The meaning and derivation of the term Holy
Grail: DVC
"The word Sangreal derives from San
Greal -- or Holy Grail. But in its most ancient form, the word Sangreal
was divided in a different spot." . . . Sang Real literally meant
Royal Blood. (p. 249-50)
The meaning and derivation of the term Holy
Grail: Truth
The earliest form was simply graal, a
common noun referring to a serving dish.
The word was first used to indicate a
particular (initially mysterious and later specifically holy) object by
Chretien de Troyes in the late twelfth century.
The dish of the Last Supper and the
vessel of the Deposition was offered by Robert de Boron in the early
thirteenth century.
The form described by Brown as 'the most
ancient' first occurred, in fact, some 250 years later, with Henry
Lovelich, in the mid-fifteenth century.
(, Edwin Erle Sparks
Professor of French and Medieval Studies at Pensylvania State
University, "" (Arthuriana 14.3: 2004) p. 87)