Chapter 10

After lunch, Corrado Gherardi resumed his explanation.

“Summarizing, we have seen that in the hazy historical times of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the written references on the subject of the Holy Grail can be grouped into two groups. One is referred to the story of Joseph of Arimathea in the 1st century and his presumed journey to Britain or France, carrying the Grail that had contained the blood of Christ in its form as a metallic container, or else as the living blood of Jesus carried by his descendants and prolonged in one of the main royal houses of Europe.

"The second group of stories concern the Arthurian Cycle, and the quest of the knights of the Round Table for the relic."

“We will now explore two other sets of themes. On the one hand, the geographical sites historically indicated by the different versions as recipients of the Grail. This is important because if we want to look for it in our day we must trace the presumed route from those places to our era.

“The second group of issues is to analyze how the issue of the Grail has impacted in current times, in various political, esoteric and occultist groups. We will see how the Grail theme has been used by very dangerous groups in relatively recent times. “

The speaker took a sip of water and continued.

“So let's start with the first topic. There is a green glass plate called Sacro Catino in the Cathedral of Genoa, which is said to have been used at the Last Supper. Its provenance is unknown, its relationship with the Holy Grail is uncertain, so it is not of interest in our search.

“We have already mentioned Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset, England, which, according to legend, was built by Joseph of Arimathea. As I explained before Glastonbury would be related to Avalon and the Court of King Arthur and the legend of the Knights of the Round Table, supposedly in the twelfth century. According to other versions, in the 13th century the relic would have been taken to Genoa by the Crusaders. This reference to Glastonbury Abbey was widely used in modern form by New Age movements and neo-pagan groups. It is one of the locations that deserves our interest in this search.

“In Wolfram von Eschenbach's book the Munsalvaesche Castle, or Mons Salvationis, is mentioned where the Grail would have been kept in the care of a certain Titurel, the first King of the Grail. Munsalvaesche is the name in the medieval Occitan language of the mountains now called San Salvador, where the monastery of San Juan de la Peña is located, near which there are sites similar to those described by Wolfram in his book Parsifal. The Benedictine monks have associated this castle with their sanctuary at Montserrat, in Catalonia. This version also deserves our attention.

“Recent esotericists and occultists included as a refuge for the Holy Grail the fortress of Montsegur, which was the headquarters of the Christin sect called Cathar, in the French department of Ariège, on top of a mountain. In fact, modern esotericists have identified the aforementioned Munsalvaesche castle with the Montsegur fortress. The Cathars constituted a very powerful religious movement in the south of France in the 12th and 13th centuries, seeking purity and humility. The Catholic Church, annoyed with their power, organized the Crusade against the Cathar or Albigenses to exterminate the dissidents, and in 1244 Montsegur was razed to its foundations and its population, including men, women and children, were burned alive. It was the only one of the Crusades organized against other Christians. The version insists that before the destruction of their fortress the Cathars were able to smuggle out the Holy Grail and take it to other destinations. Without a doubt, this story is also of interest in our search.

“Finally, certain more recent versions associate the Grail with the Chapel of Rosslyn, in Midlothian, Scotland.

"These are the geographical clues from which we must start in order to continue our search for that sacred relic."

Gherardi took another sip of water before continuing. “As I already said, the last point that I will mention in my presentation is the relationship between the legend of the Holy Grail and esotericist groups of the 20th century operating within the context of Nazism prior to World War II.

“A German esotericist writer named Otto Rahn published several books relating the Grail to the ancient Templars and Cathars, and at the same time proposed these as the roots of Germanic nationalist mythology. According to this writer, the ancient Germanic religion was repressed by Christianity that effectively wiped out the Cathars and condemned the Templar chiefs to the stake. His texts inspired the Nazi occultism and its promoter Heinrich Himmler, creator of the SS and the Nazi concentration camps, for which they acquired great interest in topics related to the relic, seeing it as a symbol of the Germanic religion.

"For all this, the subject of the Grail must be treated with caution even today."

Obviously Gherardi had finished his speech so Dr. Richardson stood up and said.

“Thank you very much Corrado for your excellent and comprehensive presentation that gives us a complete overview of the historical significance of the Holy Grail in the mythology of the West. I will now invite Admiral Donnelly to take the floor. He is the one who has entrusted us with this research task. "

He then gestured to the newcomer by adding.

“Admiral Donnelly is an advisor to the State Department of the United States Government, and he is our contact with the areas of said government. He is the one who transfers to us their information needs and also the one who provides us with assistance in matters of transport and protection in case of danger to our staff. More than one member owes his life to his timely participation. "

Then, addressing the aforementioned he said he.

"We are listening to you, Admiral."

“Thank you, Dr Richardson, it is always a pleasure for me to be in contact with the Bluthund Community, undoubtedly one of the most capable and versatile think- tanks that collaborate with our government in the maintenance of world peace.

"I will immediately go on to refer to the case that concerns us at this moment and for which we require the assistance of the Community."