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62-500: The hero normally aims to obtain something or someone by the quest, and with this object to return home. The object can be something new, that fulfills a lack in their life, or something that was stolen away from them or someone with authority to dispatch them. Sometimes the hero has no desire to return; Sir Galahad 's quest for the Holy Grail is to find it, not return with it. A return may, indeed, be impossible: Aeneas quests for

124-436: A Galahad who is emotionally complex, conflicted, and palpably human. In A Christmas Mystery , written more than twenty years after Tennyson's Sir Galahad , Galahad is "fighting an internal battle between the ideal and the human", and tries to reconcile his longing for earthly delights, such as the romantic exploits of Sir Palomydes and his father Sir Lancelot, and the "more austere spiritual goal to which he has been called". In

186-418: A Thousand Faces . If someone dispatches the hero on a quest, the overt reason may be false, with the dispatcher actually sending them on the difficult quest in hopes of their death in the attempt, or in order to remove them from the scene for a time, just as if the claim were sincere, except that the tale usually ends with the dispatcher being unmasked and punished. Stories with such false quest-objects include

248-518: A beautiful maiden/princess. An early quest story tells the tale of Gilgamesh , who seeks the secret to eternal life after the death of his friend Enkidu . Another ancient quest tale, Homer 's Odyssey , tells of Odysseus , whom the gods have cursed to wander and suffer for many years before Athena persuades the Olympians to allow him to return home. Recovering the Golden Fleece is

310-461: A bright light or his mortal body is left behind and later buried. In the latter scenario, Galahad is usually laid to rest alongside the body of Percival's sister and later joined in their grave by Percival himself. Galahad's success in the search for the Holy Grail was predicted before his birth, not only by Pelles but also by Merlin, who once had told Arthur's father Uther Pendragon that there

372-517: A brother called Gwrgi. Efrawg, on the other hand, is not an ordinary personal name, but the historical Welsh name for the city of York ( Latin : Eburācum ; British/Old Welsh: Cair Ebrauc ; Modern Welsh: Efrog ). This may represent an epithet that denoted a local association, possibly pointing to Eliffer's son as the prototype, but which came to be understood and used as a patronymic in the Welsh Arthurian tales. Scholars disagree as to

434-522: A duel, the first and only time that Lancelot ever lost in a fair fight to anyone. Galahad is then brought to King Arthur's court at Camelot during Pentecost , where he is accompanied by a very old knight who immediately leads him over to the Round Table and unveils his seat at the Siege Perilous , an unused chair that has been kept vacant for the sole person who will succeed in the quest of

496-717: A heart, and courage respectively. Quests also play a major role in Rick Riordan 's fantasy books, among them Percy Jackson & the Olympians , The Heroes of Olympus , and The Kane Chronicles , and in dark fantasy novel The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub . A familiar modern literary quest is Frodo Baggins 's quest to destroy the One Ring in The Lord of the Rings . The One Ring, its baleful power,

558-453: A higher ideal: Then move the trees, the copses nod, Wings flutter, voices hover clear “O just and faithful knight of God! Ride on! the prize is near.” Tennyson's poem follows Galahad's journey to find the Holy Grail but ends while he is still riding, still seeking, still dreaming; as if to say that the quest for the Holy Grail is an ongoing task. Unlike many other portrayals of the legend of Sir Galahad, Tennyson has Sir Galahad speak in

620-573: A homeland, having lost Troy at the beginning of Virgil 's Aeneid , and he does not return to Troy to re-found it but settles in Italy (to become an ancestor of the Romans). If the hero does return after the culmination of the quest, they may face false heroes who attempt to pass themselves off as them, or their initial response may be a rejection of that return, as Joseph Campbell describes in his critical analysis of quest literature, The Hero with

682-616: A list of Arthur's knights. In another of Chrétien's romances, Cligés , Perceval is a "renowned vassal" who is defeated by the knight Cligés in a tournament. He then becomes the eponymous protagonist of Chrétien's final romance, Perceval, the Story of the Grail . In the Welsh romance Peredur son of Efrawg , the corresponding figure goes by the name Peredur . The name "Peredur" may derive from Welsh par (spear) and dur (hard, steel). It

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744-451: A night with Lancelot. On discovering the deception, Lancelot draws his sword on Elaine, but when he finds out that they have conceived a son together, he is immediately forgiving; however, he does not marry Elaine or even wish to be with her anymore and returns to Arthur's court (albeit years later they eventually come to live together for a time, after Elaine cures him of his severe and long madness caused by both herself and Guinevere). Galahad

806-545: A pre-existing 'Perceval prototype,' Chrétien was primarily responsible [...] for the creation of [one of] the most fascinating, complex, and productive characters in Arthurian fiction". In some French texts, the name "Perceval" is derived from either Old French per ce val (through this valley) or perce val (pierce the valley). These etymologies are not found in Chrétien de Troyes, however. Perlesvaus etymologizes

868-580: A quest in which the main character is seeking something that they desire, but the literal structure of a journey seeking something is, itself, still common. Quests often appear in fantasy literature, as in Rasselas by Samuel Johnson , or The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , where Dorothy , Scarecrow (Oz) , the Tin Woodman , and the Cowardly Lion go on a quest for the way back to Kansas, brains,

930-437: A significant role in the stories. His sister is sometimes the bearer of the Holy Grail , but not originally; she is sometimes named Dindrane . In the tales in which he is Pellinore's son, his brothers include Aglovale , Lamorak and Dornar , as well as a half-brother named Tor by his father's affair with a peasant woman. After the death of his father, Perceval's mother takes him to the forest, where she raises him ignorant of

992-707: A tangible object, but for a sense of purpose or reason. Some writers, however, may devise arbitrary quests for items without any importance beyond being the object of the quest. These items are known as MacGuffins, which is sometimes merely used to compare quests and is not always a derogatory term. Writers may also motivate characters to pursue these objects by meanings of a prophecy that decrees it, rather than have them discover that it could assist them, for reasons that are given. Galahad Galahad ( / ˈ ɡ æ l ə h æ d / ), sometimes referred to as Galeas ( / ɡ ə ˈ l iː ə s / ) or Galath ( / ˈ ɡ æ l ə θ / ), among other versions of his name,

1054-531: A variant on the Celtic theme of the sovereignty goddess , who personifies the country and has to be won sexually by the rightful king or heir to secure peace and prosperity for the kingdom. N. Petrovskaia has recently suggested an alternative interpretation, linking the figure of the Empress with Empress Matilda . Chrétien de Troyes wrote the first story of Perceval as the main character, the unfinished Perceval,

1116-465: Is a knight of King Arthur 's Round Table and one of the three achievers of the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend. He is the illegitimate son of Sir Lancelot du Lac and Lady Elaine of Corbenic and is renowned for his gallantry and purity as the most perfect of all knights. Emerging quite late in the medieval Arthurian tradition, Sir Galahad first appears in the Lancelot–Grail cycle, and his story

1178-801: Is a figure in the legend of King Arthur , often appearing as one of the Knights of the Round Table . First mentioned by the French author Chrétien de Troyes in the tale Perceval, the Story of the Grail , he is best known for being the original hero in the quest for the Grail before being replaced in later literature by Galahad . The earliest reference to Perceval is found in Chrétien de Troyes 's first Arthurian romance Erec et Enide , where, as "Percevaus li Galois " ( Percevaus of Wales), he appears in

1240-428: Is as the strength of ten, Because my heart is pure. Galahad is able to conquer all of his enemies because he is pure. In the next verse of this poem, Tennyson continues to glorify Galahad for remaining pure at heart, by putting these words into his mouth: I never felt the kiss of love, Nor maiden's hand in mine. Galahad pursues a single-minded and lonely course, sacrificing much in his determination to aspire to

1302-590: Is born and placed in the care of a great aunt, who is an abbess at a nunnery, to be raised there. According to the 13th-century Old French Prose Lancelot (part of the Vulgate Cycle), "Galahad" (actually written as Galaad , in some manuscripts also as Gaalaz or Galaaus ) was Lancelot's original name, but it was changed when he was a child. At his birth, therefore, Galahad is given his father's own original name. Merlin prophesies that Galahad will surpass his father in valor and be successful in his search for

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1364-444: Is generally accepted that Peredur was a well-established figure before he became the hero of Peredur son of Efrawg . However, the earliest Welsh Arthurian text, Culhwch and Olwen , does not mention Peredur in any of its extended catalogues of famous and less famous warriors. Peredur does appear in the romance Geraint and Enid , which includes "Peredur son of Efrawg" in a list of warriors accompanying Geraint . A comparable list in

1426-682: Is not the Holy Grail (Old French graal ), but a salver containing a man's severed head. The text agrees with the French poem in listing a bleeding lance among the items which are carried in procession. The young knight does not ask about significance of these items and proceeds to further adventure, including a stay with the Nine Witches and the encounter with the woman who was to be his true love, Angharad . Peredur returns to Arthur's court, but soon embarks on another series of adventures that do not correspond to material in Perceval . Eventually,

1488-408: Is on a quest for several objects that are only a convenient reason for their journey, they are termed plot coupons. The quest, in the form of the hero's journey , plays a central role in the monomyth described by Joseph Campbell ; the hero sets forth from the world of common day into a land of adventures, tests, and magical rewards. Most times in a quest, the knight in shining armor wins the heart of

1550-499: Is ridiculed by Cei and sets out on further adventures, promising to avenge Cei's insults to himself and those who defended him. While travelling he meets two of his uncles. The first, who is analogous to the Gornemant of Perceval , trains him in arms and warns him not to ask the significance of what he sees. The second uncle is analogous to Chrétien's Fisher King , but what Peredur sees being carried before him in his uncle's castle

1612-557: Is taken up in later works, such as the Post-Vulgate Cycle , and Sir Thomas Malory 's Le Morte d'Arthur . In Arthurian literature, he replaced Percival as the hero in the quest for the Holy Grail . The story of Galahad and his quest for the Holy Grail is a relatively late addition to the Arthurian legend. Galahad does not feature in any romance by Chrétien de Troyes , or in Robert de Boron 's Grail stories, or in any of

1674-432: Is that, while making his way back to Arthur's court, Galahad is visited by the spirit of Joseph of Arimathea, and thus experiences such a glorious rapture that he makes his request to die. Galahad bids Percival and Bors farewell, after which angels appear to take him to Heaven. His ascension is witnessed by Bors and Percival. Depending on the telling, Galahad is either physically taken to paradise as he completely vanishes in

1736-465: Is the beginning of the end of the Round Table. This might be seen as a theological statement that concludes that earthly endeavours must take second place to the pursuit of the holiness. Galahad, in some ways, mirrors Arthur, drawing a sword from a stone in the way that Arthur did. In this manner, Galahad is declared to be the chosen one. Further uniquely among the Round Table, Galahad is capable of performing miracles such as banishing demons and healing

1798-456: The Grail. The quest to seek out this holy object is begun at once. All of the Knights of the Round Table set out to find the Grail. It is Galahad who takes the initiative to begin the search for the Grail; the rest of the knights follow him. Arthur is sorrowful that all the knights have embarked thus, for he discerns that many will never be seen again, dying in their quest. Arthur fears that it

1860-461: The Grail. While in a specific sense, this "purity" refers to chastity, Galahad appears to have lived a generally sinless life and as a result, he lives and thinks on a level entirely apart from the other knights around him. This quality is reflected in Alfred, Lord Tennyson 's poem "Sir Galahad" : My good blade carves the casques of men, My tough lance thrusteth sure, My strength

1922-573: The Holy Grail in Arthurian legend . This story cycle recounts multiple quests, in multiple variants, telling stories both of the heroes who succeed, like Percival (in Wolfram von Eschenbach 's Parzival ) or Sir Galahad (in the Lancelot-Grail ), and also the heroes who fail, like Sir Lancelot . This often sent them into a bewildering forest . Despite many references to its pathlessness,

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1984-402: The Holy Grail. For all others who have aspired to sit there, it has proved to be immediately fatal. Galahad survives this test, witnessed by Arthur who, upon realising the greatness of this new knight, leads him out to the river where a magic sword lies in a stone with an inscription reading "Never shall man take me hence but only he by whose side I ought to hang; and he shall be the best knight of

2046-532: 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. In Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur , Galahad's incredible prowess and fortune in the quest for the Holy Grail are traced back to his piety. According to the legend, only pure knights may achieve

2108-485: The Holy Grail. Pelles, Galahad's maternal grandfather, is portrayed as a descendant of Joseph of Arimathea 's brother-in-law Bron, also known as Galahad (Galaad), whose line had been entrusted with the Grail by Joseph. Upon reaching adulthood (in medieval definition) of 15 years old, Galahad is finally united with his father Lancelot, who had never met him before that (not even during the years of living with Elaine). Lancelot knights Galahad after having been bested by him in

2170-426: The Story of the Grail , in the late 12th century. Other famous accounts of his adventures include Wolfram's Parzival and the now-lost Perceval attributed to Robert de Boron . There are many versions of Perceval's birth. In Robert de Boron's account, he is of noble birth, and his father is variably stated to be either Alain le Gros, King Pellinore , or another worthy knight. His mother is usually unnamed, but plays

2232-511: The character is already connected to the Grail. He meets the crippled Fisher King and sees a grail, not yet identified as "holy", but he fails to ask the question that would heal the injured king. Upon learning of his mistake, Perceval vows to find the Grail castle again and fulfill his quest. The story breaks off soon after, to be continued in a number of different ways by various authors, such as in Perlesvaus and Sir Perceval of Galles . In

2294-591: The character of Galahad also informs St. Bernard's projection of ideal chivalry in his work on the Knights Templar , the Liber ad milites templi de laude novae militiae . Significantly, in the narratives, Galahad is associated with a white shield with a vermilion cross, the very same emblem given to the Knights Templar by Pope Eugene III . The circumstances surrounding Galahad's conception derive from

2356-610: The cold and the frost of a Christmas period serve to reinforce his "chilly isolation". The poem opens on midwinter's night; Sir Galahad has been sitting for six hours in a chapel, staring at the floor. He muses to himself: Night after night your horse treads down alone The sere damp fern, night after night you sit Holding the bridle like a man of stone, Dismal, unfriended: what thing comes of it? Percival Percival ( / ˈ p ɜːr s ɪ v əl / , also written Perceval , Parzival , Parsifal ), alternatively called Peredur ( Welsh pronunciation: [pɛˈrɛdɨr] ),

2418-537: The companion piece The Chapel in Lyoness , a knight lies dying in winter "in a bizarre realization of Galahad's nightmare vision of his own fate". Galahad then "saves" the knight with a kiss before he finally expires. It is here that Galahad progresses from "a somewhat self-centered figure" to "a savior capable of imparting grace". Morris' poems place this emotional conflict at centre stage, rather than concentrating upon Galahad's prowess for defeating external enemies, and

2480-552: The continuations of Chrétien's story of the mysterious castle of the Fisher King . He first appears in a 13th-century Old French Arthurian epic, the interconnected set of romances of unknown authorship, known as the Lancelot-Grail (Vulgate) Cycle . His name could have been derived from the Welsh name Gwalchaved, meaning "Falcon of Summer". The original conception of Galahad, whose adult exploits are first recounted in

2542-459: The difficult method which is the only way to destroy it, and the spiritual and psychological torture it wreaks on its bearer; J. R. R. Tolkien uses all these elements to tell a meaningful tale of friendship and the inner struggle with temptation , against a background of epic and supernatural warfare. The Catcher in the Rye is often thought of as a quest plot, detailing Holden 's search not for

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2604-419: The earlier parts of Grail prose cycles. It takes place when King Arthur 's greatest knight, Lancelot , mistakes Princess Elaine of Corbenic (originally known as Heliabel or Amite in the Vulgate Cycle) for his secret mistress, Queen Guinevere . Lady Elaine's father, King Pelles , has already received magical foreknowledge that Lancelot will give his daughter a child and that this little boy will grow to become

2666-644: The exact relationship between Peredur and Percival. Arthur Groos and Norris J. Lacy argue that it is most likely that the use of the name Peredur in Peredur son of Efrawg "represent[s] an attempt to adapt the name [Perceval] to Welsh onomastic traditions", as the Welsh romance appears to depend on Chrétien de Troyes, at least partially, as a source, and as the name Peredur is attested for unrelated characters in Historia Regum Britanniae and Roman de Brut . Rachel Bromwich , however, regards

2728-406: The first person, giving the reader his thoughts and feelings as he rides on his quest, rather than just the details of his battles, as in Malory. Sir Galahad's thoughts and aspirations have been explored as well by William Morris in his poems The Chapel in Lyoness , published in 1856, and Sir Galahad, a Christmas Mystery , published in 1858. Unlike Malory and Tennyson's pure hero, Morris creates

2790-465: The forest repeatedly confronts knights with forks and crossroads, of a labyrinthine complexity. The significance of their encounters is often explained to the knights—particularly those searching for the Holy Grail—by hermits acting as wise old people . Still, despite their perils and chances of error, such forests, being the location where the knight can obtain the end of their quest, are places where

2852-466: The fourth book of the Vulgate Cycle (Vulgate Lancelot ), may have come from the mystical Cistercian Order . According to some interpreters, the philosophical inspiration of the celibate, otherworldly character of the monastic knight Galahad came from this monastic order set up by St. Bernard of Clairvaux . The Cistercian-Bernardine concept of Catholic warrior asceticism that so distinguishes

2914-444: The greatest knight in the world, the knight chosen by God to discover the Holy Grail . Pelles also knows that Lancelot will only lie with his one true love, Guinevere. Destiny will have to be helped along a little; therefore, a conclusion which prompts Pelles to seek out "one of the greatest enchantresses of the time," Dame Brusen, who gives Pelles a magic ring that makes Elaine take on the appearance of Guinevere and enables her to spend

2976-492: The hero learns the severed head at his uncle's court belonged to his cousin, who had been killed by the Witches. Peredur avenges his family and is celebrated as a hero. Several elements in the story, such as the severed head on a salver, a hunt for a unicorn, the witches, and a magical board of gwyddbwyll , have all been described as Celtic ingredients that are not otherwise present in Chrétien's story. Goetinck sees in Peredur

3038-478: The knights may become worthy; one romance has a maiden urging Sir Lancelot on his quest for the Holy Grail, "which quickens with life and greenness like the forest". So consistently did knights quest that Miguel de Cervantes set his Don Quixote on mock quests in a parody of chivalric tales. Nevertheless, while Don Quixote was a fool, he was and remains a hero of chivalry. Quests continued in modern literature. Analysis can interpret many (perhaps most) stories as

3100-528: The last pages of The Dream of Rhonabwy refers to a Peredur Paladr Hir ("of the Long Spear-Shaft"), whom Peter Bartrum identifies as the same figure. Peredur may derive in part from the sixth-century Coeling chieftain Peredur son of Eliffer . The Peredur of Welsh romance differs from the Coeling chieftain if only in that his father is called Efrawg, rather than Eliffer, and there is no sign of

3162-418: The later accounts of Arthurian prose cycles, and consequently Thomas Malory 's Le Morte d'Arthur , the true Grail hero is Galahad , the son of Lancelot , but, though his role in the romances is diminished, Percival remains a major character and is one of only two knights (the other is Bors ) who accompany Galahad to the Grail castle and complete the quest with him. In early versions, Perceval's sweetheart

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3224-525: The legends of Jason and Perseus , the fairy tales The Dancing Water, the Singing Apple, and the Speaking Bird , Go I Know Not Whither and Fetch I Know Not What , and the story of Beren and Lúthien in J. R. R. Tolkien 's The Silmarillion . The quest object may, indeed, function only as a convenient reason for the hero's journey. Such objects are termed MacGuffins . When a hero

3286-419: The mystical castle of Corbenic at the court of King Pelles and his son Eliazarr (Galahad does not reunite with his mother, who had died meanwhile). His grandfather and uncle bring Galahad into a room where he is finally allowed to see the Holy Grail. Galahad is asked to take the vessel to the holy island Sarras . After seeing the Grail, Galahad makes the request that he may die at the time of his choosing. So it

3348-426: The name (there: Pellesvax ) as meaning "He Who Has Lost The Vales", referring to the loss of land by his father, while also saying Perceval called himself Par-lui-fet (made by himself). Wolfram von Eschenbach 's German Parzival provides the meaning "right through the middle" for the name (there: Parzival). Richard Wagner followed a discredited etymology proposed by journalist and historian Joseph Görres that

3410-789: The name Perceval as a loose French approximation of the Welsh name Peredur. Roger Sherman Loomis attempted to derive both Perceval and Peredur from the Welsh Pryderi , a mythological figure in the Four Branches of the Mabinogi , a derivation that Groos and Lacy find "now seems even less likely". In all of his appearances, Chrétien de Troyes identifies Perceval as "the Welshman" ( li Galois ), indicating that, even if he does not originate in Celtic tradition, he alludes to it. Groos and Lacy argue that, "even though there may have been

3472-419: The name derived from Arabic fal parsi (pure fool) when choosing the spelling "Parsifal" for the figure in his opera. In a large series of episodes, Peredur son of Efrawg tells the story of Peredur's education as a knight. It begins with his birth and secluded upbringing as a naive boy by his widowed mother. When he meets a group of knights, he joins them on their way to King Arthur 's court. Once there, he

3534-599: The object of the travels of Jason and the Argonauts in the Argonautica . Psyche , having lost Cupid, hunted through the world for him, and was set tasks by Venus , including a descent into the underworld . Many fairy tales depict the hero or heroine setting out on a quest, such as: Other characters may set out with no more definite aim than to "seek their fortune", or even be cast out instead of voluntarily leaving, but learn of something that could aid them along

3596-582: The sick. For the most part, he travels alone during the Grail Quest, smiting (and often sparing) his enemies, rescuing fellow knights including Percival and saving maidens in distress until he is finally reunited with Bors and Percival. Together, the three blessed virgin knights come across Percival's sister , who leads them to the mystical Ship of Solomon . They use it to cross the sea to an island where Galahad finds King David 's sword. After many adventures, Galahad and his companions find themselves in

3658-535: The way and so have their journey transformed from aimless wandering into a quest. Other characters can also set forth on quests — the hero's older brothers commonly do — but the hero is distinguished by their success. Many medieval romances sent knights out on quests. The term " knight-errant " sprang from this, as errant meant "roving" or "wandering". Thomas Malory included many in Le Morte d'Arthur . The most famous—perhaps in all of western literature—centers on

3720-427: The ways of men until he is 15. Eventually, a group of knights passes through the forest and Perceval is struck by their heroic bearing. Wanting to be a knight himself, he travels to King Arthur's court. In some versions, his mother faints in shock upon seeing her son leave. After proving his worthiness as a warrior, he is knighted and invited to join the Knights of the Round Table . In Chrétien de Troyes's Perceval ,

3782-448: The world." (The embedding of a sword in a stone is also an element of the legends of Arthur's original sword, the sword in the stone . In Malory's version, this is the sword that had belonged to Balin .) Galahad accomplishes this test with ease, and Arthur swiftly proclaims him to be the greatest knight ever. Galahad is promptly invited to become a Knight of the Round Table, and soon afterwards, Arthur's court witnesses an ethereal vision of

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3844-412: Was one who would fill the place at the "table of Joseph", but that he was not yet born. At first this knight was believed to be Percival, however it is later discovered to be Galahad. Galahad was conceived for the divine purpose of seeking the Holy Grail, but this happened under a cloak of deception, similarly to the conceptions of Arthur and Merlin. Despite this, Galahad is the knight who is chosen to find

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