The Quest for the Grail

The Quest for the Grail : The Golden Blade # 47

Over the centuries many layers of myth, legend and folklore have grown up around the theme of King Arthur collectively known as “the matter of Britain”. The archetypal figures in these myths still resonate deeply today. The warrior king who saves his people, the perfect knight who succeeds in finding the Holy Grail when all his noble but impure companions have failed, the Grail itself, the vessel which held the blood of Christ, are all powerful images which are still the subject of both scholarly study and popular interest. These essays explore various aspects of Arthurian myth and related themes including the idea of initiation in the stories of Parzival and Gawain, and the relevance of the Arthurian ideal to the modern world.

Content

• The Matter of Britain: Author, the Grail and Parzifal: Richard Seddon
• The Polarity of Parzifal and Gawain in Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzifal: Frank Teichmann
• The Emergence of the Grail Ledgend: Fact and Fiction: Hanah May Thomas
• Wolfram’s Sigune and Michelangelo’s Pieta: Andrew Walpert
• Miracle of Highest Grace: Redemption for the Redeemer: Alex Nayler
• The Temple of the Grail: John Meeks
• The Play of the Planets in Wolfram’s Parzifal: William Forward
• The Quest for the Holy Grail in New York City in 1994: Barbara Francis

About the Author

Frank Teichmann (1937–2006) trained as an aircraft designer. He studied Egyptology and Classical Archeology and was leader of the anthroposophic training course in Stuttgart. He is the author of many books, including Kultur der Verstandesseele; Kultur der Empfindungsseele; Die griechischen Mysterien; Die ägyptischen Mysterien; Der Gral im Osten; Der Mensch und sein Tempel: Chartres; Der Mensch und sein Tempel: Ägypten; and Der Mensch und sein Tempel: Griechenland.

Richard Seddon studied moral sciences (philosophy, ethics, logic and psychology) with Bertrand Russell and John Wisdom—an advocate and colleague of Ludwig Wittgenstein—at Cambridge. He spent his working life as a personnel manager. A student of anthroposophy for seven decades, he is the author of several books.

John Meeks holds an M.A. in German Literature from the University of Western Ontario. After teaching for eleven years at Emerson College in England, he worked as an upper school teacher in Switzerland. He is now a freelance lecturer and writer. His areas of special interest and research include astronomy, mythology and the history of consciousness as expressed in music, the visual arts and literature.