1Obscure Objects of Desire: Is this the Real Holy Grail?

The first literary appearance of the grail occurs in an unfinished romance by Chrétien de Troyes, dated to about 1190 in which a young knight attends a feast at the castle of a mysterious king. During the meal, he sees an object (identified as a ‘graal.’ Chretien’s work, Perceval ou Le conte du Graal, breaks off before the end, but other romances completed the story or offered versions of their own. The grail provides sustenance, both real and spiritual. Its owner (either a lame or sick king) lives in a mysterious castle (sometimes surrounded by magically barren land) and can only regain his health if a knight asks a certain question. Initially the knight fails, but, after many adventures, finally asks the question which cures the grail king. No consensus exists as to the fate of the grail or its exact nature and appearance, although, for the most part, medieval romances identified the object with the cup used by Christ during the Last Supper when he instituted the sacrament of the Mass. These romances are compelling fictions, but for some readers fiction is not sufficient, and various theories have been suggested which offer alternative explanations or which seek to establish the claims for some physical object as the actual cup used at that event