Acknowledged by T. S. Eliot as crucial to understanding "The Waste
Land," Jessie Weston's book has continued to attract readers interested
in ancient religion, myth, and especially Arthurian legend. Weston
examines the saga of the Grail, which, in many versions, begins when the
wounded king of a famished land sees a procession of objects including a
bleeding lance and a bejewelled cup. She maintains that all versions
defy uniform applications of Celtic and Christian interpretations, and
explores the legend's Gnostic roots.
Drawing from J. G. Frazer, who studied ancient nature cults that
associated the physical condition of the king with the productivity of
the land, Weston considers how the legend of the Grail related to
fertility rites--with the lance and the cup serving as sexual symbols.
She traces its origins to a Gnostic text that served as a link between
ancient vegetation cults and the Celts and Christians who embellished
the story. Conceiving of the Grail saga as a literary outgrowth of
ancient ritual, she seeks a Gnostic Christian interpretation that unites
the quest for fertility with the striving for mystical oneness with God.