The Grail Today
Henry here. Dan Brown in The Da Vinci Code argues that Jesus married Mary Magdalena and established a divine blood line which is the Grail. Wikipedia says about the Grail:
The development of the Grail legend has been traced in detail by cultural historians: It is a gothic legend, which first came together in the form of written romances, deriving perhaps from some pre-Christian folklore hints, in the later 12th and early 13th centuries. The early Grail romances centered on Percival and were woven into the more general Arthurian fabric. The Grail romances started in France and were translated into other European vernaculars; only a handful of non-French romances added any essential new elements.
It is interesting to note that the Grail legend did not develop fully until the 12th and 13th centuries, over a thousand years after the writings of the New Testiment.
The assumption of the holy bloodline makes for an interesting plotline in a novel, but it has no background in the history of the Jesus and his life on earth. Obviously the Grail story still resonates at considerable depth for so many millions of people to have read this novel.
I am more apt to ask a different kind of question. Obviously part of the continuing power of the Grail legend is in what the Grail symnbolizes for us today. So what does this container symbolize for us? Part of what it says to me is how do we, you and I, hold our spiritual experience and life? How much do we respect these kind of experiences, and how much do they help to guide our choices. The grail is symbolic of the best in all of us, of our capacity to make the best choices in our lives. No wonder it still holds such fascination for people today.