On the Trail of the Holy Grail
You won't find the Holy Grail under the Louvre... Scholars have long known that the Grail is essentially legendary—a mystic key forever sought by those seeking Enlightenment, a quest in which the search is as important as the result. Theories abound as to its true origins and meaning, most of them un-provable. But now, in a revolutionary new quest for a deeper understanding of Grail lore, folklorist and historian Stuart McHardy draws on decades of research in his native Scotland to expose a...
Search in google:
In a revolutionary new quest for a deeper understanding of Grail lore, folklorist and historian Stuart McHardy draws on decades of research in his native Scotland to expose a phenomenally powerful force of nature that could be the genesis of the Grail.
Index Map xiPreface xvIntroduction 3An Opening Door 1The Grail in literaturePagan and Christian rootsCrusades'King' ArthurOral traditionsGrowth of RomancesRoots among Celtic-speaking peoplesLinks to Germanic mythologySituation in ScotlandThe Warrior Way 12ArthurGododdinWarrior societyTribal systemKinship not kingshipCattle-raidingScots not IrishLanguage situationCultural commonaltiesGeoffrey of MonmouthNine Maidens sitesScotland outside the Roman worldArthur's Battles 25Arthur's BattlesPagan sites attackedImportance of hilltop sitesNotable locationsHeroes and legendsHighland clan systemAncestor worshipArthurian localesSleeping warriors and kidnapped musiciansFertility/femininityTribal not national loyaltyIdealised heroQuests and Questers 39Idea of the QuestThe Grail as ChaliceLancelot and GalahadRoots in P-Celtic talesGawainTraprain LawEarly Scottish saintsBride in ScotlandSuppression of feminine roleShamanismSymbolic cauldronsRosslyn and Templar fantasiesAvalonGlastonburyAncient Roots 53Importance of the MabinogionBran's severed headCauldrons of rebirthVotive offeringsThe Carlin and the CailleachFairies as ancestorsCerridwen and TaliesinLinks to Stone AgeCauldron as a symbolPictish symbolsDeer assymbolGlamis Manse stoneChristian re-usage of sitesContinuities and Contacts 64Surviving fire-festivalsWellsSacred numbersStorytelling exists alongside literacyCultural contactsScottish references in the GrailRomancesP-Celtic survivalsOver reliance on language as a mark of ethnicityLinks to EuropeContinuities since Megalithic periodScotland Christianised lateOrigin of BritishLandscape markers 79Lack of Early Scottish manuscriptsCailleach survives in story and place-namesSuggestion of a Fairy CultRituals at ancient sitesDruids and shamansNemetonsCailleach and mountainsPaps and CiochsDual goddessMountain clustersCailleach and Bride in the landscapeCauldron as symbolNorse roaring cauldronThe Feminine Principle 93Calanais and cailich na mointichLunar standstillCailiness clusterGlen ClovaSleeping Giant of BenartyBeltain ritesContinuities and survivalsCeltic studies ignoring ScotlandIslands of WomenPossibility of deer-priestessesPictish symbolsThomas the RhymerInto the Cauldron 107Beltain riteCailleach and the whirlpoolDalriada and KilmartinSpirals and cup-and-ring marksLocal talesPaps of JuraGododdin and Taliesin poem Harrying of AnnwnMegalithic contactsHamlet's MillExtensive sea-travelNotes 125Bibliography 129Index 133
