–
one of the Cathars’ most sacred days – the Crusader army set out
from Lyon.
‘ Although the Cathars
didn’t approve of violence, they fought back, mostly using
mercenaries, and the war dragged on for decades. In 1231, the next
Pope, Gregory IX, set up an institution for stamping out heresy
once and for all – the Inquisition. In 1243, the Cathars made what
was effectively their last stand at their mountain stronghold of
Montségur. The Catholic army besieged it for months before the
garrison finally surrendered in 1244. Those in the garrison who
refused to recant their heresy were burnt at the stake en masse at
the foot of the mountain.’
‘ OK, I get the
picture,’ Harrington said. ‘An unorthodox religion gets wiped out
by a much bigger religion and tries to survive in some way by
hiding its beliefs in the form of a story that lives on after the
religion has died, providing hope that the religion can be reborn
some day.’
Vernon nodded again.
‘ So, what was Lucy’s
theory about these hidden meanings? Why was her work controversial? I mean, what did she say that Rahn didn’t?’
‘ According to the basic
legend, the Grail is in the keeping of a man called the Fisher King
who lives in the Grail Castle, surrounded by warrior monks. He has
a mysterious wound on his upper thigh, or even in his genitals,
which never heals. Lucy was curious about the use of the
title Fisher King . The symbol of the fish was known from antiquity to represent divine
life. Only one person can offer divine life, and so Lucy argued
that the Fisher King must be another name for God. The worthy – the
Cathars – would be caught in his fishing nets while the unworthy –
the Catholics – would swim right through. It saddened God that so
many fish in the sea couldn’t be saved. They were his metaphorical
wound that never healed. Only when all of humanity returned to him
would his wound vanish.
‘ The Fisher King’s
Grail Castle, hidden from the unworthy, was heaven; the Wasteland
outside, hell. The Wasteland would disappear only when the Fisher
King was cured, and that would happen only when Catharism
triumphed.
‘ Lucy wanted to know
how those in the Wasteland could find the hidden Grail castle. Only
those who rejected their old, false beliefs and started seeking the
truth – Catharism – would succeed, she claimed. In the castle, they
would be shown a solemn ceremony where the Grail Hallows – a spear,
cup, sword and dish – would be presented to them.
‘ If they understood the
meaning of the ceremony – which would signify that they’d been
fully initiated into Catharism – the Grail seekers would know to
ask the Fisher King a particular question. If they failed to ask
the right question, because they were still clinging to the false
doctrines of other religions, they’d leave the castle and never
find it again.
‘ Lucy thought the Grail
Hallows should be separated into two pairs: the spear and the cup,
the sword and the dish. The first pair represented Christianity. The spear was the Roman lance thrust into Christ’s side at the
Crucifixion, and Christ used the cup at the Last
Supper.’
‘ What about the sword
and dish?’ Harrington asked.
‘ That’s the radical
part of Lucy’s theory. She said the sword was the one used to
behead John the Baptist. His head was placed on a dish to be
presented to Salome as her reward for dancing for King Herod. So,
the sword and dish stood for John the Baptist rather than Christ. Grail seekers had to choose between the two pairs. If you chose
correctly, you were a true believer; otherwise you were
damned.’
‘ I don’t understand,’
Gresnick said. ‘Are you saying Lucy thought there was some kind of
opposition between John the Baptist and Jesus?’
‘ Exactly, colonel. People forget that John the Baptist was only six months older than
Jesus, and that they were related by blood. Their mothers were
cousins. Some people thought John was more important than
one of the Cathars’ most sacred days – the Crusader army set out
from Lyon.
‘ Although the Cathars
didn’t approve of violence, they fought back, mostly using
mercenaries, and the war dragged on for decades. In 1231, the next
Pope, Gregory IX, set up an institution for stamping out heresy
once and for all – the Inquisition. In 1243, the Cathars made what
was effectively their last stand at their mountain stronghold of
Montségur. The Catholic army besieged it for months before the
garrison finally surrendered in 1244. Those in the garrison who
refused to recant their heresy were burnt at the stake en masse at
the foot of the mountain.’
‘ OK, I get the
picture,’ Harrington said. ‘An unorthodox religion gets wiped out
by a much bigger religion and tries to survive in some way by
hiding its beliefs in the form of a story that lives on after the
religion has died, providing hope that the religion can be reborn
some day.’
Vernon nodded again.
‘ So, what was Lucy’s
theory about these hidden meanings? Why was her work controversial? I mean, what did she say that Rahn didn’t?’
‘ According to the basic
legend, the Grail is in the keeping of a man called the Fisher King
who lives in the Grail Castle, surrounded by warrior monks. He has
a mysterious wound on his upper thigh, or even in his genitals,
which never heals. Lucy was curious about the use of the
title Fisher King . The symbol of the fish was known from antiquity to represent divine
life. Only one person can offer divine life, and so Lucy argued
that the Fisher King must be another name for God. The worthy – the
Cathars – would be caught in his fishing nets while the unworthy –
the Catholics – would swim right through. It saddened God that so
many fish in the sea couldn’t be saved. They were his metaphorical
wound that never healed. Only when all of humanity returned to him
would his wound vanish.
‘ The Fisher King’s
Grail Castle, hidden from the unworthy, was heaven; the Wasteland
outside, hell. The Wasteland would disappear only when the Fisher
King was cured, and that would happen only when Catharism
triumphed.
‘ Lucy wanted to know
how those in the Wasteland could find the hidden Grail castle. Only
those who rejected their old, false beliefs and started seeking the
truth – Catharism – would succeed, she claimed. In the castle, they
would be shown a solemn ceremony where the Grail Hallows – a spear,
cup, sword and dish – would be presented to them.
‘ If they understood the
meaning of the ceremony – which would signify that they’d been
fully initiated into Catharism – the Grail seekers would know to
ask the Fisher King a particular question. If they failed to ask
the right question, because they were still clinging to the false
doctrines of other religions, they’d leave the castle and never
find it again.
‘ Lucy thought the Grail
Hallows should be separated into two pairs: the spear and the cup,
the sword and the dish. The first pair represented Christianity. The spear was the Roman lance thrust into Christ’s side at the
Crucifixion, and Christ used the cup at the Last
Supper.’
‘ What about the sword
and dish?’ Harrington asked.
‘ That’s the radical
part of Lucy’s theory. She said the sword was the one used to
behead John the Baptist. His head was placed on a dish to be
presented to Salome as her reward for dancing for King Herod. So,
the sword and dish stood for John the Baptist rather than Christ. Grail seekers had to choose between the two pairs. If you chose
correctly, you were a true believer; otherwise you were
damned.’
‘ I don’t understand,’
Gresnick said. ‘Are you saying Lucy thought there was some kind of
opposition between John the Baptist and Jesus?’
‘ Exactly, colonel. People forget that John the Baptist was only six months older than
Jesus, and that they were related by blood. Their mothers were
cousins. Some people thought John was more important than
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