Galahad is the son of Lancelot and Elaine of Corbenic. He is concieved when the love-sick Elaine of Corbenic orchestrates, by magical means, the sexual encounter with Lancelot by making herself appear as Guenevere. Upon coming of age, Galahad comes to court where several signs reveal him to be this destined knight who will attain the Holy Grail. He is the only one capable of sitting in the Siege Perilous and he can withdraw a sword, fixed by Merlin long ago, from a block of stone. He is also a distant relative, on his mother's side of Joseph of Arimathea, who buried the Grail at Glastonbury shortly after the crucifixion of Christ.

Galahad is named first in the Vulgate Cycle though foreshadowed in the Parsifal. Though valorous and attractive, his overriding attribute is his chastity - absolutely essential for attainment of the Grail and why Lancelot, though noble in so many ways, can never succeed in the Quest. But he succeeds, in a way, through his son. Galahad has many adventures on the Quest, finally attaining his vision of the Grail in Sarras and dying.


In medieval eyes, Galahad was seen as Christ-like. His name is derived from Gilead or "Galaad" in the Vulgate Bible (Gen. 31:48) and his character in part is an attempt to meld Christian and chivalric beliefs.