Illustration of Prester John in the Grail Diary
Prester John was a legendary priest-king during the middle-ages.
Biography[]
Wolfram von Eschenbach had connected Prester John with the Holy Grail as his keeper. He was said to be 562 years old.[1]
Marco Polo wrote that the Prester John perished before the blade of Genghis Khan.[2]
Henry Jones mentioned him and his connection to the Grail legend in his Grail Diary.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
Prester John is not mentioned in any dialogue nor has any role in the Indiana Jones stories, however Wolfram von Eschenbach had connected him with the legend of the Grail; a picture of him can be seen when Henry Jones skims through the Grail Diary, in the zeppelin scene of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.[3]
In the actual Grail Diary prop, the following lines mention Prester John, written by Henry (actually copied from the Quest of the Eternal book by the filmmakers):[1]
- what better place than this spiritual no-man's-land, between this world and the next, at a slight remove from reality but still 'historically' attested to, for the earthly home of the grail, sometimes called lapis exulis, which has been interpreted as the wish for Paradise? It is precisely here that Wolfram places it, by inference if not in actuality, by making the eventual guardian of the Grail Prestor John said to be 562 years old!
- And in the next page The true and proper home of the Grail is Paradise, the perfect realm of the spirit where the Priest King John, its last guardian reigns benignly from his castle within the garden of Earthly Delights
Appearances[]
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Pictured only) (Indirect mention)
Sources[]
- The Adventures of Indiana Jones
- Indiana Jones and the Lands of Adventure
- From Star Wars To Indiana Jones - The Best of the Lucasfilm Archives (Captioned incorrectly as Prestor John)
- Grail Diary (prop replica)
