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The Legendary Knight Sir Galahad Who Found the Holy Grail
In the Arthurian legends, many of King Arthur’s knights undertake a quest to try to find the Holy Grail. Due to how special the grail was, it could not be acquired by just anyone. Of all of King Arthur’s knights, Sir Galahad was exceptionally virtuous. He was even viewed as the perfect knight. Because of this, he was apparently the only individual worthy enough to acquire the Holy Grail. What else do we know about Sir Galahad, the knight who found the Holy Grail?
Who Was Sir Galahad?
Sir Galahad is Brought to the Court of King Arthur, Walter Crane’s illustration for Henry Gilbert’s King Arthur’s Knights: The Tales Retold for Boys and Girls, 1911. Source: University of Rochester
Sir Galahad was a young, handsome, and virtuous knight. He was the son of Sir Lancelot. Like his son, Lancelot was also one of Arthur’s knights. He was powerful and handsome too, but unlike Galahad, he was not virtuous. He had an affair with Guinevere, Arthur’s wife. In many senses, then, Galahad was a refined, perfected version of his father.
Due to his great virtue, Galahad was able to find the Holy Grail. Interestingly, Galahad does not appear in earlier versions of the legend about the quest to find this sacred object. Chretien de Troyes was the first person to write about the Holy Grail. His writings are dated to the last few decades of the 12th century. In his version of the legend of the quest for the Holy Grail, the Grail hero is Percival. It was not until the Vulgate Cycle of the early 13th century that Galahad appeared as a character in the Arthurian legends. He appears in the Vulgate Lancelot.
Galahad’s Magical Conception
Lancelot Crossing the Sword Bridge, by Evrard d’Espinques, 1475. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Given Galahad’s notable moral virtue, we would be forgiven for thinking that he had a pure and stable origin. However, this is far from what happened.
Despite Galahad’s own virtue, his conception was the result of a multi-layered, morally unpleasant situation. He was the result of the union between Lancelot and a woman named Elaine of Corbenic. She was the daughter of a king named Pelles. This king learned of a prophecy that Lancelot would have a son with Elaine who would grow up to be the knight who finally discovers the Holy Grail. However, since Lancelot would not have relations with any woman other than Guinevere, his adulterous lover, Pelles used magic to disguise Elaine as Guinevere. While Lancelot was initially furious and felt like killing Elaine, he forgave her when he discovered that she was pregnant.
Therefore, Galahad was the result of a union in which Lancelot, while attempting to commit adultery with Arthur’s wife, was deceived and had relations with a different woman. This parallels the story of the conception of Arthur himself, with Uthur Pendragon conspiring with Merlin to bed the wife of Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall.
Depiction of Corbenic, the Grail Castle, in BnF Français 12577, fol. 18v, 1330. Source: Biblioteque Nationale de France
Despite this unstable start, Galahad grew up to become morally virtuous and “perfect” in essentially every respect. Although there are conflicting versions of his life story in the Arthurian legends, there is general agreement that he was raised, at least partially, in a nunnery. According to one version, he remained at the residence of his grandfather, Pelles, for some time until his father, Lancelot, departed from that place. He was then placed in a nunnery to be cared for by Pelles’ sister, an abbess. Galahad then stayed there until he was 18 years old. Another account presents Galahad as being placed in a nunnery in the care of his paternal great-aunt rather than his maternal great-aunt.
This upbringing evidently goes a long way toward accounting for why Galahad was considered the perfect knight. He was raised in a religious institution, learning to become a good Christian. Perhaps this is what was supposed to have made Galahad so different from his father.
Becoming One of King Arthur’s Knights
An illustration of King Arthur and his knights at the Round Table, from BNF 112, an illuminated manuscript of the Prose Lancelot, by Evrard d’Espinques, 1470. Source: Biblioteque Nationale de France
How did Galahad become one of King Arthur’s knights? It occurred immediately after his upbringing in the nunnery. This is why Galahad is traditionally depicted as being a young knight. As we saw before, one version of the legend says that Galahad continued at the nunnery until he was 18 years old. However, Thomas Malory, in the 15th century Le Morte d’Arthur, makes him just 15 years old.
In any case, at the end of Galahad’s upbringing in the nunnery, Lancelot goes to him and pronounces him a knight. However, he was not immediately accepted as one of King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table. The story of how he came to be one of these special knights is actually very similar to the story of how Arthur became king, involving the magical Sword in the Stone. Galahad went through a similar experience, which is what resulted in him being recognized not only as one of Arthur’s knights, but as a very special one.
Galahad and the Sword in the Stone
How Galahad Drew out the Sword from the Floating Stone at Camelot, by Arthur Rackham, 1917. Source: Wikimedia Commons
As in the case of Arthur, Galahad had to pull a sword from a stone. However, the circumstances were very different. A sword stuck in a block of marble floated down a river towards Camelot. There was an inscription on it, similar to the inscription on the sword that Arthur had retrieved years earlier. It said that only the best knight would be able to pull the sword out from the block of marble. At first, Gawain and Percival attempt to pull it out. These two were famed for being excellent and virtuous knights, especially Percival, the original Grail hero in the Arthurian legends. However, neither of them were able to pull the sword out.
At this point, Galahad was brought to King Arthur’s court. After a feast, Galahad was led to the river by Arthur and instructed to try and pull the sword from the block of marble. Remarkably, where even Percival had failed, Galahad succeeded. This allowed him to become one of King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table.
The Quest to Find the Holy Grail
Galahad being sat in the Siege Perilous, from MS BnF Français 116, folio 609, c. 15th century. Source: Biblioteque Nationale de France
This was not the only miraculous event that occurred that day. On the same day that Galahad pulled the sword from the marble block, he was brought to the Siege Perilous. This was a special seat at the Round Table that only the best knight could sit in, the one who would successfully complete the quest for the Holy Grail. If anyone else tried to sit in it, the seat would cause that person to die immediately and dramatically. When Galahad was brought to the Siege Perilous, his name was found to have been written on it already. He sat on it without any issues. Therefore, both by virtue of the Siege Perilous and the sword in the block of marble, Galahad was shown to be the best knight.
After this, the knights of Arthur’s court all saw a vision of the Holy Grail, which began the quest for the Grail. Galahad takes the initiative to set off on a quest to find the grail, and the other knights follow his lead.
Galahad Finding the Holy Grail, Edwin Austin Abbey, c. 1890. Source: Wikimedia Commons
The knights do not all stay together as they search for the Holy Grail. Almost all of them part ways with each other. During this extended quest, Galahad engages in numerous adventures. He fights against enemies, saves fellow knights from difficulties, and is even shown to perform miracles. This last point is particularly notable since this was something usually reserved for saints. The fact that Galahad also has this ability highlights his holiness and his status as the Grail hero, the one chosen by God for a holy purpose.
Eventually, after reuniting with Percival and Bors, Galahad comes across Corbenic, the castle of Pelles. In this way, the story of Galahad comes full circle. At this castle, Pelles takes Galahad to a special room and shows him the Holy Grail. He is then given the assignment to take the Grail to the island of Sarras, a holy place.
After successfully doing this and becoming king of Sarras for a year, Galahad is visited by the spirit of Joseph of Arimathea and then taken to heaven.
Sir Galahad, One of King Arthur’s Most Special Knights
Sir Galahad, by Joseph Noel Paton, 1879. Source: Wikimedia Commons
In conclusion, Sir Galahad was unique among the Knights of the Round Table. Out of all of King Arthur’s knights, Galahad was chosen by God to find the Holy Grail. He was more virtuous than any of the other knights, which was likely facilitated by his upbringing in a nunnery. Despite being the son of the adulterous Lancelot, he did not repeat his father’s errors.
He was admitted to Arthur’s court after proving himself to be the best knight and the Grail hero. He successfully sat in the Siege Perilous, and he pulled a magical sword from a block of marble. As a handsome and youthful knight, he led the way to search for the Holy Grail. In perfect holiness, he engaged in numerous adventures and was even able to perform miracles. Eventually, with Percival and Bors, Galahad discovered the Holy Grail at Corbenic, his childhood home. As the victorious Grail hero, Galahad took the Grail to the holy island of Sarras and became king for a year. After this, he was miraculously taken to heaven.
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