Customer Reviews

The Chalice of Magdalene: The Search for the Cup That Held the Blood of Christ

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Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

In the Bible, Mary Magdalene is a mysterious follower of Jesus about who almost nothing is revealed. No wonder then that for almost 2000 years most people did not regard her as important enough to write entire books about. That all changed in the 1980s after the publication of Holy Blood: Holy Grail by three British authors who proposed that she was really the bride of Christ and that they had children whose descendants are alive today. In the 1990s Mary again slipped into obscurity until the publication of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code made her the historical buzz word of the early third millennium. In the last couple of years dozens of books have been written about the enigmatic female disciple who may have been the sinful woman that Jesus saved from a stoning. However, in my opinion, none of these books actually produce solid, physical evidence to support their various claims about her - except one - this book by Graham Phillips. In the Chalice of Magdalene the author claims to have found a cup that was made in first-century Palestine and was used by Mary to collect a few drops of Christ's blood. This, Phillips argues, was the original Holy Grail, the sacred cup of the early Christian faith. This book requires a few leaps faith by the reader itself, but it is an entertaining and thought-provoking experience. Even if you don't accept the authors claim to posses the original Grail then the book is still worth a read. It's a mine of information about the development of the Grail legend throughout history.

I recently saw a documentary about this book on the Discovery Channel and doubted that anyone could really have found the Holy Grail in this day and age. When I read the book I was expecting it to be some kind of New Age mystery adventure. I could not have been more wrong. Phillips' claim to

have found the Chalice of Magdalene (a contender for the original Holy Grail) is a serious historical investigation. What's more: this book also includes the latest archeological discoveries that may have uncovered a real Camelot and a geophysics survey of what may be the grave of King Arthur.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the Arthurian enigma.

I found this book fascinating, whether the chalice Mr. Phillip's found really is the grail or not, the way he deciphered the clues left to the where abouts of this item was incredible to read. How he took you on an investigative quest that unfolded itself made you feel you were right there beside him. I thought the way it was written along side the history of the Arthurian times was easy to comprehend, and it was illuminating to discover King Arthur may actually have been a real man and not just a myth.

Thank you Mr. Phillips, keep writing these books, truly inspiring.

I was initially very impressed with one of Mr. Phillips' numerous `sensational' books, and was particularly interested in one of his alleged sources, which I have continued to pursue for a number of years. Unfortunately, Mr. Phillips has based two of his books (The Search for the Grail and The Chalice of Magdalene) on the existence of an alleged Grail prose, La Folie Perceval, that he claims may in turn be based on the earliest Grail source. He claims that this prose is found within a manuscript preserved in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, which is catalogued as MS fonds français 12577. This manuscript does indeed exist, and it does contain an illustration that is reproduced in Mr. Phillips' book (which he claims accompanies the prose), but the Bibliothèque Nationale itself has verified in writing that this manuscript does not contain the alleged prose, La Folie Perceval. A Professor of English in the U.S., with a Ph. D. in medieval and renaissance literature, and who teaches Arthurian romance, has informed me that he is completely unaware of the existence of such a text, which would be extremely important and certainly known to Grail romance scholars if it did exist. A very well-known and respected Arthurian scholar, translator and author, in the United Kingdom, has also informed me that he is almost certain that the manuscript does not contain the La Foli Perceval prose, that he has never come across this prose, that he has not seen any reference to it in any serious scholarly work, and that he is almost certain that La Folie Perceval prose may be a fabrication. I have contacted Mr. Phillips by email and asked him for further details concerning the actual location of this prose and/or other references that discuss this document, on four separate occasions over a period of almost four years (the last time was over a month ago, addressed to an email address on his own website), but unfortunatly, he has continually refused to respond and help establish some credence concerning his increasingly dubious source. The reader is warned that, based on the results of the research I have conducted concerning this source, it is my opinion that there `may' be some significant concern about the credibility of this author, and the reader is therefore encouraged to check the sources very carefully on his/her own before seriously considering any of his `sensational' claims.

This is one of the most interesting books I have ever read about the Grail legend. It answers many questions that most books on the subject fail to address. Chiefly amongst these is how the Grail tradition ties up with the legend of King Arthur. In the first half of the book, the author takes the reader on a fascinating step by step investigation into the origins of the Arthurian story, identifying an historical figure behind the myth. In the second half of the book, he examines the development of the Grail legend and how the relic may have been an historical artifact which he rediscovered hidden in central England. Unlike many authors on the subject of the Holy Grail, Graham Phillips examines the original sources for the legend, and presents his conclusions in a logical and readable fashion. This is an excellent historical investigation into a complex and controversial subject.

I have read nearly all of Graham Phillips' books and have always been enthralled by his exciting and new approach to historical mysteries. In this book he searches for an ancient chalice that may have been the original Holy Grail. Whether or not it was is open to debate. Nevertheless, it is a truly fascinating historical adventure story, full of secret codes hidden in old books, statues and a stained-glass window. If Mr. Phillips is right then the search for the Grail is finally over.

I was interested in this book because it was about the Alabastar jar that Mary Magadalene used to collect the blood of Jesus. It had nothing to do with the cup that was used at the Last Supper.

I find the review by "Shar" to be interesting. As a Catholic all of my life and a grand-daughter of Spanish immigrants, this cup she speaks of was never mentioned in my home or church. It was never mentioned in the 12 years of Catholic school I attended either. I find it interesting that this cup in Spain shows up now in the news just as the DaVinci Code comes out when it was never heard of before.

The book was an enjoyable read that dealt the history of post-Roman Britain and the historical existence of the man we know as King Arthur. From there, the medieval literature and legends surrounding the Holy Grail were explored. The "The Chalice of Magdalene" covered a lot of territory, but at the same time provided a great deal of historical information. It is a must read for anyone interested in the legends of King Arthur and the Grail Romances.

Mr Philips writes about the legendary Grail and his take on what it is. This time, the author takes us on a journey as to whether or not Arthur was a real figure (which seems to be the case as evidence mounts). The story of Arthur is retold, but the main focus is on the alleged Grail which some say was the cup of Jesus during the Last Supper.

Along the way, we also get a bit of information on Robin Hood and who he possibly was. There are actual mentions of more than one person called Robin Hood, so he is based on an actual person. He probably was not Errol Flynn Jr running around in tights and pining for Maid Marion.

There are eventually two discoveries in this book: A small cup which Mary Magdalene could of used to anoint Jesus and the Grail possibly being the Gospel of Thomas. Part of that Gospel is in the book to show why they would want to keep it secret.

Are the conclusions Mr Phillips reaches true? It is possible, but the evidence is mostly speculation. The small cup could of been used by any Roman who was living in ancient Britain at the time. And the Grail being the Gospel of Thomas is a stretch.

The fun of the book is the journey itself and Mr Graham Phillips is a good writer of these subjects. While the conclusions are sketchy, I think most readers will have a good time getting there and can make up their own minds.

If you think this book is gonna read like a Dan Brown book you're gonna be disappointed.

If you think you're gonna read a book with science to back up anything in the book, again, disappointment.

If you think you may find something that's in the very least as plausible as the Shroud of Turin being the real deal then you're gonna find this on the mark.

As I remember, been a year since I read it, my biggest disappointment is all the history that's in the book that goes on and on and doesn't seem to have anything to do with the subject. Ultimately, it does all come together but there's so much in the first 2/3rds of the book that frankly I think it may have been filler.

The real subject itself would fill a pamphlet, or two. But this part is quite good and worth the read. It does appear this guy may be more on the mark than off it. I do think that at one point someone hid that little jar/cup thinking they did have the real McCoy.

At the heart of this book is the story of a small perfume jar from the apparently correct time period and region of the world to have been used the hold a small sample of Christ's blood. It's intriguing in the least. The author seems to have done his research, although the early part is hard to follow as stated earlier.

This read reminds me of Second Messiah: Templars, the Turin Shroud and the Great Secret of Freemasonry by Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas. I read this also and couldn't put it down. These two books are very kin to each other although Knight and Lomas are clearly better authors in the way of representation.

If you're into this sort of thing then this will be a good read once you finally get to the meat of the book. Too bad it's like the last couple chapters or so. I realize the first stuff is there to present his historical argument but damn it drags like a text book. Do I believe this is the real cup that held Christ's blood? I'm still fuzzy on this Jesus fellow but I do believe someone felt it did strongly enough to put together this elaborate puzzle to hide it away.