Copyright by Edwin A. Abbey; from a Copley Print
copyright by Curtis & Cameron, Publishers, Boston
The Oath of Knighthood. The Holy Grail
The time of day is shown by the two candles at the altar which have been burning all night and are now burned low in their sockets, and by the faint early light of dawn which comes stealing in through the small windows at the left of the picture. Just behind the knights stand a group of nuns, holding tall candles which light up the dark room and reflect on the white robes and shining armor. The interior decoration of the church is plainly shown. Our attention is drawn to the quaint crucifix just back of the kneeling knights, and the figures surrounding it.
The architecture is that of the Early Christian Romanesque. Sir Galahad’s face is partly in shadow, as if lost in deep thought. But the moment of departure has arrived. He will take up the helmet, which lies near him, and leave the convent for his first glimpse of the outside world. He must go to the wise teacher, Gurnemanz, to learn not only the rules of knighthood but the ways of the world, before he may start on his quest of the Holy Grail.
“THE ROUND TABLE OF KING ARTHUR”
Having been fully instructed in all the ways of the world by the good Gurnemanz, Sir Galahad starts out on his quest. First he goes to the Round Table of King Arthur and his knights in Camelot. He finds them holding a solemn meeting, their leader having just declared that this is the day when, according to prophecy, the stainless knight should come who should occupy the Siege Perilous. The Siege Perilous was a chair over which the magician, Merlin, had cast a spell, so that no man could sit in it without peril of death. Even Merlin himself was lost while sitting in his own chair. Only a blameless knight could hope for safety in this perilous seat. While Arthur and the knights are discussing the prophecy, there suddenly appears a strange old man clothed in white, whom none has seen before.
He comes toward the throne of King Arthur, leading Sir Galahad by the hand. The door and windows quietly and mysteriously close of themselves; the room is filled with a strange light. The Angel of the Grail appears before them, and gently lifts the red drapery from the chair. The encircling choir of angels look on silently as all read above the chair, in letters of fire, the flaming words, “This is Galahad’s seat.”
This picture shows them at that breathless moment when the letters of golden light appeared over the chair. King Arthur has risen from his seat to greet Sir Galahad; a small page kneels beside the king, while the jester half rises at the wondrous sight. Sir Galahad wears the same red robe, fastened with a golden brown girdle—a gift from the nuns when he was leaving the convent.
“THE DEPARTURE”
A wonderful rock of red marble has been discovered, protruding from the surface of a river. From its side projects a shining sword which none has been able to draw out. The king and his knights hasten to see this sword, but none succeeds in moving it. Now Sir Galahad arrives and draws the sword without the slightest difficulty, placing it in his empty scabbard, where it fits exactly. He also secures a shield which had been left for him by his ancestor, and, thus armed, he is ready to start out in search of the Grail. Most of the knights, persuaded by this series of strange events that Sir Galahad is to be the true knight, decide to join him in his search.