At this point in the school year, in my AP Literature class, I am taking my seniors through a bit of the Tale of the Holy Grail, as found in Sir Thomas Malory’s classic, Le Morte D’Arthur. All most people know about the Holy Grail tale in the Arthurian legend is that it involves the Holy Grail (obviously), and that there were two classic movies involving the Grail: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. And if you googled “The Holy Grail,” most entries and videos you’ll find have to do with a lot of scholarly information on the “sources” of the Grail story and a passing reference or two to a few scenes from the larger story. If you simply wanted to get a handle on what happens in the Grail story, you’re going to be disappointed.
Therefore, what I thought I’d do over the next couple weeks is provide a “Reader’s Digest” overview of each of the nine chapters in Malory’s Grail story, as well as a few of my own thoughts and insights. I hope you enjoy these next few posts enough to get inspired, buy Malory’s book, and read the fuller story on your own.
A Few Brief Background Comments
One common question regarding King Arthur and the Holy Grail is, “Was there a historical King Arthur?” The simple answer is this: “Maybe there was, maybe there wasn’t, but anyone who reads the Grail story and thinks we’re dealing with real, historical figures is out of his mind.”
Another thing to note is the setting in which the Grail story (indeed all the Arthur stories) takes place: basically 5th century England. Now, Malory wrote Le Morte D’Arthur in the early 15th century, and the sources he drew from were from the 11th century onward—and that means even the earliest Grail story was written 600-700 years later than the events in the Arthurian legend.
In any case, when it comes to the story of the Quest for the Holy Grail itself, there are a number of major themes that run throughout the story. First, there is the theme of salvation—the Holy Grail, which is both the cup that Christ used at the Last Supper and the cup that Joseph of Arimathea used to catch Christ’s blood on the cross, obviously represents salvation and healing. Second, there is the theme of the sinfulness of humanity. In the story, all but three of the knights who go on the quest for the Grail are declared to be unworthy of it because of their sinful ways—and isn’t that the point? Humanity isn’t worthy of salvation. Thirdly, there is the theme of penance—it is the means by which knights can own up to and repent of their sin. There are more things to learn along the way, but that should be enough to get us started.
Summary of Chapter 1: The Departure
The story of the quest for the Holy Grail begins in Camelot on the morning of Pentecost. A young noblewoman shows up in Arthur’s court and tells them that she has come on behalf of King Pelles (Who is that? Just wait). She tells Launcelot to accompany her into the forest, and they make their way to a nunnery. It is there that Launcelot finds Sir Bors and Sir Lyonel asleep. After they wake up, twelve nuns bring in a handsome young man and ask Launcelot to knight him. That young man is none other than Sir Galahad—the son of Launcelot who was conceived when Launcelot lay with Princess Elaine, who was the daughter of King Pelles (there he is again!).
Launcelot obliges the nuns and knights Galahad. He, Bors, and Lyonel then return to Camelot for the Pentecost feast. Upon returning, everyone notices that there is a new inscription on the Siege Perilous—the seat at the Round Table reserved for the perfect knight. The name “Siege Perilous” basically means “Seat of Danger.” In any case, the new inscription on the seat reads: “He is the one who is to sit here! 454 winters after the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, this seat will be filled!”
As Arthur and his court marvel over this miracle, someone comes into court to tell them of yet a second miracle that just happened: in the river outside, there is a floating stone…with a sword stuck in it. And the inscription on the hilt reads: “No man will be able to take me out, except he by whose side I ought to hang! He will be the best knight of the world!” Everyone expects Launcelot to try, because he is considered the greatest knight in the world, but he refuses (the reason is that he may be the greatest of sinful knights, but there is one who is pure, and therefore greater). Not only does he refuse, but he also declares that any unworthy knight who tries to take the sword out of the stone will receive a wound from which he might never recover. When the best knight comes to take the sword from the stone, though, that will start the quest for the Holy Grail.
That doesn’t detour Sir Gawain. Sure enough, after he tries and fails, he receives a wound. Sir Percivale also tries but fails. Just then, a holy man named Nacien—a hermit dressed in white—brings in Galahad to Arthur’s court. Galahad is dressed in red armor and is wearing a scabbard, but he has no sword or shield. It is at this time that we learn that Galahad (and Launcelot, obviously) is a descendant of Joseph of Arimathea. Galahad walks up to the Siege Perilous, and there is a new inscription on it: “This is the seat of Sir Galahad, the haughty prince” (“haughty” here, though, doesn’t have negative connotations. It means something like “high and noble”).
After that, Galahad goes to the stone, draws out the sword, and puts it in his scabbard—he now has his sword. The sword, we are told, once belonged to Sir Balin Le Saveage who fought and killed his brother Sir Balan after Balan had struck King Pelles (again!) with the dolorous stroke and ruined three kingdoms. We are also told that King Pelles’ wound was still open and that he wouldn’t be healed until Galahad comes to heal him. Nacien the hermit then tells Arthur that he and his knights will be visited by the Holy Grail.
That afternoon, there is a tournament for the knights, and Galahad overthrows everyone except for Launcelot and Percivale. That evening, though, the Holy Grail passed through Camelot, and every knight who beheld it was struck dumb—all of them were basically in a trance. Miraculously, meat and choice wine appeared before every knight. After the Grail disappeared and the knights recovered from their trance, Sir Gawain declared that there was to be a quest for the Holy Grail. King Arthur, though, lamented this because he knew that the quest would end up breaking apart the fellowship of the Round Table. Nevertheless, all the knights declared they would join the quest. Nacien the hermit, though, told them that if they were going to go on the quest, they would have to leave their women behind and struggle alone.
My Comments
There are a number of things one should take note of in this opening chapter of the Grail story. The first one, obviously, is the figure of Galahad—throughout the story, he is the Christ figure. The fact that the Grail is associated with Christ’s blood (be it at the Last Supper or on the cross), and hence salvation, and Galahad is dressed in red armor should make us draw that connection between Galahad and Christ. We are also told that Galahad is the best knight in the world, that his seat is the Siege Perilous, and that when he takes the sword from the floating stone, that will mark the start of the quest for the Holy Grail.
The second thing to note is the unworthiness of the other knights. Here in this first chapter, we are told that Launcelot, although considered the greatest knight, is nevertheless unworthy to take the sword from the stone because of his sin. Not only did he lie with Elaine, but (as we’ll learn later) he had an illicit affair with Queen Gwenevere for 24 years. Gawain also is unworthy. Not only is he so prideful that he attempts to take the sword and receives a potentially uncurable wound, but he is the one who calls for the quest for the Holy Grail—an act of supreme hubris. And it is this prideful quest the knights go on that ends up breaking apart the fellowship of the Round Table. (As a side note, even though we are told Percivale tries to take the sword from the stone but fails, it is interesting that he does not receive a wound. The reason (as we’ll see later) is that he, like Galahad, is pure—he’s a virgin.)
That leads us to a third thing to note: the symbolic association between virginity (sexual purity) and holiness. Throughout the story, the questing knights are sexually tempted by various women (who often end up being demons in disguise). The thing that prevents Launcelot from achieving the Grail is his sexual sin with Gwenevere. At the same time, there are many holy and virtuous women in the Grail story as well—as in the book of Proverbs, there are ultimately two types of women for the knights: virtuous women (like Lady Wisdom) and temptresses (like the Adulteress).
Finally, there is the figure of King Pelles. He is known in the Grail story as the Fisher King. It is crucial to understand if one is going to fully grasp the story of the Holy Grail. It is elaborated later on, but King Pelles was once the keeper of the Grail, after Joseph of Arimathea brought it from the Holy Land to England. Without giving anything away, King Pelles ended up wanting to possess the Grail for himself—and for that, he was wounded with a wound that wouldn’t heal. Not only was he wounded, but the land of the surrounding kingdoms was struck too, and everything became a wasteland. Both he and the land are awaiting healing and…you guessed it…salvation. Therefore, the dolorous stroke is what wounds him, and the one who will eventually heal him and bring salvation is Galahad, the one who sits on the Siege Perilous—he sits in the seat of danger in order to heal those who have been struck because of their own sin and pride.
Now, in this particular story of Malory, King Pelles is never portrayed as actually fishing, but in the other Grail legends, that’s what he does as he is waiting to be healed. Why fishing? I have to think it has something to do with the early Church symbol for Christ—a fish. The Greek word “icthus” is an acronym in Greek that stands for “Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior.” And that is what Pelles is waiting for.
I also find it interesting that Galahad is the son of Launcelot—the greatest, but most sinful of knights who note only had an affair with Gwenevere for 24 years, but who also slept with Princess Elaine, the daughter of King Pelles. So, that means Galahad is the offspring of a great, but sinful knight and the daughter of the Fisher King, the one who received a wound for trying to possess the Grail for himself. I think this shows that although Galahad (or perhaps because Galahad) is the Christ figure, his lineage is a shameful one. He’s the product of a union outside of marriage—indeed, although the Christ figure, he is born in the midst of sinful humanity.
Next up: Chapter 2—“The Miracles”
