What Is the Grail? Literary Origins

In this conversation, I sit down with storyteller and mythologist Martin Shaw to explore the Holy Grail. We talk about desire and longing, failure and mercy, chivalry and the feminine, and why the Grail stories continue to be relevant across centuries.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/3qDkPUsle3M

COURSE: The Quest for the Holy Grail with Dr. Martin Shaw
In the dark heart of January, when the nights are long and the world draws close, Dr. Martin Shaw returns to Symbolic World Courses for an intensive week-long journey to tell one of the greatest stories of the Medieval imagination: Parzival and the Holy Grail.
Register now: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/the-quest-for-the-holy-grail 
Cost: $160 USD
Dates of live course: January 12-16, 2026
Time: 12 PM-2 PM EST, except for Lecture 3 (January 14) which will be at 4PM-6PM EST

Links:
-Pre-order Martin Shaw’s upcoming book, Liturgies of the Wild, to get an exclusive chapter: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/741189/liturgies-of-the-wild-by-martin-shaw/ 
-Martin’s other books, including Snowy Tower: https://drmartinshaw.com/books/ 

Events:
-February 13-15, 2026, Orthodox Christian Arts Festival (Praise for the Beauty) in Texas, with speakers including Martin Shaw and Deacon Seraphim Richard Rohlin: https://www.orthodoxartsfestivaldfw.com/ 
-January 27, 2026, London, The Temenos Academy. Seeing the Patterned World: the Cosmos as Layered Microcosms, a talk by Jonathan Pageau with Dr. Martin Shaw in the chair. £10 General Admission. The Art Workers' Guild, 6 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AT. Doors open at 6.10 pm, lecture begins at 6.30 pm. https://www.temenosacademy.org/events-programme/seeing-the-patterned-world 

Some other links of things mentioned:
-Jonathan and Dcn Seraphim’s recent course on Dante’s Paradiso: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-paradiso
-Jonathan’s analysis of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: Part 1: https://youtu.be/Rg5RDZ7mMKo  and Part 2: https://youtu.be/1ch1T24-W7Q 
-The Monks and Pirates discussion with Andrew Gould: https://youtu.be/WjMadP6DScM 
-Universal History: The American Religion episode: https://youtu.be/0_RKBPaQAyk 

Timestamps:
00:00 - Coming up
00:32 - Intro music
02:00 - The cost of conversion
05:49 - What is the Grail
10:05 - Other hints of the Grail
15:30 - To remain veiled
17:45 - Who the stories are for
19:42 - The place of chivalry
24:46 - The Holy Virgin
29:31 - Longing
34:12 - Weakness has a seat at the table
36:48 - Liturgies of the wild
43:42 - Christianity in publishing

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My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/