Carson Wood

Medieval Literature in Translation

Galahad: The Recycled Proto-Arthur
I have often heard the term Hero-King used to refer to Arthur, however those who call
him such are usually unfamiliar with the primary sources of Arthurian tradition. And despite
what one would think, Arthur doesnt see many battles after his early career as Britains King. In
the Welsh tradition however Arthur leads many battles because it is implied he wasnt a king but
a war chief. My argument is that Galahad may be a character that Arthur was at one point due to
the marvelous acts they both perform which are traits of a messianic archtype one which is
present in many works today. In a way they are similar to Beowulf in that they were created to fit
this Christ-like warrior-hero. From what I have noticed is that Arthur embodies an earthly Christ
while Galahad embodies the spiritual Christ.
Galahad the son of Lancelot is meant to fulfil prophecies just like Arthur. The Siege
Perilous is very analogous to Arthurs throne because just as Galahad was the only one who
could sit at Siege Perilous so to was Arthur the only one who could sit on his throne. And Arthur
and Galahad both pull Swords from Stones. Arthur pulling his from an anvil on a stone and
Galahad pulling his from a red slab of marble floating on a river. Both Arthur and Galahad were
conceived by what is essentially rape. Uther with the help of Merlins magic disguises himself as
Igraynes husband and sleeps with her and she conceives Arthur. While Elaine tricks Lancelot
into thinking she is Guinevere and conceives Galahad.
Both Arthur and Galahad are of royal blood and this ties in with how they are the chosen
one in terms of the roles they play. Arthur starts his royal career off with battles against the other

kings who doubt his claim to the throne. But after a near death experience and obtaining
Excalibur and more importantly its sheath which would ensure that those near death experiences
never happen again at least in battle. And yet he retires and dispatches most his knightly court on
quests. Galahad on the other hand despite being the fisher kings grandson at a young age accepts
the quest for the Sangreal and literally leads it as in every knight is trying to follow him as he
seems to know where he is going as he gracefully fells any foe that impedes him.
I noted above that Arthur and Galahad received their swords from stones this aspect first
is believed to have originated in France in the poem Merlin. However Marsha L. Dutton in her
article The Staff in the Stone: Finding Arthur's Sword in the "vita Sancti Edwardi" of Aelred of
Rievaulx belives that the idea behind this comes much earlier with Vita Santi Edwardi except
replace sword with Staff.
In the story is about Edward the Confessor and tells how he somehow performed miracles
after he died. One of which is about a bishop named Wulfstan who received his staff from
Edward. Wulfstan was to be deposed by the Archbishop but refused to because he only answered
to Edward. So he goes to Edward and places his staff in his tomb, the other clergy come and try
to remove the staff yet none of them can remove the staff. Wulfstan then calls on Edward to
restore his own authority and is then able to remove the staff.
Here, one can see very similar circumstances as only one person can pull the staff out.
However the interesting difference that Dutton notes is that Wulfstan the one who put the staff in
the stone is the only one who can pull it back out. Which in a way is similar to how Arthur puts
the sword back in the stone and has Ector and Kay try to pull it out but to no avail. She notes that
these stories both elaborate on the concept of being chosen by Christ in her analysis of Merlin:
Merlins history of the Round Table also places the Eucharistic meal, signified by both the table

of the last supper and by the vessel containing Christs bloodthe Grailat the center of the life
of Arthurs Court (Dutton 13).
What Dutton fails to consider in her last supper analogue is that it also fits with Galahad
and Balins swords appearance during the Feast of Pentecost, which is odd considering she
mentions La Queste del Saint Graal in her opening paragraph. This is an even more significant
analogue as this is the last supper of King Arthurs court while it is in its prime and marks the
last arc before Arthurs death so in an even bigger sense the quest of the grail itself is the courts
last sweet journey they will partake in before the court falls into disarray after Galahads death.
Something I notice is how Galahad is essentially a Knightly Christ-like figure he too like Jesus
has many followers who all fail to be like him. He also performs many miracles as does his
father Lancelot, but in a way Arthur and Galahad have different kinds of messianic traits.
Arthur seems to me to embody the idea of an earthly Christ with his wife Guinevere
fulfilling the role of Mary Magdalene. He was a leader in the traditional sense and his knights of
the round table fill the role of Jesuss twelve apostles. With that said one could argue that either
Lancelot or Mordred are Arthurs analogue to Judas. While Gawain or Sir Kay could be
analogous to Saint Peter. Like Jesus one of Arthurs followers betrays him which leads to a series
of event that lead to his death.
Galahad on the other hand is more representative of the spiritual Christ as he perform
many miracles and feats and is considered Asexual by many. And it also makes sense since
Galahad was said to have been raised by Nuns and Monks who swear an oath of celibacy. But
this plays a part in how Galahad is said to be sinless and by being Asexual he lacks those earthly
desires. He is chosen to succeed where other could not because of this sinless purity. But he is

not a normal knight and two of my sources even suggest that he never really served the court but
was serving god.
In her article for Arthuriana, A Mayde, and the Last of Youre Blood: Galahads
Asexuality and its Significance in Le Morte Darthur, Megan Arkenburg suggests that Galahad
doesnt completely adhere to chivalry. She contrasts him with Percival stating This absence [of
sexual desire] differentiates Galahad from all other Malorian virgins, including Perceval, whose
virginity is threatened by sexual temptation from a fyende disguised as a gentlewoman, and
Elaine of Astolat, who dies a clene mayden only because Lancelot refuses to become her
paramour (Arkenburg 3-4).
She also notes that Galahads asexuality may be the reason why many critics find him to
be a flat character. I disagree the reason why he is a flat character is because he is too good.
When I say that I refer both to his moral compass and how most of the fights he is in are onesided in his favor. For example when Galahad fights the knights at the Castell of Maydyns:
Than Galahad put forth hys speare and smote the formyst to the erthe, that nerehonde he brake
hys necke. And therewithal the other six smote hym on hys shylde grete strokes, that theire
sperys brake. Than Sir Galahad drew oute hys swerde and sette uppon hem so harde that hit was
mervayle to see hit, and so thorow grete force he made hem for to forsake the fylde (Mallory
688).
The way Galahad defeats the knights is so effortless that it seems like he has Excalibur
and its sheath with him. I also argue that the reason why Galahad is a flat character and filling in
the role of grail knight, instead of the much more fleshed out Perceval, is because he is a
fragment of a character, a fragment of Arthur or rather what Arthur originally was like.

Another thing Arkenburg talks about is the significance of Galahad being the last of his
line. Like Arthur, Galahad is of royal blood though unlike Arthur he has no claim as an heir due
to being a bastard. But what lineage he can claim ends with him because of his virginity. But so
to from what Mallory tells the readers is that Arthur has no heir as he and his son Mordred kill
each other and the end of the story.
However, when she refers to Galahad as asexual she incorrectly uses the term, as there
are Biromantic, Homoromantic, heteromantic, and aromantic asexuals. One would assume she is
referring to the latter when talking about Galahad as that is the type that would come to most
peoples minds when they hear asexual. Despite the fact that aromantic or gray is the rarest form
of asexuality. However the most common form of asexuality is heteromantic, Which leads to my
next point.
It is possible that Jesus was a heteromantic asexual, this way he could have no sexual
desires and still be married to Mary Magdalene. I argue that Arthur himself is also asexual and
was made to sleep with Morgan by some dark magic (also that originated with Malory). But his
attraction to Guinevere one might argue otherwise. I can tell you as I self identify as a
heteromantic asexual, that attraction based on physical appearance isnt always sexual. And this
reason is probably why he doesnt have a problem with Lancelot sleeping with his wife. Perhaps
he also just married her for the glory of being married to the fairest maiden in all the land. It is
this desire for glory that is the sole driving point behind the quest for the grail.
In his Article 'So precyously coverde': Malory's Hermeneutic Quest of the "Sankgreal",
Kenneth J. Miller talks about how Galahad essentially becomes the quest itself as he seems to
know where he is going and the other knights are following him. In other words he is literally
leading the quest for the grail. He spends a lot of time talking about Lancelot and Gawain and

how they fail where Galahad and the two other grail knights, Bors and Perceval succeed.
However he does note that Lancelot comes closer to achieving the grail than Gawain: Yet,
Lancelot remains half-aware of his own passivity. Unlike Gawain he does not blame Grails
covering for his failure to see it fully; his recognition that his failure stems from internal causes
signals a partial ability to perceive beyond the surface(Miller 89).
I feel as though Lancelot can be compared to Moses. He like Moses was sent away from
his parents to be raised by someone else when they couldnt provide for him. This is where
Lancelot gets his title of du Lac or of the lake as he is the adopted son of The Lady of the
Lake. He was originally considered the best knight in all the land much like Moses is often
considered the Proto-Messiah. Although interesting to note is that Lancelot is the father of
Galahad who is his successor and truly becomes the greatest knight in all the land. But as noted
he is considered more spiritual than the other knights sans Grail knights and is allowed a glimpse
of the grail but only that because he is an adulterer.
A possible reason for Lancelot being spiritually above most of the other knights could be
attributed to his humility. He acknowledges he is not perfect he knows he is an adulterer and
feels guilt for it but it doesnt stop him from feeling proud of the son that he unknowingly helped
conceived. He never considered himself the greatest knight in all the land, even though the
argument could be made that he was considered such by others, at least when Galahad wasnt
around. In fact it is when Lancelot sees Galahad that he sees the goodness within himself.
As Cory Rushton puts it in his article Absent Fathers, Unexpected Sons: Paternity in
Malory's "morte Darthur": Lancelot can see all maner of goode fetures in Galahad: they are his
own features (Rushton 140). This quote reminds me of the point from Return of the Jedi when

Vader takes off his mask while dying telling his son he was right there was good in him and that
he made someone who is good is proof of that.
Which gives me another idea is that since Lancelot like his son comes from the French
tradition not only is Galahad split off from Arthur, but he split off from in sort of literal sense
from his father Lancelot. So in theory what I am saying is not only did Galahad split off from
Arthur but so did Lancelot. Lancelot is taken from his parents when he is young just like Arthur
He is considered the greatest knight while Arthur is considered the greatest King of Britain at
least in the Arthurian mythology as some of his methods are very questionable. It doesnt help
that in the Mallory text he is referred to Sir Arthure many times after he is already named
King.
In fact the real King Arthur may not have been a king at all. Something we covered in
class and something that Geoffrey Ashe talks about in his article The Origins of the Arthurian
Legend: The literary Arthur is a shape shifter who has taken different forms over the centuries
(Ashe 1). This quote makes the thought behind my argument more plausible and that there might
have been an early version of Arthur that bared a resemblance to Malorys Galahad.
As I noted earlier in this paper, Galahad and Arthur are similar to Beowulf, as they are
both this Christ-like Warrior Hero. But to add to that something we discussed in class is that
Arthur, like the name Beowulf, means bear. With that in mind its not too hard to compare
Mordred to Grendel or the Dragon. Or to compare Morgan le Fay to Grendels mother
considering the association with lakes. Also Mordreds conception itself could be what you
consider a death-fuck on with a delayed effect that doesnt occur until at least two decades later.

With that term you coined in mind, it should be interesting to note that Galahad doesnt
really die but is rather ascended to higher plane of existence and didnt leave a body behind. His
lack of death by murder technically makes him a virgin of death as well. Which brings to mind
Jesus conquering death and the inscription on Arthurs tomb Hic iacet Athurus, Rex quondam
Rexque futurus(Malory 928). This phrase inspired many later authors such as T.H. White to
give Arthur a second coming.
One last analogue between Galahad and Arthur is that they are there to serve god and are
gods chosen in their roles as knight and king respectively. In Her article Designing the End of
History in the Arming of Galahad Michelle R. Wright talks about how each sword Galahad
encounters represents some form of allegiance. I noticed the same can be said of Arthur but
particularly the two are very similar when they pull their swords out of stones. Galahad like
Arthur was meant to wield his sword by birthright or rather swords that were meant for them
alone: Thys swerde that I am gurte withal doth me grete sorow and comberaunce, for I may nat
be delyverde of thys swerde but by a knyght, and he muste be a passynge good man of hys
hondys and of hys dedis, and withoute velony other trechory and withoute treson (Mallory 48).
Arthur and Galahad are bound by prophecy and destiny and according to Wright Galahd
was meant to find the grail from the very beginning because he is not in league with the other
knights: Because Galahad and the grail both oppose Arthurian chivalry, all Arthurian
connotations be effaced from the arms before the completion of the quest (Wright 47). By
seeing Christ as his only lord Galahad once again is very similar to Arthur in this respect.
However as noted above the two have diverged in their types of Christ-like attributes Galahad is
similar to Christ as the sacrificial lamb due to his purity while Arthur is Christ as the sacrificial
lion in that he is a leader who gives his life for his kingdom and friends.

At least thats what one is supposed to think.

Malory, Thomas, and P.J.C Field. Le Morte Darthur: Sir Thomas Malory. Cambridge:
D.S. Brewer, 2013. Print.
DUTTON, MARSHA L.. The Staff in the Stone: Finding Arthur's Sword in the
"vita Sancti Edwardi" of Aelred of Rievaulx. Arthuriana 17.3 (2007): 330. Web...
ARKENBERG, MEGAN1. "'A Mayde, And Last Of Youre Blood': Galahad's Asexuality
And Its Significance In Le Morte Darthur." Arthuriana 24.3 (2014): 3-22. OmniFile Full Text
Mega (H.W. Wilson). Web. 9 Nov. 2015.
TILLER, KENNETH J.. 'so Precyously Coverde': Malory's Hermeneutic Quest
of the "sankgreal". Arthuriana 13.3 (2003): 8397. Web...
Cory Rushton. Absent Fathers, Unexpected Sons: Paternity in Malory's "morte
Darthur". Studies in Philology 101.2 (2004): 136152. Web...
ASHE, GEOFFREY. The Origins of the Arthurian Legend. Arthuriana 5.3 (1995): 1
24. Web...
WRIGHT, MICHELLE R.. Designing the End of History in the Arming of Galahad.
Arthuriana 5.4 (1995): 4555. Web...