Sir Galahad is considered one of the most privileged knights from the legends of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Sir Galahad’s father, Sir Lancelot was said to have been deceived into laying with his mother, Elaine, the daughter of King Pelles. Sir Lancelot preceded Sir Galahad as an eminent member of the King Arthur’s court, his most loyal friend and an exceptionally brave knight. Galahad was born out of marriage, and from the very beginning did not hope to do very well in the medieval society, considering the lack of respect for illegitimate children. However, as fate would have it, Galahad was destined to achieve a status that many royals and kings could only wish for.
Sir Galahad by George Frederic Watts
After reaching the adulthood, Galahad was found by his biological father Sir Lancelot who took him under his wings and brought him to King Arthur’s court. It was Sir Lancelot who made Galahad a Knight and helped him secure a place around Arthur’s Round Table. When Lancelot took his most trusted knights in his quest for the Holy Grail, Galahad set out with his father. Ultimately it was Sir Galahad who became one of the three knights who reached the Holy Grail.
Birth of Sir Galahad
In the Arthurian legends, Sir Lancelot is mentioned as a brave knight and confidant of King Arthur who was madly in love with Arthur’s queen, Queen Guinevere. This love, as suggested by the legends, was the basis of Sir Galahad’s birth, although Guinevere was not Galahad’s mother. As the story goes, Sir Lancelot once went on an official meeting with King Pelles. Elaine of Corbenic who was King Pelles’ beloved daughter set a trap for Sir Lancelot, as Elaine loved him and wished to bear his child.
Elaine had discovered earlier that Sir Lancelot had given his heart to King Arthur’s queen, and that he will not back down from his true love. Elaine then plotted to disguise herself as Queen Guinevere in the hope of laying with Sir Lancelot, in which she succeeded. By the time Sir Lancelot discovered Elaine’s deception, she was already carrying his child, and Sir Lancelot gave up his ambitions of killing Elaine. This child was thus born and was named Galahad, who later went on to become Sir Galahad who reached the Holy Grail.
Sir Galahad at King Arthur’s Court
Galahad’s father Sir Lancelot took him under his care after he had reached his adulthood. According to Arthurian legends, Sir Lancelot had discovered some qualities in Galahad. Being an active seeker of the Holy Grail himself, and having sat on Arthur’s Round Table all his able life, Sir Lancelot had acquired a keen eye, and he saw immense potential in Galahad.
Sir Galahad by Joseph Noel Paton
Sir Lancelot did all his best to, not only bring Galahad to Arthur’s court, and then his famed Round Table, but also strived to made him sit on the legendary seat known as Siege Perilous. This seat was ominous to say the least, every knight who sat on this seat before Sir Galahad, had met his demise shortly after acquiring this status. The legend was that this seat was only going to be hospitable to the one who could eventually go on to acquire the Holy Grail, anyone not worthy of this status will perish after sitting on Siege Perilous. When an old knight led Sir Galahad to the seat, everyone but Sir Lancelot was sure that Galahad will also die soon after. However, Sir Galahad made it through and then everyone at the court and outside of the palace realized that Sir Galahad was going to be the one to get to the Holy Grail.
The Legend of the Magical Sword
There is no shortage of legends regarding Sir Galahad, but amongst those that stand out the most, the legend of the Magical Sword has proven to be a timeless legend. King Arthur trusted his friendSir Lancelot’s choice, and trusted Sir Galahad, seeing him fit holder of the Siege Perilous.
However, as a King, he had all the right to test Galahad if and when he wished so. King Arthur, according to the legends, took Sir Galahad to a raging river once. There in the middle of the river, stood a large shinning sword. King Arthur ordered Sir Galahad to go and fetch the sword for him. Galahad went into the waters without any hesitation. When Galahad reached near the sword, he could read the inscription on the sword which read that only the greatest of all the knights could take it out. This gave Galahad more confident and he pulled the sword with all his strength and managed to take it out in no time. This was perhaps the moment when Arthur truly realised that Galahad was a knight of unlimited potentials, and proclaimed Galahad to be the greatest of all the knights that ever lived.
Searching the Holy Grail
It was not long after Galahad had reached his pinnacle of fame and glory, that King Arthur’s court started making plans for the search of the Holy Grail. This move was primarily as a result of a number of signs that some pious member of the courts reported to the King Arthur, as messages from the heaven to embark on a journey as soon as it was possible. King Arthur did not waste a single moment and ordered his body of knights to take the task of finding the Holy Grail. As a result, every single knight of the Round Table set out on the journey seeking the Holy Grail.
Initially, Sir Galahad left the palace alone towards the potential site of the Holy Grail. There are many legends of Sir Galahad’s encounters with a number of adventurers during his journey, wherein he helped and rescued many people as well. Later in his quest, Galahad crossed paths with Sir Percival and Sir Bors who had also left earlier in search of the Holy Grail.
Sir Galahad, along with the other two knights decided to carry on their search together. The three knights were later met with Sir Percival’s sister, who knew just the thing the knights were hoping for. She led the knights to a ship, which was leaving for the site where the Holy Grail was kept. While the three knights were preparing to board the ship, Sir Percival’s sister died and Sir Bors was given the task of taking her back home for a proper burial. From there onward, the quest for the Holy Grail was on the shoulders of Sir Galahad and Sir Bors.
Finding the Holy Grail
While onboard the ship, taking the two knights to the site of the Holy Grail, Sir Galahad found the broken sword of David. The two knights took this as a sign that they were on the right path of finding the Holy Grail. Both the knights were then led to the site of the Holy Grail, and it was Sir Galahad who managed to enter the small court where the Holy Grail was kept.
Read another story from us: Know more about Li Ching Yuen- 256 years oldest man on Earth
According to the Arthurian legends, Sir Galahad then became the greatest knight of the world, by holding the Holy Grail in his hands, thus immortalizing himself as the knight who achieved the Holy Grail.
