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This article is about game booklet. You may be looking for the Grail Diary kept by Henry Jones, Sr..

A minimalistic replica of the Grail Diary was part of the package of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure in 1989 as part of the video game's copy-protection. An abridged, 13-page simplified version was included with the LucasArts Classic Adventures compilation release.

Development[]

The Grail Diary represents the notes and thoughts of Henry Walton Jones, Senior. We learn that his obsession with the Holy Grail started with an alleged vision; the following pages have his memoirs of his travels, research and correspondence with other scholars, until the timeframe of the Last Crusade movie and game. Some references to the young Indiana Jones are also given.

For a more realistic feeling, the text was muddled with strike-outs, scribbles and corrections, ink and coffee stains and other marks of age. Also, some newspaper clippings, tickets, telegrams etc were printed on the pages of the book, to imitate the insets that Henry kept between the pages of the Diary, as seen in the film.

Diary30

Illustration of the 'third trial' by Steve Purcell, similar to a sketch seen in the movie Diary. Notice the cup 'stains' on the lower right

The bulk of the text was authored by Mark Falstein and the hand lettering was of Jayne Osgood. Illustrations were made by Lucasfilm artist Steve Purcell and some were directly inspired from those of the original props seen in the movie.

A significant part of the text (pp. from 9–21) are the various inconsistent descriptions of the Holy Grail in various legends, texts and references. Basically, this served as a copy protection: clues about the appearance of the Grail were scattered through the actual game. These clues were random from time to time, so the player had to use the 'Diary's' information in order to decide which was the correct Grail in the end.

All in all, the document was not intended to be faithful to the movie prop and the game manual says that it is only a 'part' of the actual Grail Diary. Other parts of the Diary are found within the game, as the player can read relevant pages of the diary in certain parts of the game to solve puzzles.

Entries[]

Appearances[]

Characters[]

Locations[]

Vehicles and vessels[]

Artifacts[]

Events[]

  • Last Supper
  • Great War
  • First Crusade
  • Ravenwood expedition

Languages[]

  • Aramaic
  • Coptic
  • Latin
  • Greek language
  • Navaho language
  • Old Irish
  • Anglo-Saxon

Documents[]

Miscellanea[]

Behind the scenes[]

Continuity[]

The Grail Diary was released three years before the broadcast of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles television series which saw a significant expansion to Indiana Jones' younger days. When the two sources are compared, there are some contradictions between the two, as well as other media in Indiana Jones continuity.

  • The Grail Diary names Henry's wife as 'Mary' while the series introduced her as 'Anna'. This was retconned in 2008 with Indiana Jones: The Ultimate Guide presenting her with the full name of Anna Mary Jones.
  • The Diary has a 6-year gap of entries between years 1906 and 1912; according to the Young Indy pilot, Henry began his two-year world lecture tour in 1908, therefore the episodes of the "Corey Carrier period" can conveniently fit in that gap, without any inconsistencies.
  • The 1905 entry implies that the Joneses are living in Las Mesas, Colorado while the television series sees Indiana born and raised in Princeton, New Jersey.
  • The first entry after this gap is dated February 1912 and Henry mentions his wife's death. Later canon confirmed this in the same year, but some months later.
  • The entries of that same year (which also mention Indy's adventure with the Cross of Coronado), are located in Las Mesas, Colorado, indicating that the old Jones residence is located there. However later canon placed the house in Utah, not Colorado. It is possible that Falstein based the Colorado location on an inside information that the real-life house used in filming is actually located in Colorado. One way to combine these conflicting accounts is to place the house in Utah, but Four Corners University in Las Mesas.
  • The text mentions that Henry Jones was 45 in an entry dated 1921. However, according to the later canon, he would be 49 that year.

See also[]

External links[]

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Books
Adaptations
Novel (Adventures of Indiana Jones) · 1989 junior novel · 2008 junior novel (Collector's Edition) · Storybook · Read-Along Adventure
Partial adaptations
Indy's Adventures · Traps and Snares · Great Escapes · The Search For Buried Treasure
Audio
Soundtrack (The Soundtracks Collection) · The Story of · William Conrad Reads
Comics
Comic · 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · Marvel Magazine · Omnibus 3 · Indiana Jones and the Spear of Destiny
Games
Game · The Action Game · The Graphic Adventure · Greatest Adventures · Indiana Jones Heritage
LEGO Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones Adventures · The Original Adventures · The Adventure Continues
Activity books
Indiana Jones and his Life of Adventure · Annual 1990 · Annual 2009 · Annual 2010 · Activity Annual · Winter Activity Annual · Golden Treasure Sticker Book · Heroes and Villains Sticker Book · The Greatest Adventures of Indiana Jones
Behind the scenes
Original Movie Script · From Star Wars to Indiana Jones · Great Adventurers and Their Quests · A Look Inside · Making the Trilogy · Indiana Jones: An Appreciation · Creepy Crawlies · Travel with Indy: Locations · Stunts of Indiana Jones · Sound of Indiana Jones · Light and Magic of Indiana Jones · Music of Indiana Jones
Indy's Women · Indy's Friends and Enemies · The Complete Making of Indiana Jones
Script development
Indiana Jones and the Monkey King · Indy III
Home video
VHS (The Complete Adventures of Indiana Jones) · DVD (Adventure Collection · Complete Adventure Collection)
Blu-ray (The Complete Adventures) · 4K (4-Movie Collection)
Other material and merchandise
Collectors' Edition · Official Poster Magazine · The Byzantine Crusader · Grail Diary
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