Long before it became a sacred chalice, the graal of medieval legend was a simple serving dish—an object of nourishment rather than divine mystery. Learn how a humble platter from Chrétien de Troyes’ tales transformed into one of the most powerful symbols of Western myth.
By Lorris Chevalier
When most people today hear the word Grail, they picture a glittering chalice, the Holy Grail of Christian legend, often imagined as the cup of Christ at the Last Supper or the vessel that caught his blood at the Crucifixion. Yet in its earliest literary appearances the graal was nothing of the sort. Far from being a holy chalice, it was a large, ordinary serving dish — a domestic object brought at mealtime in the court of the mysterious Fisher King.
Etymology of the Word
From a 1330 manuscript of Perceval ou Le Conte du Graal by Chrétien de Troyes, BnF Français 12577, fol. 18v.
The term graal (or greal, grial) appears in Old French texts of the 12th century. In the Roman d’Alexandre it already denotes a “broad and deep dish”. Chrétien de Troyes, in his unfinished Conte du Graal (c. 1181–1190), uses the word in precisely this sense: a large serving platter. Only slightly later, in Robert de Boron’s Joseph d’Arimathie (c. 1200), does the graal become explicitly linked with the vessel of the Last Supper and the blood of Christ.
Philologists trace the term back to a Latin root. The best-attested derivation is from gradalis, a medieval Latin word meaning “wide and deep dish”. This itself is probably a derivative of cratis (“wickerwork” or “lattice”), used for baskets and by extension containers. Other etymologies have been proposed—from crater (mixing bowl), from gradus (“step”, supposedly referring to layers of food placed in the dish), or from the idea of a dish on a pedestal—but these remain less convincing. What is clear is that the word originally denoted a rustic, domestic object, not a mystical chalice.
The Graal in Chrétien de Troyes
Perceval witnesses the mysterious Grail procession at the table of the Fisher King. Behind the Grail Maiden follows a young man carrying a lance dripping blood, followed by a coffin with a sword. From a 1330 manuscript of Perceval ou Le Conte du Graal by Chrétien de Troyes, BnF Français 12577, fol. 74v.
In Le Conte du Graal, the vessel is introduced at the mysterious feast of the wounded Fisher King. It is a wondrous object, but Chrétien does not call it a cup, still less a chalice. Rather, it resembles a serving platter carried in procession to provide sustenance. Only in later continuations and reworkings, especially the prose cycles of the 13th century, does the graal acquire a sacred history and become the cup of Joseph of Arimathea.
Fish, the Fisher King and Christ
The early association of the graal with a fish dish is significant. Medieval audiences would have known that fish was a symbol of Christ: the Greek acronym ichthys stood for “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour”. In Chrétien’s narrative the Fisher King presides over a ritual meal centred on fish, evoking both Christ’s miracles of loaves and fishes and the Eucharistic meal. The fish offers itself wholly to humankind, as Christ offered himself in sacrifice. In this way, even before it became the Holy Chalice, the graal already bore a Christological resonance — but through the symbolism of food rather than of a blood-bearing cup.
From Household Platter to Holy Grail
Galahad, Bors, and Perceval in prayer before the Grail. Bibliothèque nationale de France MS Français 112 (3) fol. 179r
By the early 13th century the shift was complete. In Robert de Boron’s work the graal is explicitly the vessel of the Last Supper, taken by Joseph of Arimathea to Britain. Later prose romances develop a full “Grail Quest” in which knights like Perceval and Galahad seek this sacred relic. Modern imagination, shaped by Victorian medievalism and films like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, knows only this later version.
Yet philology reminds us that the original graal was not a chalice but a dish, a ‘gradalis’, part of a domestic, even rural, table setting. Understanding this earlier meaning sheds light on how ordinary household objects could, through storytelling and symbolism, be transformed into one of the most powerful images of Western myth.
Dr Lorris Chevalier, who has a Ph.D. in medieval literature, is a historical advisor for movies, including The Last Duel and Napoleon. Click here to view his website.
Long before it became a sacred chalice, the graal of medieval legend was a simple serving dish—an object of nourishment rather than divine mystery. Learn how a humble platter from Chrétien de Troyes’ tales transformed into one of the most powerful symbols of Western myth.
By Lorris Chevalier
When most people today hear the word Grail, they picture a glittering chalice, the Holy Grail of Christian legend, often imagined as the cup of Christ at the Last Supper or the vessel that caught his blood at the Crucifixion. Yet in its earliest literary appearances the graal was nothing of the sort. Far from being a holy chalice, it was a large, ordinary serving dish — a domestic object brought at mealtime in the court of the mysterious Fisher King.
Etymology of the Word
The term graal (or greal, grial) appears in Old French texts of the 12th century. In the Roman d’Alexandre it already denotes a “broad and deep dish”. Chrétien de Troyes, in his unfinished Conte du Graal (c. 1181–1190), uses the word in precisely this sense: a large serving platter. Only slightly later, in Robert de Boron’s Joseph d’Arimathie (c. 1200), does the graal become explicitly linked with the vessel of the Last Supper and the blood of Christ.
Philologists trace the term back to a Latin root. The best-attested derivation is from gradalis, a medieval Latin word meaning “wide and deep dish”. This itself is probably a derivative of cratis (“wickerwork” or “lattice”), used for baskets and by extension containers. Other etymologies have been proposed—from crater (mixing bowl), from gradus (“step”, supposedly referring to layers of food placed in the dish), or from the idea of a dish on a pedestal—but these remain less convincing. What is clear is that the word originally denoted a rustic, domestic object, not a mystical chalice.
The Graal in Chrétien de Troyes
In Le Conte du Graal, the vessel is introduced at the mysterious feast of the wounded Fisher King. It is a wondrous object, but Chrétien does not call it a cup, still less a chalice. Rather, it resembles a serving platter carried in procession to provide sustenance. Only in later continuations and reworkings, especially the prose cycles of the 13th century, does the graal acquire a sacred history and become the cup of Joseph of Arimathea.
Fish, the Fisher King and Christ
The early association of the graal with a fish dish is significant. Medieval audiences would have known that fish was a symbol of Christ: the Greek acronym ichthys stood for “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour”. In Chrétien’s narrative the Fisher King presides over a ritual meal centred on fish, evoking both Christ’s miracles of loaves and fishes and the Eucharistic meal. The fish offers itself wholly to humankind, as Christ offered himself in sacrifice. In this way, even before it became the Holy Chalice, the graal already bore a Christological resonance — but through the symbolism of food rather than of a blood-bearing cup.
From Household Platter to Holy Grail
By the early 13th century the shift was complete. In Robert de Boron’s work the graal is explicitly the vessel of the Last Supper, taken by Joseph of Arimathea to Britain. Later prose romances develop a full “Grail Quest” in which knights like Perceval and Galahad seek this sacred relic. Modern imagination, shaped by Victorian medievalism and films like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, knows only this later version.
Yet philology reminds us that the original graal was not a chalice but a dish, a ‘gradalis’, part of a domestic, even rural, table setting. Understanding this earlier meaning sheds light on how ordinary household objects could, through storytelling and symbolism, be transformed into one of the most powerful images of Western myth.
Dr Lorris Chevalier, who has a Ph.D. in medieval literature, is a historical advisor for movies, including The Last Duel and Napoleon. Click here to view his website.
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