The greatest quest of Arthur and his Knights is the quest for the mythical Holy Grail, the cup from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper. While King Arthur is never to find the Holy Grail himself, his knight Sir Galahad does because of his purity of heart.
The three goodly knights, Sir Galahad, Sir Bors, and Sir Percival, whose purity of heart and spiritual graces brought them very close to the Grail, are distinguished by halos in the middle and upper lancets, and are further recognized by the appearance of their coats-of-arms on shields held by angels in the three large ...
Despite this, Galahad is the knight who is chosen to find the Holy Grail. Galahad, in both the Lancelot-Grail cycle and in Malory's retelling, is exalted above all the other knights: he is the one worthy enough to have the Grail revealed to him and to be taken into Heaven.
There, Lancelot's and Lady Elaine's son Galahad, devoid of his father's flaws of character, becomes the perfect knight that succeeds in completing the greatest of all quests, achieving the Holy Grail when Lancelot himself fails due to his sins.
Galahad, the pure knight in Arthurian romance, son of Lancelot du Lac and Elaine (daughter of Pelles), who achieved the vision of God through the Holy Grail.
Because of his past sins, Lancelot is ultimately forbidden from entering the chapel where Galahad, Bors, and Percivale celebrate Mass with the Grail — but he does not resent God for this decision because he now recognizes his own sinful pride.
Lancelot's adulterous love for the queen, moreover, caused him to fail in the quest for the Holy Grail and set in motion the fatal chain of events that brought about the destruction of the knightly fellowship of the Round Table.
When Launcelot hears of the death of Arthur and Gawain, he comes to England in haste. He looks for the queen and finds her in a nunnery. For love of Guinevere as much as for remorse he takes on the habit of a priest. Guided by visions, he goes to Almesbury, where he finds Guinevere dead.
A battle ensues, and Lancelot and Malagant face off. Disarmed, Lancelot seizes Arthur's fallen sword and kills Malagant, who falls dead on that same throne he so desired.
In the Morte D'Arthur, 150 knights set out to find the Grail but only three knights—Sir Bors, Sir Percival, and Sir Galahad—actually find the Grail. Galahad alone was pure enough to see it in all its glory.
In different stories, there are different numbers of knights, ranging from 12 to more than 150. The Winchester Round Table shows 25 Knights. The most commonly mentioned in literature include: Sir Lancelot.
Some people do believe that King Arthur could have been a real person, but despite the occasional news story about an archaeological discovery that may provide clues, experts on Arthurian legend tell TIME that there is no evidence — no primary source from the time — to confirm that King Arthur was ever a real person.
There is no evidence that the Knights Templar ever found the Holy Grail. There is also no evidence that the Holy Grail is an actual object that really existed at some point in time. Many believe that the Knights Templar found the treasure of King Solomon when they took possession of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem.
Lancelot was Arthur's greatest knight and companion, the Lord of Joyous Gard (Bamburgh Castle) and the greatest swordsman and jouster of the age.
In the medieval legends about King Arthur of Britain and his knights, Lancelot is the greatest knight of all. In time, however, Lancelot's love for Guinevere, the king's wife, leads him to betray his king and sets in motion the fatal events that end Arthur's rule.
Lancelot, also spelled Launcelot, also called Lancelot of the Lake, French Lancelot du Lac, one of the greatest knights in Arthurian romance; he was the lover of Arthur's queen, Guinevere, and was the father of the pure knight Sir Galahad.
Following the death of Arthur, Guinevere entered a convent, where she spent the rest of her life praying and helping the poor. Filled with remorse for the trouble she and her lover had caused, she vowed never to see Lancelot again. When Guinevere died, she was buried beside King Arthur.
Guinevere meets Lancelot one last time, refusing to kiss him, then returns to the convent. She spends the remainder of her life as an abbess in joyless sorrow contrasting with her earlier merry nature. Following her death, Lancelot buries her next to Arthur's (real or symbolic) grave.
The 15th-century Scotichronicon tells that Merlin himself underwent a triple-death, at the hands of some shepherds of the under-king Meldred: stoned and beaten by the shepherds, he falls over a cliff and is impaled on a stake, his head falls forward into the water, and he drowns.
What is much clearer is that other elements of the story, like the wizard Merlin, Arthur's sword Excalibur, wife Guinevere, and his Knights of the Round Table, are almost entirely fictional and appear together in Geoffrey of Monmouth's c. 1136 AD chronicle The History of the Kings of Britain or its later adaptations.
Lancelot immediately bowed to the king and begged forgiveness. Arthur laughed, and said he'd heard that Lancelot was on his way to Camelot, and came to meet him to test his skills. Arthur said Lancelot had nothing to be sorry for, and knighted him on the spot.
Weakened by the losses incurred during the quest for the grail, and then by the scandal of Lancelot and Guinevere, Arthur's kingdom began to break apart. War broke out after Lancelot staged an armed rescue of Guinevere, condemned to death for her treasonous love for the great knight.
Merlin is tasked with giving Lancelot a proper burial and takes his body to the shore of Nemhain. Using his magic, he is able to briefly revive his friend, and it seems that it is the real Lancelot who wakes... "Merlin," he gasps.
Due to this, Lancelot is famed as the strongest of the Knights of the Round Table, with a competency that surpasses even King Arthur. However, Gawain is widely considered by many to be equal or superior to him.
The two knights devise a plan to catch Lancelot and Guinevere together; the king goes hunting, leaving the queen alone. Although Sir Bors tries to stop Lancelot, he goes to Guinevere and the lovers are caught. Lancelot fights his way out of the Queen's chambers and flees from the court.