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The Crimson Spear

I had a vivid dream, probably from a book that I was writing about what happened after King Arthur died, entitled ‘Last Knight’s Almanac’ and I’ll use the content of this dream in the book, but, the real question is: Who wrote the dream?

The dream was about the rites and wrongs of spring for King Percevale and his two squires and went as follows, stated in the present tense to bring it alive:

The trio comes to a road that is blocked by the passing of a spring carnival. It is the annual ‘Rites of spring Celebration’, doubly raucous this year because it also celebrates the recent victories of war. There are tumblers, troubadours, circus acts and the like, and it is well attended with drunken revelry. A vendor on squire Bogar’s right is selling sacred objects for unbelievably low prices and so Bogar takes the opportunity of the journey’s pause to investigate the bargains.

His attention is first brought to a piece of the venerated wood of the true cross, brought here by the vendor himself after he had gone on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and secretly excavated the hill of the Holy Sepulcher at night, whilst a cathedral was being built over it. Bogar parts with some valuable coins and buys a worthless piece of wood. He also purchases a nail from that same cross. It is still incrusted with Christ’s blood. He buys also a portion of the actual crown of thorns, a shredded part of the tablecloth used at the last supper, a bone from St. Peter’s arm, a piece of the manger, some drops of the Virgins own milk sealed forever in a glass vial, and a tin cup used by Joseph of Aramithea to catch the blood of Jesus on that first Good Friday. Having spent all of his riches, he is about to return when he spots a golden box with a crystal lid, containing a purple cushion on which lays a piece of rusted iron, triangular in shape.

“This,” said the vendor, “is the tip of the spear that pierced the side of the Saviour!”

After much consultation with Hargrave, Bogar obtains a loan and makes the final purchase. The riding junk-pile returns and King Percevale examines the haul with horror.

“Throw all of this rattling junk away!” the King insists.

“But most of this is from the true and holy cross, sire!”

“Squires,” replies Percevale, “I’ve seen enough pieces of the true cross to construct twenty fine sailing sloops of war and still have enough wood left over to build a bridge over the Usk river. What is that cup? Good God, we’ve found the Grail again! Fling it to that beggar by the creek who is sipping water with his hands!”

The squires quail at the King’s rage and let their treasures fall to the ground, but the King is laughing on the inside at the squires’ folly and soon they all break into hearty laughter. However, the laughing stops abruptly as they all notice that the box containing the spear tip is now quite full of blood.

“Keep the spear tip,” replies Percevale with haste, remembering some words of prophesy, “and attach it to a fine and sturdy stick, for the Crimson Spear has been returned to me.”

After the silence of the continuing journey becomes too much, Squire Hargrave inquires: “What is the origin of the Grail? And its purpose?”

“Well,” replies the King, “it was the actual chalice used by Joseph, a follower of Jesus, to catch Christ’s blood as he hung on the cross. It was passed down through his family and was god-sent to Arthur by the Mother Goddess of the Holy Isle of Avalon. When Arthur would hold the Grail, and only Arthur, it would turn red. It was first called the Crimson Chalice. Arthur himself is a symbol of the Savior and is said the be seven generations descended from Him. We knights are Arthur’s disciples, modern day priest-soldiers out to make the world a better place. However, the Grail was lost and you know the rest of the story.

Guinevere is a symbol of Eve, temptress of men, and of paradise regained. Taliesin the poet is a symbol of the beauty of our pure souls. And the Lady of the Lake, she is a mother to us all, as from her we are all descended. But, to answer your question more completely, the Grail symbolizes man’s harmony with nature and with the gods, which are really one and the same with us. All is of a whole. God and nature are not without us, they are within us. When Arthur received the Grail back he again became one with the Land. I found the Grail by shedding my armor, a symbol of my pride.”

“In what kind of God do you actually believe in then?” asks Bogar.

“Well,” answered Percevale, “there are legends saying that Jesus, Merlyn, and the spirits of the Holy Isle of Avalon are either gods or messengers of the gods, for they are real enough and many have seen them—but we touch only the hem of the mysterious garments of mystery in which the universe is clothed! That there are mysterious forces beyond our comprehension, I do not deny—there are mystics and magicians with senses beyond our own—it is called second sight. And there are many forces that tug on us from beyond. However, my particular ‘God’ cannot be separated from all that is. There are forces of physics in the universe, immutable and unchangeable. That the universe has our well being in mind is proved by our very existence. However, the most preposterous notion that humans ever dreamed up is that the Lord God of Creation, Shaper and ruler of all the Universes, wants the adoration of his creatures, can be swayed by their prayers, their begging for favors; and becomes hateful if he does not receive this flattery. This God of mystery, this vengeful God who will allow no other gods before him, who exacts homage from us, this God of the sky I cannot see or understand or believe in! People have invented this God to their liking in their own image. These people could not simply accept the fact that man and nature and all that exists in the natural world could form without cause. These people saw complexity in the world which they could not explain by any other means but by this God. So—save a step, and accept that the world simply is! Look for ‘God’ within nature and yourselves, not without. Know that the universe has our well being at heart only in the general sense, and not in the personal sense. Do not curse the rains that nourish the land, the worms that cultivate the soil, the winds that blow so hard and carry the seeds, for, without these things the world would not have survived. We’re all in this together—you, me, the rain, the winds, and the worms.

“What kind of superbeing would create creatures—a god who knows all, knows our folly to come—and then expect praise and glorification from people begging for favors and blessings so that they can have an easier life? Let our goodness of heart and our good deeds be our ‘God’. They are real; they can be seen. We are of the world; that is our origin, like it or not. Let us do good only for the sake of good. The world can be made a better place through action, not through passive praying. And so you may think what you may, my squires, but that is my opinion, and I do not preach it, but if I am asked, I give it. And since forming that opinion I’ve later come to conclude that we should not worry about that which is so invisible, and so I no longer do so anymore.”