Editing Galahad (section)

===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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