Wasteland

by

The Arthurian Realm: The Divine Role of Guinevere

Guinevere A-Maying – AI Image – zteve t evans

This article was first published on #FolkloreThursday.com on 23rd August 2018, titled British Legends: The Divine Tragedy of Guinevere, written by zteve t evans and later edited and revised by zteve t evans and published in full here 15th May 2024.

The Arthurian Realm

In Arthurian legend and romance, Queen Guinevere was famous as the wife of King Arthur and the lover of her husband’s best knight, Sir Lancelot du Lac. In some stories, she is presented as being virtuous and honourable while at the same time being fatally flawed. Conversly, other stories present as an overtly immoral and sexually promiscuous woman who cheats on her husband, King Arthur, the great hero of the Britons. Rightly or wrongly, her affair with Lancelot is often blamed for the fall of Camelot and the Arthurian realm, with Guinevere unfairly shouldering most of the blame. However, it is crucial to acknowledge that the tragedy of Camelot was not solely the result of Guinevere’s actions. Several other key figures, including Arthur himself, Mordred, Sir Gawain, Sir Lancelot and various Knights of the Round Table, played significant roles in the unfolding of this disaster.

The Arthurian world is a tapestry woven with threads of heroism, adventure, and romance, all tinged with tragedy. Nowhere is this more evident than in the love triangle of Guinevere, Lancelot, and Arthur. Theirs is a story that echoes the tragic tale of Tristan, Iseult, and King Mark, but with more far-reaching consequences for themselves and the entire Arthurian world.

Many scholars of Arthurian legend and romance interpret the tales of King Arthur and his knights as dramatizations of the adventures of Celtic gods and significant natural events in Celtic mythology. They propose a unique bond between the King and the gods, as well as the King and the land. In this interpretation, the King’s marriage to the goddess of the land, who also embodies sovereignty, is a crucial element for ensuring the fertility and prosperity of the land.

Presented is a retelling of a story from Le Morte D’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory about how Sir Lancelot rescued Guinevere after an unwelcome suitor abducted her, how the two slept together, and how he saved her from being burnt at the take after being accused of adultery and treason. We conclude with a brief discussion of how some Arthurian scholars see Guinevere as a personification of a goddess of sovereignty and why this may influence public perception of her throughout the ages.

Queen Guinevere a-Maying by John Collier, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Guinevere Goes a-Maying

The story begins one May Day after Guinevere chooses ten knights and the same number of ladies, and servants to accompany her into the countryside to take part in the traditional seasonal festivities celebrating the arrival of May and the beginning of spring. This small company of knights was chosen in place of her elite guards, known as the Queen’s Knights, who usually accompanied her everywhere. She insisted they leave behind their armour, wear green clothing, and bear only light arms to enter the spirit of the festivities spirit fully. Therefore, bright and early the following day, the party set off to go a-Maying in the woods and fields around Westminster.

The Malice of Sir Meliagrance

Sir Meliagrance, knight of immoral and dishonourable character, resided in a castle a few miles away from where Guinevere and her company were enjoying the festivities. From the moment he first laid eyes on her, at King Arthur’s court he had become infatuated with her, but never dared express his feelings for fear of Sir Lancelot, who always seemed close to her wherever she went.

Now, on this bright May morning, away from the security of the Royal Court, accompanied by only ten lightly armed knights, with Sir Lancelot absent, he saw his chance. He quickly mustered twenty of his men-at-arms and one hundred archers to aid him in the abduction of Queen Guinevere.

Ambush

Guinevere and her party joyfully entertained themselves thoroughly in the ancient custom, adorning themselves and each other with flowers, leaves, mosses, and herbs. They were all relaxed and enjoying the traditional activity. So, when Meliagrance sprang his ambush from the woods and quickly surrounded the happy company, they were caught completely unaware.


Aggressively, he demanded that Guinevere be surrendered to him, or he would take her by force. Nevertheless, even without shields or armour, the ten lightly armed knights were not prepared to allow the Queen to be taken easily vowing to fight to the death to defend her. Meliagrance warned sternly, “The prepare with what weapons you have, for I will have Queen Guinevere!”

The defenders placed themselves in a protective ring around their queen and drew their swords. Meliagrance gave the order, and his knights charged on horseback. Despite being vastly outnumbered, the ten knights defended the queen ferociously. After long and fierce fighting, six of her defenders were too severely injured to fight on. The remaining four were unhurt and still defiantly fought on. But, despite their heroic defence, they were vastly outnumbered and began receiving wounds, yet, courageously, they remained determined to uphold their vow and to fight to the bitter end like true knights.

Guinevere Surrenders

However, despite her knights’ courage in defending her, Guinevere could see their defeat was inevitable. She ordered them to surrender to prevent their slaying and brokered a truce with Meliagrance. It was agreed that her knights would not be slain and would remain together in her company. Meliagrance agreed, but only on the condition they did not try to escape or contact Sir Lancelot but foolishly failed to include her or her ladies and servants in this agreement.

Guinevere sent one of her young servants on a swift horse to find Sir Lancelot and tell him of her plight while Meliagrance was distracted attending to his wounded knights. Upon hearing the news, Sir Lancelot feared the Queen’s safety. He quickly summoned his horse, armour, and weapons to find and rescue her. As he left, he asked the servant to go to his friend, Sir Lavaine, to tell him the news of the Queen’s abduction and ask him to follow him to the castle of Meliagrance without delay.

The Knight of the Cart

Lancelot rode swiftly, making his horse swim the Thames and soon came to where Sir Meliagrance had abducted the Queen and her knights. Following their tracks, he was waylaid by the archers of Sir Meliagrance, who had been positioned to guard their lord’s back. They rained arrows down on Lancelot, slaying his horse, though he survived unharmed, thanks to his shield. Despite losing his horse and having no choice but to carry his armour, weapons, and shield himself, he set out on foot to the castle of Meliagrance, determined to free Guinevere.

As he walked, he was overtaken by a horse and cart manned by a driver and his assistant carrying wood to the castle of Meliagrance and begged for a lift. The driver refused, but Lancelot was in a hurry and would brook no delay. Fearing for the safety of the queen, he quickly commandeered the cart by forcibly removing the driver and ordering his assistant to drive him to the castle with all speed. The frightened assistant readily complied, and they soon arrived at the castle of Sir Meliagrance.

From his manner of arrival at the castle, Sir Lancelot was given the name “The Knight of the Cart” because a carriage was deemed unfit transport for a knight, but that hardly concerned him. Jumping to the ground, he cried, “Sir Meliagrance, traitor Knight of the Round Table, where are you? I, Sir Lancelot du Lac challenge you! Come, face me, and bring who you will, for I will fight you to the death!”

Jousting – N. C. Wyeth, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

On hearing Sir Lancelot had arrived and the commotion at the gates, Meliagrance ran to Guinevere saying, “Lady, I beg you have mercy upon me, I put myself at your good will!” and begged her to protect him from the angry knight. After mocking her abductor’s cowardice and hoping to prevent further violence, she persuaded Sir Lancelot to put aside his anger. She led him to see the other knights recuperating from their injuries in a partition in her chamber.

The Tryst of Guinevere and Sir Lancelot

Later, Lancelot and Guinevere found a chance to talk alone, and so glad they were to see each other again, they agreed on a secret tryst. While all were asleep in their beds, Lancelot would appear at the barred window of her chamber at midnight. Later that day, Sir Lavaine arrived at the castle gates, crying out in great anxiety for Sir Lancelot, who went down to meet him. The two talked, and Lancelot told him he would meet with Guinevere at night. Sir Lavaine warned him against this, but Sir Lancelot was adamant he would keep the tryst.

That night, at the allotted time, he used a ladder to climb up to Guinevere’s window. He whispered a greeting to her, expressing his desire to enter her chamber, but the barred window made it impossible. She told him that she wished for the same. He asked her to confirm this was what she wanted, and she reassured him it was. Grasping the window bars, he pulled them with all his might, successfully wrenching them out, but cutting his hand was cut in the process.

In his eagerness to be with Guinevere he did not noticing blood oozing from the wound, as he climbed in through the damaged window to join her. The two went quietly to her bed and stayed there all night long. Before sunrise, he climbed back through the window, replacing the bars as best he could and retiring to his chamber.

The Accusation

At 9 a.m., Sir Meliagrance went to Guinevere’s chamber and found her ladies awake and dressed, but their mistress still in bed with the curtain pulled around it. “Lady, why do you sleep so long? Are you ill?” he asked and drew back the curtains. Seeing the blood on her sheet—and upon herself—from Sir Lancelot’s wounded hand, he immediately accused her of lying with one or more of her wounded knights, who lay nearby, and called them to witness.

Guinevere rightly denied the charge because it was Sir Lancelot she had slept with, but she said nothing of that. When Sir Lancelot arrived and learned of the accusation, saying nothing of where he had been in the night, he warned Meliagrance that he would fight to defend the queen against any malicious allegation. However, Meliagrance, emboldened by what he and the others had seen, declared he would take the accusation to King Arthur and, if found guilty, she would be burnt at the stake.

Lancelot again warned that he would defend the queen with his life. The accuser laid down his gauntlet, challenging him to a duel to prove her innocence. Lancelot readily agreed to meet the accuser in eight days in the fields of Westminster before King Arthur and his court, where they would fight in mortal combat to decide the issue.

With the trial by combat terms agreed upon, Meliagrance had formulated a treacherous plan. Acting in a polite and friendly, manner, he offered to show Lancelot around his castle, who accepted the offer out of courtesy as a guest to a host, as was the way of all true knights.

Betrayal

Meliagrance escorted Lancelot on a tour of his castle, showing its splendour, going from room to room and around the ramparts. With Sir Lancelot at his ease, he led him to a particular room and contrived it so that his guest stepped upon a hidden trapdoor and fell through to land in a deep, dark dungeon. As he lay unconscious, his host closed and locked the trap door, leaving his guest imprisoned. Going to the stables, he hid Sir Lavaine’s horse and met the others at dinner as if nothing had happened.

During dinner, Guinevere and her small group of wounded knights and their ladies, along with Sir Lavaine, assumed that Lancelot had ridden away alone on some errand, as he had done many times before. They assumed he had borrowed Lavaine’s horse after he his own had been killed.

After dinner, Sir Lavaine organized the transport of the wounded knights and escorted Queen Guinevere and the party to Westminster. On arrival, he explained to King Arthur how Meliagrance had accused the Queen of treason and how he had demanded she be burnt. He told him Sir Lancelot had taken up the gauntlet of the accuser to defend Queen Guinevere.

Arthur was reluctant to put his wife on trial, being convinced of her innocence, but he did believe that—as king—he had to uphold his laws. He agreed to the trial by combat and said, “I have absolute faith in my Lady’s innocence and have no doubt Sir Meliagrance has bitten off more than he can chew, but where is Sir Lancelot?”

“We think he has taken Sir Lavaine’s horse on some errand of his own,” said Guinevere. “I am sure he will be here in due time, though I fear some treachery!” said Arthur.

Escape

Lancelot finally returned to consciousness to find himself trapped in a dark prison. Every day, he was brought food and drink by a lady who tried her best to seduce him, but he always politely refused her advances.

One day, she said, “Sir Lancelot, you will never escape this prison without my help, and Queen Guinevere is due to be burnt at the stake unless you defeat Meliagrance. All I ask for is a single kiss, and for that, would you let Queen Guinevere burn? Grant one kiss, and I will bring your armour, weapons, and a horse and set you free to do as you please.”

“If that is truly all you ask, I will grant it,” said Sir Lancelot, and he kissed her. As promised, she brought him his armour and weapons. Opening the door of his prison, she led him to the stable and told him to choose his mount. Lancelot chose a white charger and bade the stable boy saddle the horse while he donned his armour for battle. Mounting his steed, he turned to thank the lady and fully armed with spear, shield, and sword, rode to Westminster and his deadly rendezvous with Sir Meliagrance.

Trial by Combat

Sir Lancelot du Lac – N. C. Wyeth, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

On the appointed day, Guinevere was brought to the field of Westminster and tied to the stake, ready to be burnt. Meliagrance, confident in his belief that Sir Lancelot would not arrive, rode up and down, calling on King Arthur to bring forth the queen’s champion, and mocking Sir Lancelot du Lac, demanding to know what was keeping him.

At last, Sir Lavaine spoke to Arthur, “I ask permission to stand in for Sir Lancelot and do battle for the honour of our Queen unless a better knight shall come?”

“Thank you, Sir Lavaine, I give my permission and know you will do your best!” replied Arthur and Sir Lavaine put on his armour, armed himself, mounted his horse, and rode to the opposite end of the field, ready to meet Sir Meliagrance in combat. Then, to everyone’s surprise, a knight appeared riding like thunder on a white charger. King Arthur shouted, “Wait!” As the knight rode near, to his relief, Arthur saw it was Sir Lancelot. Standing before the King, Lancelot told of the betrayal of Meliagrance and his imprisonment, leaving Arthur and his knights full of disgust and Sir Lavaine left the field, saying, “A better knight has come!”

Sir Meliagrance and Sir Lancelot rode to opposite ends of the field. The signal was given, and they rode at each other like thunder. Lancelot’s spear knocked his opponent off his horse, and he leapt to the ground to have no advantage over his foe. Then, with shield and sword in hand and Sir Meliagrance likewise, they attacked one another fiercely. Both struck each other many times, but at last, Sir Lancelot caught Sir Meliagrance such a crushing blow to his helmet knocking his opponent to the ground. Meliagrance cried, “I yield to you, Sir Lancelot du Lac! Spare my life, for as you are a Knight of the Round Table you are required to spare those who have yielded as overcome!”

Sir Lancelot was at a loss for what to do. Sir Meliagrance was right, and his life should have been spared him, but he wanted to wreak vengeance on him for his treatment of the queen and himself. He looked towards Guinevere, who nodded slightly and looked at him in a way that clearly showed she wanted her accuser dead. Lancelot then told Meliagrance to get up and resume the battle to the bitter end. However, Meliagrance refused, “I will not stand until you accept, I have yielded and I will give you huge rewards for sparing me!”

Sir Lancelot said, “I will fight you without my helmet, leaving my head bare. I will take off the armour from the left side of my body, and I shall have my left hand bound behind my back. I will fight in this manner.”

Meliagrance turned to King Arthur, saying, “Sire, listen and take heed of what he says for I will fight him under these conditions!”

“Sir Lancelot, are you sure about this? Will you abide by the conditions you yourself have set?” the King asked.

“That I will, for I never go back on my word,” replied Lancelot. He removed his armour, and his left hand was tied behind his back in compliance with the conditions he had set. With only a sword in his right hand, he prepared to battle with Meliagrance, who still wore his full armour and carried his shield and sword.

Meliagrance, thinking he would be easy prey, rushed at him, swinging his sword high. Lancelot deftly stepped aside and dealt a tremendous blow to his opponent’s head, splitting his helmet asunder and killing him outright. With the death of her accuser, Sir Lancelot had proven Guinevere’s innocence of the charge in compliance with King Arthur’s laws. However, their adulterous liaison remained a secret from the king.

Nevertheless, completely unaware of their affair, the king was overjoyed his wife had been proven innocent of the charges and ordered her freed from the stake. Unaware of the seeds of doom now planted, the Guinevere and Arthur embraced Sir Lancelot in gratitude for saving her, never foreseeing the devastating fate that was to slowly unfold around this ménage à trois.

Goddess of Sovereignty

Many devotees of the Arthurian see Guinevere as representing a Celtic or earlier goddess of sovereignty, disguised, and hidden over time by various storytellers to become King Arthur’s unfaithful and promiscuous wife. There are many differing opinions on how Celtic and earlier influences were integrated into these stories.

The role of the goddess of sovereignty was to ensure the fertility of the land. She was the personification of the land, looking after its best interests. To fulfil her task, she needed a suitable male consort who was virile, strong, and dynamic. He would be the king and sovereign of the land, though never own it, but take stewardship of it on her behalf. He was replaceable as and when the need arose, such as when he grew old, became too sick, was injured, or failed for any reason to fulfil his role. This was because the health, strength and virility of the king became manifest in the land, as seen in the story of the Maimed King and the wasteland his realm became after his injury. To ensure continuing the health and fertility of the land the goddess of sovereignty bestowed kingship on the most suitable candidate.

There is a hint from Malory that Guinevere may have set up her abduction, as a test as she deliberately leaves her own company of guards, the Queen’s Knights, behind to rely on ten lightly armed knights without their armour. Some scholars speculate that King Arthur, for all his fame and greatness, was ageing and losing his former vitality and potency. Therefore, a younger, more dynamic replacement was needed to ensure the health and fertility of the land. If that was the case, this was why she sent for Lancelot, and not King Arthur, even though he was her husband, to rescue her from her abductor.

The Divine Tragedy

In the story, Guinevere has been abducted and rescued, then accused of a crime and in danger of being burnt for adultery and treason. Lancelot has proven to be the strongest and most potent of her suitors, precisely what a goddess of sovereignty needs. As the personification of a goddess of sovereignty, her relationships with more than one powerful male should not be seen as sexual promiscuity or immoral behaviour but purely the human representative of the goddess fulfilling her role and purpose.

If seen in this light, Guinevere becomes someone striving to fulfil her divine role as representative of the goddess of sovereignty. Her relationship with Lancelot is not out of sexual promiscuity but as a necessity to fulfil her role in the best interests of the land. The problem for her is that as a woman, she does love Lancelot, and she does love Arthur, and there lies the divine tragedy, for she is destined to lose both in the end.

© zteve t evans

References, Attributions and Further Reading

Copyright zteve t evans

Sir Galahad the Perfect Knight

640px-arthur_hughes_-_sir_galahad_-_the_quest_for_the_holy_grail

Sir Galahad first appeared in medieval Arthurian romance in the Lancelot-Grail cycle of works and then later in Le Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory.  He was the illegitimate son of Sir Lancelot and Elaine of Corbenic and became one of King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table.  When he came of age he was considered the best knight in the world and the perfect knight and was renowned for his gallantry and purity becoming one of only three Knights of the Round Table to achieve the Holy Grail.  The other two were Sir Bors and Sir Percival.  Pieced together here is a brief look at his early life and how through his immaculate behavior he rose to such an exalted status  achieving the Holy Grail and a spiritual dimension which remained frustratingly out of reach of King Arthur, Sir Lancelot and most of the the other Knights of the Round Table and concludes by comparing his achievements with those of King Arthur and Sir Lancelot.

King Pelles

King Pelles the lord of Corbenic the Grail Castle, in the land of Listeneise  and was Galahad’s maternal grandfather.  He was also one of the line of the guardians of the Holy Grail. In some Arthurian romances  Joseph of Arimathea brought the Grail to Britain and gave it to Bron, his brother-in-law, to keep safe and Pelles was descended from Bron. In some versions of Arthurian romance Pelles is also known as the Fisher King or Maimed King.

Pelles had been wounded in the legs or groin resulting in a loss of fertility and his impotence was reflected in the well-being his of kingdom making it infertile and a Wasteland. This is why he was sometimes called the Maimed King.  The only activity he appeared able to do was go fishing.  His servants had to carry him to to the water’s edge and there he would spend his time fishing which is why  he is sometimes called the Fisher King.   Galahad was important to King Pelles as he was the only one who could heal his wound.

Elaine and Lancelot

King Pelles had a daughter named Elaine and he had been forewarned by magical means that Lancelot would become the father of his daughter’s child.  This child would grow to become the world’s best and most perfect knight and be chosen by God to achieve the Holy Grail.  He was the chosen one who would be the only one pure enough to be able to heal his wound.  There was a problem though. Lancelot was dedicated solely to Guinevere, his true love and would never knowingly sleep with another woman.   Nevertheless Pelles was desperate for the liaison to take place and decided to seek magical help from Dame Brusen.  She was one of Elaine’s servants who was skilled in the art of sorcery to help his cause.  She gives Pelles a magic ring for Elaine to wear which gives her the likeness of Guinevere.

Elaine wears the magic ring and transforms into the a double of Guinevere.  Lancelot is fooled by the masquerade and they sleep together.  When he discovers the deception he is angry and ashamed and threatens to kill her.  She tells hims she is with his child and he relents but leaves Corbenic.

Elaine in due course gives birth to his son who she names Galahad.  This is the name Lancelot was baptized with when he was born.   It was the Lady of the Lake who fostered and raised Lancelot in her magical realm and it was she who named him Lancelot du Lac, or Lancelot of the Lake.

The madness of Lancelot

holy_grail_tapestry_the_failure_of_sir_launcelot

Soon afterwards Elaine goes to a feast at Arthur’s court.  Although Lancelot is also there he refuses to acknowledge her, making her sorrowful and lovelorn.   She calls her servant Dame Brusen to her and tells her how she is feeling and asks for her help.  Dame Brusen tells Elaine that she will fix it so Lancelot lies with her that night.  Pretending to Lancelot that Guinevere has summoned him she leads him to her chamber, but it is Elaine waiting there for him in bed in the dark and again he sleeps with her.

While he is with Elaine, Guinevere summons him and is furious to discover he is not in his bed chamber and even more so when she discovers him lying with Elaine in hers.  She tells him that she never wants to see or talk to him again and will have nothing more to do with him.  Lancelot is so upset and disturbed at what has happened and with Guinevere’s admonishments that madness takes him and he leaps out of the window running off into the wilderness.

Lost in madness and consumed by grief and sorrow he wanders alone through the wild places before he eventually reaches Corbenic where Elaine finds him insane her garden. She takes him to a chamber in Corbenic Castle where he is allowed to view the Holy Grail, but only through a veil.  Nevertheless this veiled sight of the holy relic is enough to cure him of his insanity.  Although he sees it through the veil, having committed adultery he is not pure enough so he can never be the perfect knight that achieves the Grail.

When his son is born he finally forgives Elaine but will not marry her and instead returns to the court of King Arthur.  The child is named Galahad, after his father’s former name and given to his great aunt to bring up in a nunnery.  Merlin foretells that Galahad will be even more valiant than his father and will achieve the Holy Grail.

Galahad’s quest for the Holy Grail

It was not until Galahad became a young man that he was reunited with Sir Lancelot, his father, who makes him a knight.   Lancelot then takes Galahad to Camelot at Pentecost where he joins the court.  A veteran knight who accompanied him leads him to the Round Table and unveils an empty chair which is called the Siege Perilous or the Perilous Seat.  At the advice of Merlin this seat was kept vacant for the knight who was to achieve the Quest for the Holy Grail.

This was his first test or worthiness as this chair in the past had proved deadly for any who had previously sat there who had hoped to find the Grail.  Galahad sits in the seat and survives.  King Arthur sees this and is impressed seeing that there is something special about him and leads him down to a river  where there is a floating stone with a sword embedded in it which bears an inscription  which says,

“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.”

Galahad tries and takes the sword from the stone and Arthur immediately declares that he is the greatest knight ever.  Arthur invites Galahad to become a member of the Round Table which he accepts.  Not long after the mystical presence of the Holy Grail is briefly experienced by those at King Arthur’s Court and the quest to find the grail is immediately begun. All the Knights of the Round Table embark on the quest leaving Camelot virtually empty.  Arthur is sad because he knows many will die or not return and fears it is the beginning of the end of his kingdom.

640px-dante_gabriel_rossetti_-_how_sir_galahad2c_sir_bors_and_sir_percival_were_fed_with_the_sanct_grael

Galahad mainly traveled alone and became involved in many adventures. In one he saves Sir Percival when he was attacked by twenty knights and rescued many maidens in distress.  Eventually he meets up again with Sir Percival who is accompanied by Sir Bors and together they find the sister of Sir Percival who takes them to a ship that will take them over the sea to a distant shore.  Sadly when they reach the shore Percival’s sister has to die that another may live.  To ensure she gets a fit and proper burial Sir Bors takes her body back to her homeland.

Sir Galahad and Sir Percival continue the quest and after many adventures arrive at the court of King Pelles and his son Eliazar.  Pelles and Eliazar are holy men and take Sir Galahad into a room to show him the Holy Grail and they request that he take it to a holy city called Sarras. After being shown the Grail, Sir Galahad asks that he may he may choose the time of his own death which is granted.

While he is on the journey back to Arthur’s court Joseph of Arimathea comes to him and he experiences such feeling of ecstasy that he asks to die there and then.  He says his goodbyes to Sir Percival and Sir Bors and angels appear and he is carried off to heaven as his two friends watch.  Although there is nothing to say that the Holy Grail will not once again be seen on earth it was said that since the ascension to heaven of Galahad there has not been another knight with the necessary qualities of achieving the Holy Grail.

Galahad’s achievement of the Holy Grail

Sir Galahad and the quest for the Holy Grail is one of the later stories that appeared as Arthurian romances grew in popularity.   The thought is that King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table were not pure enough to achieve such an important religious task. Galahad was introduced into the fold as one of the few who had the purity and personal qualities to qualify him as worthy enough to achieve the Holy Grail.  Just as when Arthur drew the sword from the stone and became the chosen one, Galahad did the same and also became the chosen one. He chose the kingdom of God whereas Arthur built a kingdom on earth.  In taking up the quest for the Holy Grail the priority is to the spiritual rather than the earthly life and Galahad fulfills the spiritual dimension of Arthurian romance and becomes the example for his contemporaries and those coming after him to aspire to.

© 03/05/2016  zteve t evans

References and Attributions

Copyright May 3rd, 2016 zteve t evans