it could not have arisen through accumulation or offerings, the king decided that something endowed with great power helped the knights. From then on, the Holy Grail became the subject of his desires. Where is he, the king knew, but how to get him? In October 1307, Philip IV sent a secret order to all cities in France, which called for the arrest of the Templars with confiscation of property. A little later, Pope Clement V accused the order of sinfulness and forbade its further existence. The king’s order was executed without any resistance from the Templars, but the treasure was never found. The magical item disappeared without a trace.
Russia also did not remain indifferent to the search for the Grail. Aghvan Lobsan Dordzhiev - the representative of the Dalai Lama XIII - erected a Buddhist datsan in St. Petersburg before the October Revolution. The construction was oriented to the paradise land - Shambhala.
Grail - what is it? Literary sources
Information about a magical item is drawn from various works. Authors such as Chretien de Trois, Wolfram von Eschenbach, Robert de Boron made a great contribution to the formation of the legend of the Grail. The first writer at the end of the XII century in his works told about the magical place and the “Mountain of Salvation”, on which stands the castle of Monsalvat. It was hidden from the wicked people in the Grail. The novel "Partzifal" tells of the location of the bowl on the border of Spain (territory of Gaul). The legend of the "King Fisherman" tells of the mysterious disease of the monarch of the keeper of the bowl. Not a single healer could help the king until Partzilf asked him about the whereabouts of the Grail and gave him a drink from the relic. In the book "The Holy Grail" A.E. Waite talks about the connection of the holy symbol with the idea of atonement for sins and voluntary sacrifice. The shrine was often mentioned in Christian literature. The Gospel of Nicodemus tells how the Holy Grail participated in the Last Supper.
It is difficult to say whether it is possible to completely trust the ancient sources of literature, since earlier the influence of the church was enormous, including writing. Some works were severely censored or simply lost. But it is believed that those who know the real story gave it out in small portions, it remains only to collect information together.
Spear of Longinia
In addition to the Grail, there is another magical item in the world endowed with miraculous powers - the Spear of Destiny. He pierced the body of the crucified Christ. The spear is considered a symbol of the fulfillment of the prophecy. It serves as evidence of the physical death of the Savior and gives faith in his Resurrection.
Traditions endow Spear of Longinus with magical powers. It gives the chosen one the ability to heal wounds and restore health. The Spear-keeper can rule the world and remain invincible. The power disappears if the chosen one violates the established rules of behavior or parted with a magical item.
Spear Owners
For the first time the description of the shrine is found in the chronicles of Constantinople. Here Emperor Constantine, holding the Spear, decided to found the capital of Christianity. After the siege of Rome, the magic item passed into the possession of the invader - Goth Alaric. Further, the Spear was in the hands of King Theodorich, Emperor Justinian. It is owned by the most powerful warriors, whom the shrine grants either prosperity and strength, or chaos and destruction.
The Carolingian dynasty held the Spear for the longest. After them, power over the subject was taken by the Saxon emperors - Barbarossa, Frederick II. After a certain period of time, the mighty Habsburg house took possession of the shrine for a long time. After the battle of Austerlitz, Napoleon tried to find the Spear, but they managed to take him out of Vienna. In the museum of the specified city, the magic item was stored until 1938. At this time, he was very interested in Adolf Hitler, and after the accession of the country to Germany, the Spear was transferred to storage in Nuremberg. After losing the Great Patriotic War, the Fuhrer tried to hide the relic by sending it to Antarctica, but did not have time. In 1946, the shrine was returned to Vienna, where it is still located.
Church tradition
The centurion Longinus, who pierced the body of the Savior, believed in Christ and went with sermons to pagan countries - the Caucasus and Transcaucasia. It is believed that in the lands of ancient Armenia he left his Spear. According to another version, the tip of the shrine was brought by the Apostle Thaddeus. More than once, the peoples of the Caucasus turned to relics for help. For example, during the reign of Emperor Alexander I, a shrine carried by the procession in Georgia saved people from the cholera epidemic.
The spear is kept in the sacristy of the Echmiadzin monastery. Is it real? Or is it a copy? It is hard to say. Scientists studied relics located in both Armenia and Vienna, but did not come to a consensus on authenticity.
Relic in the works of modernity
Grail - what is it? Where to look for him? Such questions were repeatedly asked by heroes of literary works, feature films, and even computer games. Some of the most famous films that featured the shrine are Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Fisher King, and Da Vinci Code. Authors in their own way saw the riddle of a magic item. For example, in the Da Vinci Code tape, the Grail is a descendant of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. One of the sought-after writers who tried to find a clue to the relic was Dan Brown.
So what is the essence of the Grail?
From time immemorial, the image of the shrine has supported the faith of many people in the existence of relics. The holy grail - what is it? There is still no exact answer to this question. But most often there is a variant of the cup from which the blood of Christ was tasted at the Last Supper. There is another version that the relic is a stone that came to people in a magical way. But one idea of the shrine is similar - the Grail message is in its ability to bestow Salvation. In this regard, another solution is possible - this is a certain state of the human soul, in which reunion with God is possible.