The Grail Kings

According to some  apocryphal legends, St Joseph of Arimethea was described as Jesus' uncle, or a friend of his family.

Some say that he brought Jesus and Mary to the Roman province of Britannia during the Christian Saviour's youth.

The purpose of this voyage was to look after St Joseph's tin or lead mining interests in the Somerset area near Glastonbury, and while there perhaps to found a secret church in Britain.

After the Crucifixion of Jesus, St Joseph asks and is granted permission to bury Jesus' body in his own tomb. A few days later, the tomb was found empty, and Pilate was not pleased.

For his part in founding the new Christian religion, Joseph of Arimathia was tossed in a Jerusalem dungeon. He was released either quite mundanely when Vespasian put down the Jewish rebellions some years later, or by a miraculous reappearance of Christ, who transported him from his captivity to freedom in his native town of Arimathea.

He thereafter collected his family and followers and travelled as far away and as fast as he could. His first journey took him to the Kingdom of Sarras. There, he convinced the King of Sarras, Evelake, and his brother-in-law, Seraphe, to become followers of Christ. 

Baptized as Mordrains and Nacien, respectively, these two became the original secular King and Hermit of the Grail. They lived remarkably long: Mordrains only passing away at the achievement of the Grail, and Naciens disappeared into obscurity after counselling some of the knights along the Grail Quest. They both settled in Britain, along with the rest of Joseph of Armithea's followers.

This pair can be considered the equivalent of the original King Arthur(Secular King) and Merlin (Spiritual Advisor). However, neither Mordrains nor Nascien ever possessed the Grail, nor were they leaders of Britain. Indeed, Mordrains was wounded when he tried to use King David's sword, thus becoming the first Maimed King, and disproving his worthiness to be the Grail King, or even King of Britain.

Instead, it was Helaius, the great-great-grandson of Nascien, and also the son of Joseph of Arimethea's sister Engyeus, who became the inheritor of the Grail, after it had been passed down from Joseph of Arimethea to his son Josephe, and thence to Helaius.

Helaius' son Jonas married the daughter of the King Kalafes of the Wasteland, after which the Grail was moved to its secret hiding place in Listeneisse, a land beyond or within the Wastelands. Thereafter, the location and history of the Grail was shrouded in secrecy until King Arthur's day.

The Grail is traditionally seen as the dish or chalice from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper. However, others, say that the Grail is actually the universal bringer of life to the world. It is variously envisioned as the Roman "Cornucopia," or "Horn of Plenty," the Pagan "magic Cauldron," even the alchemist's "Philosopher's Stone."

Because of this, many people with widely different understandings have come singly or in small groups to the Grail Castle. They faithfully serve the Grail King, who serves the Grail. The inevitable question remains to be asked though, "Whom does the Grail serve?"

The only known direct descendents of the current Grail King are Elaine of Carbonek, her brother Sir Eliazar, and Elaine's son by Lancelot, Sir Galahad.

The overall theme for the Grail family is renewal and healing of the World. This is accomplished through the individual's spiritual grace, emotional peace, symbolic unity and physical health and the natural dedication of one's own words and deeds in the selfless service of others.

The mysterious kingdom of Listeneisse, and its castle of Carbonek, are places within this material world, but not of it.

They cannot be placed exactly upon a map, like the Garden of Eden, or the realm of Faerie. There is sense it is quite nearby, but may take a long while to find (if ever) unless one travels on the correct path.

Often in the journey, the quester is transformed in great or terrible - but always mysterious - ways. Plus, the route to success is seldom what it seems. The interwoven threads of achieving the common weal and personal well-being, and acquiring wisdom along the way, are fabric for any Grail Quest.

If Arthur is the paramount lord of the secular world, the Fisher King is lord of the spiritual world. This is not to be confused with the office of the Pope, which is charged with the shepherding of the flock through this world. Instead, it is the spiritual elite, the chosen ones.

For Christians, the Grail Kings can trace their lineage to Joseph of Arimathea, who entombed Christ after the Crucifixion, and was granted guardianship of the Holy Grail. This trust is more sacred than any individual, or any family, or any single brotherhood, or even any nation. It is a universal trust.

For Pagans, the Grail is not uniquely a Christian symbol, but likewise a universal one. Each culture represents renewal in their own way: the Celtic Cauldron of Life, the bountiful Cornucopia of the Romans, the Holy Chalice of the Christian Last Supper. They hold the symbol of  hared meal or drink in common.

The Fisher King's disability represents how the spiritual world can be out of balance, and how, through the simple human actions of the individual, the world can be set right again.

Unlike the pious and noble members of the Grail clan, Garlon is a murderous, treacherous man. He is capable of making himself invisible,
and uses this ability to slay many knights without cause or explanation.

At the same time his brother, the Grail King Pellam, defends his brother when he is slain by Sir Balin in the Grail Court. This is a strange mystery, since only those of noble character are capable of visiting the Grail Castle, and Garlon certainly seems quite vile in many respects. Indeed, in many ways, he is the antithesis of all that the defenders of the Grail stand for.

Similarly inexplicable is Pellam's rise to revenge Garlon's death, which results in Balin's wounding of Pellam with the Dolorous Stroke.