Was T.S. Eliot trying to speak in parables as I did to my followers? If so, his meaning is much harder to grasp. Maybe I should give him some pointers. I think his poem "The Waste Land" is about just that, the Wasteland narrative that is the foundation of many Grail texts. Eliot was a modernist that felt frantic and hopeless in a violent and fragmented post-WWI world. The metaphor of a wasted land would obviously be appealing to him. He used the Wasteland imagery for that purpose, and not to quest for an elusive Grail of any kind. The Grail is hope, and Eliot's poem is, in essence, a hopeless message.

Weston, the Wasteland, and Wayward Conspiracy Theorists

I've been an errant knight of late and missed my opportunity to engage with Damosel Weston. While the likelihood that the grail emerges from eastern fertility rituals seems slim, I must admit that I'm a bit impressed by the fact that she is able to account for most of the variations of the tale. What do the rest of you think?

Apparently, T.S. Eliot thought her ideas were worthy of a poem on the subject. Through his textual references and annotations, it is clear that the Fisher King, Parsifal, and even the Chapel Perilous make appearances, but is this nearly indecipherable poem really about the grail? It seems to me unlikely.

And finally, what are we to make of the Baigent clan? They see Wolfram's text as the key to much of the grail secrets that might threaten Christian orthodoxy. How about you? Are you threatened?

Jessie Weston, What a Woman!

Jessie Weston, in her essay concerning the Grail and the Rites of Adonis, explores the possibility that the Grail stories were written surrounding the secret rituals of a life cult. This would explain the preservation of the secrecy and mystery of the Grail and the secret of the Grail. Her suggestion is persuasive, however humble this Ms. Weston appears. I would like to point out that nearly every spiritual ritual, belonging to one of the popular monotheistic religions or to an ancient cult such as the one Jessie Weston proposes, uses secrecy to enhance meaning in ritual. Even I used this strategy when I was on earth among mortal men. I spoke to the people in parables; the metaphor and secrecy surrounding the actual meaning of my words enhanced the meaning.

When (Jesus) was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, "'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'" (NIV, Mark 4:10-12)

I think Ms. Weston, in her wisdom, understands the significance of secrecy in ritual and recognizes how the remnants of that ritual of a life cult could have persevered through translation and addition.

Perronik the Innocent: Yet Another Perceval Story?

I don't know about you, but I've just about had enough of myself. Is this story just another one about me or is it of a different folkloric tradition? For Tennyson, Hawker, and Lowell, I was a tangential character at best, so why have I been resurrected? Or maybe I'm mistaken? I'll just go back to my self-loathing, I guess.

Woe to the Women

Greetings yet again, questers. I am sorry to begin my address on such a negative note, but I must express my dismay at the direction Hawker has taken in shedding new light on the grail mystery. Time and time again, I have heard tales of you, brave knights—Galahad, Gawain, Lancelot, Perceval—and your heroic quests for the grail. I was beginning to think that the only women directly associated with this mythic object were either those who were evil or those who, like myself, were simply helpless females in need of rescuing. Finally, after hearing Sir Tennyson’s understanding of the grail, I felt there might be hope for we female questers; according to Tennyson, the first person from King Arthur’s court to achieve the grail is Perceval’s sister. I hoped that perhaps this woman’s importance might spur on other bards to consider grail-related females in a more positive light. However, after hearing from Hawker, I am disappointed; my hopes have been false. Hawker barely mentions women at all, and I am left feeling that, despite Sir Tennyson’s best efforts, we female questers are yet again being ignored as the scenery of tales meant to display the heroics of men

Change in Reading Schedule: Lowell before Guthrie

I've heard from a itinerant hermit that Dr. Mueller made a mistake on the reading schedule. Instead of reading about Guthrie's Perronik for Monday, we should be reading about Lowell's Launfal. Both of these American writers are significant grail storytellers, but Lowell wrote in the nineteenth century, whereas Guthrie wrote in the twentieth. We are trying to adhere to chronology, but of course we all know that there is some dispute about the order of grail stories, especially between the Celtic and the French.

Lowell's Launfal is very different from the grail seekers we have encountered so far on this quest. Why all of this emphasis on charity? Does all this service talk really mean something?

Why Shouldn't I Deserve the Grail?

To my fellow grail seekers, I cannot help but notice that many of you believe that I should not have acheived the grail, and it saddens me to see this. My being born illegitmately does not and should not make me inferior. As seen in Tennyson's poem about my quest, I did bare hardships and temptations but I was able to control my desires by loving God above all else. Is that so bad? Chosen at birth I acheived my destiny that was meant for me.
I saw the grail floating down with angels and knew that my time had come. Upward toward heaven I was taken after finding the grail, leaving my poor fellow knights back on earth, two of who stood witness with me. I apologize to all who are offended by my leaving the world with the grail but what would one expect me to do otherwise? To join angels and God in heaven is what I most desired and with the acheivement of the grail, I was granted just that. I searched my whole life and feel I deserved to find it, after all, I was the true pure knight.

Galahad? Come on!

I know it is not my appointed time to speak to you, my fellow questers, but like Lancelot in Tennyson's The Holy Grail, I'm a little behind. I am also rather bothered by the sycophantic lauding Tennyson has heaped upon Galahad while my character is besmirched. I have always been a Knight of diplomacy and smooth speech, but Tennyson has chosen to cast me as a speaker uncouth. I do not relish coming off like a boar. After all, in Die Krone, it is I who achieved the Grail. And what's the deal with Galahad anyway? He was the bastard son of an evil coupling! Why should he get all the glory? It would not be so bad if Tennyson had not written Sir Galahad. I have never witnessed such a display of brown-nosing in my life. What was so great about Galahad finding the Grail? He found it and disappeared. It would have been nice of him to come back to Camelot and share some knowledge with us, or just tell us a story or two about his adventures,but no, our perfect little knight finds the Grail and vanishes up to heaven. Well, thanks for nothin' Galahad! I wonder if any of you have any insight as to why we were all passed over for some Knight who couldn't even get a date. Also, somebody please tell Tennyson that he's overusing the "showers of flowers" metaphor. Well, I guess I had better go get shriven after that prideful diatribe. Good luck to you all on your quest!

Hawker's Sangraal: Arthur as Quester

In the texts of my time, the grail was an elusive but uplifting object. Now that we come to the accounts of Tennyson and Hawker, the grail and specifically the quest for the grail is envisioned in a negative light. Why is that? And what does Arthur's involvement (or lack of it) in the quest have to do with this negativity?