Nanteos Cup
Encyclopedia
The Nanteos Cup is a medieval mazer
bowl, held for many years at Nanteos Mansion, Rhydyfelin, near Aberystwyth
, Wales. Legend claimed it to be the Holy Grail
.
Robert de Boron
's Joseph d'Arimathie and subsequent medieval tradition says that the cup had been carried over to Britain by Joseph of Arimathea
, who is said to have founded a religious settlement at Glastonbury
. The Grail then came into the safekeeping of a group of monks from Glastonbury. During the Dissolution of the Monasteries
, some of the monks fled to Strata Florida Abbey
and took the cup with them. On the closing of the Abbey, the cup was left in the care of the Stedman family (then owners of extensive lands in the area, including Strata Florida Abbey) and subsequently on to the Powells of Nanteos through marriage.
The cup had a reputation for healing and people would drink water from it in the hope of curing their ailments. The Nanteos cup deteriorated greatly over the years (in part because people kept biting bits out of it) and is no longer at the mansion, as it went with the last member of the Powell family when they moved out of Nanteos in the 1950s.
Nanteos - A Welsh House and its Families describes a claim in the 1960s guide to the Nanteos Mansion that German composer Richard Wagner
stayed at Nanteos and was said to have been intrigued by the legend, which eventually inspired him to compose the Grail opera Parsifal
. However, although the artistic dilettante George Powell probably met Wagner, there is no record of him visiting Nanteos.
The cup was included in a documentary broadcast on Channel 5 "The Search for the Holy Grail: The True Story". In the programme they concluded that the wood the cup is made from dates from at least 1400 years after the Crucifixion. The Commissioner for Monuments in Wales examined the piece and said it was exactly the right size and shape to be a mazer
bowl, a type of medieval vessel, that it was Wych Elm
and it was from the 14th century. Similarly, in a 1998 BBC2 documentary Dr Juliette Wood of the Folklore Society confirmed that the "cup" was a wych elm mazer or food bowl, and not made of olive wood as might be expected for a cup. In a BBC4 documentary The Making of King Arthur, Simon Armitage
interviews the cup's current owner, Fiona Mirylees, and examines the cup.
Mazer (drinking vessel)
In the Germanic tradition, a mazer is a special type of drinking vessel, properly made of maple wood, and so-called from the spotted or birdseye marking on the wood In the Germanic tradition, a mazer is a special type of drinking vessel, properly made of maple wood, and so-called from the spotted...
bowl, held for many years at Nanteos Mansion, Rhydyfelin, near Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
, Wales. Legend claimed it to be the Holy Grail
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail is a sacred object figuring in literature and certain Christian traditions, most often identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and said to possess miraculous powers...
.
Robert de Boron
Robert de Boron
Robert de Boron was a French poet of the late 12th and early 13th centuries who is most notable as the author of the poems Joseph d'Arimathe and Merlin.-Work:...
's Joseph d'Arimathie and subsequent medieval tradition says that the cup had been carried over to Britain by Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea was, according to the Gospels, the man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus after Jesus' Crucifixion. He is mentioned in all four Gospels.-Gospel references:...
, who is said to have founded a religious settlement at Glastonbury
Glastonbury
Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...
. The Grail then came into the safekeeping of a group of monks from Glastonbury. During the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
, some of the monks fled to Strata Florida Abbey
Strata Florida Abbey
Strata Florida Abbey Flowers. Ystrad corrupts into Strata, while Fflur is the name of the nearby river. After the region around St. David's was firmly occupied by the Norman Marcher lordship of Pembroke by the early 12th century, with St...
and took the cup with them. On the closing of the Abbey, the cup was left in the care of the Stedman family (then owners of extensive lands in the area, including Strata Florida Abbey) and subsequently on to the Powells of Nanteos through marriage.
The cup had a reputation for healing and people would drink water from it in the hope of curing their ailments. The Nanteos cup deteriorated greatly over the years (in part because people kept biting bits out of it) and is no longer at the mansion, as it went with the last member of the Powell family when they moved out of Nanteos in the 1950s.
Nanteos - A Welsh House and its Families describes a claim in the 1960s guide to the Nanteos Mansion that German composer Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
stayed at Nanteos and was said to have been intrigued by the legend, which eventually inspired him to compose the Grail opera Parsifal
Parsifal
Parsifal is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner. It is loosely based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, the 13th century epic poem of the Arthurian knight Parzival and his quest for the Holy Grail, and on Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, the Story of the Grail.Wagner first conceived the work...
. However, although the artistic dilettante George Powell probably met Wagner, there is no record of him visiting Nanteos.
The cup was included in a documentary broadcast on Channel 5 "The Search for the Holy Grail: The True Story". In the programme they concluded that the wood the cup is made from dates from at least 1400 years after the Crucifixion. The Commissioner for Monuments in Wales examined the piece and said it was exactly the right size and shape to be a mazer
Mazer (drinking vessel)
In the Germanic tradition, a mazer is a special type of drinking vessel, properly made of maple wood, and so-called from the spotted or birdseye marking on the wood In the Germanic tradition, a mazer is a special type of drinking vessel, properly made of maple wood, and so-called from the spotted...
bowl, a type of medieval vessel, that it was Wych Elm
Wych Elm
Ulmus glabra, the Wych elm or Scots elm, has the widest range of the European elm species, from Ireland eastwards to the Urals, and from the Arctic Circle south to the mountains of the Peloponnese in Greece; it is also found in Iran...
and it was from the 14th century. Similarly, in a 1998 BBC2 documentary Dr Juliette Wood of the Folklore Society confirmed that the "cup" was a wych elm mazer or food bowl, and not made of olive wood as might be expected for a cup. In a BBC4 documentary The Making of King Arthur, Simon Armitage
Simon Armitage
Simon Armitage CBE is a British poet, playwright, and novelist.-Life and career:Simon Armitage was born in Marsden, West Yorkshire. Armitage first studied at Colne Valley High School, Linthwaite, Huddersfield and went on to study geography at Portsmouth Polytechnic...
interviews the cup's current owner, Fiona Mirylees, and examines the cup.
External links
- Nanteos Mansion website
- BBC Wales Holy Grail & Hauntings
- My Quest for the True Holy Grail
- Nanteos - A Welsh House and its Families, Edited by Gerald Morgan (2001), Gomer Press, Llandysul, Ceredigion. ISBN 1-85902-802-0.