Editing Galahad (section)

==Twentieth century and later==
{{More citations needed section|date=January 2025}}
[[File:Henry Albert Harper statue from base Centre Block.jpg|thumb|upright|Statue of Sir Galahad on [[Parliament Hill]] in Ottawa: "Erected by the people to commemorate the act of heroism of [[Henry Albert Harper]]. In attempting to save the life of Miss Bessie Blair he was carried with her into the waters of the Ottawa River. It was December 6, 1901. He was 28 years old."]]

===Literature===
* A poem by Thomas de Beverly published in 1925, "The Birth of Sir Galahad", tells of the events leading up to the conception of Sir Galahad, his birth and a visit soon afterwards by Sir Bors, to see Elaine and the baby Galahad. Sir Bors sees a vision of the Holy Grail whilst in a chapel with the baby and his mother. Of the three knights who are untainted by sin – Sir Perceval, Sir Bors, and Sir Galahad – Galahad is the only one predestined to achieve this honor of attaining the Holy Grail.<ref>Thomas de Beverly. 1925. ''The Birth of Galahad''. [http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/TDGalahad.htm Camelot Project]</ref> This is similar to God declaring that [[King David]] had shed much blood and was not worthy of building the [[Jerusalem Temple]], this honour falling only to his son [[King Solomon]].<ref>[[Books of Chronicles|1 Chronicles]], Ch. 22, 8, – quoted in Alec G. Warner, ''Biblical Motives in Twentieth Century Literature'' in Barbara Kid (ed.) "New Essays on British and American Literature", New York, 1982.</ref>
*[[Edmund Wilson]]'s story "Galahad", published in 1927, presents a humorous story about the attempted seduction of a virginal high school student by a debutante.<ref>[[Van Wyck Brooks|Brooks, Van Wyck]]; [[Alfred Kreymborg]], [[Lewis Mumford]], and [[Paul Rosenfeld]] (eds). ''The American Caravan''. New York: Macaulay Company, 1927. Print. Edmund Wilson story "Galahad" included. Story reprinted in E. Wilson, ''Galahad / I Thought of Daisy'', NY, [[Farrar, Straus and Giroux#Former imprints|Noonday]], 1967.</ref>
* In [[John Erskine (educator)|John Erskine]]'s novel ''Galahad: Enough of His Life to Explain His Reputation'', Galahad's main tutor for his knightly training is Queen Guinevere. Erskine follows Malory's text through Galahad's childhood. Just as in ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', Galahad grows up in the court of his mother Elaine, and travels to King Arthur's court to be reunited with his father and to become a knight. When Galahad arrives at the court, Guinevere is upset with Lancelot because he does not want to be her lover anymore, and she takes an interest in the young knight, persuading him to go above and beyond regular knightly duties. At first Galahad seems content with just being an ordinary Knight of the Round Table, going out on quests and saving maidens in distress. Guinevere is the main contributor to Galahad's destiny in this work. She says, "You'll waste your life if you don't accomplish something new, something entirely your own."<ref>Erskine 192.</ref> This is Galahad's motivation to seek the Grail.
* [[Matt Cohen (writer)|Matt Cohen]] satirizes Galahad's virtuous character in his 1972 comical short story "Too Bad Galahad". Cohen describes Galahad as the perfect knight who does no harm. In part, "Galahad's virtue is a compensation for Lancelot's indiscretion". However, Cohen, instead of glorifying Galahad's virtuous character, makes it into a weakness. He writes that Galahad tried to "swear and kill and wench with the rest of the knights but he could never really get into it." Cohen's Galahad is not well-liked by the other knights because he is so perfect and seems unapproachable. Cohen pokes fun at Galahad's "calling" by saying that his life would be wasted if he failed to remain pure and holy in order to be the bearer of the Holy Grail.
* [[Thomas Berger (novelist)|Thomas Berger's]] ''Arthur Rex'' portrays Galahad differently. In most works, Galahad is depicted as an emblem of perfection. Berger shows Galahad's arrival to court in a more satirical light. [[Gawain]] comments that he cannot tell whether he is male or female. Berger shows that even though Galahad is in fact the greatest knight in the world, he does not appear to be. Appearance versus reality is a common theme throughout this novel. In most versions of the story of Sir Galahad, Galahad's death comes about after his greatest achievement, that of the Holy Grail. In ''Arthur Rex'', however, Galahad is killed in a battle where he mistakes his own father Lancelot for a [[Saxons|Saxon]]. Galahad is too weak and sleeps through most of the battle and, when he does wake up, he kills his father as well as being killed himself. Just like the Grail, perfection is unattainable; only glimpses of the Grail and of perfection can be seen.
* In the ''[[Everworld]]'' fantasy novel series by [[K. A. Applegate]], the character David Levin fights with the Sword of Galahad, after witnessing Sir Galahad's death. David is the self-appointed leader of the protagonists and takes on all the burdens of the group, being troubled by his past in which he was cowardly and feeling he must prove himself to be a man.
*''[[The Lady of the Lake (Sapkowski novel)|The Lady of the Lake]]'', the final book of ''[[The Witcher]]'' saga by [[Andrzej Sapkowski]], features King Arthur's Knight Galaad of Caer Benic. At the very beginning of the story, as a denizen of a parallel world, he encounters the protagonist Ciri and calls her the Lady of the Lake.
*In [[Sam Selvon]]'s 1956 novel ''[[The Lonely Londoners]]'', central character Moses Aloesa meets fellow Trinidadian émigré Henry Oliver and nicknames him Galahad.
* In [[Marion Zimmer Bradley]]'s 1983 novel '[[The Mists of Avalon]]' Galahad is the son of Viviane, Our Lady of the Lake, and cousin of King Arthur. 
* [[Neil Gaiman]]'s short story "Chivalry" from ''[[Smoke and Mirrors (Gaiman book)|Smoke & Mirrors]]'' includes Galahad in his quest for the Holy Grail.
* Galahad appears as a child toward the conclusion of British author [[Giles Kristian]]'s novel ''Lancelot'' (2018). The sequel, ''Camelot'' (2020), is set a decade later, with Galahad as the protagonist.
* Galahad is a major character in all three installments of the ''[[The Warlord Chronicles|Warlord Chronicles]]'' trilogy of novels by [[Bernard Cornwell]]. He is first a prince of Benoic, who is forced to capitulate his kingdom's capital at [[Mont Saint-Michel|Ynys Trebes]] through the actions of his cowardly older brother [[Lancelot]]. He befriends [[King Arthur|Arthur]] and Derfel Cadarn and is an important figure in Britain's transition from [[paganism]] to [[Christianity]].

===Music===
* [[Joan Baez]] uses the legend metaphorically in her song "[[Sweet Sir Galahad]]", which is about the courtship of her sister.
* The band [[America (band)|America]] mentions Galahad ("... or the tropic of Sir Galahad") in the chorus for the song "[[Tin Man (America song)|Tin Man]]".
* On his EP ''[[To the Yet Unknowing World (EP)|To the Yet Unknowing World]]'', [[Josh Ritter]] has a song titled "Galahad", which jokes about Galahad's chastity and the 'virtue' of his supposed purity.
* In [[Mili (musical group)|Mili]]'s song "Ga1ahad and Scientific Witchery", Galahad is portrayed as a robotic knight who was reanimated by a witch.
*[[Marty Stuart]] uses part of the last stanza in the outro of the concept album ''[[The Pilgrim (Marty Stuart album)|The Pilgrim]]''. [[Johnny Cash]] speaks as God, describing the Pilgrim as a just and faithful knight, before singing the final line of the album.

===Film and television===
*''[[Kid Galahad (1937 film)|Kid Galahad]]'', a 1937 film about a Galahad-type<ref>{{cite journal |title=From Kids as Galahad to Kid Galahad |first=Alan |last=Lupack |journal= [[Arthuriana]] |volume=29 |issue=2 |year=2019 |pages=102–14 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27125830}}</ref> boxer. It was remade twice, [[The Wagons Roll at Night|in 1941]] and [[Kid Galahad|in 1962]].
* Galahad is portrayed by [[George Reeves]] in the 1949 film serial ''[[Adventures of Sir Galahad]]''.
* Galahad is portrayed by [[Michael Palin]] in ''[[Monty Python and the Holy Grail]]''. The movie makes a satire of Galahad's purity as his chastity is put to the test when he finds a castle full of sexually charged nuns. 
* In the 1998 miniseries ''[[Merlin (miniseries)|Merlin]]'', the title character meets Galahad and his parents while looking for a suitable [[regent]] for Camelot while Arthur searches for the Grail. Merlin brings Lancelot back with him, and after the sorrows that subsequently befall Camelot, the Lady of the Lake reveals that Merlin was meant to pick Galahad and that his mistake proves how human he truly is. 
* Galahad is portrayed by [[Hugh Dancy]] in the 2004 historical action-adventure film ''[[King Arthur (2004 film)|King Arthur]]''.
* [[John Larroquette]] played an elderly yet immortal Galahad (now known as Jenkins) in the TV series ''[[The Librarians (2014 TV series)|The Librarians]]''.
* Galahad is a robot piloted by the Knight of One, Bismarck Waldstein, in the anime ''[[Code Geass]]''.
* In the film ''[[Kingsman: The Secret Service]]'' and its [[Kingsman: The Golden Circle|sequel]], Galahad is the code name of [[Colin Firth]]'s character Harry Hart, later assumed by [[Taron Egerton]]'s character, Gary "Eggsy" Unwin. It was used by [[Gemma Arterton]]'s character Polly Watkins in the [[The King's Man|prequel]].

===Games===
* In the 2015 video game ''[[The Order: 1886]]'', the main character is an heir to the title of Sir Galahad, and is referred to as such.
* The video game ''[[Hero Wars (mobile game)|Hero Wars]]'' has a knight character named Galahad.
* In the video game ''[[Tainted Grail: Conquest]]'', Galahad is a title held by Kamelot's representative to the South. Its holder at the time the events of the game take place is known for being violent and ruthless.