Storm and Sword
Storm and Sword
Jessie Weston's From Ritual to Romance, the scholarly book on the origins of the Grail romances, was the inspiration for this particular mixed-media piece. "Storm and Sword" refers to Chapter 13, entitled 'The Perilous Chapel.' In it, Miss Weston describes a chapel, a sacred temple of an ancient nature religion. On a bier at the front of the sanctuary, a dead knight lies. Candles surround him. According to different versions of the story, there are different numbers of candelabra and their placement varies also. A huge and threatening hand bearing a candlestick occurs in the legend - as does the appearance of a ghost-like horse's bridle in another variation. Meanwhile a storm rages outside. Various Grail legend protagonists happen upon the sacred place as they travel on individual quests. One of these heroes is the Lady Garadigan, who has dared to undertake an adventure by herself - an expedition that many men did not venture to undertake. She enters the chapel, and she unbuckles the dead knight's sword and wields it for herself. She will return, sword in hand, to the court where she was challenged, having succeeded in this task of her mission - but that is another story. Finally, Storm and Sword, like all of my illustrations of myths, is meant to be a surrealistic reinterpretation.