HOLY RELICS.
THE NANTEOS CUP.
There is preserved at the mansion of Nanteos, near Aberystwyth, a sacred healing cup known in Welsh as the “Phiol,” which interesting relic was shown me a few years ago by Mrs. W. B. Powell, to whom, and to the genial Squire, I am indebted for much kindness and respect. In the same week an intelligent and wealthy Roman Catholic lady—an invalid—came all the way from London, as she had such faith in the efficacy and healing virtues of the Sacred Cup.
The Cup is of a very dark wood and supposed to have been formed from the wood of the true Cross, and it seems to have been preserved in the Abbey of Strata Florida. At the time of the Dissolution, the Abbey, lands and goods, were given to the Stedman family, who also carefully preserved the relic, and from that family it passed over to the Powells as well as the demesne.
THE HEALING CUP.
Until a few years ago it was usual for people who were ill, especially those suffering from hemorrhage to send to Nanteos for the loan of this healing cup, as it was supposed to possess healing power which could only be called miraculous, and there are many instances of cures believed to have been effected by taking food and medicine or wine out of the cup. It is a great pity that this interesting relic is now in an unshapely condition, having been considerably damaged by some of the patients who were not content with drinking from it, but tried to bite away parts of the cup itself.
It is quite possible that this holy relic was the chalice therein our Lord consecrated the wine and water at the institution of the Eucharist, and in which was said to be preserved some of the blood which fell from the Saviour’s wounds as he hung on the cross.
NANTEOS MANSION, where the Healing Cup is preserved.
Reproduced from the drawing by A. Weight Matthews, in “Cardiganshire and its Antiquities,” 1903, by permission of George Eyre Evans.
In an interesting little book written five years ago, by Miss Ethelwyn M. Amery, B.A., entitled “Sought and Found,” the writer, after giving the story of the the Holy Grail, concludes. “Not far from the sea-side town of Aberystwyth, in Mid-Wales, stands the House of Nanteos, the country seat of the Powells. The family is an ancient one; it was ancient in the days of the Reformation, and is possessed of all the traditions of antiquity, including a phantom coach, which foretells death. To this house came, one summer’s day, a party of holiday-makers from Aberystwyth—ordinary twentieth century people, with all the most up-to-date ideas—and to them was shown the house and its treasures. There was old armour in the hall, old china in the gallery, a wonderful carved arch in the drawing-room, and many other things which attract the sightseer, attracted one and another of the party. But there were a few who had no eyes for these things; to them the centre of interest was found in a small glass, carefully covered with silk, which was brought out to the lawn from its home in the library, so that all might more easily see it. Now those who looked at this case wondered what this treasure could be which was thus carefully guarded, and when the cover was withdrawn, the astonishment of many more than equalled their previous curiosity, for in this case was a fragment of wood, at first sight shapeless and worm-eaten (and many saw no more than this), but those who looked more closely saw that this worm-eaten fragment was shaped like a wooden bowl about five inches high, of which one side was broken nearly down to the foot, and the other part was roughly held together by two rivets. Many having seen this were satisfied, and went away, but some listened to what their hostess told them concerning the cup, and this is the story she told:
“‘Many years ago, when Henry VIII. was destroying the Monasteries, his servants came into Wales, and hearing of an ancient Monastery among the hills, where only seven old monks remained to guard their treasure, he determined to destroy the Abbey and seize their goods. But the monks were warned by friendly neighbours, and fled by night, bearing their treasure with them. Their journey was long and dangerous for such old men, but they reached the House of Nanteos in safety, and deposited the treasure they had suffered so much to save. One by one the old monks died, and at the point of death he entrusted the treasure to the owner of the house that had sheltered them, until the Church should once more claim its own. But the Church has not yet claimed it, and it is that treasure of the monks which you now see.’
“And again some were satisfied and went away, only wondering that the old monks risked their lives for so small a thing. But those who remained heard further, that the monks had regarded this cup as sacred. Many reasons were given for this: one was that it had a Communion Chalice, another that it possessed miraculous power of healing, but the true reason is told only to the few who press closely for it, and it is thus:—
“Not for its healing properties alone was this cup treasured, not because from it the Monks had received the Communion wine; the cup was older than the Monastery—indeed, the Monastery had been built to receive it; it had been handed down from Abbott to Abbott through the ages, and in each age its secret was told to one or two, that they might guard it the more carefully, for this cup is none other than the one from which our Lord drank at the Last Supper—the cup so eagerly sought for by King Arthur’s knights; found and handled by many, who, because of their blindness were unable to perceive the treasure which was before them; seen and realized by the pure knight Galahad, and then hidden from common touch and sight during the sinful days which followed, but preserved carefully through them all, and powerful even yet to give to those who will wait for it, a faint—alas! very faint—glimpse of Galahad’s vision, and to remind them that even yet ‘The pure in heart shall see God.’”
Just as I am sending this to the press, Mrs. Powell of Nanteos, showed me a letter which she had just received from a noble French lady begging her to send to her in a letter, an handkerchief, or ever a rag, which had been tied round this Healing Cup for 24 hours.
THE STAFF OF ST. CURIG.
In the Church of St. Harmon, Radnorshire, was once preserved a pastoral staff supposed to have belonged to St. Curig, the founder of Llangurig, in Montgomeryshire. Giraldus Cambrensis says that this staff was “covered on all sides with gold and silver, and resembling in its upper part the form of a cross; its efficacy has been proved in many cases, but particularly in the removal of glandular and strenuous swellings.”
PENGLOG TEILO (TEILO’S SKULL.)
A relic known as “Penglog Teilo” is still preserved at Llandilo Llwydiarth, Pembrokeshire. I give a full account of it in my chapter on Holy Wells.