The Cup of Life is an immensely powerful magical artifact of the Old Religion. Blessed by centuries of powerful sorcerers, it contains the secret of life itself and can be used to heal the dying, resurrect the dead, and create armies of the undead.
History
Ancient Days
Centuries before the reign of Uther Pendragon, the Cup of Life fell in to the possession of a great warlord. He took a drop of blood from every man in his army and collected it in the Cup. Such was the vessel's power that the soldiers were made immortal where they stood.
The warlord's immortal army wrought unimaginable carnage throughout the land. Only when the Cup was emptied of the blood that it contained was the enchantment broken and the army destroyed (The Coming of Arthur).
With Nimueh
When Arthur was bitten by the Questing Beast, Merlin traveled to the Isle of the Blessed in search of a cure. He agreed to trade his life for Arthur's and in return the High Priestess Nimueh gave him water from the Cup of Life. Merlin took the water back to Camelot and gave it to Gaius, who used it to save Arthur.
However, Merlin later discovered that Nimueh had taken his mother's life to save Arthur instead of his own. To stop Merlin from sacrificing himself again, Gaius went to the Isle of the Blessed and offered his own life for Hunith's. Nimueh accepted his offer and used the Cup to trade Gaius' life for Hunith's.
When Merlin arrived at the Isle and saw what Nimueh had done, he angrily confronted her and eventually defeated her by striking her with lightning. Merlin assumed that the Cup was also destroyed in the blast, but the Cup survived and eventually fell into the hands of a Druid clan in Cenred's Kingdom (Le Morte d'Arthur, The Coming of Arthur).
Fall of Camelot
After a Camelot patrol was slaughtered for trespassing onto Cenred's lands, a group of Druids found them and began searching for survivors. They found Sir Leon and took him back to their camp, where Iseldir used the Cup of Life to heal him.
Sir Leon recovered from his wounds and returned to Camelot, where he informed the court of what had happened. Fearing what would happen if the Cup fell into the wrong hands, Uther sent Arthur on a secret quest to retrieve it from the Druids. The quest was successful and the Druids gave the Cup to Arthur, though Iseldir telepathically entrusted Merlin with its safe keeping.
However, Morgana had informed Morgause of the Cup's discovery and the High Priestess conspired with Cenred to ambush Arthur as he returned to Camelot. Cenred's soldiers stole the Cup from Arthur and Morgause used it to make Cenred's army immortal. She then killed Cenred and used the army to conquer Camelot and install Morgana as Queen (The Coming of Arthur).
Restoration
When Arthur led the Knights of the Round Table to rescue his father from the citadel, Merlin and Lancelot split off from the group and went in search of the Cup of Life. Armed with the sword Excalibur, they battled their way to the throne room and destroyed the soldiers guarding the Cup.
After a showdown with Morgause, Merlin used Excalibur to knocked the Cup from its pedestal, spilling the blood and destroying the immortal army (The Coming of Arthur).
Description
The Cup of Life is a simple golden chalice that holds untold magical power. It was blessed by centuries of powerful sorcerers until it contained the very secret of life itself. The Cup held so much power that it was made completely indestructible; its power was eternal and unbound by time or place (Le Morte d'Arthur, The Coming of Arthur).
Uses
The Cup of Life has three known uses:
- The creation of life, either by resurrecting the dead or healing someone who is about to die a certain, unavoidable death. However, for a life to be created, another life must be taken. Only the most powerful of sorcerers, those that hold dominion over life and death, can perform such a ritual successfully.
- To save the life of a mortally wounded person. A sip of water collected in the Cup will instantly heal someone from any sickness or injury. This does not require the life of another.
- To create an army of the living dead, one that is unquestioningly loyal to its user. This is done by filling the Cup with a drop of blood from each man in the army and casting an enchantment. Conversely, emptying the Cup of the blood will destroy the army instantly.
Appearances
- Series 1
- Le Morte d'Arthur
- Series 3
- The Coming of Arthur
Trivia
- Morgause told Morgana that she had been searching for the Cup for a long time (The Coming of Arthur).
- It is unknown what happened to the Cup after the Fall of Camelot, but it is generally assumed that it was secured deep in Camelot's vaults (The Coming of Arthur).
In the Legend
The Cup of Life is likely an allusion to the Holy Grail, a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian legend. The Grail is traditionally described as a cup, dish, or stone with miraculous healing powers, sometimes to the extent of providing eternal youth or sustenance. It is often hidden away in a castle in the custody of the Fisher King.
The Grail first appeared in Percivel, the Story of the Grail, which was written by Chrétien de Troyes around 1190. The story inspired many continuations, among them Robert de Boron's portrayal of the Grail as Jesus's vessel from the Last Supper in the 1190s, after which the Grail became interwoven with the legend of the Holy Chalice in works such as the Lancelot-Grail cycle and Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.
Though Christianity is never directly referenced in the series, frequent mention is made to the Great Purge, wherein Uther appears to have removed not only magic from the land but also the Old Religion itself.