Mandalaband

Mandalaband IV: ‘AD - Sangreal

  1. A Bloodline Born 5 mins 43 secs
  2. Magdalena 7 mins 06 secs
  3. Palatium Britannicum 4 mins 25 secs
  4. England's Heart and Soul 6 mins 02 secs
  5. Sancto Laurent 2 mins 50 secs
  6. Flight to Osca 3 mins 12 secs
  7. Visigoths 6 mins 38 secs
  8. Saracens 7 mins 43 secs
  9. Al-Andalus 3 mins 31 secs
  10. Unholy Orders 4 mins 22 secs
  11. The Kingdom of Aragon 6 mins 33 secs
  12. Holy Orders 4 mins 12 secs
  13. Le Perche Val 4 mins 08 secs
  14. Anfortas Rex 4 mins 34 secs
  15. Galadriel [Bonus Track] 4 mins 21 secs

Total Running Time: 76 mins

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Mandalaband IV Videos

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The Legends Behind the Music

1. A Bloodline Born by Jose Manuel Medina & David Rohl; vocal by Marc Atkinson

There is a powerful legend that originates in the Romano-Spanish world which tells the tale of the cup used by Christ to celebrate the eucharist at the Last Supper, on the night before the crucifixion. It is on Jerusalem's Calvary that Mary Magdalene's uncle, Joseph of Arimathea, is said to have collected the blood of Christ in a red agate cup, later known as the legendary Sangreal (Holy Grail).

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2. Magdalena by Jose Manuel Medina & David Rohl; vocal by Marc Atkinson

Some of the disciples, including Joseph and the Magdalene, depart by sea to spread the teachings of Christ. They land in southern France where Mary Magdalene settles in the mountains of Provence, living as a hermit in the Grotto of St Baume.

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3. Palatium Britannicum by Ashley Mulford and David Rohl; vocals by Ashley Mulford and Marc Atkinson

Amongst Joseph's converts is Linus, son of Caradoc (whom Tacitus calls Caractacus) the Silurian king of south Wales. When Caractacus is captured by the Romans during the invasion of Britain under Emperor Claudius, Caradoc and his family are taken in chains to Rome to be executed during the triumph parade. However, in a brilliant speech before the Senate, the British king appeals to the emperor's sense of justice and magnanimity and as a result, Claudius pardons Caradoc and provides him with a palace in Rome, known as Palatium Britannicum. There the British Christian royal family receive Paul and Peter upon their arrival in Rome.

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4. England's Heart and Soul by David Rohl; vocal by David Rohl

All this time Prince Linus has had the Sangreal in his possession. It had been passed down to him by his grandfather, Bran the Blessed (Caradoc's father) who in turn received the Grail from Joseph of Arimathea before he died. As the bearer of the cup of Christ, Linus is ordained by Peter to become the first bishop of Rome, celebrating the early Christian mass with the original cup of the Passover Eucharist.

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5. Sancto Laurent by David Rohl; vocal by David Rohl

Two centuries later, in AD 258, the Sangreal is still in the possession of the Roman church ... but the Valerian persecution of the Christians is now in full swing. Pope Sixtus II instructs his Spanish deacon and treasurer, Lorenzo (St Laurence) to keep the Sangreal out of the clutches of Emperor Valerian at all costs. The Pope is captured and quickly beheaded. Lorenzo is tortured and roasted to death on a grid iron.

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6. Flight to Osca by Ashley Mulford and David Rohl

But the Sangreal is already safely on its way to the city of Osca (Huesca) in Spain where Lorenzo's family home is located. The sacred cup is carried over the Pyrenees by the Christian knight Priscelius and down into the land which was later to become the Visigoth Kingdom of Aragon. And so the Spanish legend of the Holy Grail begins with a flight from Rome to northern Hispania.

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7. Visigoths by David Rohl; vocal by Marc Atkinson

In AD 410 Rome is sacked by Visigoth mercenaries, originally hired by the Julian emperors to police the Roman empire. The Visigoths then move westwards, first to the Languedoc and Aquitania, and then over the Pyrenees into Spain, pushing the Vandals across the Pillars of Hercules into north Africa.

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8. Saracens by Jose Manuel Medina and David Rohl; vocal by David Rohl

9. Al-Andalus by David Rohl; vocal by David Rohl

10. Unholy Orders by Ashley Mulford and David Rohl; vocal by Ashley Mulford

The Gothic kingdoms of Hispania flourish for three centuries until the Muslim invasion in 711. The Moors spend seven years capturing most of Spain, all but for the small kingdom of Asturias, beyond the northern mountains, where the Visigoth king Pelagius holds out against the Muslim army. The Moors go on to invade France but are stopped at Poitier in 732 by the Franks, led by Charles Martel ("the Hammer") grandfather of the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne.

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11. The Kingdom of Aragon by Jose Manuel Medina, David Rohl and Cindy Spear; vocal by Dave Durant

Meanwhile, fearing for the safety of the Sangreal, the bishop of Osca sends the cup into hiding within the foothills of the Pyrenees, where it ends up at the secret fortified monastery of San Juan de la Peña (the legendary Grail Castle).

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12. Holy Orders by David Rohl and Kim Turner; vocal by Marc Atkinson

13. Le Perche Val by Ashley Mulford and David Rohl; vocals by Ashley Mulford and David Rohl

14. Anfortas Rex by David Rohl; vocal by David Rohl

The greatest of these Aragonese rulers is Alfonso el-Batallador ("the Battler") - Anfortas Rex of the Grail romances. His trusted commander is the French knight Rotrou III, Count of Perche, known as Perche Val (Perceval of the romances).

The Sangreal, now mounted in a glistening chalice of gold and pearls, remains in San Juan de la Peña, guarded by the Knights Templar, until its removal in 1399 - first to Zaragosa, then Barcelona and finally to Valencia in 1437 where it stands today in its own chapel within the cathedral.

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