- The Holy Grail is most popularly depicted as the cup that Jesus drank from during the Last Supper. According to legend, Joseph of Arimathea then used the cup to capture Christ's blood while he hung from the cross. The word "grail" derives from the Latin word "gradale," which means dish. Various myths have claimed that Joseph of Arimathea brought the Holy Grail to Britain, where it was captured and housed in the Great Castle of Corbenic. The location of the castle was lost over the centuries, but was later prophesied to be recovered by a descendent of Joseph of Arimathea.
- Cultural historians have traced the first written depictions of the Holy Grail back to romances created in the 12th century. Chretien de Troyes wrote "The Story of the Grail" in the 1180s. The poem focused on a hero named Perceval, who had to become spiritually worthy before he could locate the grail. The grail became commonly known as the Holy Grail through the work of Robert de Boron. It was de Boron who first wrote of Joseph of Arimathea and his connection with the blessed item. Other literary heroes who had some connection to the grail during this time period were the knights Lancelot and Galahad.
- The Holy Grail has spawned several theories and myths over the past century. One group thought to have possessed the grail was the Knights of Templar, a Christian military order that existed in the 12th and 13th centuries. Over the years, various churches and monasteries have claimed to lay hold of artifacts similar to the Holy Grail, including Saint Mary of Valencia Cathedral in Spain and the monastery San Juan de La Pena, also in Spain. According to some legends, the Holy Grail contains unexplained mystical powers.
- In the 19th century, the Holy Grail once again became popular in literature and poems, including Alfred Tennyson's "Idylls of the King." Today, however, the Holy Grail can most commonly be found within works of fantasy or science fiction. It is often associated with mystical legends, knights and the Arthurian cycle of characters. It has featured prominently in popular movies such as "Excalibur" and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," and was a crucial plot point in Dan Brown's bestseller "The Da Vinci Code." The Holy Grail often appears in the form of a mystical object, or a holy quest that a hero must undertake.
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