The Holy Grail

Imagination and Belief

By Richard Barber

2004

First Published

3.80

Average Rating

484

Number of Pages

14H46M

Audio Length

The Holy Grail, as created and conceived by Chretien de Troyes in the late 12th century, had no obvious religious or Christian connotations but appeared in a story of chivalric adventure involving the knight Perceval. By the medieval period the Grail was to be found at the centre of the Christian church, within its liturgy and art. This superb book tells the history of the Grail from its origins in romance literature to its role as a central object of the Christian faith, its decline during the Reformation and its resurgance in recent years, devoid of its religious connotations. The intricacies and complexities of its meaning throughout history are explored in detail, especially its links with Joseph of Arimathea, with Christ's blood and the Last Supper, its power as a restorer and sustainer of life, and its mysticism in general. Whether a dish, bowl, vessel or chalice, the Grail became an exciting topic for later writers and theologians to explore and utilise, and Richard Barber suggests why this was the case. Well written, detailed and thoroughly absorbing, this is an excellent book.

Avg Rating

3.80

Number of Ratings

132

5 STARS

25%

4 STARS

41%

3 STARS

24%

2 STARS

1 STARS

goodreads

Author

Richard Barber

Author · 20 books

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. Richard William Barber is a prominent British historian who has been writing and publishing in the field of medieval history and literature ever since his student days. He has specialised in the Arthurian legend, beginning with a general survey, Arthur of Albion, in 1961, which is still in print in a revised edition. His other major interest is historical biography; he has published on Henry Plantagenet (1964) and among his other books is the standard biography of Edward the Black Prince, Edward Prince of Wales and Aquitaine. The interplay between history and literature was the theme of The Knight and Chivalry, for which he won the Somerset Maugham Prize in 1971 and he returned to this in The Holy Grail: Imagination and Belief (2004); this was widely praised in the UK press, and had major reviews in The New York Times and The Washington Post. His other career has been as a publisher. In 1969 he helped to found The Boydell Press, which later became Boydell & Brewer Ltd, one of the leading publishers in medieval studies, and he is currently group managing director. In 1989, Boydell & Brewer Ltd, in association with the University of Rochester, started the University of Rochester Press in upstate New York. The group currently publishes over 200 titles a year.