Böcker av Jean Markale

MYTHOLOGY / CELTIC STUDIES"There is no better spokesman for the ancient Celts than Jean Markale." Andr頂reton The Grail has long excited the imaginations of those seeking to see beyond the world of appearances. No other sacred object has inspired such longing or such dread. The Grail is the archetype of the marvelous object in which each individual can enclose the goal of his own personal quest. For some the goal of this quest has been divine grace or the Philosophers' Stone, for others it is simply a treasure that connects various episodes of the King Arthur legend. Yet the Grail, as an object that is both close and unapproachable, was not the original focus of these stories. The Celtic tales on which the Grail legend is based emphasize the theme of the Quest. Through his exploration of several versions of this myth that appeared in the Middle Ages, Jean Markale digs deep beneath the Christian veneer of these tales, allowing us to penetrate to the true meaning of the Grail and its Quest, legacies of a rich Celtic spirituality that has nourished the Western psyche for centuries. He also examines how these myths were later used by the Knights Templar, as well as how their links with Alchemy and Catharism played a decisive role in the shaping of Western Hermetic thought. Poet, philosopher, historian, and storyteller, JEAN MARKALE has spent a lifetime researching Celtic civilizations. He is the author of more than forty books on pre-Christian societies, including The Druids, The Celts, Merlin, Women of the Celts, and King of the Celts. He lives in the Brittany region of France.

MYTHOLOGY / WOMEN'S STUDIES In ancient Babylon she was Anat, in Egypt, Isis and Hathor, Dana in Celtic Ireland, Rhea and Demeter in Greece, and in India, Anapurna the "Provider." She is the Great Goddess, the symbol of earth and the giver of life, the Vast Mother, who represented all the powers and mysteries of creation for our ancestors. In this comprehensive exploration of the Goddess figure, Jean Markale, one of today's foremost Celtic historians, examines how over time patriarchal societies tried to force the preeminent power of the feminine into an obscure and sub-servient position, shifting her solar association onto masculine deities and discrediting those of her symbols, like the serpent, that could not be easily assimilated. With its extensive investigation of all the myths, sites, and sanctuaries devoted to this influential figure, The Great Goddess provides us with abundant evidence of the extraordinary permanence of her worship--even at the heart of those religions that tried to destroy her. Markale explains how the Goddess did not simply disappear when her position was usurped, but went underground, resurfacing time and again in altered but distinctly recognizable forms. The great solar goddess of Celtic culture reappears as the mythical Grainne and in the well-known legend of Tristan and Iseult. Features of the primordial Lilith, relegated to darkness in rabbinical tradition, can be discerned in the incomprehensible Black Virgins of Christian sanctuaries. And one of the key figures of modern Christianity, the Virgin Mary, possesses all the characteristics of the ancient Mother Goddess: wisdom, beneficence, nurturance, and sacred sexuality. Whether in Ancient Egypt, the Roman Empire, Celtic Europe, or the present day, the goddess played, and continues to play, an integral part in society's need to connect with the source of all creation. Poet, philosopher, historian, and storyteller, JEAN MARKALE has spent a lifetime researching pre-Christian civilizations. He is the author of more than forty books, including The Druids, The Celts, Merlin, Women of the Celts, and King of the Celts. A specialist in Celtic studies at the Sorbonne, he lives in the Brittany region of France.

An extensive examination of the religious anomalies and lost treasure of the Mary Magdalene Church in Rennes-le-Château • Looks at the connection between the Templars, Cathars, and other enigmatic groups in the history of this church and the surrounding area• Maintains that Mary Magdalene was the high priestess who anointed Jesus into his priesthood, in accordance with ancient religious tradition • Explores the role of the Sacred Feminine in early Christian Church historyThe small church of Rennes-le-Château, in a remote village in southern France, may well hold the key to the proof of Mary Magdalene’s marriage to Jesus and the bloodline they founded. In 1885 the village of Rennes-le-Château welcomed a new priest, Abbe Saunière, for its church dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene. Abbe Saunière ordered very strange restoration work for the church, and it is thought that he discovered something during this renovation that brought him to the attention of the power brokers of that time and made him a very rich man. Possible identifications of his discovery range from the gold pillaged from Delphi in Roman times; the treasure brought out of Jerusalem by the Templars, who had a strong presence in this area; and the missing Cathar treasure, spirited out of Montségur mere days before the fall of that fortress.Yet even more curious and compelling is this church’s ambiguous portrayal of Mary Magdalene. Markale explains that the unusual depictions of Mary in the church hint at an even more archaic role performed by Mary that could shake the very foundations of the Church if it were fully understood: that of the high priestess who anoints the priest king into his spiritual duties.