A castle surrounded by a wasteland. A lance with a tip that bleeds. A radiant object called the Grail. Toronto writer Cindy Bisaillon takes us on a quest to explore one of our most powerful and ancient myths. His story is one of sex, religion, politics and murder on the eve of the Russian Revolution.
History says no, but pre-history says yes.
Gwynne Dyer bridges the gulf. He looks at the political surprises of the last decade, focussing on Russia and China. The first written account of the Grail myth emerged in France at the end of the 12th century, a time of intense Christian devotion. The symbol of the Grail was pre-Christian, but it became the cup of the Last Supper that caught the blood of Christ on the cross. An Athenian soldier named Pheidippides started it all when he covered the distance between the battlefield at Marathon and the marketplace at Sparta.