1535944

[SUSANNA KEENE.FTW]

REF: "Britannia Internet Magazine": Joseph of Arimathea was a
wealthy disciple of Jesus, who, according to the book of
Matthew 27:57-60, asked Pontius Pilate for permission to take
Jesus' dead body in order to prepare it for burial. He also
provided the tomb where the crucified Lord was laid until his
Resurrection. Joseph is mentioned in a few times in parallel
passages in Mark, Luke and John, but nothing further is heard
about his later activities. Legend, however, supplies us with
the rest of his story by claiming that Joseph, accompanying the
Apostle Philip on a preaching mission to Gaul, was sent to
Britain for the purpose of converting the island to
Christianity. The year 63 AD is commonly given for this
"event", with 37 AD sometimes being put forth as an
alternative. It was said that Joseph achieved his wealth in the
metals trade, and in the course of conducting his business, he
probably became acquainted with Britain, at least the
southwestern parts of it. Cornwall was a chief mining district
and
well-known in the Roman empire for its tin and other metals.
Some have even said that Joseph was the uncle of Jesus, and
that he may have brought the young boy along on one of his
business trips to the island. It was only natural, then, that
Joseph should have been chosen for the first mission to
Britain, and appropriate that he should come first to
Glastonbury, that gravitational center for legendary activity
in the West Country. Much more was added to Joseph's legend
during the middle ages, and he was gradually inflated into a
major saint and cult hero. For example, he is said to have
brought with him either a cup, said to have been used at the
Last Supper and also used to catch the blood dripping from
Christ as he hung on the Cross. A variation of this story is
that Joseph brought with him two cruets, one containing the
blood and the other, the sweat of Christ. Either of these items
are known as The Holy Grail, and were the object(s) of the
quests of the Knights of King Arthur's Round Table. The legend
goes on to suggest that Joseph hid the "Grail" in Chalice Well
at Glastonbury for safe-keeping. There is a wide variance of
scholarly opinion on this subject,
however, and a good deal of doubt exists as to whether Joseph
ever came to Britain at all, for any purpose.

Records not imported into INDI (individual) Gramps ID I3169:

Line ignored as not understood Line 74167: 2 SOUR @S085410@
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Skipped subordinate line Line 74169: 4 TEXT Date of Import: Aug 7, 2000