Holy Grail: Did you mean...?

The facade of the Gothic Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Orléans, France. 13-16th century CE.

Illustration of an enthroned Charles the Bald, Holy Roman Emperor (r. 875-877 CE), King of West Francia (r. 843–877) and Italy (r. 875–877). Copied by G.W. Hutin, 1821, from a 9th-century manuscript of the Gospels. The British Museum, London...

Gold coin of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, minted in Sicily between 1211-1250 CE. Weighs 5.2 grammes and measures 20 mm (British Museum, London)

Jerusalem, a holy city for the adherents of all three great monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) was conquered by the armies of the First Crusade in 1099 CE. The Muslims failed to halt their advance, as they were themselves...

Enlil in the E-Kur (circa 2000 BCE) is a Sumerian hymn praising the sky god Enlil, his temple/ziggurat at Nippur, and his consort Ninlil, depicting all three in glowing terms and Enlil as a creator god. The piece is highly regarded as an...

Stained glass from St Etheldreda's church in Ely Place, London.

Guinevere is the Queen of Britain, wife of King Arthur, and lover of Sir Lancelot in the Arthurian Legends best known in their standardized form from Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur (1469 CE). She first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's...

Shulgi and Ninlil's Barge is a Sumerian poem dated to the reign of Shulgi of Ur (2094 - circa 2046 BCE) celebrating the caulking of the barge of the goddess Ninlil, consort of the sky god Enlil, and the banquet held in the couple's honor...

The Debate Between Sheep and Grain (c. 2000 BCE) is one of the best-known Sumerian literary debates in a genre that was popular entertainment by the late 3rd millennium BCE. In this piece, personifications of grain and sheep argue which is...

Dr Thomas Asbridge presents a revelatory account of the Crusades, the 200-year war between Christians and Muslims for control of the Holy Land. The story of the Crusades is remembered as a tale of religious fanaticism and unspeakable violence...