Healer (32 page)

The Grail Palace

Norma Lorre Goodrich suggests that the Grail Palace was on the Isle of St. Patrick, and recent archaeology has exposed sixth-century ruins of a church/palace there. But what was it, or the Grail itself, exactly? Goodrich uses the vast works of other scholars, adding her expertise in the linguistics field, to extract information from Arthurian texts in several languages. Weeding out as much fancy as possible, it was the palace or church/place where the holy treasures of Christianity were kept (not to be confused with the treasures of Solomon’s Temple, which are alleged to have been taken to Ireland in 587 BC by Jeremiah and Zedekiah’s daughter Tamar or found by the Templars during the Crusades). The Grail treasures consist of items relating to Jesus: a gold chalice and a silver platter (or silver knives) from the Last Supper, the spear that pierced Christ’s side, the sword (or broken sword) that beheaded John the Baptist, gold candelabra with at least ten candles each, and a secret book, or gospel attributed directly to either Jesus, John the Beloved, Solomon, John the Baptist, or John of the Apocalypse.

Or was this book the genealogies of the bloodlines, whose copies were supposedly destroyed by the Roman Church?

If the house of the Last Supper was that of the wealthy Joseph of Arimathea, is it possible that Jesus used these rich items and that Joseph brought them to Britain in the first century as tradition holds? The high priest of the Grail Castle tradition was called the Joseph. Of all the knights who vied for the Grail or the high priest position as teacher and protector of the bloodlines and treasures, only Percival and Galahad succeeded. Did they take the place of Merlin Emrys, when he passed on?

The purpose of the Grail Palace beyond holding the treasures was one of protecting and perpetuating the apostolic and royal bloodlines … hence the first-century Christianity brought to Britain by Christ’s family and followers. It was believed that an heir of both lines stood a chance of becoming another messiah-like figure. Such breeding of bloodlines was intended to keep the British church free of Roman corruption and close to its Hebrew origins. Nenius, who was pro-Roman to the core, accuses the Celtic Church of
clinging to the shadows of the Jews—
the first-century Jews of Jesus’ family and friends.

But by the time the last Arthur fell, the hope of keeping the line of priests and Davidic kings, as had been done in Israel prior to Zedekiah’s fall, was lost. With the triumph of the Roman Church authority, political appointment from Rome trumped the inheritance of the priestly and kingly rights divinely appointed in the Old Testament. Celibacy became the order of the day to keep the power and money in Rome.

Based on Goodrich’s insights, it’s suggested that there were three Grail brotherhoods: Christ and the Twelve Disciples, Joseph of Arimathea and his twelve companions, and Arthur and the Twelve Knights of the Round Table. After Arthur’s death, the order of the Grail with its decidedly Jewish roots gave way to Columba at Iona and the Roman Church. The Grail treasures—which had been brought from the Holy Land by Joseph of Arimathea, first to Glastonbury and later, after Saxons came too close for comfort, to the Isle of Patrick off of Man—had to be moved again. Percival and Galahad returned it to the Holy Land. And it is there, centuries later, that the Knights Templar allegedly entered into the mystery, perhaps with privileged information kept and passed down among the sacred few remnants of the bloodlines that shaped early Christian Scotland, England, and Ireland.

Etienne Gilson said the Grail veneration started in Jerusalem with Arimathea and Jesus’ family and friends and that it stood for grace. God’s grace. Christ’s grace by sacrifice.

Or is it that only those truly baptized by Pentecostal fire are fit to care for the Grail treasures, just as only the high priest of Aaron was allowed into the Holy of Holies in ancient Israel? And is finding the Grail a metaphor for the Holy Spirit embodied in the apostles, or entering into the presence of God? Lancelot only dreamed of it, while Percival and Galahad actually achieved it as evidenced by the fires on their tunics.

The truth has been veiled by time, muddied or intentionally destroyed by later anti-Semitic factions in the church, and turned into a fantasy by later medieval writers who vilified most of the women, romanticized the men, and changed the now-lost original accounts to suit the tastes of their benefactors. Yet still this quest haunts the imagination and the soul—to be like, and hence in the presence of, Christ.

Bibliography

For Readers Who Want More:

There are
over
seventy-five books from which I’ve garnered information and inspiration for this novel. However, I am listing those of the most influence for the reader who wants to delve into the history and tradition behind this work of fiction.

David F. Carroll makes a case for the historically documented Prince Arthur of Dalraida as
the
Arthur. This documentation is why I chose his story as the background for this series, while incorporating many of Norma Lorre Goodrich’s observations as well. Her scholarly analysis of Arthuriana suggests that there is more than one Arthur, Guinevere, and Merlin. This, and the fact that there was no standard for dating, explains Arthur and company having to have lived for nearly a hundred years and the many dating discrepancies in historical manuscripts. She, among others listed, uses geographical description and her knowledge of linguistics to place Arthur mostly in the lowlands of today’s Scotland. Shortly after she suggested the location of Arthur’s Grail Palace on an island near Man, the ruins of a Dark Age Christian church was discovered there.

Isabel Elder’s
Celt, Druid and Culdee
provides a wonderful insight into the origins of the early church in Britain and how the similarities of these three groups made them ready to make Christ their Druid or teacher/master. A must-read to understand the New Age philosophy of today. Andrew Gray’s
The Origin and Early History of Christianity in Britain—From Its Dawn to the Death of Augustine
is fascinating and impacts
Healer
as it lends some credence to some of Goodrich’s observations on Arthur and the church.

The oral traditions about Joseph of Arimathea and Avalon/Glastonbury are underscored by ancient place names and Roman, British, Irish, and church histories in books by Gray, Joyce, McNaught, and Taylor. They also provide a compelling case for the British church’s establishment in the first century by Jesus’ family and apostles. Books regarding the Davidic bloodlines preserved through Irish nobility that married into the major royal houses of western Europe, Britain in particular, include those of Allen, Capt, and Collins.

To separate magic from science from miracle throughout history, I found Charles Singer’s book one of the best I’ve read for clarification. Kieckhefer’s is also an excellent historical resource for medieval customs, superstitions, and medicine and their darker side as well.

I do not advocate the practices featured in Buckland’s book on witchcraft, although reading it has helped me develop a clearer understanding of where much New Age thought comes from, that I might more effectively witness to the similarities and differences in the future in my case for Christ. After reading the above and more on my magic-miracle-science research, I found the scriptural perspective in Rory Roybal’s
Miracles or Magic? Discerning the Works of God in Today’s World
reassuring and spiritually grounding
.
And, of course, enough can’t be said of the King James Version of the Bible quoted throughout
Healer.

Arthurian Works

Barber
, Richard.
The Figure of Arthur
. New York: Dorset Press, 1972.

Blake
, Steve, and Scott Lloyd.
Pendragon: The Definitive Account of the Origins of Arthur.
Guilford, CT: The Lyons Press, 2002.

Carroll
, David F.
Arturius: A Quest for Camelot.
D.F. Carroll, 1996.

De Boron
, Robert.
Merlin and the Grail: Joseph of Arimathea, Merlin, Perceval.
Translated by Nigel Bryant. Rochester, NY: D.S. Brewer, 2005.

Goodrich
, Norma Lorre.
Guinevere.
New York: HarperCollins, 1991.

___________
.
The Holy Grail.
New York: HarperCollins, 1993.

___________
.
King Arthur.
New York: Harper and Row, 1986.

___________
.
Merlin.
New York: Harper and Row, 1988.

Holmes
, Michael.
King Arthur: A Military History.
New York: Blandford Press, 1998.

Reno
, Frank.
Historic Figures of the Arthurian Era.
Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2000.

Skene
, W. F. Edited by Derek Bryce.
Arthur and the Britons.
Dyfed, UK: Llanerch Enterprises, 1988.

Church History

Allen
, J. H.
Judah’s Sceptre and Joseph’s Birthright.
Merrimac, MA: Destiny Publishers, 1902.

Capt
, E. Raymond.
The Traditions of Glastonbury.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Artisan Sales, 1983.

Missing Links Discovered in Assyrian Tablets: Study of the Assyrian Tables of Israel.
Muskogee, OK: Artisan Publishers, 2004.

Collins
, Stephen M.
The “Lost” Ten Tribes of Israel … Found!
Boring, OR: CPA Books, 1995.

Elder
, Isabel Hill.
Celt, Druid and Culdee.
London: Covenant Publishing Company, 1973.

Gardner
, Laurence.
Bloodline of the Holy Grail: The Hidden Lineage of Jesus.
New York: Thorsons/Element, 1996. (Used for tracing Jesus’ family and apostles, not His alleged direct bloodline.)

Gray
, Andrew.
The Origin and Early History of Christianity in Britain—From Its Dawn to the Death of Augustine.
New York: James Pott & Co., 1897.

Joyce
, Timothy.
Celtic Christianity: A Sacred Tradition of Hope.
New York: Orbis Books, 1998.

Larson
, Frank.
The Bethlehem Star,
http://www.BethlehemStar.com (accessed January 1, 2008).

MacNaught
, J. C.
The Celtic Church and the See of Peter.
Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1927.

Taylor
, Gladys.
Our Neglected Heritage: The Early Church.
London: Covenant Publishing Company, 1969.

General History

Adomnan
of Iona.
Life of St. Columba
. Translated by Richard Sharpe. New York: Penguin Books, 1995.

Alcock,
Leslie.
Arthur’s Britain.
New York: Penguin Books, 1971.

Kings & Warriors, Craftsmen & Priests in Northern Britain AD 550-850.
Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 2003.

Armit,
Ian.
Celtic Scotland.
London: B. T. Batsford, Ltd., 2005.

Ashe,
Geoffrey.
A Guidebook to Arthurian Britain.
London: First Aquarian Press, 1983.

Ellis,
Peter Berresford.
Celt and Saxon: The Struggle for Britain, AD 410-937.
London: Constable, 1993.

Evans,
Stephen.
The Lords of Battle.
Rochester, NY: Boydell Press, 1997. (Excellent resource for the life of a warlord and his men.)

Fraser,
James.
From Caledonia to Pictland: Scotland to 795.
Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2009.

Hartley,
Dorothy.
Lost Country Life.
New York: Random House, 1979. (A wonderful look at country life in Britain by the season.)

Hughes,
David.
The British Chronicles
,
Book One.
Westminster, MD: Heritage Books, 2007.

Johnson,
Stephen.
Later Roman Britain: Britain before the Conquest.
New York: Charles Scribner & Sons, 1980.

Laing,
Lloyd and Jenny.
The Picts and the Scots.
UK: Alan Sutton Publishing, 1993.

Marsh,
Henry.
Dark Age Britain: Sources of History.
New York: Dorset Press, 1987.

Snyder,
Christopher A.
The Britons.
Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2003.

Magic, Miracle, and Science of the Dark Ages

Buckland,
Raymond.
Scottish Witchcraft, The History and Magick of the Picts
. St. Paul, MD: Llewellyn Publications, 1999.

Kieckhefer
, Richard.
Magic in the Middle Ages.
Cambridge,
UK: Cambridge University Press, 1989.

Roybal,
Rory.
Miracles or Magic? Discerning the Works of God in Today’s World
. Longwood, FL: Xulon Press, 2005.

Singer,
Charles.
From Magic to Science: Essays on the Scientific Twilight.
Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1958.