THE GRAIL: The Celtic Origins of The Sacred Icon

Written by the world's preeminent authority on Celtic civilisation, we take a comprehensive look at the Grail that reveals its fundamentally Celtic nature beneath layers of Christian interpretations. Through his exploration of several versions of this myth that appeared in the Middle Ages, Jean Markale digs deep beneath the Christian veneer of these tales, allowing us to penetrate to the true meaning of the Grail and its Quest, and how these myths were later used by the Knights Templar, as well as how their links with Alchemy and Catharism which played a decisive role in the shaping of Western Hermetic thought. It emphasises the significance of the Quest as an archetype of spiritual seeking. For some the goal of this quest has been divine grace or the Philosophers' Stone, for others it is simply a treasure that connects various episodes of the King Arthur legend. Chapters include The Grail of Chrétien de Troyes, The Franco-British Grail, The Cistercian Grail, The Germano-Iranian Grail, and The Meaning of the Quest. 186 page large softback.