Galahad: Enough of His Life to Explain His Reputation 1926

by John Erskine

1926. Twice in his life a woman asked Lancelot for his love. Two very different women, both named Elaine. But as the world knows, Lancelot cared for no woman except Guinevere. The second Elaine tried her best to get Lancelot to marry her, or at the very least be her paramour. From these two things, Lancelot excused himself, all the while thinking of his younger years and the other Elaine, King Pelles' daughter. She too had offered herself, heart and body, and though at first he had said no, in the end he tired of saying it. Galahad was their son. And so begins the story of Galahad.

Genres: Arthurian

Paperback

First published January 1, 1926

About the author

John Erskine (October 5, 1879 – June 2, 1951) was an American educator and author, pianist and composer. He was first an English professor at Amherst College from 1903 to 1909, followed by Columbia University from 1909 and 1937, during his tenure he formulated the General Honors Course, which later founded the influential Great Books movement. He published over 100 books, novel, criticism, essays including his most important essay, The Moral Obligation to Be Intelligent (1915).

Reviews

[SY NA · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in college as part of my literature studies and its always been a book that's hung around in my head, rent-free, far longer than it should have. It was formative in many ways when I was my junior year in college, because it told a bit of my life of the time, but also because the ideas and morals in it still plays a major part.

Re-reading it so many years later, I can say its still a great book. It deals with Galahad, and dealing with Galahad you have to deal with the whys, and the hows that he became the most pious and strongest knight of the table, while dealing with the chase of the grail. He's the prototype of paladins as we know it in D&D, the chaste, the unsoiled, the crazy pious.

this book explains why he came to be that way, in an original Arthurian legend that is criminally underread. You cannot talk about Galahad without talking about the sin that Lancelot committed with Guinevere against his king, and this book goes through all of it. You also have to know that Elaine was the actual mother of Galahad, and Guinevere never quite forgave Lancelot (obviously I'm talking about the Thomas Mallory version of the Arthurian legends).

I started this book earlier in the year and took almost 6 months to finish it because the corruption of Galahad was, and still is one of the hardest things for me to read. Now that I'm a parent, if anyone sought to corrupt my child as Guinevere does so in this book, I would probably commit murder or something. Becuase that's really what it is. Corruption of the mind to pursue only the righteous and reject everything else. Simply rejecting humanity as a whole to pursuit something that is alien to humanity.

I have to recommend this book, and forgive the lack of coherence in this review. Its still a book that strikes a bit of a raw nerves because of the time of my life when I first read this book and it brings it all back.

Recommended!

[Julian Garretti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first novel I ever read that I fell in love with. I never forgot that opening paragraph after I read it the first time and have often enjoyed reciting it to myself over the years. Erskine’s stories move along quickly. He doesn’t linger tediously on anything. He is to the point. The chapters are short. There is a great sense of accomplishment as one reads Galahad. It is all so beautiful, and it is a great way to become acquainted with Arthurian lore.

[Billy Enos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Galahad is a classic tale of the noble, Arthurian knights. All of the classic elements of Medieval Europe are present including court life, jousting, and the battle for true love. Erskine gives us a brilliant look into the upbringing of the noble Galahad, in spite of all the circumstances he’s faced.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a used bookstore find. It is an interesting take on what molded the man that found the Holy Grail. In 1989 I went on a major King Arthur run, and sought out anything that told the story from a new angle.

[simone · Rating 2 out of 5]

ermmmm. the less i say the better i think. might be my own bias again, and i am sorry for that, but i just don't think what was changed was effective, nor any good addition... i don't know. again i admit to my bias. i really don't like how guinevere was written here, nor do i like how removing the blame of lancelot's canon rape from elaine makes guinevere just look so so so cruel

edit (12/9/2024): adding more thoughts from my twitter. i really, really didn't like how he was so male victim-y about lancelot and guinevere's relationship. the whole reason the courtly love trope even exists is bc through patriarchy, marriage becomes an oppressive institution in the world-behind and world-of the text for the wife, and so she seeks total obedience and devotion outside of it and it serves as one of her only avenues to power. and the author! this fucking AUTHOR! makes LANCELOT the "VICTIM" of this "toxic" devotion.......... god. lancelot could leave any fucking time, and he quite literally DOES. meanwhile guinevere is chained to her husband, her castle, her station, her norms, her ladies, her society, her court FOREVER. i cannot brook the treatment of guinevere in this book, and the more i turn it over in my head the madder i get about it.