358 



Old Church Plate in Wilts. 



given to the wonder-working vessel, was said to have been brought 

 by Joseph of Arimathea to Britain, after it had received many drops 

 of blood which issued from the still open wounds of Our Lord's 

 body after death. It is closely connected with the Arthurian 

 romance of the Round Table, and this conception of the holy graal 

 spread rapidly into all Christian countries, especially amongst the 

 Provencals. This legend is said to be as old as the eighth century, 

 but most English writers maintain that the conception arose in the 

 twelfth century, and that the details of the story which brought 

 Joseph of Arimathea to Glastonbury, and its introduction into the 

 romance of Arthur, is rather due to some master hand, probably 

 Walter Mape, who was a canon of Salisbury, and some time parish 

 priest of Westbury, near Bristol, and who seems to have conceived 

 the vast design of steeping the Arthurian legend, and through it 

 the whole imaginative literature of the age, in the doctrine of the 

 Christian sacrifice. 



The fashion of the chalice in primitive ages was probably of the 

 most simple kind. In the early Middle ages — say before the eleventh 

 century — the chalices appear for the most part to have been rather 

 large two-handled bowls with a foot only ; the holy sacrament was 

 then administered to the congregation in both kinds, so there was 

 no need of a stem or knop, as the chalice was not to be grasped, but 

 was presented to the mouths of the recipients by the priest, who 

 held it by the two handles. There were, however, two sorts of 

 chalices used, those of ordinary size, for the personal use of the 

 priest, called minores ; others of larger dimensions, meant to contain 



know that it was brought from the Holy Land to Genoa, where it is still shown 

 under the name of the ' sacro catino,' and by persons not in the secret believed 

 to be a single emerald, being in fact a piece of green glass ? " Besides the holy 

 cup of Genoa there are several others preserved in different parts of Europe, all 

 claiming to be the identical cup used at the Last Supper ; the most remarkable 

 of these is el santo calix, now in the treasury of the Cathedral at Valencia, in 

 Spain. This cup is of agate, mounted with gold chased in a pattern very much 

 resembling the interlaced work found in early Scandinavian and Irish ornamen- 

 tation ; it is also enriched with gems, and has two handles. The period of the 

 mounting is probably about the eighth or ninth century. In 1736 a volume was 

 written by A. Sales to prove its authenticity and power of working miracles. 



