Product Description The story of King Arthur and the Grail still holds a remarkable fascination for many people. In this classic work, Walter Johannes Stein traces its origins in early Christianity and classical and Nordic mythology, and follows its development in medieval and modern times. In particular, Stein explores the parallels between the quest for the Grail and the medieval alchemists search for the Philosopher's Stone.
The Death of Merlin collects Stein's essays and lectures from the 1920s and 1930s. The first section contains Stein's memoirs, which provide context for his research within the culture of the era.
Customer Reviews:
Dr. Stein's other worksSeptember 4, 2008 WJ Stein is best known for the legendary and groundbreaking investigation into the Grail mythos in his, "The Ninth Century and the Holy Grail" which is a superb anthroposophically inspired work of sound scholarly research. This work regrettably became well known as a result of the "liberties" taken with it by Trevor Ravenscroft in his book the "Spear of Destiny" which made quite a splash in esoteric circles when it came out. Stein was a personal student of Rudolf Steiner and was asked by Steiner to be one of the teachers at the first Waldorf school in Stuttgart.
In the "Death of Merlin" we find a collection of articles and essays as well as a brief autobiography of Stein taken from the 1920's and 30's. These are interesting essays but break no new ground for those readers seeking continued indepth research and analysis as that found in his holy grail work. Recommended for Anthroposophists and students of 20th century German influenced esoterica.
