Its properties became exclusively spiritual. The Christianising of the legend brought about an important change in the idea of the Grail. Such, in a word or two, is the subject-matter of the Grail romances, so far as they are connected with the Quest. In his Quest he comes to the castle of the Grail, sees the holy vessel, fails to ask concerning it, is rebuked for this capital omission, has to wander many years, comes a second and a third time to the castle, welds the fragments of a broken sword or kills the enemy of the king, is hailed by the latter as his nephew, and succeeds him in his kindship or releases him from supernaturally prolonged life or from the enchantment of death in life. The hero appears under the name of Perceval or Parzival (Wagner pretended to derive the name from Fal-Parsi, i.e. In these the Grail is a miraculous food producing vessel sharing its importance equally with a splintered sword which only the destined hero can make whole, and a lance which drips blood. In the various romances connected with the story, two distinct portions are easily made out: (1) the Grail itself (the actual sacred cup) and (2) the Quest of the Grail.

There is good reason for believing that the Grail was originally a Pagan talisman but, assuming that origin, it developed in course of time into a purely Christian symbol, and the legend was then largely influenced by Christian ideas.

Parsifal wolfram