The Grail Code: Quest for the Real Presence

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.

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.

"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.

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.