The Nanteos Cup.
The remains of an unusual wooden cup can be found in the treasures exhibition at The National Library of Wales in the Mid Wales town of Aberystwyth, previously the cup was held at Nanteos Manor further inland, until an attempt to steal it took place, whereupon it was moved to the library for safe keeping.
The exact origin of the cup is a mystery, but according to tradition the relic came into the possession of the Powell family of Nanteos from Strata Florida Abbey during the dissolution of the Monastries. It is believed that seven Cistercian Monks escaped from the abbey with the cup and sought refuge at Nanteos. According to one tradition, the Nanteos Cup is the Holy Grail and fashioned from a piece of the true cross itself, another tradition claims that it is actually the Cup from which Christ and his disciples drank from at the Last Supper. Since the nineteenth it has been claimed that the cup possesses a supernatural power to heal. Over the years over zealous believers who have drunk from the cup believing it to have the power to heal have nibbled at the cup resulting in a large amount of the wood disappearing. Although the cup has been dated to the 14th or 15th century, long after the time of Christ, there have been hundreds of written testimonials claiming its healing powers are genuine. So the fact remains as to whether these people are being healed from some sort of placebo effect, or is there some other power at work here!
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