Editing Galahad (section)

==Origins==
The story of Galahad and his quest for the [[Holy Grail]] is a relatively late addition to the Arthurian legend. Galahad does 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]]. He first appears in a 13th-century [[Old French]] Arthurian epic, the interconnected set of romances of unknown authorship, known as the [[Lancelot-Grail|Lancelot-Grail (Vulgate) Cycle]]. His name could have been derived from the Welsh name Gwalchaved, meaning "Falcon of Summer".<ref>Thomas William Rolleston, [https://books.google.com/books?id=IutjLHJzHCAC&pg=PT352 ''Myths & Legends of the Celtic Race''], 1911.</ref>

[[File:Gallad-hb.jpg|thumb|upright|"Gallad's" [[attributed arms]], its red and white colors symbolizing bloodshed and purity through chastity<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44697492 | jstor=44697492 | title='A Mayde, and Last of Youre Blood': Galahad's Asexuality and its Significance in "Le Morte Darthur" | last1=Arkenberg | first1=Megan | journal=Arthuriana | date=2014 | volume=24 | issue=3 | pages=3–22 | doi=10.1353/art.2014.0039 }}</ref>|left]]

The original conception of Galahad, whose adult antics are first recounted in the fourth book of the Vulgate Cycle (Vulgate ''Lancelot''), may have come from the mystical [[Cistercian Order]]. According to some interpreters, the philosophical inspiration of the celibate, the otherworldly character of the monastic knight Galahad came from this monastic order set up by [[St. Bernard of Clairvaux]].<ref>Pauline Matarasso, ''The Redemption of Chivalry''. Geneva, 1979.</ref> The Cistercian-Bernardine concept of [[Catholic]] warrior [[asceticism]] that so distinguishes the character of Galahad also informs St. Bernard's projection of ideal chivalry in his work on the [[Knights Templar]], the ''[[Liber ad milites templi de laude novae militiae]]''. Significantly, in the narratives, Galahad is associated with a white shield with a vermilion cross, the very same emblem given to the Knights Templar by [[Pope Eugene III]]. {{Clear}}