The Ninth Century and the Holy Grail

The Ninth Century and the Holy Grail

“One of the most valuable and original works on the Grail yet to appear in any language.” —John Matthews, author of The Mystic Grail

“The definitive work on the historical background to the Grail Romances of the mediaeval age.” —Trevor Ravenscroft, author of The Spear of Destiny

Much plagiarized and its contents distorted over the years, Stein’s seminal work is a classic of original scholarly and spiritual research. In studying the central Grail narrative of Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival, Stein takes a twofold approach. On the one hand, he searches historical records for the identity of actual people and events concealed behind the Grail epic’s veil of romance. On the other hand, Stein deciphers Eschenbach’s hidden spiritual messages, showing Parzival to be an esoteric document containing powerful pictures of the human being’s inner path of development.

Stein reveals the period of the ninth century to be far deeper and more important than to be of mere historical and academic interest. It is the karmic ground from which grows the very destiny of our modern era—the grand battle that must take place between the powers of the Grail and the hindrance of sinister anti-Grail forces at large today.

C O N T E N T S:

Introduction by John Matthews

1. Rudolf Steiner’s Visit to the Eleventh Class
2. The Rise of the Grail Experiences in the Eighth and Ninth Centuries
3. Flore and Blancheflur
4. Orient and Occident
5. Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival
6. Pope Nicholas I and the Eighth Oecumenical Council of 869
7. The Grail Lineage

Afterword

Appendices:
1. From the Collected Works of St. Gregory, the Great
2. Introduction and Preface to the Book of Jashar
3. St. Lawrence and the Grail Tradition
4. The Chronology of Wolfram’s Parzival
5. Text and Facsimile of Two Letters by Her Excellency Elisa von Moltke-Huitfelt

Genealogical Tables: Two Surveys

About the Author

Dr. Walter Johannes Stein (1891–1957) was an Austrian philosopher and a pioneer of Anthroposophy. He studied at Vienna University and was a student of Rudolf Steiner. After World War I, Steiner invited him to Stuttgart to teach history and German literature at the first Waldorf school. There, Stein began his lifelong investigation into the Grail legend. In 1928, he published The Ninth Century and the Holy Grail. He moved to London in 1933 and became editor of the journal, The Present Age.

John Matthews (born 1948) has been involved in study of the mysteries of Britain including the Arthurian Legends and the Grail Myth, for almost fifty years. He has published over ninety books on myth, the Arthurian Legends and Grail studies, including The Grail: Quest for the Eternal and The Camelot Oracle (2012). He has also published short stories, a volume of poetry, and several children’s books, most notably Pirates (2006), which was on the New York Times bestseller list for twenty-two weeks. His book Arthur of Albion (2009) won multiple awards, including a Gold Medal from NAPPA, a gold Moonbeams award and a BIB Golden Apple Award. He has taught throughout Europe and the United States and has acted as advisor for a number of media projects, including the Jerry Bruckheimer film King Arthur (2004). He has appeared on the History Channel and Discovery Channel programmes on Arthur and the Holy Grail, and shared a BAFTA award for his work on the educational DVD made to accompany King Arthur. He has served as a guest editor for the international journal Arthuriana, on whose editorial board he also sits. In 2009, he established the production company Mythwood Films with Wil Kinghan.