The Perilous Seat
And the old knight said unto the young knight, 'Sir follow me'. And anon, he led him unto the Siege Perilous, where beside sat Sir Launcelot, and the good man lift up the cloth, and found there letters that said thus: This is the siege of Galahad the high prince. Sir, said the old knight, wit ye well that place is yours. And then he set him down surely in that siege.
- Malory
Then all the knights flocked around Sir Galahad and not knowing where he came from, other than from God, agreed that this would be the man who would find them the Holy Grail.
The 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 Siege Perilous is strictly reserved and therefore is fatal to anyone unworthy who sits in it.
The English word "siege" originally meant "seat" or "throne" coming from the Old French sege (modern French siège)
There is a vacant seat at the Round Table of Hero’s, just waiting for the true Knight to have the holiness, courage, and will to take that seat on that throne.
“Originally, this motif about the seat and the grail belonged to Perceval, but the Lancelot-Grail Cycle transferred it to the new Cistercian-based hero Galahad. It appears, for example, in the earlier Perceval de Didot attributed to Robert de Boron, in which Perceval occupies the seat at Arthur's court at Carduel.[5][self-published source] According to many scholars, the motif of the dangerous seat can be further traced to Welsh, Cornish, and Breton mythology, from which the bulk of the Arthurian legend was derived. According to this theory, the Siege Perilous was a half-remembered version of a Celtic kingship ritual that has parallels in the Irish Lia Fáil.”
In Thomas Malory's 1485 book Le Morte d'Arthur, in an account taken from the Vulgate Cycle Queste del Saint Graal, the newly knighted Sir Galahad takes the seat in Camelot on Whitsunday, 454 years after the death of Jesus.
“The Perilous Seat is a vacant seat at the Round Table. Merlin reserved this larger and special chair then kissed it for the good knight that would one day sit there. On the chair is the inscription, so-and so should sit here and 454 years have passed since the passion of Christ; on Pentecost (Quest for the Holy Grail, pg. 4). Pentiecost is the decent of the Holly Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ. It is known as the Birth of the Church. On this pivotal religious day it is said that the man who comes to the table and sits there will announce the beginning of the Holy Grail quest.
There is a dangerous myth surrounding the chair. Anyone that sits and does not rightfully belong in the chair will be maimed or killed. The person who does sit there must be chaste and a virgin of all sin. This is much like the sword in the stone or the shield at the chapel. Everything is especially designated for one knight. This one knight being Galahad. Originally, this motif about the seat and the grail belonged to Perceval, but the Lancelot –Grail cycle transferred it to the new hero Galahad in 1230. Perceval occupies the seat at Arthur’s court at Carduel in the earlier de Boron Didot version. According to many scholars, the motif of the dangerous seat can be further traced to Welsh, Cornish, and Breton mythology, where the bulk of the Arthurian legend came from. According to this theory, the Perilous seat was a half-remembered version of a Celtic kingship ritual that has parallels in the Irish Lia Fail. Irish Lia Fail is a stone that represents the coronation of the high kings of Ireland. Therefore, the original history and significance of the Perilous chair showcase objects acting as place markers, vessels or symbols of importance.”
Led by Joseph of Arimathea, Sir Galahad approaches King Arthur's Round Table and the Seat Perilous. No man had yet sat with safety in the Seat, as only a blameless occupant can do so without being killed instantly. The knights of the Round Table watch in horror as Sir Galahad assumes the Seat, but the young and pure knight survives. Thereafter, the structure is known as "The Seat of Galahad." -- Adapted from: An outline of this version of the legend by Henry James.