Editing Galahad (section)

==Medieval literature==
===Conception===
[[File:SirGalahadwindow3.jpg|thumb|The life of Galahad portrayed in a stained glass window at [[St. Mary & St. George Anglican Church]] in [[Jasper, Alberta]]]]

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]], mistakes Princess [[Elaine of Corbenic]] (originally known as Heliabel or Amite in the Vulgate Cycle) for 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 (albeit years later they eventually come to live together for a time, after Elaine cures him of his severe and long madness caused by both herself and Guinevere). Galahad is born and placed in the care of a great aunt, who is an abbess at a nunnery, to be raised there.

According to the 13th-century Old French [[Prose Lancelot|Prose ''Lancelot'']] (part of the Vulgate Cycle), "Galahad" (actually written as ''Galaad'', in some manuscripts also as ''Gaalaz'' or ''Galaaus'') was Lancelot's original name, but it was changed when he was a child. At his birth, therefore, Galahad is given his father's own original name. [[Merlin]] prophesies that Galahad will surpass his father 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, also known as Galahad (Galaad), whose line had been entrusted with the Grail by Joseph.

===Grail Quest===
[[File:Joseph Noel Paton Sir Galahad JKAM.jpg|thumb|upright|''Sir Galahad'' by [[Joseph Noel Paton]] (1879)|alt=|left]]

Upon reaching adulthood (in medieval definition) of 15 years old, Galahad is finally united with his father Lancelot, who had never met him before that (not even during the years of living with Elaine). 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, [[Excalibur|the sword in the stone]]. In Malory's version, this is the sword that had belonged to [[Sir Balin|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.<ref>Vinaver, Eugene, 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.</ref> 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.

[[File:Castle of Maidens Abbey (cropped).jpg|thumb|250px|Galahad at the [[Castle of Maidens]] in an 1890 painting by [[Edwin Austin Abbey]]]]

Further uniquely among the Round Table, Galahad is capable of performing [[miracle]]s such as banishing demons and healing the sick. For the most part, he travels alone during the Grail Quest, smiting (and often sparing) his enemies, rescuing fellow knights including [[Percival]] and saving maidens in distress until he is finally reunited with [[Bors]] and Percival. Together, the three blessed virgin knights come across [[Percival'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. {{Clear left}}

===Ascension===
[[File:Edwin Austin Abbey (1852-1911)-y.jpg|thumb|Galahad discovers the [[Holy Grail|Grail]] in an 1895 painting by Edwin Austin Abbey|left|alt=]]

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]]. 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 of Arimathea, and thus experiences such a glorious rapture that he makes his request to die. Galahad bids Percival and Bors farewell, after which angels appear to take him to Heaven. His [[Ascension (mystical)|ascension]] is witnessed by Bors and Percival. 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 Percival's sister and later joined in their grave by Percival 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 Percival, however it is later discovered to be Galahad. Galahad was conceived for the divine purpose of seeking the Holy Grail,<ref>Waite, Arthur. ''The Holy Grail: The Galahad Quest in the Arthurian Literature''. New York: University Books, 1961.</ref> but this happened under a cloak of deception, similarly to the conceptions of Arthur and Merlin. Despite this, Galahad is the knight who is chosen to find the Holy Grail. 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.

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