The Origin of the Legend of the Holy Grail: With an Account of Some Other Mediaeval Legends and Traditions

First published in 1903, twenty years after the death of its author, The Origin of the Legend of the Holy Grail examines the legends about Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus after the death of Christ, as well as those concerning Mary, Martha and Lazarus in Provence, and the ultimate fate of Pontius Pilate. Without assumption or assertion, it meticulously compares and contrasts the various and often contradictory accounts from the earliest known sources.

Charles MacDouall was Professor of Latin and Greek at Queen’s College (now Queen’s University), Belfast, during the latter half of the Nineteenth Century. He dictated the text of the book to his wife after he had gone blind. It was later edited by his old friend and colleague Albert Ludwig Meissner, former librarian at Queen’s College, and published posthumously.

CONTENTS

The legend of the Sangreal
Apocryphal and Early Legends about Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus
Later Legends embodied in Latin Documents
Discrepancies in the Latin Legends concerning Pilate
The Fate of Pilate and the Destruction of Jerusalem associated in Aquitanian Legends
Joseph and Nicodemus in Judea
Legends about the Apostles James and Philip in Spain and Gaul
Migrations from Palestine to Western Europe in the Apostolic Age
Legends about Dionysius among the Franks, and the Bethanian Family among the Provençals
Glastonbury and its Traditions of Joseph of Arimathæa, of St. Patrick, and of other Saintly Visitors
Glastonbury, the Burial Place of Saints and Heroes
The Earlier History of Pilate
Sequel of the Provençal Legend
Notes