Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch is a fictional weapon from the comedy film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It bears a striking resemblance to the Sovereign's Orb of the United Kingdom, and seems to draw some inspiration from the Holy Spear of Antioch. Although a minor gag in the film, the Holy Hand Grenade (as it is more popularly known) has gone on to be a frequently referred-to element of Monty Python humour, notably in computer and role-playing games, and also in TV and other movie references. The scene from the film which features the hand grenade is included in slightly modified form in the Monty Python musical Spamalot.
Contents |
[edit] Description
The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch is a visual satire of a type of royal regalia known as a globus cruciger, specifically the Sovereign's Orb of the United Kingdom. The Sovereign's Orb similarly has a band of jewels running along the center, and a half-band on the top hemisphere, with a cruciform at the crest.
The fictional Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch is a reference to the mythical Holy Spear of Antioch. The supposed Holy Spear was unearthed from the floor of a Church during the Siege of Antioch (1098) by crusaders on the First Crusade, found by a poor and otherwise unknown monk named Peter Bartholomew. Its "discovery", during the darkest hours of the siege when all hope seemed lost, quickly became a source of contention between those crusaders who believed Bartholomew, and the more skeptical who did not; yet in the end its "discovery" was credited by the crusaders in inspiring them to overcome seemingly impossible odds in breaking through the siege to continue on their quest to Jerusalem.
[edit] Usage instructions
The Holy Hand Grenade was a "sacred relic" carried by Cistercian monk Brother Maynard and is used near the film's conclusion to destroy a killer rabbit that blocks the path of King Arthur and his hapless Knights Errant. Although unusually ornate in design, the Holy Hand Grenade functions like any other hand grenade.
Particularly important is the part of counting to three after the pulling of the triggering pin (the surmounted cross), complicated by King Arthur's mental block on counting. The instructions for its use can be found in the (fictitious) Book of Armaments, Chapter 2, verses 9-21, parodying the King James Bible and the "Athanasian Creed". http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Athanasian_Creed.
| “ | ...And Saint Attila raised the hand grenade up on high, saying, "O Lord, bless this Thy holy hand grenade that with it Thou mayest blow Thine enemies to tiny bits, in Thy mercy." And the Lord did grin and the people did feast upon the lambs and sloths and carp and anchovies and orangutans and breakfast cereals, and fruit bats and large chu... [At this point, the friar is urged by Brother Maynard to "skip a bit, brother"]... And the Lord spake, saying, "First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin, then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceedest on to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it." Amen.[1] | ” |
Arthur then holds up the Holy Hand Grenade and cries out "ONE! TWO! FIVE!" Sir Galahad corrects him, shouting "Three, Sire!" .[2] Arthur then yells "THREE!" and hurls the grenade at the killer rabbit. The Grenade soars through the air, accompanied by a short bit of choral music, then bounces once and explodes. The killer rabbit dies in the explosion, and the Knights subsequently enter the cave that it has been guarding.
[edit] Replicas
The official Monty Python site, PythOnline, sells a toy replica of the Holy Hand Grenade. It is a golden plush ball with a cross on top and a label reading "Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch," with a tiny hole on the bottom. Inside the toy is a whoopee cushion, which makes a flatulent sound when squeezed (the mouth of the cushion has to be pulled through the hole to re-inflate it). The instructions on the package read, "To use, squeeze the hand grenade". On the side of the package is an excerpt from the Book of Armaments, as read in the movie.
On March 19 2009, several buildings in Shoreditch, East London, were evacuated after water company workers discovered a replica of the Holy Hand Grenade under a fire hydrant cover.[3] The workers reported the suspicious object but the bomb squad determined there was no danger and after about 45 minutes they declared the area to be safe.[3]
[edit] References
 |
Wikinews has related news: Monty Python's "Holy Hand Grenade" sparks bomb scare |
- ^ John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, Monty Python and the Holy Grail: The Screenplay, page 76, Methuen, 2003 (U.K.) ISBN 0-413-77394-9
- ^ John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, Monty Python and the Holy Grail: The Screenplay, page 76, Methuen, 2003 (U.K.) ISBN 0-413-77394-9
- ^ a b Bassett, Tony (19 March 2009). "Pub is closed by Monty Python grenade". Evening Standard. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23664399-details/article.do?ito=newsnow&.
|
|||||||||||||||||
