The Hidden Church of the Holy Graal
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The Hidden Church of the Holy Graal Its Legends and Symbolism Considered in their Affinity with Certain Mysteries of Initiation and other Traces of a Secret Tradition in Christian Times BY ARTHUR EDWARD WAITE Vel sanctum invenit, vel sanctum facit LONDON REBMAN LIMITED 129 SHAFTESBURY AVENUE, W.C, [1909] This version was re-edited, formatted and pdf’d by Brother W… for non- commercial Study, Research and Discussion, June 2006: and includes the following notice: NOTICE OF ATTRIBUTION Scanned at sacred-texts.com, May, 2006. Proofed and formatted by John Bruno Hare. This text is in the public domain in the United States because it was first published prior to January 1st, 1923. These files may be used for any non-commercial purpose, provided this notice of attribution is left intact in all copies. In the 13th century, over a few decades, a huge literature emerged around an unlikely tale. Survivors of the core of early Christianity make a perilous journey to Western Europe. They begin a hidden bloodline, preserve immensely powerful relics of the crucifixion, and carry a secret which, if revealed, would turn the established church on its head. If this seems like déjà vu, it is. A.E. Waite gets to the core of the Grail legend, an interwoven mass of narratives which started with seeds of pagan folklore and grew into a massive allegorical Christian epic. This 700 page book will satisfy both the academic reader who wants a survey of the Grail literature, and the more mystically inclined who seek the Grail itself. Waite examines in great detail every known source text for the Grail legend. His literate style makes interesting reading for well-educated readers, despite the repeating themes and story lines. Unlike some of the other writers on this topic, Waite is organized, focused, and not hesitant to turn a critical eye on half-baked theories. In the last two hundred pages, he attempts to make some sense of it all. He examines and dismisses 19th century theories which linked the Grail to the Templars, or Masons, as well as the unorthodox Cathars, Albigensians and Waldensians of Southern France. His conclusion is that there is an 'inner church' in Christianity: not a conspiracy or a subterranean sect, but a mystical core. Instead, Waite's concept of the hidden church is based on a deep comprehension of the sacrament of communion, and the Holy Grail is symbolic of this. Waite published this magnum opus about the time that he (with Pamela Smith) was putting the finishing touches on his Tarot deck. A close read of this book will illuminate much of the Waite Tarot deck symbolism. Title Page and Front Matter Preface Contents Book I The Argument I. Some Aspects of the Graal Legend II. Epochs of the Legend III. The Environment of the Graal Literature IV. The Literature of the Cycle V. The Implicits of the Mystery Book II The Argument I. A Preliminary Account of Certain Root-Secrets Included in the Whole Subject II. The Institution of the Hallows, and in the First Place General Introduction Concerning Them III. The Institution of the Hallows, and, Secondly, the Variations of the Cup Legend IV. The Graal Vessel Considered as a Bowl of Plenty V. The Lesser Hallows of the Legend § A.--The Summary of These Matters § B.--Legends of the Sacred Lance § C.--The Broken Sword § D.--The Dish VI. The Castle of the Holy Graal VII. The Keepers of the Hallows VIII. The Pageants in the Quests IX. The Enchantments of Britain, the Times Called Adventurous and the Wounding of the King X. The Suppressed Word and the Mystic Question XI. The Healing of the King XII. The Removal of the Hallows Book III Argument I. The Antecedents of the Legend in Folk-Lore II. The Welsh Perceval III. The English Metrical Romance of Syr Percyvelle IV. The Conte del Graal § A.--Preliminary to the Whole Subject § B.--The Poem of Chrétien De Troyes § C.--The Extension of Gautier § D.--The Conclusion of Manessier § E.--The Alternative Sequel of Gerbert § F.--In Which Sir Gawain is Considered Briefly as a Companion of the Holy Quest Book IV Argument I. The Metrical Romance of Joseph of Arimathæa II. The Lesser Holy Graal III. The Early History of Merlin IV. The Didot Perceval Book V The Argument I. The Book of the Holy Graal and, in the First Place, the Prologue Thereto Belonging II. New Consideration Concerning the Branches of the Chronicle III. The Minor Branches of the Book of the Holy Graal IV. Some Later Merlin Legends § A.--The Vulgate Merlin § B.--The Huth Merlin V. The Great Prose Lancelot VI. A Preface or Introductory Portion Appertaining to All The Quests VII. The Longer Prose Perceval VIII. The Quest of the High Prince IX. The Welsh Quest of Galahad Book VI Argument I. The Parsifal of Wolfram Von Eschenbach II. Gleanings Concerning the Lost Quest of Guiot de Provence III. Sidelights From the Spanish and Portuguese Quests IV. The Crown of All Adventures V. The Titurel of Albrecht Von Scharfenberg VI. The Dutch Lancelot Book VII Argument I. Statement of a Possible Implicit Accounting for All Claims II. The Formulæ of the Hypothesis Scheduled III. In What Sense the Plea Must be Held to Fail IV. The Victory of the Latin Rite Book VIII Argument I. The Introductory Words II. The Position of the Literature Defined III. Concerning the Great Experiment IV. The Mystery of Initiation V. The Mystery of Faith VI. The Lost Book of the Graal VII. The Declared Mystery of Quest Book IX The Argument I. Preliminary to the Whole Subject II. Some Alleged Secret Schools of the Middle Ages III. The Latin Literature of Alchemy and the Hermetic Secret in the Light of the Eucharistic Mystery IV. The Kabalistic Academies V. The Claim in Respect of Templar Influence VI. The Graal Formula in the Light of Other Gleanings from the Catholic Sacramentary VII. The Lapis Exilis VIII. The Analogies of Masonry § A. The Assumption of the Building Guild § B. Masonry and Moral Science § C. A Theory of Hermetic Interference § D. One Key to the Sanctuary IX. The Hallows of the Graal Mystery Rediscovered in the Talismans of the Tarot Book X The Argument I. The Hermeneutics of the Holy Graal II. The Good Husbandman III. The Catholic Secret of the Literature IV. The Mystery Which Is Within V. The Secluded and Unknown Sanctuary VI. The Tradition of St. John the Divine and Other Traces of a Higher Mind of the Church VII. The Conclusion of This Holy Quest Appendix: Bibliography Part I. The Texts Part II. Some Critical Works Part III. Phases of Interpretation Index PREFACE IF deeper pitfalls are laid by anything more than by the facts of coincidence, it is perhaps by the intimations and suggestions of writings which bear, or are held to bear, on their surface the seals of allegory and, still more, of dual allusion; as in the cases of coincidence, so in these, it is necessary for the historical student to stand zealously on his guard and not to acknowledge second meaning or claims implied, however plausible, unless they are controlled and strengthened by independent evidence. Even with this precaution, his work will remain anxious, for the lineal path is difficult to find and follow. Perhaps there is one consolation offered by the gentle life of letters. In matters of interpretation, if always to succeed is denied us, to have deserved it is at least something. Among our aids there is one aid which arises from the correspondences between distinct systems of allegory and symbolism. They are important within their own sphere; and it is by subsidiary lights of this nature that research can be directed occasionally into new tracks, from which unexpected and perhaps indubitable results may be derived ultimately. When the existence of a secondary and concealed meaning seems therefore inferentially certain in a given department of literature--if ordinary processes, depending on evidence of the external kind, have been found wanting--its purpose and intention may be ascertained by a comparison with other secret literatures, which is equivalent to saying that the firmest hermeneutical ground in such cases must be sought in evidence which inheres and is common to several departments p. vi of cryptic writing. It is in this way that the prepared mind moves through the world of criticism as through outward worlds of discovery. I am about to set forth after a new manner, and chiefly for the use of English mystics, the nature of the mystery which is enshrined in the old romance-literature of the Holy Graal. As a literature it can be approached from several standpoints; and at the root it has a direct consanguinity with other mysteries, belonging to the more secret life of the soul. I propose to give a very full account of all the considerations which it involves, the imperfect speculations included of some who have preceded me in the same path--writers whose interests at a far distance are not utterly dissimilar to my own, though their equipment has been all too slight. I shall endeavour to establish at the end that there are certain things in transcendence which must not be sought in the literature, and yet they arise out of it. The task will serve, among several objects, two which may be put on record at the moment--on the one hand, and quite obviously, to illustrate the deeper intimations of Graal literature, and, on the other, certain collateral intimations which lie behind the teachings of the great churches and are, in the official sense, as if beyond their ken.