 First edition cover | |
| Author | Nancy McKenzie |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Arthurian literature |
| Published | 2003 Random House |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 576 pp |
| ISBN | 0-345-45648-3 |
| OCLC | 51337308 |
| LC Class | PS3613.C557 G73 2003 |
| Preceded by | Queen of Camelot |
Grail Prince, a 2003 novel by American author Nancy McKenzie written in the tradition of Arthurian legends, recounts a version of Galahad's quest for the Holy Grail. The novel is a sequel to McKenzie's Queen of Camelot (2002).
Before his death, King Arthur sends young Galahad, the oldest son of Lancelot and Elaine, on a quest to find the lost treasures of an ancient king — a Grail, a Spear, a Sword — which will safeguard Britain's future.
For Galahad, the search becomes a transformative journey into manhood. His quest challenges his famed gallantry and purity, the traits that set him apart in Arthurian legend as the only knight fit for and worthy of the quest for the Holy Grail.
Publishers Weekly s' review was positive, writing that "familiarity with the Arthurian legends isn't necessary to enjoy this engrossing medieval fantasy." [1] The Romantic Times stated that the novel was "a highly original interpretation of the character of Galahad. At times his overly sanctimonious attitude creates heartrending scenes, but Ms. McKenzie showcases the human frailties of love and honor as the boy becomes a man." [2]
The novel was preceded by Queen of Camelot (2002) and succeeded by Prince of Dreams (2004). [3] [4]
The Holy Grail is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Different traditions describe it as a cup, dish or stone with miraculous powers that provides eternal youth or sustenance in infinite abundance, often in the custody of the Fisher King. The term "holy grail" is often used to denote an elusive object or goal that is sought after for its great significance.
King Arthur was a legendary British leader who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the late 5th and early 6th centuries. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of Welsh and English folklore and literary invention, and modern historians generally agree that he is unhistorical. The sparse historical background of Arthur is gleaned from various sources, including the Annales Cambriae, the Historia Brittonum, and the writings of Gildas. Arthur's name also occurs in early poetic sources such as Y Gododdin.
Lancelot du Lac, also written as Launcelot and other variants, is a character in some versions of Arthurian legend, where he is typically depicted as King Arthur's close companion and one of the greatest Knights of the Round Table. In the French-inspired Arthurian chivalric romance tradition, Lancelot is the orphaned son of King Ban of the lost kingdom of Benwick, raised in the fairy realm by the Lady of the Lake. A hero of many battles, quests and tournaments, and famed as a nearly unrivalled swordsman and jouster, Lancelot becomes the lord of the castle Joyous Gard and personal champion of Arthur's wife Queen Guinevere. But when his adulterous affair with Guinevere is discovered, it causes a civil war that is exploited by Mordred to end Arthur's kingdom.
Sir Galahad, sometimes referred to as Galeas or Galath, among other versions of his name, is a knight of King Arthur's Round Table and one of the three achievers of the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend. He is the illegitimate son of Sir Lancelot and Elaine of Corbenic, and is renowned for his gallantry and purity as the most perfect of all knights. Emerging quite late in the medieval Arthurian tradition, Sir Galahad first appears in the Lancelot–Grail cycle, and his story is taken up in later works such as the Post-Vulgate Cycle and Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur. His name should not be mistaken with Galehaut, a different knight from Arthurian legend.
Percival, alternatively called Peredur, was one of King Arthur's legendary Knights of the Round Table. First mentioned by the French author Chretien de Troyes in the tale Perceval, the Story of the Grail, he is best known for being the original hero in the quest for the Grail, before being replaced in later English and French literature by Galahad.
Percival's sister is a role of two similar but distinct characters in the Holy Grail stories within the Arthurian legend featuring the Grail hero Percival (Perceval). The first of them is named Dindrane, the second is usually unnamed and known today as the Grail heroine.
Sir Gareth is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend. He was the youngest son of King Lot and Queen Morgause, King Arthur's half-sister, thus making him Arthur's nephew, as well as brother to Gawain, Agravain, and Gaheris, and either a brother or half-brother of Mordred. He is particularly notable in Le Morte d'Arthur where he is also known by his nickname Beaumains.
In Arthurian legend, the Fisher King, also known as the Wounded King or Maimed King, is the last in a long bloodline charged with keeping the Holy Grail. Versions of the original story vary widely, but he is always wounded in the legs or groin and incapable of standing. All he is able to do is fish in a small boat on the river near his castle, Corbenic, and wait for some noble who might be able to heal him by asking a certain question. In later versions, knights travel from many lands to try to heal the Fisher King, but only the chosen can accomplish the feat. This is achieved by Percival alone in the earlier stories; he is joined by Galahad and Bors in the later ones.
Bors is the name of two knights in Arthurian legend, an elder and a younger. The two first appear in the 13th-century Lancelot-Grail romance prose cycle. Bors the Elder is the King of Gaunnes (Gannes/Gaunes/Ganis) during the early period of King Arthur's reign, and is the brother of King Ban of Benoic and the father of Bors the Younger and Lionel. His son Bors the Younger later becomes one of the best Knights of the Round Table and participates in the achievement of the Holy Grail.
In Arthurian legend, the Siege Perilous is a vacant seat at the Round Table reserved by Merlin for the knight who would one day be successful in the quest for the Holy Grail. The English word "siege" originally meant "seat" or "throne" coming from the Old French sege ; the modern military sense of a prolonged assault comes from the conception of an army "sitting down" before a fortress.
Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail is a graphic adventure game released in 1990 by Sierra On-Line. It was the first game in the Conquests series designed by Christy Marx and her husband Peter Ledger. The only other game in the series was 1991's Conquests of the Longbow: The Legend of Robin Hood. Marx did the majority of the design work while Ledger created the game and package art.
This is a bibliography of works about King Arthur, his family, his friends or his enemies. This bibliography includes works that are notable or are by notable authors.
The Knight of the Sacred Lake is a historical fantasy novel by Rosalind Miles. It was first published in 2000 by Simon & Schuster in the UK followed by Crown Books in the US. The book is a retelling of the Arthurian legend and follows the lives of Queen Guinevere, consort of King Arthur and her struggles with the king's nephews Agravain and Gawain; the queen is torn between her love for her husband, her land, and her lover, Lancelot. The book was part of a series, The Guinevere Novels, and was followed by The Child of the Holy Grail. Reviewing the book, Publishers Weekly described it as "a lush, feminist take on the English epic".
Adventures of Sir Galahad is the 41st serial released in 1949 by Columbia Pictures. Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet, it stars George Reeves, Nelson Leigh, William Fawcett, Hugh Prosser, and Lois Hall. It was based on Arthurian legend, one of the very few serials of the time with a period setting that was not a western.
Galehaut is a very tall knight in the Arthurian legend. He is most prominent within the Lancelot-Grail prose cycle where he is a noble enemy turned an ally of King Arthur as well as an inseparable friend of Arthur's champion Lancelot. The figure of Galehaut should not be mistaken with Lancelot's son, Galahad, and some other similarly named characters.
Queen of Camelot is an Arthurian-legend based novel shown through the viewpoint of Queen Guinevere. It is a combination of two of Nancy McKenzie's previous books The Child Queen and The High Queen. She states in the foreword that she originally intended the novels to be combined, but they were split at the time of publication because of their length.
Lancelot is a text adventure game by Level 9 released in 1988. It features static graphics on some platforms. The plot focuses on Lancelot's quest to find the Holy Grail.
Elaine (Helaine) or Elizabeth, also known as Amite, and identified as the "Grail Maiden" or the "Grail Bearer", is a character from Arthurian legend. In the Arthurian chivalric romance tradition, she is the daughter of the Fisher King, King Pelles of Corbenic, and the mother of Galahad from her rape of Lancelot. She should not be confused with Elaine of Astolat, a different woman who too fell in love with Lancelot.
Nancy Affleck McKenzie is an American author of historical fiction. Her primary focus is Arthurian legend.