Galahad (), sometimes referred to as Galeas () or Galath (), among other versions of his name (originally Galaad, Galaaz, or Galaaus), is the prime achiever of the Holy Grail in the cyclical prose tradition of the Arthurian legend in which the teenage Galahad is the greatest knight of King Arthur's Round Table. A Christ-like figure, Galahad is an illegitimate son of Lancelot and Elaine of Corbenic after the latter raped the former through deception, belonging to the lineage of the Grail kings and descended from Biblical figures. Eventually, immediately after completing the Grail Quest, and while still young, he ascends to heaven.
Emerging quite late in the Arthurian legend, Galahad first appears in the 13th-century Lancelot–Grail prose cycle, replacing Perceval as the main Grail hero. There and in subsequent medieval Arthurian Grail literature, including Le Morte d'Arthur, he is the most perfect of all the Knights of the Round Table, renowned for his unmatched gallantry and absolute virtue and spiritual purity, including chastity as a virgin. He has continued to be a popular figure for authors and artists up to the present day, including as the subject of some satirical or parodic works.
Origins Though he might be derived from Guallauc (historical figure and subject of early Welsh poetry) or alternatively from the Old Welsh name Gwalchavad (Gwachafed), meaning "Falcon of Summer",Thomas William Rolleston, Myths & Legends of the Celtic Race, 1911. the story of Galahad and his quest for the Holy Grail is a relatively late addition to the Arthurian legend. It did not feature in any romance by Chrétien de Troyes, or in Robert de Boron's Grail stories, or in any of the continuations of Chrétien's story of the mysterious castle of the Fisher King. Instead, it was first told in the 13th-century Old French Arthurian epic known as the Lancelot-Grail (Vulgate) Cycle.
The original conception of Galahad, whose adult adventures are first recounted in the fourth book of the Vulgate Cycle (Vulgate Queste), may have come from the mystical Cistercian Order. According to some interpretations, the philosophical inspiration of the celibate and otherworldly character of Galahad came from this monastic order set up by St. Bernard of Clairvaux.Pauline Matarasso, The Redemption of Chivalry. Geneva, 1979. The Cistercian-Bernardine concept of Catholic warrior asceticism that distinguishes the character of Galahad also informs St. Bernard's projection of perfect chivalry in his work on the Knights Templar, the Liber ad milites templi de laude novae militiae. Galahad is furthermore associated with a white shield with a vermilion cross, similar to the emblem given to the Knights Templar by Pope Eugene III. Nevertheless, even those considering the Templar connections to Galahad (and the Grail Quest literature more generally) may see him as representing the authors' ideal of a secular knight, not a monastic one. The Saint George's Cross symbol was soon picked by the French and English secular crusaders, and eventually became the flag of England by the 16th century (meanwhile having lost its Catholic roots to turn into an English Protestant symbol).
Medieval literature Conception and descent
The circumstances surrounding Galahad's conception derive from the earlier parts of Grail prose cycles. It takes place when King Arthur's greatest knight, Lancelot, is deceived into thinking that Princess Elaine of Corbenic (originally known as Heliabel or Amite in the Vulgate Cycle) is his secret mistress, Queen Guinevere. Lady Elaine's father, King Pelles, has already received magical foreknowledge that Lancelot will give his daughter a child and that this little boy will grow to become the greatest knight in the world, the knight chosen by God to discover the Holy Grail. Pelles also knows that Lancelot will only lie with his one true love, Guinevere. Destiny will have to be helped along a little; therefore, a conclusion which prompts Pelles to seek out "one of the greatest enchantresses of the time," Dame Brusen, who gives Pelles a magic ring that makes Elaine take on the appearance of Guinevere and enables her to spend a night with Lancelot. On discovering the deception, Lancelot draws his sword on Elaine, but when he finds out that they have conceived a son together, he is immediately forgiving. However, he does not marry Elaine or even wish to be with her anymore and returns to Arthur's court, though they eventually reunite years later. In effect, Lancelot is an absent father to his son, while Galahad is placed in the care of his great aunt, who is an abbess at a nunnery, to be raised there.
According to the 13th-century Old French Prose Lancelot (part of the Vulgate Cycle), "Galahad" was Lancelot's baptismal name. At his birth, therefore, Galahad is given his father's own original name. Merlin prophesies that Galahad will surpass Lancelot in valor and be successful in his search for the Holy Grail. Pelles, Galahad's maternal grandfather, is portrayed as a descendant of Joseph of Arimathea's brother-in-law Bron, whose line had been entrusted with the Grail by Joseph. In his father's family branch, Galahad's patrimonial lineage is recounted as follows (Vulgate Queste version): Nascien [I] > Celidoine > Narpus > Nascien [II] > Elian the Fat [Helein le Gros] > Isiah [Ysaies] > Jonaan > Lancelot [I] > Ban > Lancelot [II], along with having a descendant of David and Solomon as Galahad's grandmother. The latter was named as King Ban's wife Queen Elaine in the Vulgate Lancelot, where Galahad's ancestry on the paternal side had been limited to Galahad the elder > Lancelot the elder > Ban > Lancelot the younger, also descended from Joseph (just like in the case of Pelles and his daughter Amite on his maternal side). The original Galahad (Galaad) is described as the first Christian king of Wales.
Grail Quest and ascension
Upon reaching the medieval definition of adulthood at 15 years old, Galahad is finally united with his father Lancelot, who had never met him before that. Lancelot knights Galahad after having been bested by him in a duel, the first and only time that Lancelot ever lost in a fair fight to anyone. Galahad is then brought to King Arthur's court at Camelot during Pentecost, where he is accompanied by a very old knight who immediately leads him over to the Round Table and unveils his seat at the Siege Perilous, an unused chair that has been kept vacant for the sole person who will succeed in the quest of the Holy Grail. For all others who have aspired to sit there, it has proved to be immediately fatal. Galahad survives this test, witnessed by Arthur who, upon realising the greatness of this new knight, leads him out to the river where a magic sword lies in a stone with an inscription reading "Never shall man take me hence but only he by whose side I ought to hang; and he shall be the best knight of the world." (The embedding of a sword in a stone is also an element of the legends of Arthur's original sword, the sword in the stone. In Malory's version, this is the sword that had belonged to Balin.) Galahad accomplishes this test with ease, and Arthur swiftly proclaims him to be the greatest knight ever. Galahad is promptly invited to become a Knight of the Round Table, and soon afterwards, Arthur's court witnesses an ethereal vision of the Grail. The quest to seek out this holy object is begun at once.
All of the Knights of the Round Table set out to find the Grail.Vinaver, Eugène, 1971. Malory: Works. Oxford University Press. The Tale of the Sankgreal, Briefly Drawn out of French, which is a Tale Chronicled for One of the Truest and one of the Holiest that is in this World. 1. "The Departure". pp. 515–524. It is Galahad who takes the initiative to begin the search for the Grail; the rest of the knights follow him. Arthur is sorrowful that all the knights have embarked thus, for he discerns that many will never be seen again, dying in their quest. Arthur fears that it is the beginning of the end of the Round Table. This might be seen as a theological statement that concludes that earthly endeavours must take second place to the pursuit of the holiness. Galahad, in some ways, mirrors Arthur, drawing a sword from a stone in the way that Arthur did. In this manner, Galahad is declared to be the chosen one.
Further uniquely among the Round Table, Galahad is capable of performing miracles such as banishing demons and healing the sick, notably being the only one capable of healing the Fisher King from his grave injury. For the most part, he travels alone during the Grail Quest, smiting and often sparing his enemies (including near-fatally wounding Gawain in Malory's telling), rescuing fellow knights including Perceval, and saving maidens in distress, until he is finally reunited with Bors and Perceval. The relationship between them seems to be based on the English saint Aelred of Rievaulx's Spiritual Friendship (written c. 1164–1167) that framed true friendship as a divine bond between them that connects them with God. Together, the three blessed virgin knights come across Perceval's sister, who leads them to the mystical Ship of Solomon. They use it to cross the sea to an island where Galahad finds King David's sword, which replaces his hitherto-wielded (and cursed) sword of Balin.
After many adventures, Galahad and his companions find themselves in the mystical castle of Corbenic at the court of King Pelles and his son Eliazarr. Galahad does not reunite with his mother, who had died meanwhile. His grandfather and uncle bring Galahad into a dark room where he is finally allowed to see the Holy Grail. Galahad is asked to take the vessel to the holy island Sarras (which had belonged to his ancestor, the pagan king baptised by Joseph as Nascien). After seeing the Grail, Galahad makes the request that he may die at the time of his choosing. So it is that, while making his way back to Arthur's court, Galahad is visited by the spirit of Joseph's son Josephus, and thus experiences such a glorious rapture that he makes his request to die. Galahad bids Perceval and Bors farewell, after which angels appear to take him to Heaven. His ascension is witnessed by Bors and Perceval. Depending on the telling, Galahad is either physically taken to paradise as he completely vanishes in a bright light or his mortal body is left behind and later buried. In the latter scenario, Galahad is usually laid to rest alongside the body of Perceval's sister and later joined in their grave by Perceval himself.
Galahad's success in the search for the Holy Grail was predicted before his birth, not only by Pelles but also by Merlin, who once had told Arthur's father Uther Pendragon that there was one who would fill the place at the "table of Joseph", but that he was not yet born. At first this knight was believed to be Perceval, however it is later discovered to be Galahad. Galahad was conceived for the divine purpose of seeking the Holy Grail,Waite, Arthur. The Holy Grail: The Galahad Quest in the Arthurian Literature. New York: University Books, 1961. but this happened under a cloak of deception, similarly to the conceptions of Arthur and Merlin. Despite this, Galahad is the knight destined to find the Holy Grail, while the others are destined to fail. Galahad, in both the Lancelot-Grail cycle and in Malory's retelling, is exalted above all the other knights: he is the one worthy enough to have the Grail revealed to him and to be taken into Heaven.
Modern culture
The figure of Galahad was frequently used in British propaganda during both world wars. A 1916 poem recommended by Cecil Harcourt-Smith for war memorials calls the British WWI dead in the fields of Flanders 'Galahads'. Two Royal Navy support ships have been named after Galahad: RFA Sir Galahad (1966) and RFA Sir Galahad (1986).
Victorian poetry