14 minSummaryRead it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 220 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 220 pagesAbout this book
An empty seat waits at the Round Table, while a sacred quest draws Arthur’s knights away from Camelot.
King Arthur’s court stands at the height of its glory. Then young Sir Galahad arrives, and the Holy Grail draws the knights toward a search beyond Camelot. In the tradition Howard Pyle follows, this sacred cup is linked to the Last Supper. Its promise tests more than courage in combat.
Galahad meets the quest with modesty and resolve. Sir Launcelot, his father and the court’s greatest warrior, struggles with his conscience, while Sir Percival and Sir Bors face their own trials. Arthur hopes to hold his fellowship together in justice and peace. But high ideals meet human weakness, and the bonds of the Round Table come under strain.
What you’ll discover
- The seat awaiting Galahad Meet a young knight whose quiet courage gives the great quest its sacred purpose.
- More than feats of arms Follow knights whose search demands humility and faith as well as skill in battle.
- Launcelot’s divided conscience Look beyond the renowned warrior’s bravery to the inward struggle that tests his ideals.
- A court worth caring about Enter Arthur’s fellowship, where hopes for justice and peace stand against pride and resentment.
- The weight of glory Explore the gap between a perfect good and the human hearts that seek it.
Who will love it
Readers who love knights, quests and enchanted forests will enjoy this book, along with anyone drawn to loyalty and love under strain.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- An insult leads Geraint to Enid
- Geraint mistakes devotion for betrayal
- Galahad brings hope and a warning
- The Grail tests the heart
- A rescue cannot silence suspicion
- Blind fury turns loyalty into war
- Choices leave a lasting weight
- Pyle makes each scene heard
- Private choices threaten a whole kingdom
Who’s who
- Sir GeraintA proud knight of the Round Table who wins Enid's hand, then lets doubt drive him into a harsh test of her loyalty.
- EnidA poor earl's daughter who marries Geraint and keeps faith with him through hunger, danger and cruel silence.
- Sir GalahadLauncelot's young son, raised in a nunnery, who is destined to sit the Seat Perilous and seek the Holy Grail.
- Sir LauncelotThe greatest knight of the Round Table, torn between loyalty to King Arthur and his love for the Queen.
- Queen GuinevereArthur's queen, quick in pride and anger, whose bond with Launcelot makes her the target of the court's hatred.
- King ArthurThe aging king who wants to keep the Round Table whole as quarrels and old prophecies close in on him.
- Sir GawaineArthur's nephew and Launcelot's old friend, whose grief for his slain brothers hardens into a hatred he cannot lay down.
- Sir MordredGawaine's brother, ambitious and dark of spirit, who works to ruin Launcelot and seizes his chance when the King is away.
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The Story of the Grail and the Passing of Arthur
by Howard Pyle · 1910
A dwarf's whip stings Sir Geraint's face, and a silent ride through ambush-ridden forest tests his wife Enid.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“This sword is for the greatest knight in the world and for him who shall win the Holy Grail.”
In short
Picture a dwarf on a huge horse, whip raised, and a knight with a red welt across his cheek. That small insult sets off the first of three tales in this book, and it ends up shaking a whole kingdom.
The Story of the Grail and the Passing of Arthur at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h 35 min4 h 25 min fast, 6 h 40 min slow
- Length
- 80,000 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1910by Howard Pyle
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A whipped cheek leads Geraint to Enid
On a hunt near Carleon, Sir Geraint rides with Queen Guinevere and meets a knight, a lady in scarlet and a dwarf. When the Queen's maiden asks the knight's name, the dwarf pushes her horse back. Geraint rides up to ask for himself, and the dwarf strikes him across the face with a whip.
He follows the strangers to a town in uproar over the Sparrow-Hawk, a silver jousting prize whose three-year champion earns the title Knight of the Sparrow-Hawk. Geraint has no armor, so he is sent to a ruined castle.
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A dwarf's whip stings Sir Geraint's face, and a silent ride through ambush-ridden forest tests his wife Enid.
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Details
- First published
- 1910
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
- Paperback
- 220 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Hardcover
- 220 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print paperback
- 372 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print hardcover
- 372 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Delivery and returns
- Printed when you order. Usually here in 12 to 14 days.Arrives Tue 1 Dec to Mon 7 Decto United States, printed for you at cost
For Christmas, order by Thu 12 Nov
Cite this edition
Pyle, Howard. The Story of the Grail and the Passing of Arthur. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-story-of-the-grail-and-the-passing-of-arthur.
Pyle, H. (2026). The story of the Grail and the passing of Arthur. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-story-of-the-grail-and-the-passing-of-arthur (Original work published 1910)
Pyle, Howard. The Story of the Grail and the Passing of Arthur. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-story-of-the-grail-and-the-passing-of-arthur.
@book{pyle2026story,
author = {Pyle, Howard},
title = {The Story of the Grail and the Passing of Arthur},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-story-of-the-grail-and-the-passing-of-arthur},
note = {First published 1910}
}
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What is The Story of the Grail and the Passing of Arthur about?
It tells three stories. Sir Geraint tests his wife Enid through a series of forest adventures, the knights of the Round Table seek the Holy Grail, and Arthur's court breaks apart through quarrels and war.
Who is Sir Galahad in this book?
Galahad is Sir Launcelot's son by Elaine the Fair. He is raised in a nunnery, knighted by his father, and fills the Seat Perilous, which has been empty since the Round Table began.
What happens to the Grail in the story?
The Grail is the chalice linked to the crucifixion and the holy spear. The knights seek it, and only a few of them are pure enough to see or touch it. Each is tested in a different way.
The author
Howard Pyle
1853–1911 · American illustrator and author
Howard Pyle (1853–1911) was an American illustrator and author born in Wilmington, Delaware. He wrote The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (1883), Men of Iron (1891), and The Story of King Arthur and His Knights (1903). He lived mainly in Wilmington and moved to Florence, Italy, in 1910, dying there in 1911.
“This sword is for the greatest knight in the world and for him who shall win the Holy Grail.”
More by Howard Pyle
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