Gratian 309heroes of the very difficult quest to find in order to see
the mystery of transsubstantiation. GALAHAD, the purest
knight, passed all the rigorous tests along the quest and
was allowed in ecstacy to contemplate the divine when
he reached his goal. The church maintained silence about
the Grail throughout the Middle Ages.
See alsoGAWAIN AND THEGAWAIN ROMANCES;MAL-
ORY,THOMAS; ROMANCES.
Further reading:Chrétien de Troyes, “The Story of
the Grail” in Arthurian Romances, trans. William W.
Kibler and Carlton S. Carroll (New York: Penguin Books,
1991), 381–394; Nigel Bryant, ed. Merlin and the Grail,
Joseph of Arimathea, Merlin, Perceval: The Trilogy of Prose
Romances Attributed to Robert de Boron(Cambridge: D. S.
Brewer, 2001); Pauline Maud Matarasso, trans., The Quest
of the Holy Grail (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1969);
Pauline Maud Matarasso, The Redemption of Chivalry: A
Study of the Questa del Saint Graal(Geneva: Droz, 1979);
D. D. R. Owen, The Evolution of the Grail Legend(Edin-
burgh: University Court of the University of St. Andrews
by Oliver & Boyd, 1968).
grammar and grammatical treatises See SEVEN
LIBERAL ARTS.
Granada(Gharnata, Illiberis, Elvira) A city with a
temperate climate in southern AL-ANDALUSor Andalusia
at the foot of the Sierra Nevada. Granada was the lost
stronghold of the Islamic presence in Iberia. The history
of Christian Granada belonged, more than that of any
other city of al-Andalus, to the MOZARABS. The city and
the surrounding Genil Valley remained under Muslim
rule for 781 years, from 711 to 1492. Built on the site of
successive Iberian, Roman, and VANDAL settlements,
Granada owed its name to that of the neighboring village
of Gharnata, itself possibly derived from the Berber place-
name Kernata or hill of strangers or the Romance form
granataor pomegranate.
ARAB CONTROLAfter the Muslim conquest in the early eighth century, it
was governed by the UMAYYADCaliphate at DAMASCUS.
After 1031 a ZIRIDruler established an independent king-
dom. The town fell to the ALMORAVIDSin 1090. A series
of Almoravid rulers sent by the central government at
MARRAKECHheld the city until 1197 against increasing
ALMOHADpressure. By the close of the 12th century, the
city had elaborate fortifications with 20 towers to protect
it. By 1492 it had a double ring of encircling walls with
more than 1,000 towers.
By 1200 prosperity of Granada under Almohad rule
made it the fifth-largest city in Spain, with a mixed popu-
lation of Arab, Spanish, and Berber Muslims; Spanish
Christians; and JEWS all living in separate quarters.
Muhammad I ibn al-Ahmar (r. 1232–72), prince of Jaén,
seized the city and founded the NASRIDdynasty there in- Muhammad was the first of an unbroken line of 21
Nasrid sovereigns who maintained the independence
from the RECONQUESTof their state and city for some 250
years. Muhammad I ibn-al-Ahmar became a vassal of
King Ferdinand III (r. 1217–52) of CASTILE, by paying
him annual tribute and assisting his conquest of another
Muslim principality, SEVILLE.
Muhammad’s immediate successors formed an
alliance with the Marinid sultans of MOROCCO.From
1273 Marinid armies twice defeated the Castilians. The
Moroccan kingdom exacted a heavy price for this sup-
port, taking several towns from the Nasrids. By then
Granada, however, enjoyed a unique position between
Christian Spain and the Muslim al-MAGHRIB. The histo-
rian IBNKHALDUNand the traveling geographer IBNBAT-
TUTAvisited the town. The Nasrid rulers cultivated the
arts, literature, and science as part of Islamic civilization.
Arabic was the only language used in the city. By the end
of Nasrid rule there were no Mozarabic Christian resi-
dents. During the rule of Muhammad V (1362–91), much
of the ALHAMBRAwas built and irrigation and AGRICUL-
TUREflourished.
CHRISTIAN CONQUEST
The later history of the Nasrid dynasty and of the city can
only be found in unfriendly Christian sources. They
recounted how the precarious kingdom fell prey to bitter
feuds among the leading noble families. The Nasrids
compounded these problems by refusing to pay tribute
and fighting about the succession. They were eventually
no match for the war of attrition waged from 1481 by the
newly united kingdom of ARAGONand Castile, under
FERDINANDII and ISABELI. After a nasty six-month siege
Granada surrendered on January 2, 1492. Its last Muslim
ruler, Abu Abd Allah Muhammad XI (Boabdil) (r.
1482–83, 1487–92), departed to exile in Morocco.
See alsoMOZARABS.
Further reading:David Abulafia, “The Nasrid King-
dom of Granada,” in The New Cambridge Medieval
History,Vol. 5, c. 1198–c. 1300,ed. David Abulafia (Cam-
bridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 636–643;
Enrique Sordo and Wim Swann, Moorish Spain: Córdoba,
Seville and Granada,trans. Ian Michael (London: Crown
Publishers, 1963).Granada, conquest of SeeGRANADA.Gratian(Franciscus Gratianus)(d. 1179) father of
canon law
Gratian was a monk in the Camaldolese congregation of
the Order of Saint BENEDICT. Hardly anything has been
found about his life. He was a lecturer at the monastery
of Saints Felix and Nabor in BOLOGNAin ITA LYwhen that
town was beginning to be known as a center for the study