Many years of sorrow and suffering must pass before he can again find the Castle of the Grail.
“THE CONQUEST OF THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS”
Continually seeking the Castle of the Grail, Sir Galahad wanders about in this enchanted land. At length, catching a glimpse of a strange castle, he makes haste to reach it, and finds it to be the Castle of Imprisoned Maidens. These maidens represent the Virtues; and their jailers, the Seven Deadly Sins. Arriving at the gate of the castle, he finds it guarded by these seven knights. A fierce conflict ensues in which Sir Galahad is victorious. This is the only picture in the series in which he is represented in violent physical conflict; the others represent more of the inner spiritual conflict. The seven knights, wearing heavy armor and carrying immense shields, are represented in dull gray colors, while our hero, wearing his chain armor over his red robe, is easily distinguished by the shining gold of his helmet and the red of his shield.
“THE KEY TO THE CASTLE”
Sir Galahad defeats the seven knights but he does not slay them, and they turn and flee. This signifies that although the seven sins can no longer trouble the pure soul, yet they are still about in the world.
Passing the outer gate, Sir Galahad is greeted by the keeper of the inner gate, an aged man who blesses him and gives him the key to the castle. With helmet in hand, Sir Galahad kneels reverently before the saintly man who greets him kindly as he holds toward him the great key.
“GALAHAD DELIVERS THE CAPTIVE VIRTUES”
Sir Galahad enters the castle and is welcomed by the maidens, who have long been expecting him, for it was according to prophecy that a perfect knight should come to deliver them.
Mr. Abbey has represented these maidens as most beautiful in form and feature. They are dressed in pale colors such as blue, white, rose, and lilac, richly embroidered with gold. Our hero is turned away from us as he humbly receives the shyly offered gratitude of the fair maidens. His helmet and shield may be seen on the floor beside him. In size and importance this large picture is a sort of companion picture to the one on the opposite side of the room, “The Round Table of King Arthur.” Both are beautiful in color and symmetry.