The forbidden seat at the Round Table reserved for the purest Grail knight.
The Grail lineage traces the sacred guardianship of the Holy Grail from the time of Christ to the knights of King Arthur. Medieval romances describe a succession of keepers—saints, bishops, and kings—who preserved the relic until it was finally revealed during the Grail Quest.
A blood-dripping spear which appears in the Grail Procession. Feared as a weapon of destruction yet revered as a holy relic.
Following the Grail Maiden came a second maiden carrying a silver dish. Its purpose was hidden, its shine reflecting the light of the candles, and Perceval could not guess its meaning.
- ARTHURIAN CHARACTERS
- Arthuriana
- Clerics, Hermits, and Holy Figures
- French Romance Tradition
- Grail Tradition
- Source | Cronica sive Antiquitates Glastoniensis Ecclesie
- Source | De Antiquitate Glastoniensis Ecclesiae
- Source | Joseph d'Arimathie
- Source | Post-Vulgate Cycle
- Source | Post-Vulgate Queste del Saint Graal
- Source | Sone de Nausay
- Source | Vulgate Estoire del Saint Graal
- Source | Vulgate Queste del Saint Graal
- The Grail Lineage
- THE GRAIL TRADITION
Joseph of Arimathea is remembered in Arthurian tradition as the first keeper of the Holy Grail. A figure rooted in the Gospels, he bridges biblical history and medieval legend, carrying the relic of Christ’s Passion into the lineage that would one day lead to the Grail quest of Arthur’s knights.