<P> As chronicled in The Life of Python, The First 20 Years of Monty Python, and The Pythons' Autobiography, it was revealed that Chapman was suffering from acrophobia, trembling, and bouts of forgetfulness during filming . These were the results of Chapman's long - standing alcohol addiction, and he decided from that moment on to remain "on an even keel" while the production continued . Nearly three years after Holy Grail, Chapman vowed to quit drinking altogether (which he successfully achieved in December 1977). </P> <P> Originally the knight characters were going to ride real horses, but after it became clear that the film's small budget precluded real horses (except for a lone horse appearing in a couple of scenes), the Pythons decided that their characters would mime horse - riding while their porters trotted behind them banging coconut shells together . The joke was derived from the old - fashioned sound effect used by radio shows to convey the sound of hooves clattering . This was later referred to in the German release of the film, which translated the title as Die Ritter der Kokosnuß . </P> <P> The opening credits of the film feature pseudo-Swedish subtitles, which soon turn into an appeal to visit Sweden and see the country's moose . The subtitles are soon stopped, but moose references continue throughout the actual credits until the credits are stopped again and restarted in a different visual style and with references to llamas, animals often mentioned in Flying Circus . The subtitles were written by Michael Palin as a way to "entertain the' captive' audience" at the beginning of the film . </P> <P> In addition to several songs written by Python regular Neil Innes, several pieces of music were licensed from De Wolfe Music Library . These include: </P>

Monty python and the holy grail english knights