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Previously on « The Greatest Secret »
In the middle Ages,
Avalon turned into the place where the Holy Grail was kept.
In a number of versions,
this sacred vessel of immortality,
is housed in a castle called the "Forepeak Fortress"
on an otherworld Island which is known as "Anwwn".
(Emotional Choral Music)
In the middle Ages linked with the stories of Avalon and the Arthurian legends,
apears a quest...
Inspired by iterature and artwork ,
this quest has kept a motive of interest
for historians and researchers for hundreds of years.
(Emotional Choral Music)
In this episode we explore the written legends,
of what is considered by many to be the greatest mission of humanity,
to find the Holy Grail!
(Emotional Choral Music)
(Music Fading)
(Intro Epic Music)
Episode III - "Avalon" part II Legends Of The Holy Grail
(Arp Music Playing, Crickets Making Noise)
The legend of the Holy Grail,
more than any other Western myth
has retained the vital magic
which marks it as a living legend,
capable of touching both
imagination and spirit.
No other myth is so rich in symbolism
and sustained throughout the Ages.
At its core,
there exists a secret which has kept the
mystical appeal of the Grail alive
for the last 900 years, while other myths and legends have slipped into oblivion
and been forgotten.
The various stories,
always describe a dream like journey into the unknown.
By completing the journey to Grail,
the seeker is transformed and through his actions, he restores the
world into its original paradisal condition.
Just as there is no single account of this quest,
there is no single description of the Grail,
it variously appears as a "Dish",
a "Cauldron", a "Chalice" and a "Cup".
It's thought that the origins of the Grail
begin in ancient Celtic mythology.
Old tales tell a fantastic visitations of heroes
to the island realms of gods and immortals,
where valorous warriors were entertained with food and drink,
served by golden vessels of abundance.
(Arp Music Playing)
The modern legend of the Grail
first appeared at the end of the 12th century,
it sprung from the author «Chrétien de Troyes»
in his poem "Perceval". (le Conte du Graal)
It details a boy who heads to King Arthur's Court
where a young girl predicts greatness for him,
he sets off on an adventure
and comes across the old "Fisher king"
who invites him to stay at his castle.
While there...
He witnesses a procession,
where he is presented a beautiful Grail ,
during a feast.
He spends much of the poem asking about the Grail,
longing to see it once again.
(Arp Music Faster)
in "Parzival"
a German version of the Grail story ,
The author «Wolfram von Eschenbach»
describes the Grail as a stone vessel
brought down from heaven.
The story describes the quest, as one of the individual
struggling towards a sense of wholeness,
the quest is not just a physical one,
but a reunion of Earth and Heaven,
of nature and the divine.
He writes :
" There was thing that was called the Grail,
the crown of all earthly wishes ,
fair fullness that never shall fail."
"Parzival" can be translated as :
"piercing the valley"
the name is signifying
that the Grail can be found through a union
of the dualistic aspects of ourselves,
"piercing the valley of extremes."
The prologue opens up
by informing us how there was once a paradise on earth
called "Logrus"
throughout this land...
Maidens lived by sacred grottos,
wells and Springs,
these maidens would feed wonders
and travelers from golden bowls and cups.
The realm was at peace and fertile,
until one day...
The evil king «Emma Gon's» ravished one of the maidens.
and stole her sacred bowl.
Soon...
The inhabitants of the land were following the king,
until there is no more maidens of the sacred well.
The wells and waters dried up
animals died,
and the now barren wasteland
lost contact with the other world.
"The unseen spirit world of the Celtic's."
The Grail hero thus must re-establish
the link between Earth
and the other world,
where he can revive
the Golden Age which was lost.
"Parzival" is allegorizing the loss of the "Divine Feminine"
the compassionate spark within each of us,
that was extinguished
in favor of dominance and tyranny!
Springs and wells were thought to be the most powerful outward expression
of the life-giving abundance
of the earth goddess!
And this is why Britain and the lands around it have mythologies
speaking of the fountain goddess,
one of which is the Welsh "Mabinogion"
where the protagonist « Olwen »
falls in love with the countess of the fountain
who exists in a paradise land.
Old British lore states: That surviving followers of the goddess
fled paradise and were displaced,
from then on...
They were always searching for
the safe and peaceful haven
in an increasingly divided and violent world.
Joy, peace and a sense of harmony with nature,
could now only be found in the legends of the past.
This goddess figure appeared in the early legends of the Grail.
In "Parzival" it's written:
"She was beautiful, gracious and splendidly garbed
as she entered with the Grail in her hands...
there was such a beautiful light
that the candles lost their brightness,
just as the stars do
when the moon or the Sun rises."
(Background Music Fading)
(Moment Of Silence)
(Sound Of Birds In The Distance)
(Arp Music Playing)
While the Grail is seen as a healing and nurturing vessel,
its transformative powers often completely disrupt
the established order,
for instance:
In the Arthurian stories,
when the Grail first appears at king arthur's table
his kingdom appears to be flourishing,
but within time
the knights of the round table
are disbanded in favor of the fellowship of the Grail.
(Arp Playing Louder)
Although the Grail is a healing force,
it will destroy as often as it will nourish
those chosen few
who pass its rigorous tests are transformed,
but those who attempt to grasp it's meaning
before they are ready
are purged
and often times killed.
For example:
The knight « Lancelot »
and « Gwaine » in the later legends,
are found to be flawed men
and not worthy of the Grail's gifts.
But « Gwaine »
one of Arthur's knights was originally the Grail hero.
In the 13th century "Diu Crone"
it's written that, « Gwaine » in his search
comes to a land "Twas full of all delights
that heart of man might desire."
At the entrance to this Wonderland,
was a building of glass
but the way was guarded by a flaming sword.
(Background Choral Music)
This scene...
is strikingly reminiscent of the gates of « Eden »
guarded by god's cherubim,
marking the boundaries of the Otherworld!
(Sound Of Birds Fading)
In the french story "Perlesvaus"
the Grail hero sets sail with only a steersman for company
and visits what's called "The Isle of the ageless elders"
it's written :
"Perlesvaus looks beneath a very fair tree,
which was tall and broad,
and sees the fairest fountain that anyone might describe.
It was set with rich golden pillars
and the very ground seemed to be of precious stone."
This is the Fountain of Youth,
which appears in numerous legends outside the stories of the Grail.
Often times...
This fountain is found beneath a tree of life and
knowledge at the center of the world.
"The Axis Mundi"
The Axis Mundi is a predominant feature of most world cosmologies,
it is usually seen as the center point of the earth
and the place where the earth is joined to the sky,
the heavens and in the Grail myths
"the other world".
the Grail itself,
is a manifestation of the Axis Mundi
it is the point from which all directions are established
this also applies to time,
for as all directions flow from this point
from the North Pole.
So at the center all times occur simultaneously,
perhaps this is why those who drink from the Grail
are said to have their youth restored,
interestingly in some artwork
the Grail castle,
which « Perlesvaus » visits
is shown to be in the center of a Zodiac Wheel.
(Arp Music Fading Away)
(Choral Voices)
Over time,
the Grail became intertwined in the story of Jesus Christ.
In christian lore,
it is the cup that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper
and that « Joseph of Arimathea »
used to collect Jesus's blood,
at his crucifixion.
It is interesting to note that Jesus had twelve disciples,
as King Arthur had twelve knights of the round table.
(Choral Music Playing)
Some Christian artwork even seems to have borrowed the idea of the round table,
replacing Arthur's knights with the twelve disciples.
(Choral Music Fading)
(Epic Orchestral Background Music)
For many years we had a feeling
that we lost our position in the world,
without guidance,
we say that we lose our "North".
but the truth is...
that the "North" never left us,
it was always there!
Like a voice in a distance,
calling us to go back
to that hidden Paradise,
that was once lost to us.
It's time to listen
and rediscover ourselves,
so that we may never lose our "North" again.
We will follow our hearts,
and listen to that whisper
telling us to return home.
(Epic Music)
(End Of Episode III)