From Ritual to Romance
Acknowledged by T. S. Eliot as one of the chief sources for his great poem "The Waste Land," Jessie L. Weston's From Ritual to Romance remains a landmark of anthropological and mythological scholarship. In this book she explores the origins of the Grail legend, arguing that it dates back to a primitive vegetation cult and only later was shaped by Celtic and Christian lore.
To prove her thesis, Weston unites folkloric and Christian elements by using printed texts to prove the parallels existing between each and every feature of the legend of the Holy Grail and the recorded symbolism of the ancient mystery cults. Specifically, she finds the origin of the Grail legend in a Gnostic text that served as a link between such cults and later Celtic and Christian elaborations of the myth.
With erudition and critical acumen, the author provides illuminating insights into diverse aspects of the legend: the task of the hero; the freeing of the waters; medieval and modern forms of nature ritual; the symbols of the cult (cup, lance, sword, stone, etc.); the symbolism of the fisher king; the significance of such deities as Tammuz, Adonis, Mithra, and Attis; the meaning of the adventure of the Perilous Chapel in Grail romances; and much more.
Awarded the Crawshay Prize in 1920, this scholarly yet highly readable study will interest any student of the Arthurian legends, mythology, ancient religion, and Eliot's poetry.
1100059566
From Ritual to Romance
Acknowledged by T. S. Eliot as one of the chief sources for his great poem "The Waste Land," Jessie L. Weston's From Ritual to Romance remains a landmark of anthropological and mythological scholarship. In this book she explores the origins of the Grail legend, arguing that it dates back to a primitive vegetation cult and only later was shaped by Celtic and Christian lore.
To prove her thesis, Weston unites folkloric and Christian elements by using printed texts to prove the parallels existing between each and every feature of the legend of the Holy Grail and the recorded symbolism of the ancient mystery cults. Specifically, she finds the origin of the Grail legend in a Gnostic text that served as a link between such cults and later Celtic and Christian elaborations of the myth.
With erudition and critical acumen, the author provides illuminating insights into diverse aspects of the legend: the task of the hero; the freeing of the waters; medieval and modern forms of nature ritual; the symbols of the cult (cup, lance, sword, stone, etc.); the symbolism of the fisher king; the significance of such deities as Tammuz, Adonis, Mithra, and Attis; the meaning of the adventure of the Perilous Chapel in Grail romances; and much more.
Awarded the Crawshay Prize in 1920, this scholarly yet highly readable study will interest any student of the Arthurian legends, mythology, ancient religion, and Eliot's poetry.
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From Ritual to Romance

From Ritual to Romance

by Jessie L. Weston
From Ritual to Romance

From Ritual to Romance

by Jessie L. Weston

Paperback(DOVER)

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Overview

Acknowledged by T. S. Eliot as one of the chief sources for his great poem "The Waste Land," Jessie L. Weston's From Ritual to Romance remains a landmark of anthropological and mythological scholarship. In this book she explores the origins of the Grail legend, arguing that it dates back to a primitive vegetation cult and only later was shaped by Celtic and Christian lore.
To prove her thesis, Weston unites folkloric and Christian elements by using printed texts to prove the parallels existing between each and every feature of the legend of the Holy Grail and the recorded symbolism of the ancient mystery cults. Specifically, she finds the origin of the Grail legend in a Gnostic text that served as a link between such cults and later Celtic and Christian elaborations of the myth.
With erudition and critical acumen, the author provides illuminating insights into diverse aspects of the legend: the task of the hero; the freeing of the waters; medieval and modern forms of nature ritual; the symbols of the cult (cup, lance, sword, stone, etc.); the symbolism of the fisher king; the significance of such deities as Tammuz, Adonis, Mithra, and Attis; the meaning of the adventure of the Perilous Chapel in Grail romances; and much more.
Awarded the Crawshay Prize in 1920, this scholarly yet highly readable study will interest any student of the Arthurian legends, mythology, ancient religion, and Eliot's poetry.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780486296807
Publisher: Dover Publications
Publication date: 11/02/2011
Edition description: DOVER
Pages: 240
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Jessie L. Weston (1850-1928) wrote fourteen books, most of them on Arthurian legend.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY
CHAPTER II
THE TASK OF THE HERO
CHAPTER III
THE FREEING OF THE WATERS
CHAPTER IV
TAMMUZ AND ADONIS
CHAPTER V
MEDIEVEAL AND MODERN FORMS OF NATURE RITUAL
CHAPTER VI
THE SYMBOLS
CHAPTER VII
THE SWORD DANCE
CHAPTER VIII
THE MEDICINE MAN
CHAPTER IX
THE FISHER KING
CHAPTER X
THE SECRET OF THE GRAIL (I)
The Mysteries
CHAPTER XI
THE SECRET OF THE GRAIL (2)
The Naassene Document
CHAPTER XII
MITHRA AND ATTIS
CHAPTER XIII
THE PERILOUS CHAPEL
CHAPTER XIV
THE AUTOR
INDEX
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