Joseph of Arimathea climbed to the summit of Calvary . I did not even notice when passed the Gate of David. Depressed , with the cup hidden under a tunic , approached timidly to the place of execution. Suddenly he stopped . Dead Jesus hung on the cross with his head . With spear wound inflicted yet seeped blood. Joseph came to Christ and reverent awe I began to collect the cup.
No one could save Jesus before the crucifixion , even Joseph of Arimathea , a wealthy and influential member of the Sanhedrin , the highest Jewish council . He could only persuade the corrupt governor of Judea , Pontius Pilate, to break the law and the issue remains. Rightful payment had on Romes a big impression , and barter the body of a dead Savior provided him with amusement .
Roman law denied burial to those sentenced to crucifixion . Pilate probably took a large bribe for the right to burial of Jesus , but his role in this case , is still unclear. Just as the history of the vessel named in the thirteenth century, the holy grail , which Arimatheian had to collect the blood of the Messiah.
In the vast lands of Scotland, Ireland , Wales and Cornwall still circled in the eleventh century Celtic tales , called the Welsh Mabinogion . Twelfth -century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth, passed them on to posterity in his book entitled History Regum Britanniae . He described there, including the story of the invasion of the Saxon tribes of Britain in the fifth century and the associated legend of King Arthur . According to his transfer wizard Merlin foretold the appearance of a ruler who will save the country plagued by the Saxons . Fraudulently joined in an adulterous relationship of King Uther and Ygermę Britons , wife of the Duke of Cornwall. The couple conceived Arthur , the future ruler of Britain . When, after years young monarch on the throne , dealt with the Saxons , leaving them with just a piece of land . Also raised the Scots , the Irish, the Picts and the Icelanders . When the Roman emperor demanded his tribute, Arthur crossed the English Channel and also defeated his army stationed in Gaul.
While the king fought the armies of Caesar , his nephew declared himself the ruler of Britain and seduced his wife Guinevere . After returning to Glastonbury Arthur killed the traitor , but he also was mortally wounded . His subjects , however, believed that it should not perish, but staying on the island of Avalon enveloped in mystery , steeped in deep sleep. The Anglo-Saxons eventually conquered Britain, where a few centuries later drove them other invaders from the continent – the Normans . Britions patiently waited for Arthur wakes up and liberate them from the next foreign yoke .
The kings of England, derived from the French house of Plantagenet , concerned about the popular legend of the sleeping Arthur, looking for a way to his ” killing ” . Came to them with the help of the monks of Glastonbury, who , in 1191, declared that in his abbey found Arthur and Guinevere delay . Henceforth Plantagenets could freely pass for the heirs of the tradition of Arthur’s court , and the only defense of his English subjects. they felt also exempted from the search of the mysterious island of Avalon, where he was to stay a mythical king .
At the end of the twelfth century, a man named William of Newburgh called Geoffrey of Monmouth work ” load of hooey “, subjecting also questioned the very existence of Arthur. Regum Britanniae But the story she had longer to get to France. Around 1,160 years canon of Bayeux, Wace , translated it into French and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine offered . Since then, Arthur became a hero of almost all literary works of medieval Europe . Canon has introduced into his translation of a new element – the round table , around which sat 150 the foremost knights of King Arthur. Opposite the ruler ‘s seat was empty stool , called ” a dangerous place “, designed for the person who finds the Grail.
The historical reliability of the chronicles of Geoffrey and its French version , by Wace , is a serious concern . Like the anonymous story Celtic . Travel Bran , where the main character eats a meal served on a platter with a ” resurgent ” is eaten. Most researchers are of the opinion that it is this dish has become a prototype of the Grail.
In the mid- twelfth century Western Europe has a fascination legend of the Holy Grail . Despite the many controversies regarding the origin of the myth , it is certain that the word ” grail ” is French etymology . The first time he used the name twelfth -century poet, Chrétien de Troyes, in the affair Fri Percewal . Namely the story of the Grail . Author placed Celtic gods , fairies and the dead from the Merovingian era in the Christian reality of their time. Courtly procession carries the Grail there , which is both a pagan symbol of the rebirth cycles of nature and the imagination of the host .
In thirteenth – century writer , Robert de Boron , the Grail for the first time becomes a divine vessel . His Percewal is a descendant of Joseph of Arimathea , a hero of the four Gospels , whose family came into possession of the Holy Grail. The author described the Last Supper, at kttórej Jesus and his disciples nourished with the Grail. He made also a story about how Arimatheian gathered to him the blood of the Crucified . It has become a source of magical properties of the vessels that Joseph took with him to Brittany. Since then, his descendants were the guardians of the Holy Grail , wearing the name of the Fisher King . According to the version of Robert de Boron , the bravest knights of King Arthur was descended from the lineage of Joseph of Arimathea.
The impressive thirteenth -century work of the Bavarian knight Wolfram von Eschenbach , entitled Parzival , the search for the Holy Grail is symbolic . The author refers to the mystical philosophy of the eminent theologian and preacher , Saint. Bernard of Clairvaux . According to his idea of man should devote himself to the search for God , knowing that never find him alive. The aim is expensive. Knight , who fought in defense of the faith , he should resign himself. Then find what it symbolizes Grail – fusion with God. Wolfram von Eschenbach U can find some links between the legends of the title hero and history of the Knights Templar .
Brothers of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem – Fratres Templi Salomonis , an aura of mystery. Their fabulous treasures stimulated the imagination and tended to speculation. After Europe, there were rumors that the Knights Templar came into possession of enormous wealth by Grail , which was attributed magical powers. As guardians of the sacred vessels resided continuously in the circle of his influence; Grail had them provide health, fertility , vast wealth, and even eternal life. Templars immodestly not straightened these rumors . They were the elite of contemporary Europe . They adopted the Cistercian rule , whose founder was a friend of the Pope and the initiator of the second crusade – St . Bernard of Clairvaux . One gets the impression that Wolfram von Eschenbach in Parzival introduced powerful history of the law at the time , in which the brothers have already achieved everything : wealth, fame and the blessing of the Holy See.
