The Grail: From Celtic Myth to Christian Symbol

The Grail: From Celtic Myth to Christian Symbol
ISBN-10
0691020752
ISBN-13
9780691020754
Series
The Grail
Category
History
Pages
287
Language
English
Published
1991-10-27
Publisher
Princeton University Press
Author
Roger Sherman Loomis

Description

The medieval legend of the Grail, a tale about the search for supreme mystical experience, has never ceased to intrigue writers and scholars by its wildly variegated forms: the settings have ranged from Britain to the Punjab to the Temple of Zeus at Dodona; the Grail itself has been described as the chalice used by Christ at the Last Supper, a stone with miraculous youth-preserving virtues, or a vessel containing a man's head swimming in blood. In his classic exploration of the major versions, Roger Sherman Loomis shows how the Grail, once a Celtic vessel of plenty, evolved into the Christian Grail with miraculous powers. Loomis bases his argument on historical examples involving the major motifs and characters in the legends, beginning with the Arthurian legend recounted in the 1180 French poem by Chrétien de Troyes. Loomis's book builds suspense as he proceeds from one puzzle to the next in revealing the meaning behind the legends.--From publisher description.

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