Let’s continue on in our quest for the Holy Grail, as told in Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur. This post will consist simply of a summary of the final two chapters in Malory’s tale of the Holy Grail. This weekend, I will post a final “pure commentary/analysis” of the Grail Story.
Summary of Chapter 8: “The Castle of Carbonek”
The story now shifts back to Launcelot. The last time we saw him was at the end of chapter 4. Here in chapter 8, Launcelot is still on his quest, but now comes to the waters of Morayse, where a voice tells him to board the first ship he sees. Sure enough, a ship comes to shore and Launcelot gets on board. Once on board, he finds the body of Percivale’s sister and reads the letter that Percivale had written about what had happened.
Launcelot stays for one month on the ship, then one day when he was taking a walk on the shore, Galahad comes riding up and they are reunited. Galahad then boards the ship with Launcelot and they sail for six months, and in the process have many strange encounters (of which we are not told). After about six months, though, when the ship is by the shore and Launcelot and Galahad are walking, a white knight leading a white horse comes to tell Galahad that he must continue his quest for the Holy Grail—he is moving toward the body of our Lord. As Galahad prepares to leave, the white knight tells Galahad and Launcelot that they will never see each other again until Judgment Day.
And so, Galahad rides off while the ship takes Launcelot to another castle, whose entrance is guarded by two lions. Launcelot draws his sword, but suddenly a dwarf appears and knocks down the sword. So, Launcelot sheathes his sword and proceeds to enter the castle. Although the lions threaten him, they do not attack.
Once inside, Launcelot realizes he is in the Castle of Carbonek. As he is walking around, he comes to a room which he is not allowed to enter. In the room, he gets a glimpse of the Holy Grail. He sees the Grail sitting on a silver table and covered with a cloth of red samite. Above the table were angels holding a sacred cross and a brilliant-burning candle. In front of the table was a priest performing the mass. There were three men above the priest, and two of them set the third on the priest’s raised hands. The priest, though, looked like he might fall, and so Launcelot went into the room to try to help him. But just then, Launcelot is struck by a fiery breath and remains unconscious for 24 days.
When Launcelot finally wakes up, he says that he had seen heavenly visions and that the 24 days of being unconscious were penance for his 24 years of sin (adultery with Gwenevere). He is given a linen shirt, but he puts on the hermit’s hair shirt first. Then King Pelles (yes, the Fisher King) greets Launcelot and he stays at Carbonek for four days, during which times they encounter another visitation of the Holy Grail. During the visitation, Sir Ector shows up at the castle and knocks, wanting to come in. He, though, is a sinful knight and not worthy of the Grail. And so, he is not allowed to enter.
After that, Launcelot then rides off to make his way back to Camelot. Launcelot’s quest is now finished. On his way back to Camelot, he stops at the white stone abbey where King Badgemagus (who was killed by Gawain) was buried. He also stops at the abbey where Galahad had won his white shield with the red cross. Eventually, he arrives back at Camelot and finds that Ector, Gawain, and Lyonel were all back as well. It turns out that more than half the knights of the Round Table had died on their quest for the Grail.
Summary of Chapter 9: “The Miracle of Sir Galahad”
Chapter 9 is the culmination of the Grail story in Le Morte D’Arthur. It is in this chapter where Galahad, Percivale, and Bors achieve the Holy Grail.
Building off of what we were told in chapter 8, Galahad rides off until he comes to the abbey where King Mordrayne (from chapter 6) lays wounded. Galahad prays over him, and his body is restored to its youthfulness before he dies. Galahad then gives King Mordrayne a royal burial. After that, Galahad rides off again into the Wasteland, where he comes to a burning well. As soon as he touches the well, though, the water cools and is drinkable. From there, Galahad rides to the country of Gore, where Bagdemagus and Simeon the son of Joseph of Arimathea were buried. There was a burning tomb there. Just like as with the burning well, the flames die out as soon as Galahad encounters the tomb and the body was allowed to enter paradise
Finally, Galahad makes his way to the Castle of Carbonek, the castle of the Maimed King. On his way there, he again meets up with Percivale and Bors. Upon getting to the castle King Pelles greets them. Prince Eleazar then brings them the broken spear that had wounded Joseph of Arimathea in the thighs. Bors and Percivale can’t mend it, but Galahad, of course, does. He then gives the spear to Bors.
After that, Galahad, Percivale, Bors, along with King Pelles, Eleazar, and Pelle’s niece (a virgin) make their way into the great hall—and nine other knights (three from Gaul, Ireland, and Denmark each) show up as well. With twelve knights assembled in the hall, Pelles and Eleazar leave, and the Holy Grail appears. Four angels descend with an old man in the vestments of a bishop, holding a sacred cross. The angels sit him on a chair in front of the silver table. The old man is none other than Joseph of Arimathea, whom the Lord cared for in the city of Sarras in the spiritual palace. After that, a company of angels enter, carrying candles of wax, which they place on the table, a cloth, which they put over the Grail, and a spear that dripped blood into a receptacle that another angel carried. They then placed the spear upright, leaning on the Grail.
With everything in place, the bishop (Joseph of Arimathea) lifted up the wafer of bread, and it miraculous became a living child. He then put the child into the Holy Grail. The bishop then vanished and Jesus Christ himself rose up out from the Grail and showed the “signs of his Passion” (namely, his wounds). He then said to the knights, “Good knights, my true servants, my children; you who have travailed from the life of the flesh to the life of the spirit, from you I shall not hide myself, but reveal to you in part my hidden mysteries! And now you shall partake of the flesh which you have sought.” He then tells them that two of them will die in his service, while the third will return to Camelot and tell everyone what happened. Galahad then touches the blood on the spear and goes to King Pelles, the Maimed King, touches him with the blood, and he is finally healed. We are then told that Pelles became a monk and died a holy man.
After their experience with the Grail, Galahad, Percivale, and Bors leave Carbonek and again board their ship. Lo and behold, they find on the ship the silver table and Holy Grail. It is at that time that we learn Galahad prayed that his soul would be taken from his body. He then slept on the bed until they came to the city of Sarras. Once there, they see that the ship that had carried Percivale’s sister (and the one upon which Launcelot was on for a time) was in Sarras too. Galahad heals a crippled man and the three knights bring the silver table into the city.
It is then we find out that the king of Sarras, a man named Esorause, was a pagan. He arrests and imprisons Galahad, Percivale, and Bors. While imprisoned, though, we are told the Holy Grail visits them and sustains them in the dungeon. About a year later, while King Esorause is on his death bed, he releases the three knights and begs their forgiveness. Once he dies, the citizens of Sarras make Galahad the king, on pain of death—basically, “Be our king, or die!”
Once king, Galahad makes a golden chest in which to keep the Grail. But the next Sunday, Galahad encounters a bishop kneeling before the Grail. It’s Joseph of Arimathea, and he gives Galahad the body of our Lord. He tells Galahad that God would answer his prayer to depart from this world. And so, Galahad’s last words to Percivale and Bors were, “Greet my father Sir Launcelot for me, and bid him remember how ephemeral is this earth!” With that, Galahad’s soul was borne to heaven, and then a hand came down and took the Grail and the spear back to heaven.
Percivale ends up becoming a hermit, and a mere year and two months later, he dies. Bors didn’t become a hermit but remained in secular clothing. He buried Percivale next to his sister and Galahad beneath the Spiritual Palace in Sarras, and then journeyed back to Camelot. Once back, King Arthur had him and Launcelot write down all their adventures in a book, and then the Book of the Holy Grail was placed in the library at Salisbury.
