But by the time the last Arthur fell, the hope of keeping the line of priests and Davidic kings, as had been done in Israel prior to Zedekiah’s fall, was lost. With the triumph of the Roman Church authority, political appointment from Rome trumped the inheritance of the priestly and kingly rights divinely appointed in the Old Testament. Celibacy became the order of the day to keep the power and money in Rome.
Goodrich suggests that there were three Grail brotherhoods: Christ and the Twelve Disciples, Joseph of Arimathea and his twelve companions, and Arthur and the Twelve Knights of the Round Table. After Arthur’s death, the order of the Grail with its decidedly Jewish roots gave way to Columba at Iona and the Roman Church. The Grail treasure—which had been brought from the Holy Land by Joseph of Arimathea, first to Glastonbury and later, after Saxons came too close for comfort, to the Isle of Patrick off of Man—had to be moved again. Percival and Galahad returned it to the Holy Land. And it is there, centuries later, that the Knights Templar allegedly entered into the mystery, perhaps with privileged information kept and passed down among the sacred few remnants of the bloodlines that shaped early Christian Scotland, England, and Ireland.
Etienne Gilson said that the Grail veneration started in Jerusalem with Arimathea and Jesus’ family and friends and that it stood for grace. God’s grace. Christ’s grace by sacrifice.
Or is it that only those truly baptized by Pentecostal fire are fit to care for the Grail treasures, just as only the high priest of Aaron was allowed into the Holy of Holies in ancient Israel? And is finding the Grail a metaphor for the Holy Spirit embodied in the apostles, or entering into the presence of God? Lancelot only dreamed of it, while Percival and Galahad actually achieved it as evidenced by the fires on their tunics.
The truth has been veiled by time, muddied or intentionally destroyed by later anti-Semitic factions in the church, and turned into a fantasy by later medieval writers who vilified most of the women, romanticized the men, and changed the now-lost original accounts to suit the tastes of their benefactors. Yet still this quest haunts the imagination and the soul—to be like, and hence in the presence of, Christ.
Bibliography
For Readers Who Want More:
There are over seventy-five books from which I’ve garnered information and inspiration for this novel. However, I am listing those of the most influence for the reader who wants to delve into the history and tradition behind this work of fiction.
David F. Carroll makes a case for the historically documented Prince Arthur of Dalraida as the Arthur. This documentation is why I chose Arthur’s story as the background for this series, while incorporating many of Norma Lorre Goodrich’s observations as well. Her scholarly analysis of Arthuriana suggests that there is more than one Arthur, Guinevere, and Merlin. This, and the fact that there was no standard for dating, explains Arthur and company having to have lived for nearly a hundred years, as well as the many dating discrepancies in historical manuscripts. She, among others listed, uses geographical description and her knowledge of linguistics to place Arthur mostly in the lowlands of today’s Scotland. Shortly after she suggested the location of Arthur’s Grail Palace on an island near Man, the ruins of a Dark Age Christian church were discovered there.
Isabel Elder’s Celt, Druid and Culdee provides wonderful insight into the origins of the early church in Britain and how the similarities of these three groups made them ready to make Christ their Druid or teacher/master. A must-read to understand the New Age philosophy of today. Andrew Gray’s The Origin and Early History of Christianity in Britain—From Its Dawn to the Death of Augustine is fascinating and impacts Thief as it lends some credence to some of Goodrich’s observations on Arthur and the church.
The oral traditions about Joseph of Arimathea and Avalon/Glastonbury are underscored by ancient place names and Roman, British, Irish, and church histories in books by Gray, Joyce, McNaught, and Taylor. They also provide a compelling case for the British church’s establishment in the first century by Jesus’ family and apostles. Books regarding the Davidic bloodlines preserved through Irish nobility that married into the major royal houses of western Europe, Britain in particular, include those of Allen, Capt, and Collins.
To separate magic from science from miracle, I found Charles Singer’s book one of the best I’ve read for clarification throughout history. Kieckhefer’s is also an excellent historical resource for medieval customs, superstitions, and medicine and their darker side as well.
I do not advocate the practices featured in Buckland’s book on witchcraft, although reading it has helped me develop a clearer understanding of where much New Age thought comes from, that I might more effectively witness to the similarities and differences in the future in my case for Christ. After reading the above and more on my magic/miracle/science research, I found the scriptural perspective in Rory Roybal’s Miracles or Magic? Discerning the Works of God in Today’s World reassuring and spiritually grounding. And, of course, enough can’t be said of the King James Version Bible referred to throughout Thief.
Arthurian Works
Barber, Richard. The Figure of Arthur. New York: Dorset Press, 1972.
Blake, Steve and Scott Lloyd. Pendragon: The Definitive Account of the Origins of Arthur. Guilford, CT: The Lyons Press, 2002.
Carroll, David F. Arturius: A Quest for Camelot. Goxhill, Lincolnshire, UK: D. F. Carroll, 1996.
De Boron, Robert. Merlin and the Grail: Joseph of Arimathea, Merlin, Perceval. Translated by Nigel Bryant. Rochester, NY: D. S. Brewer, 2005.
Goodrich, Norma Lorre. Guinevere. New York: HarperCollins, 1991.
———. The Holy Grail. New York: HarperCollins, 1993.
———. King Arthur. New York: Harper and Row, 1986.
———. Merlin. New York: Harper and Row, 1988.
Holmes, Michael. King Arthur: A Military History. New York: Blandford Press, 1998.
Reno, Frank. Historic Figures of the Arthurian Era. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2000.
Skene, W. F. Arthur and the Britons in Wales and Scotland. Dyfed, UK: Llanerch Enterprises, 1988.
Church History
Allen, J. H. Judah’s Sceptre and Joseph’s Birthright. Merrimac, MA: Destiny Publishers, 1902.
Capt, E. Raymond. The Traditions of Glastonbury. Thousand Oaks, CA: Artisan Press, 1983.
———. Missing Links Discovered in Assyrian Tablets: Study of the Assyrian Tables of Israel. Thousand Oaks, CA: Artisan Sales, 1983.
Collins, Stephen. The “Lost” Ten Tribes of Israel … Found! Boring, OR: CPA Books, 1995.
Elder, Isabel Hill. Celt, Druid and Culdee. London: Covenant Publishing Company, 1973.
Gardner, Laurence. Bloodline of the Holy Grail: The Hidden Lineage of Jesus Revealed. New York: Thorsons/Element, 1996. (Used for tracing Jesus’ family/apostles, not His alleged direct bloodline.)
Gray, Andrew. The Origin and Early History of Christianity in Britain—From Its Dawn to the Death of Augustine. New York: James Pott & Co., 1897.
Joyce, Timothy. Celtic Christianity: A Sacred Tradition, A Vision of Hope. New York: Orbis Books, 1998.
Larson, Frank. The Bethlehem Star, www.BethlehemStar.net (accessed January 1, 2008).
MacNaught, J. C. The Celtic Church and the See of Peter. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1927.
Taylor, Gladys. Our Neglected Heritage: The Early Church. London: Covenant Publishing Company, 1969.
General History
Adamnan of Iona. Life of St. Columba. Translated by Richard Sharpe. New York: Penguin Books, 1995.
Alcock, Leslie. Arthur’s Britain. New York: Penguin Books, 1971.
————. Kings and Warriors, Craftsmen and Priests in Northern Britain AD 550–850. Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 2003.
Armit, Ian. Celtic Scotland. London: B. T. Batsford, Ltd., 2005.
Ashe, Geoffrey. A Guidebook to Arthurian Britain. London: Aquarian Press, 1983.
Ellis, Peter Berresford. Celt and Saxon: The Struggle for Brita
in, AD 410–937. London: Constable, 1993.
Evans, Stephen. The Lords of Battle. Rochester, NY: Boydell Press, 1997. (Excellent resource for the life of a warlord and his men.)
Fraser, James. From Caledonia to Pictland: Scotland to 795. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2009.
Hartley, Dorothy. Lost Country Life. New York: Random House, 1979. (A wonderful look at county life in Britain by the season.)
Hodgkin, R. H. A History of the Anglo-Saxons. Vol 1. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1935.
Hughes, David. The British Chronicles, Book One. Westminster, MD: Heritage Books, 2007.
Johnson, Stephen. Later Roman Britain: Britain before the Conquest. New York: Charles Scribner & Sons, 1980.
Laing, Lloyd and Jenny. The Picts and the Scots. Stroud, UK: Alan Sutton Publishing Ltd., 1993.
Lowe, Chris. Angels, Fools, and Tyrants—Britons and Anglo-Saxons in Southern Scotland, AD 450–750. Edinburgh: Canongate Press, 1999. (Excellent illustrations.)
Marsh, Henry. Dark Age Britain: Some Sources of History. New York: Dorset Press, 1987.
Martin-Clarke, D. Elizabeth. Culture in Early Anglo-Saxon England. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1947.
Palgrave, Sir Francis. History of the Anglo-Saxons. New York: Dorset Press, 1989.
Snyder, Christopher. The Britons. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2003.
Smyth, Alfred. Warlords and Holy Men: Scotland, AD 80–1000. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1989.
Magic, Miracle, and Science of the Dark Ages
Buckland, Raymond. Scottish Witchcraft: The History and Magick of the Picts. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1991.
Kieckhefer, Richard. Magic in the Middle Ages. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1989.
Roybal, Rory. Miracles or Magic? Discerning the Works of God in Today’s World. Longwood, FL: Xulon Press, 2005.
Singer, Charles. From Magic to Science: Essays on the Scientific Twilight. New York: Dover Publications, 1958.
Scripture References
Prologue
And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.—Luke 8:10
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.—1 John 4:1–3
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.—John 15:5
And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not.—Matthew 10:1–5
Chapter Three
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.—Matthew 7:6
Chapter Seven
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.—Psalm 19:1
Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.—Luke 10:27
Epilogue
Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.—Matthew 25:45
About the Author
With an estimated million books in print, Linda Windsor is an award-winning author of sixteen secular historical and contemporary romances and thirteen romantic comedies and historical fiction for the inspirational market. Her switch to inspirational fiction in 1999 was more like Jonah going to Nineveh than a flash of enlightenment. Linda claims God pushed her, kicking and screaming all the way. In retrospect the author can see how God prepared her for His writing in her early publishing years and then claimed not just her music but also her writing when she was ready. At that point He brushed away all her reservations regarding inspirational fiction, and she took the leap of faith. Linda has never looked back.
While all of Linda’s inspirational novels have been recognized with awards and rave reviews in both the ABA and CBA markets, she is most blessed by the 2002 Christy finalist award for Riona and the numerous National Readers Choice Awards for Best Inspirational that her historicals and contemporaries have won. Riona actually astonished everyone when it won against the worldly competition in the RWA Laurel Wreath’s Best Foreign Historical Category.
To Linda’s delight, Maire, Book One of the Fires of Gleannmara Irish Celtic series, was rereleased by Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers with a gorgeous new warrior-queen cover in 2009. Christy finalist Riona and its sequel, Deirdre, are now available with print on demand through standard and Internet booksellers.
Another of her novels, For Pete’s Sake, Book Two in the Piper Cove Chronicles, is the winner of the Golden Quill; finalist in the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, Colorado RWA 2009 Award of Excellence, and Holt Medallion Avon Inspire in 2008; and winner of the Best Book of 2008 Award—Inspirational (Long & Short Reviews). It also won the 2009 National Reader’s Choice Award—Best Inspirational and Best Book of the Year—Inspirational (Romance Reviews Today).
Linda’s research for the early Celtic Gleannmara series resulted in a personal mission dear to her heart: to provide Christians with an effective witness to reach their New Age and unbelieving family and friends. Her goal continues with the Brides of Alba series, which reveals early church history, much of which has been lost or neglected due to intentional and/or inadvertent error by its chroniclers. This knowledge of early church history enabled Linda to reach her daughter, who became involved in Wicca after being stalked and assaulted in college and blaming the God of her childhood faith—a witness that continues to others at medieval fair signings or wherever these books take Linda.
Linda is convinced that, had her daughter known the struggle and witness of the early Christians beyond the apostles’ time and before Christianity earned a black name during the Crusades and Inquisition, she could not have been swayed. Nor would Linda herself have been lured away from her faith in Christ in college by a liberal agenda.
Linda’s testimony that Christ is her Druid (Master/Teacher) opens wary hearts wounded by harsh Christian condemnation. Admitted Wiccans and pagans have become intrigued by the tidbits of history and tradition pointing to how and why druids accepted Him. She not only sells these nonbelievers copies of her books, but she also outsells the occult titles surrounding her inspirational ones.
When Linda isn’t writing in the late eighteenth-century home that she and her late husband restored, she’s busy speaking and/or playing music for writing workshops, faith seminars, libraries, and civic and church groups. She and her husband were professional musicians and singers in their country and old rock-and-roll band, Homespun. She also plays organ for her little country church in the wildwood. Presently, she’s trying to work in some painting, wallpapering, and other house projects that are begging to be done. That is, when she’s not Red-Hatting or, better yet, playing mom-mom to her grandchildren—her favorite role in life.
Visit Linda Windsor at her
Web site: www.LindaWindsor.com
Other Books by Linda Windsor
HISTORICAL FICTION
&n
bsp; Fires of Gleannmara Trilogy
Maire
Riona
Deirdre
The Brides of Alba Trilogy
Healer
Thief
Rebel (Summer 2012)
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Piper Cove Chronicles
Wedding Bell Blues
For Pete’s Sake
Moonstruck Series
Paper Moon
Fiesta Moon
Blue Moon
Along Came Jones
It Had to Be You
Not Exactly Eden
Hi Honey, I’m Home
Don’t Miss the Final Installment in the Brides of Alba Series
Rebel
Book Three
The Brides of Alba
Linda Windsor
Prologue
Carmelide
Leaf Fall
Late sixth century AD
Merlin was dead. The nightmare had begun for the Cymri—every Briton, Welshman, Scot, and Pict—be they Christian or still clinging to the old ways. Kella O’Toole bent over her desk in the queen’s scriptorium, well aware that her countrymen’s freedom to worship a god of choice in his or her manner was at stake—not to mention the threat of civil war. This small room adjoining Gwenhyfar’s personal quarters was the only place where the official palace scribes would not know what Kella was about.
Her heart beat in her chest with each scratch of her quill as she hurried to finish the last page of the copy of one of the most precious books of all Albion, perhaps even the world. She’d hoped to work with the original Hebrew scripts, those recorded by the hand of Joseph of Arimathea or one of Christ’s apostolic family, to practice her translation of the language. But Merlin Emrys and Queen Gwenhyfar had seen them and their original translations already carefully packed and hidden away.
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