Sources of the Grail

Sources of the Grail: An Anthology

Still stands the destined Knight, aloof in his passionate patience,
His hand over his eyes? Is he doomed to fulfil or fail?
Shall he dare the hells and the heavens of the strange illuminations,
Initiate at last of the dread mysterious Graal?

The mysterious and powerful legends surrounding the Holy Grail-often identified with the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper-provide a rich literature whose origins and meanings are veiled by the distance of centuries.

We have inherited a treasury of early Celtic tales interwoven with medieval romances in a tapestry of magical stories filled with symbolic and wondrous events. These stories still resonate strongly in the human soul.

There is little of the vague mistiness known as “Celtic twilight” in these stories. On the contrary, they are often filled with brightness and elaborate detail that echo an ancient pre-Christian past.

Here, the renown Arthurian scholar John Matthews has brought together a unique collection of texts and commentaries from the Grail literature that spans many centuries-Perceval by Chrétien de Troyes, Le Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory, The Mass of the Sangraal by Arthur Machen, Mystic Aspects of the Graal Legend by A. E. Waite, and many more.

This anthology represents a wonderful sourcebook for researching and enjoying the Grail legends and their interpretations from ancient to modern times.

About the Author

John Matthews has been studying Grail and Celtic traditions for more than thirty years. He was born in the North of England in 1948. He has produced over forty books on the Arthurian legends, esoteric wisdom, and the Grail, as well as numerous short stories and a volume of poetry.