A Book about the Film Monty Python and the Holy Grail

All the References from African Swallows to Zoot

This exhaustive reference identifies and explains the plethora of cultural, historical, and topical allusions in the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the first original film by the British comedy troupe. In this resource, virtually every allusion and reference that appears in the film—not just Arthurian life and literature from the Middle Ages, but 1970s Great Britain, and other contemporary cultural touchstones—is identified and explained. Organized chronologically by scene, the entries cover literary and metaphoric allusions, symbolisms, names, peoples, and places; as well as the myriad social, cultural, and historical elements (photos, songs, slogans, caricatures) that populate and inform this film.