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Assembly of Bards.
# 383 p 221 ff
Born in Gaul, Gorvenal became the tutor and later the servant of Tristan. He married Brangien, Iseult's maidservant. When Tristan left Liones, Gorvenal became its king. See: PHARAMOND.
# 156
Arthur's helmet, high of steel and thereon was many gemstone, all encompassed with gold, which, according to Layamon, was made by Wygar, the witty wright.
# 697
Brother of Guinevere, he carried her off when she refused to go with Gasozein who claimed to be her husband.
# 156
(Gabhra). References to Oscar's death at Gowra; battle of Gowra between Clan Bascna and Clan Morna; King of Ireland's death at Gowra. Version of the Battle of Gowra in J. G. Campbell's THE FIANS, from WAIFS AND STRAYS OF CELTIC TRADITION, Argyllshire Series. The tale was taken down in verse, word for word, from the dectation of Roderick mac Fadyen in Tiree, 1868. See also: CAMPBELL OF TIREE, JOHN GREGORSON.
# 562
Hero of a little known Arthurian romance in which he is the son of a fiendish knight and a gently born lady. The boy proves to be of a savage disposition until the devilish tendencies are driven out of him by means of a self-inflicted penance. A rather pious story, but an interesting reflection of the way in which the chivalric romances were used as teaching aids by the Church.
# 454 - 610
The recorded expedition of Arthur to the Otherworld, apparently to obtain a cauldron in PREIDDEU ANNWFN and, what is probably its variant, the story of Arthur's expedition to Ireland to obtain a cauldron in CULHWCH may be early forms of the story of a Grail quest. However, it has been suggested that the story may originally have been built around a vengeance motif, as indicated by the Welsh PEREDUR. D. D. R. Owen thinks that the original tale had to do with the naming of a hero who had a cup preferred to him and was asked whom it should serve. The idea of the Grail as a metaphor for the human body containing the Holy Spirit would seem to be a late development. In recent times the Holy Blood/Holy Grail theory has become widely known because of its appearance in popular books. These argue that the Grail was a bloodline descending from Christ and they postulate that the Cathars or Albigensians, a heretical body of the Middle Ages, were much involved. However, as the Cathars regarded sexual reproduction as evil, they would hardly have cherished a line of descent. Elaborations of this theory have involved beings from outer space and pre-Columbian contact with America. The Christian element in the story is widely thought to be a later overlay and is highlighted in works such as the QUESTE. P. Matarasso suggests that the Grail experience in the QUESTE may well have involved some form of perception of God by Galahad. - The hero who achieves the Grail is Perceval in the Chrétien continuations, in Wolfram and in PERLESVAUS; Galahad in the QUESTE and its derivatives; Gawain in DIU CRÔNE; and, in Malory, Galahad, Perceval and Bors achieve it together, Bors alone now returning to Arthur's court. J. L. Weston has argued that Gawain was the original hero, later replaced by Perceval, while J. Matthews takes the view that Gawain was replaced by Galahad. According to the QUESTE, the Grail was carried to Heaven by a hand after Galahad's death.
# 562: Legends of the Grail; the tale of Peredur and the Grail; Crétien de Troyes story of the Grail; identical with the Cup of the Last Supper; Wolfram von Eschenbach's conception of the story; preserved in Castle of Munsalväsche; the Grail, a talisman of abundance; false derivation of the word grail, from gréable; true derivation; combination of Celtic poetry, German mysticism, Christian chivalry, and ancient sun-myths contained in the Grail. # 730: The Grail is probably the most ancient, abstract and elusive symbol in European civilization. In the Christian version, the Grail was a very popular theme for medieval authors like Chrétien de Troyes and Wolfram von Eschenbach. In the Middle Ages, the Holy Grail was believed to contain the blood of Christ, thus symbolizing the Divine Grace given to His disciples. But it is well known that the theme of the Grail is much older than Christianity, its origin being lost in the mists of time. For the Celts, the Grail was a vase with magic powers, such as the cauldron of the god Dagda in Ireland. If ever there was a Grail in the physical sense, it might have looked like the Danish vase of Gundestrup, dating from the second century BC, which was used for initiation ceremonies, judging by its decorations. But ever since C. G. Jung, the father of the psychology of the subconscious, the Grail is considered to be the symbol of interiorization leading to communication with the divinity which is simultaneously in ourselves and in Heaven. The vase, which is open at the top, perfectly symbolizes both interiorization and communication. However, the most important aspect of the Grail is not the unattainable object itself, but the QUEST for it, which requires a very difficult spiritual voyage of the initiates. We may therefore assimilate the quest of the Grail with an initiation experience as Jean Markale confirms: 'it is certain that all versions of the quest are initiation stories. Converseley, the Odyssey, being an initiation story, is clearly a quest for the Grail, thus explaining the vase on the arms of Vlissingen. The ODYSSEY is therefore the oldest epic about the Grail, which was to be found exactly where, in the Bronze Age, the initiation rites were performed: on the Nolle beach between Dishoek and Vlissingen, the latter name meaning: 'the Rebirth of Ulysses', after its founder, the archetypal initiate of Homer's time. It is not surprising to find the Grail also in nearby Middelburg as this town was the centre of Hades' island. The city was originally built in a perfect circle, which is still evident today from the layout of the streets. In the eleventh century, a large abbey was built in the town centre around a sculpture of the Grail standing in the large inner courtyard. The present sculpture is modern, as the abbey was destroyed by air raids in the Second World War, but since rebuilt. The Grail's transition from a Gnostic to a Christian symbol is described by Paul Le Cour, according to whom the first and last patrons of the Grail were Poseidon and St John, who were considered as the patrons of the initiates. This provides us not only with the explanation of why, of all Olympians, it is precisely Poseidon, god of the Ocean and the subconscious whose golden statue is maintained on top of the town hall of Zierikzee, once the site of Circe's Mystery school, but also why the tallest church tower of Middelburg, which was built close to the Grail, is called Sint Jan (St John). See also: GRAIL, HOLY.
#44-87-100-106-112-153-156-185-287-300-318-346-354-358-388-400-429 434-451-454-458-461-492-562-604-715-726-730-748-749
The Castle, known as Carbonek, in which the Grail was housed.
# 156
# 441 - 454 - 461
In the later Grail cycles Galahad is the Grail-winner, with Perceval and Bors as his companions, but in the earlier tales it is Perceval who is the sole successful Grail-winner. There were many other unsuccessful knights on the quest, including Gawain and Lancelot.
# 434 - 454 - 461
The weapon with which the Roman centurion, Longinus, pierced the side of Christ on the Cross. It subsequently became one of the Hallows of the Grail, and was sought together with that object in Arthur's time. Fragment of a spear, said to be that of Longinus, were housed in the Vatican museum. The lance is related, natively, to the shining spear of Lugh or Llew, which came from Findias with the Tuatha de Danaan. See: LANCE OF LONGINUS.
# 451 - 454 - 461
The procession observed by Perceval at the Grail Castle when the Grail was carried, according to Chrétien by a squire with a bleeding lance, two squires carrying ten-branched candlesticks, a damsel with the Grail and a damsel with a plate. In the DIDOT PERCEVAL, there was a squire with a lance, a damsel with two silver plates and cloths, and a squire with a vessel containing the blood of Jesus. The Welsh PEREDUR has two youths with a large spear from which blood flowed, followed by a maiden with a salver on which there was a head swimming with blood. See: LANCE OF LONGINUS.
# 153 - 156 - 185 - 346
# 454
# 156: This sword, fashioned by Trebuchet, was shattered when it struck down Goon Desert, brother of the Fisher King. Making it whole was part of the Grail quest.
# 454: One of the Grail Hallows, sought by the Knights of the Round Table in their quest for the Grail. It was eventually found by Gawain, broken in two pieces; his quest subsequently was to mend the sword, which he did by taking it to its place of origin, the forge of Wayland. Perceval had a similar quest to mend the sword. It is natively associated with the sword of Light, or the sword of Nuadu, the original Celtic Wounded King.
# 30 - 156 - 454 - 461
The Cabbalistic Tree of Life can be used with any magical or philosophical system. Here it relates to the Arthurian ethos.
# 230 june - 92, pp 8-9.
Although the paganism of the Grail romances was concealed under a thin coating of Christian reinterpretation, scolars now have little doubt that there was no authentic tradition of the lost Last Supper chalice that Christians called the Holy Grail. The vessel was entirely pagan and feminine, another transformation of the Celt's Cauldron of Regeneration, the female body-symbolic bowl of lifegiving blood, often appearing in conjunction with a male symbol just as the Grail appeared in conjunction with the Holy Lance. The Grail shows its paganism and feminine orientation at every turn in the romances. Its sacred procession appeared in a fairy queen's castle, not in a church. All Europe was feverishly interested in the stories of the Grail cycle for several centuries, until the feminine connotations of the holy vessel began to show through in various ways. Almost overnight, the stories stopped coming. In fifteenth-century Brunswick there was an important popular festival called the Grail, held every seven years. It was outlawed in 1481. See also: GRAIL.
# 701 p 90 ff
or Grania (grán'nye)
# 454: Daughter of Cormac mac Art. She was promised in marriage to Fionn mac Cumhal, but when she saw his greying hair she wondered whether it was more fitting for her to marry his son, Oisin. She saw Diarmuid in the wedding party and, having given the company a sleeping draught, she laid a geasa upon him to run away with her. Their long flight from Fionn was aided by Angus mac Og, Diarmuid's foster-father. There are numerous cairns and stone-circles in Ireland which bear the name: 'the Bed of Diarmuid and Grainne', attesting to the prohibition set on them by Fionn, that they might not sleep in the same place on two consecutive nights.
# 769: Diarmaid and Grainne flee all over Ireland, aided by Oenghus who gives them many pieces of advice, including a warning never to sleep two nights in one place. The couple arrive in the Forest of Duvnos, an enchanted wood guarded by a giant, Sharvan the Surly. There is a particular tree in the forest, a tree of immortality whose berries Sharvan is particularly anxious to guard. Grainne desires some of the berries and presses Diarmaid to defy Sharvan and obtain some of the fruit for her. Diarmaid kills Sharvan, and both he and Gr inne eat some of the berries. Finn discovers the forest and the couple's hidingplace; Oenghus intervenes once again and spirits Gr inne away to safety. Eventually, Finn pardons Diarmaid after Oenghus intercedes on their behalf; the pair settle in Kerry and produce five children. The story of Grainne and Diarmaid is one of a number of instances in Irish mythology of the eternal triangle of young man, young girl and ageing suitor. The situation is very similar to the tale of Naoise, Deirdre and Conchobar. There are many supernatural elements in the story: Grainne herself is powerful and superhuman, though not herself divine. The intervention of the god Oenghus is important; and the presence of a tree of immortality, whose fruit is eaten by the lovers, raises the couple above human status. As seen in numerous cases, we also here have different versions of the same tale. Where the Matthews mention that Diarmuid and Grainne should not sleep two following nights in the same place as a prohibition from Finn, Miranda Green, Cross and Slover and Michael Scott has it, that it was one of the many advices to the couple from the god of love Oenghus (Angus mac Og). See also: DERMOT OF THE LOVE SPOT, and ALTERNATE SPELLING.
# 166 - 267 - 454 - 582 - 654 - 769
This name may be associated with the Irish GRIAN or GRIANAINECH, a title for the god Oghma, meaning 'Sun-face'. Grannus was invoked by the Emperor Caracalla in 215 AD in association with Aesculapius and Serapis, both gods of the cult of the Therapeutae. Grannus is often found in association with Sirona, a goddess whose name means 'star'. This connection is reminiscent of the concept of Three Worlds (Star, Sun and Moon) which underpins Celtic mythology.
# 628 p 108 ff
According to an unknown writer cited by Plutarch, who died about the year 120 of the present era, and also by Procopius, who wrote in the sixth century AD, 'the Land of the Dead' is the western extremity of Great Britain, separated from the eastern by an impassable wall. On the northern coast of Gaul, says the legend, is a populace of mariners whose business is to carry the dead across from the continent to their last abode in the island of Britain. The mariners, awakened in the night by the whisperings of some mysterious voice, arise and go down to the shore, where they find ships awaiting them which are not their own,* and in these invisible beings, under whose weight the vessels sink almost to the gunwales. They go on board, and with a single stroke of the oar, says one text, in one hour, says another, they arrive at their destination, though with their own vessels, aided by sails, it would have taken them at least a day and a night to reach the coast of Britain. When they come to the other shore the invisible passengers land, and at the same time the unloaded ships are seen to rise above the waves, and a voice is heard announcing the names of the new arrivals, who have just been added to the inhabitants of the Land of the Dead. 'One stroke of the oar, one hour's voyage at most, suffices for the midnight journey which transfers the Dead from the Gaulish continent to their final abode. Some mysterious law, indeed, brings together in the night the great spaces which divide the domain of the living from that of the dead in daytime. It was the same law which enabled Ith one fine winter evening to perceive from the Tower of Bregon, in the Land of the Dead, the shores of Ireland, or the Land of the Living. The phenomenon took place in winter; for winter is a sort of night; winter, like night, lowers the barriers between the regions of Death and those of Life; like night winter gives to life the semblance of death, and suppresses, as it were, the dread abyss that lies between the two.' The solar vessels found in dolmen carvings. Note that the Celtic spirits, though invisible, are material and have weight; not so those in Vergil and Dante.
# 562
A nephew of Arthur and the hero of the Irish romance EACHTRA AN AMADAN MOR. Because his brothers were killed for plotting against Arthur, he was raised in obscurity in the woods. When he grew up he became a mighty warrior, defeating Gawain, the Purple Knight, the Red Knight, and the Speckled Knight.
# 156
Like the Roaring Bull of Bagbury, the Great Giant of Henllys, whose story appeared in the ATHENAEUM in 1847, is the ghost of the dead man who turns into a demon, as the ghost of Glam did in the Icelandic saga, GRETTIR THE STRONG. It incidentally gives a typical account of how a ghost or a devil was traditionally laid. Some time in the eighteenth century there lived on the banks of the Wye a man so rich, wicked and tyrannous that he was called 'The Great Giant of Henllys'. All the countryside rejoiced when he died, but they did not rejoice long, for he came again in a form so terrible that no one dared to be out of doors after dark, and even the horses and cattle huddled round the farms. At length it was determined that he must be laid, and three clergymen went at dead of night to the church of Henllys to exorcize him. They drew a circle before the altar, and took their stand within it. Each man had a lighted candle in his hand, and together they began their prayers. Suddenly a terrible monster appeared in the church and came roaring up towards them, but when it came to the circle it stopped as if it had hit against a stone wall. They went on with their prayers, but so terrible were the roarings and so close did the monster come that one man's heart failed him, and the candle that he held went out. But they continued with their exorcism. Then the giant reappeared as a roaring lion, and then as a raging bull; then it seemed as if a wave of the sea was flooding the church, and then as if the west wall was falling down. The second man wavered in his faith, and the second candle went out. Still the third went on, though his candle was faint. At last the Great Giant appeared in his mortal form, and they questioned him, and asked him why he had come in such dreadful shapes. 'I was bad as a man,' he said, 'and I am worse now as a devil.' And he vanished in a flash of fire. Then their candles all burned up again and they prayed steadily, and the Great Giant appeared in smaller and smaller forms,until at last he was only a fly, and they conjured him into a tobacco box, and threw him into Llynwyn Pool, to lie there for ninety-nine years. Some say that it was for nine hundred and ninety-nine; but at any rate they are very careful not to disturb the tobacco box when they are dredging Llynwyn Pool.
# 100
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