Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Is the Holy Grail still in Jerusalem? One theory pointing to the earthworks associated with the Second Temple, destroyed by Rome in 70CE, claims many artifacts were hidden in tunnels behind the great retaining walls. A piece of the temple complex supporting wall survived the Romans. Its name in Hebrew is Ha-Kotel Ha-Ma'aravi. The name in English contains a direction. What site is this?
2. Great Britain is home to several sites with Grail connections. One is a remarkable place of worship owned by the Sinclair family. It features in "The DaVinci Code" by Dan Brown. Rumors have had it that the Grail is inside the "Apprentice Pillar" or in the Sinclair family burial vault. Do you know this place?
3. An English site may be where the Grail and Arthurian legends met. This great conical hill in Somerset is also sometimes identified with the Isle of Avalon. Grail Legends speak of Knights Templar burying the Grail next to Arthur's tomb,or it may have been Joseph of Arimathea who buried it on his second trip. What is the name of this legendary hill?
4. A few people have claimed that not only the Holy Grail, but the Ark of the Covenant reside in an ultra-secure United States government facility in Kentucky. The place did play host to Great Britain's Crown Jewels during World War II. It's home to nearly 20,000 troops, too. It's a golden place to store something priceless. What is this very safe place called?
5. According to local lore, at about the same time he was founding Jamestown, Virginia, John Smith explored the Potomac River to the north. He had a stowaway, a Jesuit priest with family ties to the Knights Templar, who brought the Grail west to protect it from treasure hunters. He jumped ship with the Grail, swam to the north shore and disappeared near where the town of Accokeek is today. To what future colony, founded by a co-religionist, is the priest said to have swum?
6. It is in France that the argument about whether the Grail is a cup or a bloodline is anchored. A sect called the Cathars figure prominently on the bloodline side. Allegedly, a treasure was sent into hiding just before the final defeat of the Cathars. What was the last stronghold of the Cathars? Its name means "castle secure mountain" in French.
7. A potential French Grail site has rumored connections to the Cathars, the Knights Templar, the Merovingian Kings, and countless others. It began to be noticed in the early 20th Century, when an impoverished village priest started spending thousands upon thousands of francs. The village features prominently in many 'Grail as bloodline' books, including "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" by Henry Lincoln, et al. What southern French village is this?
8. The next stop on our Grail Quest brings us to the region of Catalonia in northeastern Spain. Others have been here. Heinrich Himmler was here in 1940, searching for the Grail. Grail Legend speaks of a Mont-Salvat (salvation mountain). Himmler thought a local mountain with a miraculous reputation was the one. The mountain smiled its famously saw-toothed grin at him and sent him home empty-handed. What serrated Catalonian peak frustrated Himmler?
9. So you want to see the Holy Grail? Let me suggest a stopover on your pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. In a museum attached to the Basilica de San Isidoro is displayed Le Cáliz de Doña Urraca (Chalice of Lady Urraca) who for a time ruled much of northern Spain. It has age and some documentation to support its claim to be the Grail. In what Lion city of Spain can we find this Grail contender?
10. In a city known for its oranges sits a magnificent, old, Gothic church. It is the Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady of (city name). Within the church, in its own chapel, resides a reliquary built around a chocolate-red agate cup, which archaeological evaluation dates from 200BCE to 100CE, the workmanship indicates Middle Eastern origin. The backstory on the cup's movements is one of the most complete in Grail lore. What city hosts this strong contender for the Grail?
Source: Author
Jdeanflpa
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agony before going online.
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