Nexus - 0605 - New Times Magazine-pages

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were deposed and a whole new dynasty was supplemented by way Three Rings for the Elven Kings under the sky. of a family who had hitherto been mayors of the Royal Palace (the Seven for the Dwarf Lords in their halls of stone. equivalent of prime ministers). They were dubbed Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die. "Carolingians", and their only king of any consequence (through One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne, some 236 years) was the legendary Charlemagne. In the Land of Mordor where the shadows lie. As a result of this strategy, the whole nature of monarchy One Ring to rule them all. changed from being an office of "guardianship" to one of "rule". One Ring to find them. Henceforth, the papal monarchs were territorial governors rather One Ring to bring them all than patriarchs of the people. By virtue of this monumental And in the darkness bind them, change, the longstanding Grail Code of princely service was for- In the Land of Mordor where the shadows lie. saken and European kings became servants of the Church—which had the power to make them or break them. So it is cited by Gandalf the Wizard in Tolkien's The Lord of How do we know today that the Donation is a forgery? Well, the Rings, one of the most popular tales of all time. there are many reasons, but the most obvious is that its New In essence, the contested ownership of the One Ring is little dif- Testament references relate to the Latin Vulgate version of the ferent to the enduring quest for the Holy Grail. Although present- Bible. This edition was translated and compiled by St Jerome ed from quite opposite standpoints, both are quests for the mainte- who was not born until the year 340, some 26 years after nance of sovereignty, but each has been misapplied at various Constantine (who died, anyway, in 337) supposedly signed the stages of history by those who perceived the Ring and the Grail as document! Indeed, there was more than half a century between = power weapons. Hence, it was imperative (in the respective sto- Constantine's alleged signing and the appearance of the particular _ ries) that access to the Grail was protected by severe questions, Latin Bible that was used in its content. Notwithstanding this, the just as it was essential to keep the One Ring from the evil Sauron language of the Donation was, in any event, that of the 8th centu- of Mordor, who eventually lost his power when the Ring was ry and bore no relation to the writing style of Constantine's day. destroyed in the fires of the Mount of Doom. The truly ridiculous aspect of all this is that the Donation was There is, however, an essential difference between Tolkien's proved to be a forgery some 550 years ago, during the One Ring, which is portrayed as dark and divisive, and the Renaissance, but its overwhelm- Golden Ring of Grail romance, which is a ing dictate, which cemented the ring of love and enlightenment. The lat- Pope as the supreme spiritual and + ane . ter was further symbolised by the ring of temporal head of Christendom, The truly ridiculous aspect of all this iron-clad knights who sat ai the Round has prevailed regardless. is that the Donation was proved to be Table—a ring that was broken (leading - explained in Genesi a forgery some 550 years ago, during the fang into chaos an waste) when A s explained in Genesis of the Renaissance, but its overwhelming rthur forsook the Celtic Code in favour the Grail Kings, the mon- . " of the Roman persuasion (or, as the later archs of the Grail succes- | dictate, which cemented the Pope as Christianised version of the story differ- son : were called Messiahs the supreme spiritual and temporal ently explains, when Guinevere was te S Daus' t! H ait te t ith Lancelot). tly devs in Mecopotarais and head of Christendom, has wit has been said on occasions that the Egypt, they were anointed with prevailed regardless. great genius of 19th-century composer the fat of the sacred Messeh (the Richard Wagner was that he recognised holy dragon or crocodile). By the Ring saga as a version of the Grail virtue of this, they were also Quest. However, if anything, the reverse called Dragons. The Dragon, emblematic of wisdom, was the is true. What he recognised was that the popular Holy Grail leg- epitome of the Holy Spirit which, according to the Book of ends were, in fact, stylised retellings of the more traditional Ring Genesis, moved upon the waters of time, while the Grail was the Quest. perpetual Blood Royal—the Sangréal. Originally, in old Both Richard Wagner and Alfred, Lord Tennyson (in his Mesopotamia, it was called the Gra-al—the Sacred Blood of the Arthurian writings) understood that the Grail Quest was a spiritual Dragon Queens—and it was said to be the "nectar of supreme aspect of the Ring Quest, but that in essence they were alike, if excellence". The ancient Greeks called it ambrosia. not the same. What they also recognised was the fact that both The concept of fairies (the fair folk) was born directly from this the Ring and the Grail could bring disaster, though by different base, being a derivative of "fey" and relating especially to "fate". means. The power of the Ring had to be withstood, otherwise it In the Celtic world, certain royal families (especially those of the would enslave its master, whereas the power of the Grail would Pendragons, or Head Dragons) were said to carry the Fairy retaliate with vengeance if misused. Either way, the moral is the Blood—that is to say, the fate or destiny of the Grail Bloodline— same in that, ultimately, power is self-destructive when achieved while the Elf Maidens of the Albi-gens were the designated through selling one's soul. Hence, the Ouroboros Ring can be a guardians of the Earth, starlight and forest. halo or a crown, but it can equally become a noose. But how was it that the dragons, fairies and elves of history Adolf Hitler's fanatical obsession with finding the Hallows of became enveloped within a shroud of supernatural enigma? Why Grail Castle was a prime example of this misconceived notion of was it that their stories were moved from the world of reality into power. In his search for the Hallows, he obtained an ancient lance a domain of romance and nursery tale? What had all this to do (said to have been used by Charlemagne) which he insisted was with the Donation of Constantine? the Longinus spear that pierced the side of Jesus at the To answer these questions, we must now step through the Portal Crucifixion. This, he reckoned, was the sacred Spear of Destiny, of Enchantment into the Twilight Realm of the Shining Ones, for so revered in Grail lore. With this in his possession, Hitler was theirs is the enlightened Realm of the Ring Lords. confident that his empire would be as strong as that of Three Rings for the Elven Kings under the sky. Seven for the Dwarf Lords in their halls of stone. Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die. One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne, In the Land of Mordor where the shadows lie. One Ring to rule them all. One Ring to find them. One Ring to bring them all And in the darkness bind them, In the Land of Mordor where the shadows lie. 58 + NEXUS AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 1999