A new book has been published which re-examines the history of the famous ‘Welsh Holy Grail’, known widely as the Nanteos Cup.

According to one local tradition the cup was the very chalice Christ used at the Last Supper, and was subject of worldwide publicity in 2014 when it was stolen from a house in Herefordshire.

The book, The Nanteos Grail: The Evolution of a Holy Relic, is an in-depth and dedicated history of the cup, chronicling its story from its medieval origins up to the present time. The work is a collaboration between writers John Matthews, Fred Stedman-Jones and Ian Pegler.

John has been a writer for more than 40 years on myth, folklore and ancient traditions. He was awarded a BAFTA for his work as an historical advisor on the movie King Arthur (2004), and his book Pirates (Carlton/Athenaeum) was a number one New York Times bestseller for 22 weeks in 2005.

Ian is a regular reader at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth and has researched Welsh history and legends for many years.

Fred was chairman of the Pendragon Society and an acknowledged expert on the Nanteos Cup; he was the consultant behind the scenes for a number of documentaries on the Holy Grail which he researched for over 30 years.

The collective research effort took many years. A treasure trove of new discoveries have been made and the documented history of the cup and it stories can now be pushed further back in time. The book also dispels many assumptions and myths about the cup.

Ian said: “A few years ago I found a reference to the Nanteos Cup in an old Welsh Journal dating to 1828. The discovery was made simply by using Google and it blows away any notion that the cup was dug up during late 19th Century excavations at Strata Florida. It confirms that by 1828 the cup was widely-known in the locality and that the healing tradition was already in place. We now know that the connection with the Holy Grail goes back to at least 1879. Previously it was thought that there was no mention of it prior to the 20th century.”

Archaeologists and antiquarians have long believed that the cup dates to the middle-ages although rigorous scientific methods (such as radio-carbon dating) have never been allowed as they would damage the Cup.

The Nanteos Cup is on permanent display in the National Library of Wales and the new book is widely available online and in local bookshops including Siop Inc, Siop y Pethe and the National Library of Wales.