Realm of the Ring Lords: The Myth and Magic of the Grail Quest - Hardcover

Gardner, Laurence

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1931412944 ISBN 13: 9781931412940

Publisher: Fair Winds Pr, 2002

Synopsis

The magical history of the Ring Lords, alluded to in J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Lord of the Rings, has been largely consigned to legend and half-remembered battles between good and evil. Shrouded in supernatural enigma, its legacy lives on in fascinating tales of fairies, elves, witches, and vampires.

The most popular Grail stories relate to Arthurian tales of Guinevere’s golden Ring and the great iron-clad Ring of Camelot—the Knights of the Round Table. When this Ring was broken, the land fell into chaos and the forces of darkness reigned over the earth, starlight, and forest.

Why do we sense deeper truths behind the mysteries of the Ring and the Grail? Why have their common enhancements been distorted and hidden?

The ancient guardians of our culture have never featured positively in academic teachings, for they were the Shining Ones: the real progenitors of our heritage. Instead, their reality was quashed from the earliest days of Inquisitional suppression and the literal diminution of their figures caused a parallel diminishing of their history. In truth, however, the sovereign legacy of our culture comes from a place and time that might just as well be called Middle-earth as by any other name. It lingers beyond the twilight portal in the long distant realm of the Ring Lords.

About this title

Review

Laurence Gardner's previous books, such as The Bloodline of the Holy Grail, have concentrated on revealing details of the supposed bloodline of Jesus first outlined in Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln's famous The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, leading to the French Merovingian kings and beyond. But rather than becoming entangled in the Rennes-le-Château mystery, Gardner's focus is on re-establishing the Stuart lineage of "HRH Prince Michael of Albany". Both men are leading members of various alternative chivalric Orders and organisations (which are not recognised by official bodies such as the College of Arms or its Scottish equivalent, the Lyon Court).

Whatever you think of the validity of Gardner's claims, there is no doubt that his books can be a fascinating read, and none more so than the third in his series, Realm of the Ring Lords, in which he discovers and explores the Grail and Ring basis of much of European folklore and fairy tales. The Ring--best known from Tolkien and from Wagner's Ring Cycle--is a major focus of Norse and Germanic myth and legend, in the Eddas (especially the Volsunga Saga) and the Nibelungenlied. Gardner extends his search way beyond these stories, bringing in the origins and significance of (amongst others) Robin Hood, Santa Claus, Dracula--and Lorna Doone!

Adding to the interest of Gardner's new revelations about familiar and well-loved folk stories are the illustrations, from some stunning Pre-Raphaelite paintings to the brightly-coloured children's picture-book style of Peter Robson, "Court Painter to the Royal House of Stewart". Like Gardner's earlier books Realm of the Ring Lords is controversial, and will no doubt have many detractors, but folk tales and the world of faery are always worth revisiting, and can bear many reinterpretations. --David V Barrett

From the Publisher

Brings together the mysteries of the Ring and the Grail
'Realm of the Ring Lords' brings together for the very first time in one arena the mysteries of the legendary quests for the Ring and the Grail. From Arthurian romance to the world of J. R. R. Tolkien, these stories are enveloped within the magical lore of Elphame - however the myths are based on no mere fantasy, but on an engaging and continual history of real characters and events. Time-honoured tales of fairies, elves and dragons have long carried a particular fascination which lingers in our collective psyche - a familiar but historical allure which is rooted in the far-distant realm of the Scythian Ring Lords. Dealing with numerous aspects, from Sleeping Beauty to Robin Hood and Count Dracula, the author reveals how a prestigious sovereign heritage has been strategically suppressed by parliamentary and church dictate, facilitated by a forged document which has controlled all monarchical and governmental practices in Western Europe for over 1200 years.

Edition details

• Publisher: Fair Winds Pr
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1931412944
• ISBN 13: 9781931412940
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 432