_In which appears the teachings and practices of the true order of
knighthood._
Arthur was now king, and lived in a big palace. He had done many
things for his subjects, and they were devoted to his service. He
had no wife, however, and told Merlin, who was always with him,
that he would like to wed the Lady Guenevere, daughter of one of
the nobles, whom he loved dearly. Her father was willing, and so
the Lady Guenevere came to King Arthur’s palace to be his wife. Her
father sent as a present a huge round table at which one hundred
and fifty knights could sit at the same time.
King Arthur then gathered the full number of knights to sit at the
round table, and called them the Knights of the Round Table. He
charged them never to commit any outrage or murder and always to be
loyal to the king. They were never to be cruel, but always to be
merciful, and to give help to women and children and the helpless.
They were never to give battle for a wrongful quarrel, and were to
keep themselves good and holy. So the king and queen lived very
happily and the Knights of the Round Table served them valiantly.
Among all the knights there were none more brave and beautiful than
Sir Galahad. He had been reared in a convent by the nuns, and when
they brought him to be a knight Sir Lancelot said: “God make you a
good man, for beauty faileth you not.” So Sir Galahad took his seat
among the knights. It was said of him that “His strength was as
the strength of ten because his heart was pure.”
Now, there was a story in England that the cup which Christ had
used at the Last Supper had been brought to England, and had
vanished because those who kept it were not good men. It was called
the Holy Grail, and all good knights desired to find it.
One day as these knights sat at table a great tempest arose; the
building shook and the thunder made such a noise that everybody
thought that the palace would fall. In the midst of the storm a
sunbeam entered at the window, and the knights saw the Holy Grail,
covered with cloth borne by invisible hands through the hall.
For a great while no knight could speak a word, and they looked at
one another as though they were drunk. And then all the hall was
filled with sweet odors, and music. On the table appeared rich food
that the knights might eat, and each knight felt his heart grow
strong and valiant.
Then the Holy Grail vanished, and no knight could see where it
went. But they rose from their seats and vowed to follow it and
find it wherever it was. On the next day they went to church and
after service the king called them and counted a hundred and fifty
who were ready to start out to find the Holy Grail.