Holy Grail

Some might say it is a court case worthy of its subject matter: impenetrable, verging on the farcical and wrapped up in the minutiae of Christian theology. Amid the appropriately neo-gothic setting of the High Court in London, two British-based writers yesterday claimed that The Da Vinci Code, the loosely historical murder mystery, plagiarises a book they published more than 20 years earlier.The two, who specialise in historical conjecture, claim that its author, Dan Brown, cannibalised their text, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, to give his book plausibility and to save himself "time and effort" in independent research.Michael Baigent, 52,and Richard Leigh, 62, also said that it was not just random facts that were "lifted" but the whole "architecture" and "theme" of their book.At the heart of the case is their theory that Christ did not die on the cross but married Mary Magdalene and had a child, starting a bloodline that was protected by the Knights Templar and hushed up by the Catholic Church.Brown's thriller is also based on the notion that Jesus married Mary, starting a family in France where their descendants continue to live.While the arguments in the case will hardly trouble historians, millions of pounds of publishing profits are at stake, as is the proposed release of the film version of The Da Vinci Code.With sales of 40 million and counting since it waspublished in 2003, the book has become an international phenomenon, generating millions of pounds of publishing and tourism spin-offs.The film, starring Tom Hanks, Sir Ian McKellen and Audrey Tautou, is due to be released in May.Brown, a devout Christian who attended the case, emphatically denies stealing from Baigent and Leigh's work and is particularly adamant that he would never suggest that Jesus was not crucified on the cross.

View: Full Article | Source: The Telegraph .

For 2,000 years the Holy Grail has drifted in and out of vision like a jewelled chimera, taunting generations to find it. Was the fabled cup from the Last Supper spirited from Jerusalem by Christian knights, or is it an unimaginable secret about Jesus himself? Why don't we ask a presenter of the BBC motoring programme Top Gear to find out? Richard Hammond and the Holy Grail, an hour-long BBC1 documentary, is the latest offering from the mini-industry spawned by The Da Vinci Code. The Holy Grail has long fascinated Christians, but the 30 million sales of Dan Brown's book have propelled the legend to stratospheric popularity. From spin-off books to TV and even £144Da Vinci Code breaks from VisitScotland, everybody wants a slice of immortality.

BBC1 has deeper pockets than the average tourist, so it sent Hammond on a 5,000 mile odyssey, crossing four countries, to find out. The result is what you could term "occultism lite" - Hammond is known for his cheeky-chappy style, so the BBC clearly didn't intend this to be a furrowed-brow exercise in academia. Hammond begins his quest with: "The BBC - bless 'em - have given me just two weeks to search for the Holy Grail so, er, I'd better get on with it." He sets out the basics of the Grail story by flying to Istanbul, or Constantinople as it was once known. The city is significant as a kind of geographical crossroads, regularly used by crusaders heading east to the Holy Landor returning to Europe. Legend has it that the Grail, the cup drunk from by Jesus at the Last Supper before his crucifixion, was seen by pilgrims in the 5th century. However, it seemed to disappear from Palestine, apparently resurfacing in Constantinople in the 13th century. Constantinople was a clearing house for religious relics. At various times pieces of the one true cross, the crown of thorns, John the Baptist's bones and the lance that pierced the side of Christ are all supposed to have passed through there.

View: Full Article | Source: The Scotsman

For 2,000 years the Holy Grail has drifted in and out of vision like a jewelled chimera, taunting generations to find it. Was the fabled cup from the Last Supper spirited from Jerusalem by Christian knights, or is it an unimaginable secret about Jesus himself? Why don't we ask a presenter of the BBC motoring programme Top Gear to find out?Richard Hammond and the Holy Grail, an hour-long BBC1 documentary, is the latest offering from the mini-industry spawned by The Da Vinci Code. The Holy Grail has long fascinated Christians, but the 30 million sales of Dan Brown's book have propelled the legendto stratospheric popularity.From spin-off books to TV and even £144 Da Vinci Code breaks from VisitScotland, everybody wants a slice of immortality.

BBC1 has deeper pockets than the average tourist, so it sent Hammond on a 5,000 mile odyssey, crossing four countries, to find out. The result is what you could term "occultism lite" - Hammond is known for his cheeky-chappy style, so the BBC clearly didn't intend this to be a furrowed-brow exercise in academia. Hammond begins his quest with: "The BBC - bless 'em - have given me just two weeks to search for the Holy Grail so, er, I'd better get on with it." He sets out the basics of the Grail story by flying to Istanbul, or Constantinople as it was once known. The city is significant as a kind of geographical crossroads, regularly used by crusaders heading eastto the Holy Land or returning to Europe. Legend has it that the Grail, the cup drunk from by Jesus at the Last Supper before his crucifixion, was seen by pilgrims in the 5th century. However, it seemed to disappear from Palestine, apparently resurfacing in Constantinople in the 13th century. Constantinople was a clearing house for religious relics. At various times pieces of the one true cross, the crown of thorns, John the Baptist's bones and the lance that pierced the side of Christ are all supposed to have passed through there. So is the Grail there? The conclusion of Tom Asbridge - an expert on the crusades - is "possibly". So many other relics appeared at points it is conceivable the grail was among them. The returning crusaders are thought to have taken some relics with them as they scattered back to Spain,Franc......

The Da Vinci Code might name Scotland as the home of the Holy Grail, but according to a Welsh academic, Wales' claim to the relic is much stronger.Since Dan Brown's bestseller was published in 2003, hundreds of thousands of visitors have flocked to Rosslyn Chapel near Edinburgh, which the book claims is the Grail's final resting place. But, Grail expert Dr Juliette Wood of Cardiff University said theories linking the Grail to Scotland were relatively new compared to the claims which Wales has on the ancient relic, which stretch back to the 14th century.The Holy Grail is believed to be the cup which Christ drank from at the Last Supper and isthought to have magical powers, but its location, and whether it ever actually existed, has captured the imagination of adventurers throughout history, from the Knights of the Round Table to the imaginary Indiana Jones. Stories suggesting the existence of a Grail first appeared in the 12th century and according to Dr Wood, who specialises in Welsh folklore and Celtic literature, evidence of the relic having travelled to Wales can be traced back to the 1300s. In contrast, the theory which Brown's novel relies on, that the Grail was discovered by the Knights Templar who buried it beneath one of the pillars of Rosslyn chapel, did not develop until the 1960s. The evidence shows Wales has just as much right to such a prized position on the Grail seekers trail as Rosslyn, which has experienced a 100% rise invisitor numbers since the publication of Brown's novel. Dr Wood said, "The story of Rosslyn Chapel is only about 20 years old. "Wales' link is much stronger.

Wales has Arthurian romances which refer to the Grail, but Scotland doesn't have that. There are a number of Holy Grail romances written in Scotland but currently there hasn't been anything found in Gaelic." First reference to the Grail having travelled to Wales can be found in the story of Peredur the Son of Evrawc, which appears in the Mabinogion book of Celtic stories. In the story a knight, Peredur of Wales, sets out on a quest to find the Grail, although when he does it appears not as a shining beacon, but in the form of his cousin's head, floating on a platter in a pool of blood. Other theories which link the Grail to Walesinclude......