Graham Phillips

Bear and Company

(Originally published in 1996 as The Search for The Grail) The popular Arthurian stories of the Middle Ages depict the Holy Grail as Christ's cup from the last supper, which was believed to have been endowed with miraculous healing powers and the ability to give eternal life to whomever drank from it. A much earlier tradition, however, claimed the Grail was the vessel used by Mary Magdalene to collect Christ's blood when he appeared to her after rising from the tomb. While many vessels were claimed to have been the true Grail, there was only one thought to have been the chalice used by Mary. The mother of the recently converted Emperor Constantine took this Marian Chalice from Jesus' empty tomb to Rome where it remained for almost 400 years. It was then smuggled from Rome in 410 C.E., according to the fifth century historian Olympiodorus, to save it from the barbarians who sacked the city. Well into the Middle Ages legend persisted that it had been taken to safety in Britain, the last outpost of Roman civilisation in Western Europe.
This journey to England, and what happened to the Chalice there, is the focus of this book. Graham Phillips's research uncovers the secret legacy of an anient noble family and a trail of clues hidden in the English countryside that lead to a mysterious grotto, a forgotten attic, and the lost chalice. In tracing the relic, Phillips offers the inside story behind an astonishing adventure that results in the identification of the historical King Arthur and the location of one of the most powerful symbols in Western tradition.

Year Published: 2004
Trade Paperback
256 Pages
2nd Edition
ISBN: 1591430380
Language: English