22 thoughts on “Monty Python and the Holy Grail Frock-Along

  1. Technically, Sir Galahad has Argent, a cross fleury gules–it’s a cross with fleur-de-lys on the ends, keeping it separate from the other forms of crosses. My favorite is cross bottony. Mostly because I like saying “bottony”…

    Anywho–love this film! Holy Grail and Princess Bride are the two best MedievalGeek films out there (Knights of Baddassdom tries, but doesn’t quite make it).

    Thank you for covering Holy Grail. It is a classic for everyone :)

      1. TIL that my SCA device has something in common with Sir Gallahad’s! Azure, on a cross fleury Or between four plates a hurt.

  2. There may be a dragon associated with Lancelot at some point, but what is on his surcoat in the movie is most explicitly a gryphon. Front half eagle, back half lion. There’s nothing on there that is dragon. (Summits expat, know my gryphons ;-) )

    1. That’s based more on the costume designer’s influences & overall movie influences for the overall story. As I suggested, the Victorian versions of the King Arthur tales were a big influence on Holy Grail, more than earlier versions.

      1. Quite right. And did you know that the Victorians also made up what they thought the Knights of the Round Table’s individual devices were? Except for Gawain’s, of course, because his was already known in the 14th c, thanks to SGGK. Someday I want to do an event with guys dressed up as the KOTRT, in surcoats with those devices on them. If only I have unlimited funds and time!

    1. What?! That’s like the ONE THING I noticed about him immediately. Pfft. Amateur. ;)

  3. You know when they were filming Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, everyone referred to it as Indiana Jones ik der Holy Grailen. Shows to show how ingrained the Pythons were in our culture even then. ‘I’m a lumberjack and I’m OK…’

  4. Bonham’s helmets look nothing like the movie versions unless they did some serious remodeling (and re-welding) to change them for another movie. Maybe used by background people?

    1. Sometimes, the items that an auction house gets from a film/TV show have been altered significantly during the course of the production, so the auctioned piece may look very different than what’s on screen. I’ve seen it plenty of times, & that might be the case here. Or they could be mislabeled. We only have the provenance from the auction house at this point tho.

  5. A quick note about black knights: Blacking metal is a common techniques for rust prevention. Popular with knights who couldn’t afford squires. Over all, the Python effort looks as good or better than some big budget jobs.

  6. Are you kidding me? Costumes in this movie are AWFUL when it comes to historical accuracy. Helmets are overly bulky, unfitted and would protect the head against a ladel, and that is only one thing. Almost every piece of clothing is historically not only uncorrect, but just pure bulshit.
    I doesn’t make the movie even a little bit less awesome, and it’s amazing considering the budget but don’t feed people bullshit that these costumes are accurate. They’re not.

  7. Bonham’s got taken for a ride-that helmet looks nothing like Sir Bedvedere’s, as a simple glance at a still will attest. A) There are no bolts on the sides B) there is nothing to hold the faceplate or even a faceplace and C) the shape of the rounding at the bottom is completely different. It’s either a mislabeled photo or Bonham’s didn’t perform due diligence before auction.

    1. Well, someone paid $18,531 for it, so perhaps they got ‘taken for a ride.’ The piece was part of a much larger auction of film & TV costumes from Angels, one of the premiere costume shops in the world. As I commented above, it could have been mislabeled, but also be aware that costumes are often altered during the course of a production, so what’s left of them after the film is done can look different than what’s on screen.

  8. The costumes of the French soldiers look like several studded black leather belts, that a 15-year-old goth(ish) girl (me) wore. :P

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