Galahad

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Sir Galahad is one of the knights of King Arthur's Round Table in Arthurian legend. He is the bastard son of Sir Lancelot and Elaine of Corbenic, and he is renowned for his gallantry and purity.

Galahad is one of only three knights able to find the Holy Grail (the others being Percival and Bors). After finding the Grail, Galahad is taken to heaven in divine standing.

Galahad's early life

Sir Galahad's conception comes about when Elaine, daughter of the Grail King Pelles, uses magic to trick Lancelot into thinking she is Guinevere. They sleep together, but on discovering what has transpired, Lancelot abandons Elaine and returns to Arthur's court.Galahad is placed in the care of his great aunt, the abbess at a nunnery, and is raised there. "Galahad" was Lancelot's original name, but it had been changed when he was a child. The son was prophecied to surpass his father in valor and achieve the Holy Grail.

Upon reaching adulthood, Galahad is reunited with his father, who knights him. He is then brought to King Arthur's court at Camelot during the feast of Pentecost. Without realising the danger he was putting himself in, Sir Galahad walks over to the Round Table amidst the revelry and takes his seat at the Siege Perilous. This place had been kept vacant for the sole person who would accomplish the quest of the Holy Grail; for anyone else sitting there, it would prove to be immediately fatal. Needless to say, Sir Galahad survives the event, which is witnessed by King Arthur and his knights. The king then asks the young knight to perform a test which involves pulling a sword from a stone. This he accomplishes with ease, and King Arthur swiftly proclaims Sir Galahad to be the greatest knight in the world. He is promptly invited to join the Order of the Round Table, and after a visit from the Holy Grail, the quest to find the famous object is set.

Uses of the name Galahad

External links

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