Holy Grail

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Holy Grail

Holy Grail a feature of medieval legend and literature. It appears variously as a chalice, a cup, or a dish and sometimes as a stone or a caldron into which a bleeding lance drips. It was identified by Christians as the chalice of the Last Supper brought to England by St. Joseph of Arimathea. Miraculous in its powers, it could provide food and healing. However, it would be revealed only to a pure knight, and the Grail Quest appears in different stories. In Arthurian legend the purest knight is variously Parsifal or Galahad . The Grail is one of the most difficult problems of Arthurian legend, introducing as it does features of Christian story, Celtic myth, and ancient fertility cults.

Bibliography: See R. S. Loomis, The Grail (1963); E. Jung and M.-L. von Franz, The Grail Legend (tr. 1971).

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"Holy Grail." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Holy Grail

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | © The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English 2009, originally published by Oxford University Press 2009. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Ho·ly Grail • n. see Grail.

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Holy Grail

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Â© World Encyclopedia 2005, originally published by Oxford University Press 2005. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Holy Grail In medieval legend, the cup supposedly used by Jesus at the Last Supper and by Joseph of Arimathea at the crucifixion to catch the blood from Jesus' wounds. The quest for the Grail, especially by the knights of Arthurian legend, became a search for mystical union with God.

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