Theometry:

Linguistics’ “Holy Grail” and Physics’ “Philosopher’s Stone”

What is the Holy Grail?

The understanding of why I mention in my book title the “Linguistics Holy Grail” requires, at least, a basic understanding of what exactly the Holy Grail was and what it means to us in today’s world.

The Entomology

To truly understand the Holy Grail and its significance, it is important to understand the entomology of the word “Grail”.

The word grial, as it is earliest spelled, appears to be an Old French adaptation of the Latin gradalis, meaning a dish brought to the table in different stages of a meal (Latin "gradus") or courses of a meal.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, after the cycle of Grail romances was well established, late medieval writers came up with a false etymology for sangréal, an alternative name for "Holy Grail".

In Old French, san graal or san gréal means "Holy Grail" and sang réal means "royal blood"; later writers played on this pun, including most recently, Dan Brown in his book and film “The Da Vinci Code”.

Since then, "Sangreal" is sometimes employed to lend a medievalizing air in referring to the Holy Grail.

The Origin and History of the Legends of the Grail

It is known by many names: The Grail. The Holy Chalice. The Cauldron. Sangrail. Sangreal. Sang-real. The Holy Grail. The Cup of the Last Supper. The Cup of the Crucifixtion.  The Silver Chalice.  And each of these names carries a wide collection of legend mixed with symbolism.

The origin of the 'Legend of The Holy Grail' is believed to belong to the ancient Britons probably of Welsh and Celtic heritage as known in Goidelic and Brythonic myths which have at their core a mystical tradition.

This origin is associated within the poems accredited to the Welsh bard 'Taliesin' of the sixth-century 'The Spoils of Annwn'.  These poems contain a description of a sacred vessel that is sought in the Annwn, the Underworld, by a group of learned mystics, believed to be a vessel akin to the symbolism of the Grail.

From the poems, it is said that: The three properties of the cauldron -
inexhaustibility, inspiration and regeneration...fertility.'

Only the pure were said to have been able to approach the cup, anyone else approaching it would simply see it disappear before their eyes. Ancient Welsh references to a sacred vessel, we find that it is the Cauldron that offers immortality and wisdom to those who drink from it.  Taliesin described the drops, or liquid, from the Cauldron as being able to provide a person with the ability to see:  'The Past, The Present, and The Future.'.

In the poems, the mystics were believed to have entered Annwn to find the 'Cauldron of Pwyll' reputed by Taliesin to be a vessel which possessed many magical powers including, the ability of the power of speech. 

This connection is based in folk-lore and pre-Christian beliefs, but there is also a deep, religious connection to the cup and Christianity in the form of the connection of Joseph of Arimathea with the Grail. This legend dates from Robert de Boron's - Joseph d'Arimathie poem from the late 12th century.

Joseph of Arimathea, Jesus’s Grand-Uncle, was cast into a cave-like prison by the Jews.  Then the Spirit of Christ appears to him and gives him the vessel, telling him of its wondrous powers, through which he is miraculously sustained for forty-two years by it each morning providing him food and drink.  He lives thus until liberated by Vestavia.

Then he is baptized by St. Philip.  He converts seventy-five of his kin and friends and at the Lord's command, makes an Ark for the dish.

The Grail is then brought to the West, to Great Britain, either by Joseph and Josephes, his son (Grand St. Graal), or by Alain one of his kin. It was there that he, with his followers in Britain, founded a line of guardians, that eventually include Perceval, to keep it safe. 

Joseph settled at Ynys Witrin (Glastonbury), but the Grail was taken to Corbenic, where it was housed in a spectacular castle, guarded always by the Grail Kings, descendants of Joseph's daughter, Anna (Enygeus) and her husband, Brons. Eventually the location of the Great Castle of Corbenic became forgotten, but it was prophesied that it would be found along with “The Holy Grail” by a descendent of St. Joseph.

The name of the Castle of Corbenic has competing explanations. Old Welsh Cors, meaning "Horn," the Horn of Plenty as the Grail is sometimes described may have become confused with the Old French Corps, producing Corps-Benoit meaning "Holy Body," ie. the Body of Christ. 

Perceval first appears in Perceval, le Conte du Graal (The Story of the Grail) by Chrétien de Troyes, who claims he was working from a source book and papers given to him by his patron, Count Philip of Flanders.

Dated sometime between 1180 and 1191 the poem was never completed but the object has not yet acquired the implications of holiness it would have in later works.

In the poem, while dining in the magical abode of the Fisher King, Perceval witnesses a wondrous procession in which youths carry magnificent objects from one chamber to another, passing before him at each course of the meal. First comes a young man carrying a bleeding lance, then two boys carrying candelabras, then fragments of a sword. Finally, a beautiful young girl emerges bearing an elaborately decorated “grial”, or "grail."

The Fisher King also first appears first in Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, le Conte du Graal (The Story of the Grail), but the character's roots may lie in Celtic mythology. 

The Fisher King was encountered during the Quest for the Holy Grail. He is sometimes, but not always, identified with the Maimed King. He is called Pelles in the Vulgate Cycle versions (a series of related poetry by various authors). The Estoire del Saint Graal by Robert de Boron, in which the Maimed King is named Parlan or Pellam.  In Manessier's Constitution we are told he was wounded by fragments of the “Sword of Solomon”, a sword which had killed his brother, Goon Desert.

Chretien also tells us that he could not ride as a result of his infirmity, so he took to fishing as a pastime. Robert de Boron gives his name as Bron and tells us he earned his title by providing fish for Joseph of Arimathea.

In Sone de Nausay (A long verse romance (over 21,300 lines) of the late 13th century is the story of a young man who, rebuffed by the woman he loves, seeks adventures throughout the world. Though not essentially an Arthurian romance, the poem includes several Arthurian episodes and motifs, notably the Grail and Bleeding Lance) he is identified with Joseph of Arimathea himself. In Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach he is called Anfortas

The Fisher King is also the name of the Keeper of the Grail and all those keepers that followed.

From here the Holy Grail gets irrevocably entwined in the Arthurian legends.   The quest for it in Arthurian poems and stories involve such well known legendary knights as Perceval, Galahad, Lancelot, Sir Bors and even King Arthur himself.

A number of knights undertook the quest for the Grail, in tales that have become annexed to the Arthurian mythos. Some of these tales tell of knights who succeeded, like Percival or the virginal Galahad; others tell of knights who failed to achieve the grail because of their tragic flaws, like Lancelot.  Galahad found both Corbenic Castle and The Holy Grail within.

The Attributes that Those Who Seek the Holy Grail Must Have

In the legends on he who is pure of heart, word and deed can find the Holy Grail.  He must seek it with best of intentions and completely void of greed or desire for the power of the Grail.

It was said that those who were not “pure” could not even see “The Holy Grail” or enter the place of its safe rest.

Modern Representation of the Holy Grail

The legend of the Holy Grail is the basis of the use of the term holy grail in modern-day culture. This or that "holy grail" is seen as the distant, all-but-unobtainable ultimate goal for a person, organization, or field to achieve. For instance, cold fusion or anti-gravity devices are sometimes characterized as the "Holy Grail" of applied physics.

The Grail had turned up in movies before: it debuted in a silent Parsifal. In The Light of Faith (1922), Lon Chaney attempted to steal it, for the finest of reasons. The Silver Chalice, a novel about the Grail by Thomas B. Costain was made into a 1954 movie (in which Paul Newman débuted), that is considered notably bad by several critics, including Newman himself. Lancelot of the Lake (1974) is Robert Bresson's gritty retelling. Excalibur, is a more traditional sex-in-armor representation of an Arthurian tale, in which the Grail is little more than a prop. Brancaleone at the Crusades.

The Fisher King and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade place the quest in modern settings, the one serious yet unavoidably faintly camp, the other robustly self-parodying. Science fiction has taken the Quest into interstellar space, figuratively in Samuel R. Delany's 1968 novel Nova, and literally in the 1994 episode "Grail" of the television series Babylon 5.

Dan Brown's bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code is likewise based on the idea that the real Grail is not a cup but the earthly remains of Mary Magdalene (again cast as Jesus' wife), plus a set of ancient documents telling the true story of Jesus, his teachings and descendants.

In Brown's novel, it is hinted that the Grail was long buried below Rosslyn Chapel just like one tradition claims, but in recent decades its guardians had it relocated to a secret chamber below the Inverted Pyramid in front of the Louvre Museum. Of course, the latter location has never been mentioned in real Grail lore.

Yet such was the public interest in even a fictionalized Grail that the museum soon had to rope off the exact location mentioned by Brown, lest visitors inflict any damage in a more or less serious attempt to access the supposed hidden chamber.

What Happened to the Holy Grail

Belief in the Grail, and interest in its potential whereabouts, has never ceased. Ownership has been attributed to various groups (including the Knights Templar). There are cups claimed to be the Grail in several churches like the Valencia cathedral.

The Emerald Chalice at Genoa, which was obtained during the crusades at Aleppo at great cost, has been less championed as the Holy Grail since an accident on the road while it was being returned from Paris after the fall of Napoleon revealed that the emerald was green glass.

In Wolfram von Eschenbach's telling, the Grail was kept safe at the castle of Munsalvaesche (mons salvationis), entrusted to Titurel, the first Grail King. Some, not least the monks of Montserrat, have identified the castle with the real sanctuary of Montserrat in Catalonia, Spain.

Other stories claim that the Grail is buried beneath Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland or will be found deep in the spring at Glastonbury Tor also called “The Chalice Well”.

Still other stories claim that a secret line of hereditary protectors keep the Grail, and local folklore in Nova Scotia and Accokeek, Maryland says that it was moved to these locations by a closeted priest aboard Captain John Smith's ship.

Archaeologists say the artifact is a 1st century Middle Eastern stone vessel, possibly from Antioch, Syria (now Turkey); its history can be traced to the 11th century, and it presently rests atop an ornate stem and base, made in the Medieval era of alabaster, gold, and gemstones. It was the official papal chalice for many popes, and has been used by many others, most recently by Pope Benedict XVI.

Summary

In conclusion, to connect this book with the Linguistics Holy Grail, as mentioned in the title of the book, one must understand the Quest and the purity of the goal of the seeking of this knowledge.

In the Online Dictionary Linguistics is defined as:

n. (used with a sing. verb)

The study of the nature, structure, and variation of language, including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, sociolinguistics, and pragmatics.

In this instance Linguistics is part of the direct correlation between God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and the language of science, religion and everyday living.

This vision was the direct result of a “quest” for knowledge which with time, research and dedication of a pure heart it was revealed through Him. 

The quest was made as part of a “deal” with God and subsequent enlightenment of the His power and its effect in every aspect of life.

To understand more of the Linguistics Holy Grail please refer to the section in this site called, “The Triads”.

References

1. Remy, A.F.J. (1909). The Holy Grail. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved August 5, 2009 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06719a.htm

2. R. S. Loomis, The Grail (1963); E. Jung and M.-L. von Franz, The Grail Legend (tr. 1971).

3. Dan Brown, (US) The Da Vinci Code, April 2003 (First edition), Doubleday, ISBN 0-385-50420-9.

4. Ellie Crystal’s Metaphysical and Science Website — http://www.crystalinks.com/holygrail

5. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia — http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Grail

6. The Free Online Dictionary— http://www.thefreedictionary.com/linguistics

Glastonbury Tor

Rosslyn Chapel, Scotland