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The Grail Code: Quest for the Real Presence

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The subject seems daunting. Who really wants to read an entire book about the Holy Grail? Not me. How about a book looking for King Arthur? Hmmm, that's a bit more interesting but still no sale. At least, that is, until I was shown that we really are not merely talking about the grail or King Arthur but a much bigger story, something divine really. To quote the book:

"If there was a real Holy Grail -- a cup venerated by the early Christians as the cup used at the Last Supper -- then it would eventually have become so encrusted with jewels and precious metals from the far corners of the earth that the original object would be hard to recognize. The cup would have been unchanged in essence but surrounded by a superstructure of ornamentation designed to draw attention to the beauty of its holiness.

All this is simply speculation. In spite of the strong claims about some relics in various parts of Europe, we really have no idea what became of the cup that Jesus used. Whether or not the object still exists, the veneration and ornamentation that might have happened to the Holy Grail is exactly what did happen to the story of the Holy Grail. One generation after another added jewels from all kinds of unlikely sources until the thing seemed to have a completely different shape. But the essence -- the original meaning of the Eucharist -- was unchanged. The added layers of ornament only expressed centuries of veneration for the truth of the Eucharist..."

Interesting concept isn't it? Certainly it is one that never occurred to me but is fascinating in the implications. Just to make sure I don't lose the trail, the authors then go onto King Arthur and work the same magic ... making connections I didn't know existed. Again, quoting from the book:

"It's a lot of fun to chase bits of historical evidence hither and yon, and to pounce on them when they seem to support our favorite theory. But to us, the historical truth about King Arthur is almost irrelevant. What's much more important is what people have believed about King Arthur for most of the last millennium and a half.

The story of King Arthur is the story of the creation of a terrestrial paradise -- a paradise that was destroyed by sin. It is also a story of longed-for redemption, the hope that some miracle could restore the perfect world that sin destroyed."

Wow! I'm just at the beginning of this book but can assure you that it is neither boring nor difficult to read. I'm sure more excerpts will follow as I follow the interesting historical trail the authors have laid out for us in this book.

Although the introduction, chapter 1, and the afterword deal with modern focus on the Holy Grail, The Grail Code is much more vibrant in the chapters that deal with how the legend of the Holy Grail came to flourish and grow, than in those brief passages.

Starting with the history and legends surrounding Joseph of Arimathea and King Arthur, and detailing the bardic traditions of idealizing romantic and courtly love, Aquilina spells out, step by step, how what basically started as a 'pop fiction romance' grew to be the obsession we experience today.

What Aquilina considers to be the true meaning of the obsession with the Grail--the need to experience the Real Presence of Christ, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, in the Eucharist as celebrated in the Catholic Church--is also emphasized. Non-Catholics will probably not agree with his theology, but don't let that stop you from experiencing this amazing literary history.

Warning: The Grail Code may turn out to be just the beginning of your quest--you'll need access to a well-stocked library to read all the interesting books (including translations of all the various 'original' versions of the Grail and Arthur legends) mentioned in the selected bibliography--and after finishing The Grail Code, you'll want to read them.

One of my favorite books this year, Grail Code is the thoughtful answer to a question that has been on my mind for years, well before Dan Brown unleashed the merchandising behemoth that The Da Vinci Code became: namely, what is the core of the Arthur/Grail stories, and how do we understand the relationship of these stories to Christian culture? Mike Aquilina and Chris Bailey have done a bang-up job with this book. It's fun, with mock arthurian stylings in its chapter heads and allusions to such popular treatments as the 1981 John Boorman film Excalibur and 1989's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Aquilina and Bailey highlight the changing contours of the legends in the hands of men like Chretien de Troyes, Walter Map, Sir Thomas Malory, and Alfred Lord Tennyson. They've turned the history of these romances into an engaging intellectual romance; they pull the reader in to a world that is much larger than he could ever have imagined. Aquilina and Bailey capture the sense of yearning that is the strong undercurrent of these stories. They liken the tale to a jewel-encrusted relic, a tale that grew in reverent retelling. Christian theology, British history, romance and adultery, this is a wide-ranging, romping read.

It is unfortunate that The Grail Code will be seen by some merely as a work refuting The DaVinci Code. Such a misunderstanding might lead readers grown tired of the Dan Brown controversy to overlook it. In truth, the Grail Code is far more than another refutation of the dreadful novel. It is a superb account of the history and meaning of the Holy Grail. A must-read for those interested in the history of medieval literature.

"The Grail Code" by Mike Aquilina and Christopher Bailey is an excellent introduction to the medieval grail legends, tracing their development from Joseph of Arimathea to King Arthur to the Nazis. It refers only in passing to the various conspiracy theories (particularly the one associated with "The DaVinci Code"). It will whet your appetite for Walter Map and give you a good framework in which to read Tennyson and Malory. And, more importantly, it will point you to the true nature of the quest: the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. If you are bored with conspiracy theories yet find the Grail legends compelling this book is a good place to start your quest.

Having taken a course in Grail legends in college (so many years ago that the professor quite possibly knew Arthur), I was curious to see what the author's take would be on this vast subject. Mr. Aquilina calmly surpassed my expectations.

This book is a concise and lilting journey through the various stages of the growth of the Arthurian legends. I was happy to see the author include aspects of the myriad authors that were left out of the college course I took. Mr. Aquilina uncovered the yearning for the meaning of life and ultimate destiny in the legends that was missing from my class. Perhaps because my professor came was a self-proclaimed Anglophile (although he didn't take milk and cream with his Earl Grey), he missed the piercing Catholic underpinnings of the legends that were the foundation of the quest.

Mr. Aquilina was able, in relatively few pages to weave the nuances and intracacies of humanity's search for reason and belief in and out of the various Grail legends throughout history. I was pleased to be re-introduced to so many storytellers who I spent long nights with (usually right before exams) and to see them from a refreshingly new angle. It was like meeting an old friend whose memory has been distorted by the years. You see them as new creatures, filling in the details with new colors and textures. For me, The Grail Code completed the image in my mind of the legends, the history and the characters that mottle our literary landscape even today.

This book came to be a gem for me. I look forward to reading it again soon.

Thank you, Mr. Aquilina. It's been a pleasure.

If the authors had done no more than present an historically accurate account of the grail legend, it would have enough. But they have presented that history, with all its surprising twists and unexpected turns, in a lively yet graceful way -- master storytellers telling the story of a story.

A well-written book that both informs and entertains, 'The Grail Code' is the perfect antidote to 'The DaVinci Code' and its numerous imitators.

In a world that is searching for a mestery and other explinations for the Grail, this book puts it all in perspective. Clear and concise writing along with scriptural refeance makes this the perfect book for those seeking the True Grail. Debunks many of the myths and misconceptions about the Grail and what it is. I recomend this for everyone who found to many flaws in the argument presented in The DaVinci Code.

This fascinating detective story shows us the quest for the Holy Grail and the meaning the quest continues to have. The book is an exploration into the real history surrounding the quest for the Grail. The book includes an in-depth look at the Arthurian Romances and shows us why we are still creating Grail romances today. This book is a very readable and enjoyable romp. Have your own Grail Quest today!

What is it about the Holy Grail that's so beautiful and compelling as to inspire knights, kings, and millions of readers for almost a thousand years? This is the only book that answers that question. Read it and begin your quest!