What about models provided in novel or romances to concile chivalry with piety ? There are still not satisfactory. Galahad for example, the ultimate pious knight, is not exactly a knight. Indeed, Galahad in the Quest for the Holy Grail is more a monk than an actual knight. The only thing is undoubtly commonly praised in a secular and spiritual perspective is the importance of a noble lineage. Galahad is described as “the Desired Knight, descended from the noble lineage of King David and the family of Joseph of Arimathea”12 and the fact that he is the son of Lancelot and the daughter of the Fisher King is constantly reminded to the reader. It is just a way to distinguish the knight from the others, by stressing his noble lineage and also…show more content… As Taylor explained,“theologians accepted that warfare and violence were not only a fact of life but even ordained by God as a means to punish sinners”13. Violence is indeed suitable against the Church's enemies, especially the Muslims. The Song of Roland is a good example of this justified violence, Roland and his compagnion performed indeed amazing deeds against the Saracens and are praise for that. Even tournaments, way found by the nobility to channel their violence in an entertaining performance, are used in the Quest for the Holy Grail to highlight God's choice of Galahad. His deeds are of course praised, but only because they prove he is the chose one, more than his military value. David Crouch's selection of tourneying sources showed on the contrary that prowess was important for knights, not because it proved their were in God's grace, but mostly because it helped them building their reputation and “receive the reward”14 for their successes. William Marshall also entered in the tournament circuit in order to gain money. Galahad is so completely out of sync with the reality of chivalry. Many other examples could have been used to illustrate discrepancy, but one is…show more content… It is so an extraordinary honor for Galahad, but this event reveals that the author sincerely thought that it was impossible to be pious knight and live a long life on earth. It is thus an absolute denial of the knights' social function. Indeed, in the Prose Lancelot, the Lady of the Lake explains to Lancelot, whom she kidnapped when he was a baby and raised, how knight ought to rule the world and protect the poorest and the weakest. “The horse that the knight sits on and that takes him wherever he needs to go signifies the common people, for the people must likewise bear the knight and attend to his needs […] so that he may protect and defend them night and day. The knight sits astride the common people, for, just as the knight spurs his horse and guides it toward the goal he chooses, he has the task of guiding the people according to his will and in legitimate subjection; indeed, the people are under him, and that is where they are meant to be”15. The author wanted of course to legitimize the knights' power and control but still gives a complete definition of knightly duty. It seems impossible to fulfill this function by living the pious life of Galahad, who, in the end, protects the Church more than anything else. Worthy knights in the Quest of the Holy Grail also appeared to be totally free from
