The Legend of the Grail

Emma Jung (1882–1955), the wife of the founder of analytical psychology Carl Gustav Jung, and Marie-Louise von Franz (1915–1998), his long-time associate and closest colleague, spent more than 30 years writing this book. From a Jungian perspective, both researchers dissect the extensive material of the Grail legends. Similar to the deep symbolism of alchemy, these folkloric fantasies and their symbolism depict essential, unconscious psychic processes. The primary focus of the authors is the work of the medieval French poet Chrétien de Troyes, the pioneer of the courtly romance and compiler of the oldest known compilations about the Grail. The belief in a magical artifact that grants health and prosperity, hidden in an inaccessible land, in the lost castle of the gravely ill King, has stirred the interest of a wide audience for eight centuries. The archetypal motif of the quest for treasure interacts in a whimsical way with the drama of the Passion of the Son of God: according to tradition, the coveted treasure is a vessel in which Joseph of Arimathea collected the spilled blood of Jesus Christ. Thus, the tale of the Grail illuminates not only fundamental human problems but also tragic events that shape the backdrop of Christian culture. Thanks to this paradoxical synthesis, the story of knights yearning to drink from the miraculous cup remains a vibrant literary phenomenon to this day.