Holy Grail

Holy Grail

Summary

            According to the modern generation, whatever happened in ancient times has proven to be of great interest to the historians. The essay starts by defining the holy grail as just a cup or a dish that was used by Jesus Christ at the last supper. The tale of this cup takes different turns and twists and occurs to have a mystery around it. The essay brings out contradictions between the two sides: history and Christianity. Christianity reveals that the holy grail as a cup with divine power because it was used by Jesus who is declared to be God. History dictates Jesus was not God and he did not use any cup. It also defines the Holy Grail to be a concealed matter and tries to unfold the matter using a painting drawn by Da Vinci himself indicating that there was no cup at the last super. According to the painting, the Holy Grail is defined to be a woman known as Mary Magdalene who was married to Jesus. The essay brings a debate theme between Christianity and history, and evidence is used by the both sides to defend their stand.

Introduction

            The Holy Grail is an item that is mostly identified as a cup or a dish that was used by Jesus Christ at the last supper. It has adhered to be a sacred item by the Christian community. The Holy Grail is viewed in literature and mostly in many Christian traditions. The modification of the grail myth has been traced in segments by different cultural historians. The Holy Grail is believed to posses miraculous powers. The grail is said to play different roles in most places it appears. In most versions of the myth, the person who presents himself as the hero must proof to be praiseworthy in its presence. The myth behind the grail might combine Christian teachings with Celtic legend a cauldron gifted with special powers. The holly grail appears to be brightly colored whenever it is presented. The person is holding the grail always glows in the dark and always assumed to be facing upwards or the grail itself. The Holy Grail myth starts from being a cup that Jesus used during the last super to being an item that a king looks for in order to acquire the divine favor of God and ends with becoming a woman who was married to Jesus according to the modern historians like Dan Brown.

Literature Review

             According to the Arthurian myth, sir Lancelot is one of the knights. He was great and most trustworthy of all king Arthur’s knights. Lancelot played a big role in the search of the Holy Grail. Over a century later, publishers have written stories of the Holy Grail and the vision of Lancelot promising to give out new discoveries about the myth. The modern culture has books like the Da Vinci Code alleging to expose the secrets following the Holy Grail literature. The intention of this book is to outline the theme in the Holy Grail and try to base them according to the popular culture. The messages put across by people as to the real foundation and meaning of the story behind the grail include, the Eucharistic rites of Christianity, early unknown religion, children of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene, and any amalgamation of all of the above (Barber, 2004, p.136). These theories have a common base line. It is assumed that the grain story has a base that is covered with a lot of fiction. Studies have stressed on the influences instead of the origins. Emphases have been laid on the fiction as literature instead of unfolding the secrecy. Current grail studies make the research unusual by creating assumptions where there are no facts used. Ideas that are currently accepted are obtained from early research. Earlier research of the holy grain is used by modern publishers to create an imagined and fascinating story behind it. According to literature, the Holy Grail is viewed and termed as an object that has mystery in it. In the case of Christianity, grail is referred as the Holy Grail and was used by Jesus Christ during the last supper. The stories behind the grail are found in several fiction articles written between the end of the twelfth and the end of the thirteenth century. Despite the fact that the material is of the ancient times, its views in the form of literature occurred within one century. The critics are believed to have started from a pre Christian. Academics tell the story about the grail in tail form. In early tales, the person who encountered the grail was irresponsible and it prevented him from pursuing his destiny. He had to grow spiritually and mentally in order to place it again. According to Christians, the Holy Grail is a representation of God’s grace that is offered to all but should be realized fully by people who are spiritually strong.

Discussion

            The bible does not say much about the Holy Grail because its existence of is believed to be a fairy tail that has been made up by a book like the Da Vinci code. There are many myths talking about the Holy Grail but most people believe that the legend is a Celtic myth of a vessel. According to the myth, the vessel was supposed to be the foundation of the Godly favor reason being the cup that Jesus used when he held the last supper (Barber, 2004, p.148). The Holy Grail is also thought to be the cup that the blood of Jesus poured into when he was crucified. The Christian people do not look at the grail as an item; instead, they tend to concentrate more on what it represents. In Christianity, the Holy Grail represents the divine power of Jesus Christ because it has been thought to occur in holy moments. Joseph of Arimathea was the one who used the Holy Grail to collect the blood of Jesus at the time of crucifixion. The descendants of Joseph are believed to have taken the grail to Britain. At this point, the myth of the Holy Grail linked with King Arthur and his Knights. Due to the belief that whoever possesses the Holy Grail has divine favor, King Arthur wanted to have it in his favor. These myths used to be of great hope for Europe in the twelfth and the thirteenth century. Religion was Vague at that period. The Holy Grail became a tangible object when a conflict arose between the Catholic Church and the Celtic church. Both churches wanted to possess the Holy Grail.

. The modern society has different opinions about the grail and the urge to find it increased in the nineteenth century. Movies like Da Vinci code has brought a mixture of hushed respect, sexualized imagery, and gave a new meaning to the grail theme. According to the fiction novel called Da Vinci code, there is great possibility that Jesus Christ of Nazareth might have been in a marriage with Mary Magdaline (Brown, 2003, p.15). After the book was read, there was provocation of admired interests in rumors concerning the Holy Grail myth and the role that Mary Magdalene played in the past of Christianity. Looking at the conversation that Leing Teabing had with Sophie Neveu in the novel, the shape at the right hand of Jesus at the last supper painting was not john the apostle but Mary Magdaline. This means that the grail was not a real item but a woman. The Holy Grail is believed to be Mary Magdalene, which according to the book was the wife of Jesus Christ and was pregnant with his child. She is also referred to as the bearer of Jesus blood in the way of the child she was carrying. The thought is also supported by the V shape formed by their bodily positions (Gardner, 2004, p.96). The V shape is seen as a symbol for sacred womanly. The book also shows the color mixture or their clothes. It indicates that Jesus wears a red shirt with red ribbon while Mary wears a majestic blue blouse with red ribbon may be as a symbol of two married people.

The Da Vinci code novel reveals the secrets of the Holy Grail in a more conspicuous manner. It shows that the Holy Grail is Mary Magdalene and not a physical item. An expression of the holy grail by the old French comes as a play that directly means royal blood. The grail remnants of Mary Magdalene were concealed by a top-secret script that was assumed to be at the Roslyn chapel. The church is assumed to hide the truth that is between Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene for over 2000 years. Mary Magdalene is referred to as a prostitute and is not encouraged to the church. This was to avoid their relationship become conspicuous. After Jerusalem was concurred in 1099, some credentials were found by crusaders indicating that there was an existence of bloodline between Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene (Evans, 2000, p. 115). The picture of the Last supper does not have an actual chalice on the table, which leads to the contradictions of what the actual grail was. The Mona Lisa androgyny is assumed to reflect on the holly union of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Many authors consider the likelihood of Jesus becoming a father. At least three children were seen to bring build most authors curiosity and they were all related to Jesus. First, a girl named Tamar was born before the crucifixion and two boys who were born after the resurrection of Christ. According to the author, the Roman Empire called Constantine wanted to unify people with Christianity hence had to conceal some scripts of the bible so that Jesus can be portrayed as a clean man.

Opposing View

            The book of God says that Jesus was called “God” seven times in the New Testament. The bible also says that he is also called “Lord” in the heavenly wisdom for a number of times. According to Christianity, there is no historian is viewed serious when he talks about the missing scriptures of the gospel. Christianity opposes the argument that says that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. According to the bible, Mary Magdalene was recognized as an important woman in the movement of Christ. Looking at Luke 8:2, and Mark 16:9, we find that Jesus cleansed her from seven demons and she became a devoted follower of Christ. She also followed Jesus up to his crucifixion. The bible also says that she was blessed in that she was the first to view Jesus after the resurrection.

Survey

             Its has been noted that, according to the book (the Da Vinci code) and articles written, it appears that the current New Testament is missing the some important books to help determine what the actual Holy Grail was. When it comes to Christians, the Holy Grail is a cup that Jesus used at the last supper. Controversy begins at this point because according to the painting of the last supper, the Grail was not on the table. These two statements show why history and faith are. Christianity dictates that the Holy Grail was a cup that Jesus used during the last supper and it is used to represent the divine power of Jesus Christ. There is an assumption that Jesus was just a human prophet because according to the missing Gnostic pages of the bible, no divine power can stay in humans for they are evil. At the philosophical moments in Christian history, Constantine ordered the making of a new bible that excluded the gospels that spoke of Jesus Christ having human characters and instead, to publish the books that speak of him God like. This according to Dan Brown the author, action was clever because it was used to unify people in a common base. It was wrong to defame Mary Magdalene by saying that she is a prostitute to keep the relationship they had with Jesus a secret. We have seen that Christianity also says that no one should judge the past without any legit reason and at the end of the day, the bible dictates that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Conclusion

            The main theme of the Grail is that it has appeared to be everywhere but it appears to be hidden. The Holy Grail appears to be a myth clearly, because according to Christians the Grail represents divine power when it viewed as a vessel unlike Mary Magdalene who is called a prostitute to cover Jesus Christ. The theories about the Holy Grail are only revealed at the nineteenth century that leads to many unanswered questions. Due to the liberty to the human rights to religion, a person is required to make his/her decision about what to believe in. history or no history its always believed that there is a great power beyond human nature. This statement makes sense because nobody has ever proved the mystery of life and death.

 

Works Cited

Baigent, Michael, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln. Holy blood, Holy Grail. New York, NY: Delacorte Press, 2005. Print.

Barber, Richard W. The Holy Grail: Imagination and belief. Middlesex, NC: Harvard University Press, 2004. Print.

Brown, Dan. The Da Vinci code: a novel. New York, NY: Doubleday Publishing Group, 2003. Print.

Evans, Sebastian. High History of the Holy Grail. Chicago, IL: James Clarke & Co., 2000. Print.

Gardner, Laurence. Bloodline of the Holy Grail. Midtown, NC: Fair Winds Press, 2004. Print.