"If there is anyone who has emerged from the crowded field of medieval mysteries to take the place of the late Ellis Peters, it is Peter Tremayne." --Denver Post on Master of Souls Ireland AD 670: When an eminent scholar is found murdered in his cell in the Abbey of Lios Mor, fear spreads among his brethren. His door was secured from the inside, with no other means of exit. How did the murderer escape? And what was the content of the manuscripts apparently stolen from the scholar's room? Abbot Iarnla insists on sending for Sister Fidelma and her companion Brother Eadulf to investigate the killing. But even before they reach the abbey walls, there is an attempt on their lives. As the mystery deepens, Fidelma and Eadulf must also wrestle with problems of their own, problems which threaten to separate them forever...

Reveals the discovery of an artifact that many experts believe may be the Holy Grail • Traces the journey of the Grail from the Holy Land to Rome and eventually to a ruined chapel in Shropshire, England • Uncovers new evidence identifying the historical King Arthur and his connection to the Holy Grail The popular Arthurian stories of the Middle Ages depict the Holy Grail as Christ’s cup from the Last Supper, which was believed to have been endowed with miraculous healing powers and the ability to give eternal life to whoever drank from it. A much earlier tradition, however, claimed the Grail was the vessel used by Mary Magdalene to collect Christ’s blood when he appeared to her after rising from the tomb. While many vessels were claimed to have been the true Grail, there was only one thought to have been the chalice used by Mary. From Jesus’ empty tomb, where it remained for almost 400 years, this holy relic known as the Marian Chalice was taken to Rome by the mother of the first Christian emperor, Constantine the Great. It was then smuggled from Rome in 410 A.D., according to the fifth-century historian Olympiodorus, to save it from the barbarians who sacked the city. Well into the Middle Ages legend persisted that it had been taken to safety in Britain, the last outpost of Roman civilization in Western Europe. This journey to England, and what happened to the Chalice there, is the focus of this book. Graham Phillips’s research uncovers the secret legacy of an ancient noble family over generations and a trail of clues hidden in the English countryside that lead to a mysterious grotto, a forgotten attic, and the lost chalice. In tracing the relic, Phillips offers the inside story behind an astonishing adventure that results in the identification of the historical King Arthur and the location of one of the most powerful symbols in Western tradition.

THE HOLY GRAIL IS ONE of the most powerful myths in Western Culture. At the centre of this myth is the story of the chalice containing the Holy Blood of Christ, shed when Longinus pierced his side at the crucifixion. The search for the Grail has inspired artists and mystics for hundreds of years. Many churches and cathedrals were built on sites that claimed their part in this sacred mystery. IMBUED WITH THE SPIRIT OF the ancient quest and aware of its power as an antidote to our modern spiritual malaise, Ean and Deike Begg travelled throughout Europe, researching sites of the Holy Grail, the Precious Blood and their associated myths. This book is an illustrated account of their search and a practical, informative guidebook for travellers and seekers. It is full of fascinating information, such as the name of the Spanish cathedral that holds the cup of the Last Supper, the story of how a fig tree carried the Precious Blood to France and the secrets of the Grail castles of Germany. 'I believe that Ean and Deike Begg have done something of great importance in exploring the myth of the Holy Grail that played such a vital part in the deeps of Jung's spirit, and in re-establishing how now it is still one of the most dynamic elements in the search of the lost and bewildered modern soul for wholeness.'-Sir Laurens van der Post 'Deike and Ean Begg have revitalized the idea of pilgrimage.'-Michael Baigent 'An exemplary and vividly written guide to the many strange and beautiful sites associated with the Grail quest throughout Europe.'-Count Nikolai Tolstoy

Jesus: His Story in Stone is a reflection on still-existing stone objects that Jesus would have known, seen, or even touched. Each of the seventy short chapters is accompanied by a photograph taken on location in Israel. Arranged chronologically, the one-page meditations compose a portrait of Christ as seen through the significant stones in His life, from the cave where He was born to the rock of Calvary. While packed with historical and archaeological detail, the book’s main thrust is devotional, leading the reader both spiritually and physically closer to Jesus.

"Blue Ice" is not an attempt to be catchy or complicated. These are just words that give away emotion and substance to the expressions that fall all around "thin ice". They are just words that apply to what I write about most - relationships of the intimate kind - often those not considerate of our welfare or worth. I have wrestled an almost innate need to rescue and fix people, obeying false commandments and paying penance to procure my own good, and believe I deserve it. What makes it too daring to save ourselves before extending an arm through shards of blue ice, clutching a hand held offering... still beating? I do not want you to think this is a dark book shrilling prophetic doom in contorted faces. It is about rising up on the power of our own self-worth. It is about being anchored by the shouts from lamp lit watch towers, old draw bridges, and warmed stick built shacks - everywhere. If there is obscurity in my poems and stories, it's so you may see yourself in a few words, a phrase or sentence, and chisel or sculpt what you need to find in one spring fed pocket of air that you are not alone. ... it is in the wrestling with cold swirling waters that we find our bliss, sustain it breath by breath, and round by round. Am I on thin ice? Maybe, but I can see blue a safe distance away. Just words...

Veneration of the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ is a devotion as old as our Holy Faith. In "Glories of the Precious Blood," Fr. Max Walz powerfully revisits the seven times that Christ shed His Precious Blood, poignantly reminding us just how much Jesus and His Father love us. These pages readily inspire a devotion to the Precious Blood, and Fr. Walz lays out a number of ways readers can nurture this devotion: through praying the Rosary and chaplets dedicated to the Precious Blood, meditating on the Passion of Our Crucified Savior, and prayerfully dedicating each day of the week to one of the seven different times Christ shed His Blood. "Those who are oppressed by the memory of their sins, diffident about the efficacy of their prayers or doubtful about their salvation, should experience an awakening of confidence through devotion to the Precious Blood." - Fr Max Walz

The extraordinary array of images included in this volume reveals the full and rich history of the Middle Ages. Exploring material objects from the European, Byzantine and Islamic worlds, the book casts a new light on the cultures that formed them, each culture illuminated by its treasures. The objects are divided among four topics: The Holy and the Faithful; The Sinful and the Spectral; Daily Life and Its Fictions, and Death and Its Aftermath. Each section is organized chronologically, and every object is accompanied by a penetrating essay that focuses on its visual and cultural significance within the wider context in which the object was made and used. Spot maps add yet another way to visualize and consider the significance of the objects and the history that they reveal. Lavishly illustrated, this is an appealing and original guide to the cultural history of the Middle Ages.