The existence of the Holy Grail has been controversial over the centuries. It is an item coveted by archaeologists, historians, laymen and clergymen. Some believe that this is the cup from which Jesus drank during the Last Supper, while others believe that this is a Celtic object with magical powers. For hundreds of years, many legends and stories have grown around him, which no one can confirm or exclude.
There are many legends surrounding the Holy Grail.
The most common theory of its existence and purpose is the Christian explanation that it was a cup (in ancient Spanish, the word grial means a cup), from which during the Last Supper Jesus drank wine.
Further, this story says that it was this cup that was used by the Jewish merchant Joseph of Arimathea, who filled it with blood oozing from the wounded side of Christ, immediately after his crucifixion.
Thus, this cup became a mystical object with great power, for it was believed that only a good, spiritually pure and sinless person could find it, and when he finds it, he will be endowed with the power of health, power over the world and immortality.
Legend has it that Joseph of Arimathea, by the voice of an angel, left the Holy Land and went to Britain, where at the behest of God he settled and built a mighty castle.
In this castle, he hid a bowl, and the majestic structure itself was called the Grail watchtower. There were many myths and rumors about the castle itself. Some argued that he did not exist at all, others that he was well hidden, facts about his exact location and appearance were mixed.
According to one of the statements, the Grail Watchtower was hidden on the border of two worlds - the spiritual and the earthly, and only a righteous person, a Christian, a brave knight who wants to find the Holy Grail could get into it.
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Therefore, the knights of King Arthur, who were considered the most valiant and perfect warriors in history, set out in search of the mysterious relic. However, the difficulties of the search and the numerous obstacles on the way to the Holy Grail confused the knights.
Like any legend, this one, about the knights of King Arthur and the search for the mysterious bowl, has many versions.
Some report that Perceval arrived at the castle and it was he who found the Holy Grail, and others that he fell into the hands of Lancelot's son Galahad, a man without sin, with a pure heart and soul, who was immediately taken by an angelic retinue straight to heaven.
However, most scholars believe that the original source of all myths about the miraculous power of the Holy Grail was the Celtic legend of the magic cauldron, which was the source of all good things, such as health, victory in battle, etc., and also possessed the miraculous power of reviving life …
In one of the Arthurian legends, namely in the poem by Wolfram von Eschenbach, the Holy Grail is depicted as a magic stone (the Philosopher's Stone?), Which gave health, life, food and strength.
Controversy around the Holy Grail
The most controversial and bizarre version of the existence of the Holy Grail was given in their 1982 book The Holy Grail, Holy Blood by Michael Bennett, Richard Lee and Henry Lincoln.
They stated that the words "Holy Grail" have a direct connection with the English phrase "Sang royal", which means "royal blood."
According to their interpretation, the Holy Grail is neither a cup, nor a stone, nor any other vessel, but a man, namely the woman - Mary Magdalene, who was the wife of Jesus and kept the royal blood in her womb, that is, the child of Jesus.
This thesis was a source of inspiration for Dan Brown and his book The Da Vinci Code, which claimed that in the fresco of Leonardo da Vinci The Last Supper, to the right of Jesus is Mary Magdalene (his wife) and not St. John. Neither concept has ever been confirmed and to this day causes a lot of controversy.
The Holy Grail in Spain?
According to historical records, the Holy Grail in the form of a cup of the Last Supper came to the Assumption Cathedral of Valencia in 1436 as a gift from King Alfonso V of Aragon.
But before he arrived in Spain, he was rumored to be in Rome, where Saint Peter brought him. Anthropologists believe there is a small chance that the cup in Valencia is the Holy Grail.
Bowl from the Basilica of St. Isidore.
Other sites and bowls are continually referenced, such as the bowl at St. Isidore's Basilica in León in northern Spain, or the bowl from the British cathedral church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lincoln.
Recently, due to a couple of Spanish scientists Margarita Torres and Jose Miguel Ortega del Rio, the question about the bowl from the Basilica of St. Isidore has been really loud.
After a careful analysis of the materials of the 11th century, which described that the goblet was stolen from the Holy Sepulcher, they came to the conclusion that the golden, richly decorated goblet in Leon is just the famous Holy Grail.
It was supposed to be presented in 1054 to King Fernando and then ruler of León and Castile. Scientists support their thesis with evidence, pointing out the same damage to the cup from Leon as on the original cup of the Holy Grail described in these materials.
What exactly was the Holy Grail? What did he look like? When did it exist? - we will probably have to wait a long time for answers to these and other questions.
And, perhaps, even the story of this legendary object will forever remain a mystery and a myth that causes more and more controversy and speculation about it …