Sir Galahad - Ottawa, Ontario - Epic Beings and Creatures on Waymarking.com

The story of Sir Galahad and his quest for the Holy Grail is a relatively late addition to the Arthurian legend. Sir Galahad does not feature in any romance by Chrétien de Troyes, or in Robert de Boron's Perceval, or in any of the continuations of Chrétien's story of the mysterious castle of the Fisher King. Sir Galahad first appears in the early-thirteenth century Old French Vulgate Cycle. Perhaps it was because King Arthur and the established knights of his kingdom were not deemed to be fit enough for such a holy endeavour, that Sir Galahad was introduced to redeem King Arthur and his knights, and to show that there was one knight alone who was worthy to achieve the quest for the Holy Grail. It is Sir Galahad who takes the initiative to begin the search for the Grail; the rest of the knights follow him. King Arthur is sorrowful that all the knights have embarked thus, for he discerns that many will never be seen again, dying upon their quest. Arthur fears that it is the beginning of the end of the Round Table. This might be seen as a theological statement that concludes that earthly endeavors must take second place to the pursuit of the holy. Galahad, in some ways, mirrors Arthur, drawing a sword from a stone in the way that King Arthur did. In this manner, Sir Galahad is declared to be the chosen one.

The statue of Sir Galahad is a memorial to the heroism of Henry Albert Harper a journalist and correspondent for the Montreal Daily Herald. The plaque on the Galahad statue reads: Erected by the public to commemorate the heroism of Henry Albert Harper MA who in an effort to save the life of Miss Bessie Blair was drowned with her in the Ottawa River on the sixth of December, 1901 in his twenty-eighth year.

Sources: (visit link) and (visit link)

Time Period: Middle Ages Approximate Date of Epic Period: Early-thirteenth century Epic Type: Mythical Exhibit Type: Figure, Statue, 3D Art

Visit Instructions:
To post a log for this waymark, take a picture of the location and tell at least 'a little' bit about your encounter, impression or experience.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log   09/03/2019 Lynx Humble visited it 07/09/2019 The Burrow visited it 07/20/2017 gemeloj visited it 09/04/2016 Timo Explorer visited it 05/25/2016 delisles visited it 06/24/2015 lyturmel visited it 03/01/2015 mTn_biKer65 visited it 03/01/2015 hillbilney visited it 09/27/2014 HurricaneLaurk visited it 09/13/2014 GéoSpyder visited it 09/06/2014 Cyrano-Bella visited it 08/19/2014 Casper&Aero visited it 06/25/2014 Castor007 visited it 05/30/2014 CONPER visited it 05/10/2014 petendot visited it 04/21/2014 Loonwatcher visited it 02/20/2014 machard visited it 11/23/2013 Weathervane visited it 10/09/2013 lindeye visited it 09/19/2013 penguins42 visited it 08/18/2013 Papou visited it 08/12/2013 elyob visited it 07/01/2013 Esiban visited it 10/08/2012 jiggs11 visited it

View all visits/logs