It is a legend that attributes divine powers to a holy chalice, which would have been used by Jesus at the last supper. This, however, is a medieval version of a myth that arose long before the Christian era. In antiquity, the Celts – a people from central-southern Europe who spread across the continent – had a myth about a magic vessel. The food placed in it, when consumed, acquired the taste of what the person liked best and still gave him strength and vigor. It is likely that, in the Middle Ages, such a story inspired the “Christianized” legend about the Holy Grail. In literature, the pioneering records of this fusion between Celtic mythology and Christian ideology date from the 12th century. “Oral legends migrated to historiographical texts, from these texts to verses and from verses to a prose cycle”, says philologist Heitor Megale, from the University of São Paulo (USP), organizer of the book Quest for the Holy Grailwhich explores this theme.
At the end of the 12th century, the French writer Chrétien de Troyes was the first to use the legend of the Holy Grail in medieval stories that told about King Arthur’s adventures in England. From then on, other authors, such as the French poet Robert de Boron, in the 13th century, reinforced the connection between the myths of the chalice and King Arthur, describing, for example, how the Holy Grail would have arrived in Europe. It was Boron who added another important name to this story: the biblical character Joseph of Arimathea. In Boron’s novels, Arimathea is tasked with guarding and protecting the Holy Grail. Despite the various Christian references, these stories are not taken seriously by the Catholic Church. “The Holy Supper chalice has the symbolic value of the celebration of the Eucharist. Its magical power is just a legend”, says theologian Rafael Rodrigues Silva, from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP). Powerful or not, the fact is that this Christian relic was never actually found.
The Chalice’s Journey
Medieval romances tell that, from Jerusalem, he would have been taken to England
– (Rogério Nunes/)
1. In Jerusalem, during the last supper with the 12 apostles, Jesus Christ converts the bread and wine into his body and blood – this sacrament, called the Eucharist, is one of the highest points of Christian rituals. The chalice used by Christ on this occasion is called the Holy Grail.
– (Rogério Nunes/)
two. After the Last Supper, Jesus is arrested and crucified. A rich Jew who was a follower of his, Joseph of Arimathea, asks permission to collect the body and bury it. First, however, a Roman soldier wounds the body of Christ to make sure of his death. With the same chalice used by Jesus at the last supper, Joseph of Arimathea collects the sacred blood that oozes from the wound.
3. After burying the body of Christ, José de Arimathea is seen as his disciple and ends up arrested, being taken to a windowless cell. Every day a dove materializes at the site and feeds it with a host. Even after being released, Arimathea decides to flee Jerusalem and heads to present-day England in the company of other followers of Christianity. He crosses Europe carrying the Grail
4. Joseph of Arimathea founds the first Christian congregation in Great Britain, where the current city of Glastonbury is located. In medieval romances, in this same region was Avalon, the mythical place that would later hold the body of King Arthur. Arimathea prepares a lineage of guardians of the Holy Grail, as the chalice gives superpowers to whoever possesses it. His first successor in this mission is his own son-in-law, Bron
5. Over time, the Holy Grail and its guardians fade into anonymity. Who tries to find the object is precisely King Arthur, who has a vision indicating that only the Holy Grail could save his life and also his kingdom of Camelot – which would be where today is the city of Caerleon, in Wales. Loyal companions of Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table set out in search of the chalice, never finding it.
imaginary forms
The object has already been described in the most different ways
– (Rogério Nunes/)
I) Simple and round – The first time it appears in a medieval novel is in Le Conte du Graal (“The Tale of the Grail”), by the French Chrétien de Troyes, in the 12th century. It is described not as a chalice, but as a simple round bowl
II) Luxurious and tailored – In other texts, which remain of unknown authorship and are dated between the 12th and 13th centuries, the Grail appears in the form of a very luxurious chalice, carved in 144 facets encrusted with emeralds.
III) Divine and untouchable – In The Queste Del Saint Graal (“The Quest for the Holy Grail”), a 13th-century text credited to the Frenchman Robert de Boron, the chalice is described as a formless divine object. Only someone pure and chaste could touch him
fictional monarch
Stories about King Arthur became popular in the 12th century
Celtic culture was the starting point not only for the myth about the Holy Grail, but also for the character that made the Holy Grail popular all over the world. The creation of the legendary King Arthur may have been inspired by a real man, a Celtic leader, who would have lived in England around the 5th century. But it was only from the 12th century that the first texts with Arthur’s adventures and his quest by the Grail were successful.