Book 13 Summary

At the next annual Feast of Pentecost, all the knights gather at the Round Table. Once they've congregated, Launcelot is requested by a lady on horseback to come into the forest. Once there, he finds Galahad, his son, at the nunnery where he has been raised. Launcelot goes back to Camelot.

At the table, gold letters appear above one chair of the Round Table. The letters say that the seat will be filled 454 years after Christ, the current time. A sword floats down the river, encased in stone. The engraving says, "for the best knight in the world." This is the sword of Balin le Savage. Launcelot declines to try for it, saying that the sword will wound whomever it touches that is not the rightful owner. Gawaine tries it at Arthur's request, but cannot move it. An old man brings a new...