Galahad
Galahad ( Sir Galahad , also French Galaad ) is one of the most important knights of the round table in the Arthurian legend . His special position is expressed in some versions of the legend by the fact that he is allowed to sit on a chair that is taboo for all other knights (see round table ). He is the son of Lancelot and Elaine von Corbenic , the daughter of King Pelles.
particularities
Sir Galahad is known as the "Pure Knight" or the "Immaculate Knight". This quality enables him, unlike his father, to find the Holy Grail .
His shield is white with a red cross. It symbolizes the cross that Joseph of Arimathea drew with the blood of Jesus collected in the Grail . Its symbolic animal is the unicorn , which stands for purity. White with a red cross is also the flag of England (not that of Great Britain) and thus a component of the Union Jack , but this is a symbol for St. George .
According to legend, Elaine, Galahad's mother, fell madly in love with Sir Lancelot. Through a magical drink she succeeds in appearing to Lancelot in the form of the Guinevere he covets and spending a night with him. She then becomes pregnant. Sir Lancelot only notices the deception when Guinevere surprises the two and leaves the unfaithful lover disappointed. His knightly honor dictates that he marry the daughter of King Pelles. Elaine gives birth to his son Galahad. Since Lancelot neither reciprocates nor lives with her, Elaine eventually dies lonely and heartbroken. The young Galahad is therefore raised in his great-aunt's monastery by twelve nuns , who explain to his father early on that no one is better suited to becoming a knight than his son.
Galahad is introduced by Merlin to King Arthur's court on a Pentecost morning . He is prepared by Merlin for the dangerous seat at the round table and his name appears to the assembled knights in fire letters when he asks to join their circle. Thereupon he will be given the previously empty place of the knight who will find the Grail.
Even before Galahad is knighted, he has already drawn a sword out of a stone, an act that only the best knight in the world could do. Thereupon he receives the accolade from his father Lancelot by order of Arthur.
After he found the Grail and was the only knight of the Round Table to fully see it, he died some time later at his own request in Sarras . His last word is his father's name, Lancelot. In one version of the legend, he even holds the Grail in his hands.
The name Galahad is derived either from the Welsh "Gwalchafed" ("falcon of summer") or from a place in Palestine called Gilead .
He is portrayed by John Larroquette in the television series The Quest .
In addition, the agent Harry Hart (played by Colin Firth ) in Kingsman has the code name Galahad.
literature
- Rosemary Sutcliff: Galahad. Free Spiritual Life, 1980, ISBN 3-7725-0719-0 .
- Heinz Ohff: King Arthur: A legend and its history. Piper Paperback, 2004, ISBN 3-492-26554-5 .
- Sylvie Bazin-Tacchella, Laurence Hélix, Olivier Bertrand: La Queste del Saint Graal. Atlande, 2004, ISBN 2-912232-82-1 , (French).
Web links
- Galahad in the Camelot Project at the University of Rochester (English)
- Galahad's birth in Camelot Project the University of Rochester (English)
- kingarthursknights.com
Individual evidence
King Arthur | Galahad | Lancelot | Gawain | Sir Lionel | Owein fab Urien / Iwein | Tristan | Gareth | Bedivere | Keie | Sir Lucan | Parzival | Palamedes | Bors | Sir Griflet | Pelleas | Sir Ector | Dagonet | Erec | Mordred | Ither from Gaheviez