Gaheris

Gaheris
Matter of Britain character
Gaheriet's attributed arms
First appearance	Perceval, the Story of the Grail
Created by	Possibly Chrétien de Troyes
Based on	Likely Gwalhafed
In-universe information
Title	Prince, Sir
Occupation	Knight of the Round Table
Family	King Arthur's family In Le Morte d'Arthur: Lot, Morgause (parents); Agravain, Gawain, Gareth, Mordred (brothers)
Spouse	Lynette
Home	Orkney, Camelot

Gaheris (/ɡəˈhɛrɪs/ gə-HERR-iss; Old French: Gaheriet[/s/z],^{[note 1]} Gaheriés,^{[note 2]} etc.) is a Knight of the Round Table and a relative of King Arthur in the chivalric romance tradition of the Arthurian legend.

Gaheris is usually described as the third son of one of Arthur's half-sisters and her husband Lot, rulers of either Orkney or Lothian. In the popular version found in Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, Gaheris is the son of King Lot of Orkney and Queen Morgause, making him the younger brother of Gawain and Agravain, the elder brother of Gareth, and the half-brother of Arthur's son Mordred.

The character of Gaheris may have originated from the figure of Gawain's sole brother in early Welsh Arthurian tradition, who was later divided into two separate characters, one of whom became known as Malory's Gareth. In German medieval poetry, where no equivalent of Gareth exists, Gaheris appears instead as Gawain's cousin rather than his brother.

In Le Morte d'Arthur, Gaheris is portrayed largely as a supporting character to Arthur's chief nephew, Gawain, with the notable exception of his killing of their mother. His role is more substantial in the French prose cycles that served as Malory's sources, where he becomes the target of murderous sibling rivalry from his elder brother Agravain in the Vulgate Cycle. Ultimately, both in these French texts and in Malory, Gaheris is slain alongside his brother Gareth during Lancelot's rescue of Guinevere, an event that precipitates the downfall of Arthur's realm.

Gaheris and his brother Gareth are thought to have originated from a single figure — the only brother traditionally named for Gwalchmai ap Gwyar, the figure from Welsh mythology generally identified with Gawain. This character, a prince named Gwalchafed (Gwalhafed) or Gwalhauet (Gwalhavet) — Old Welsh for "Hawk of Summer" — ap Gwayr or mab Gwyar, is mentioned in Culhwch and Olwen.^[6] He is regarded as the likely common source for both Gaheris and Gareth, assuming that Gawain himself was derived from Gwalchmai.^[7]

A later French-influenced Welsh romance, Seint Greal, in fact refers to Gwalchmai's brother as Gaharyet.^[8]

Here is your text revised with British English spelling, neutral encyclopaedic tone, and Wikipedia-style formatting and grammar. Redundant phrasing and minor grammatical inconsistencies have also been smoothed out while maintaining accuracy and citation integrity.

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The names of Gaheris and Gareth, as standardised by Thomas Malory in his compilation Le Morte d'Arthur, are used here for clarity. However, in Malory's sources — the various Old French prose romances — the two are found under a range of variant but similar spellings. Their adventures and character traits are often interchangeable or indistinguishable, and in some manuscripts the two are even conflated within the same text.^[9] Due to the numerous confusing French spellings, the International Arthurian Society has described Malory's Gaheris and Gareth as "entirely different characters from Gaheriet and Guerrehes", while also suggesting that Malory may not have intentionally altered them, given the uncertainty surrounding his exact sources.^[10]

In continental literature, a Gaheris-like name first appears as Gaheriet (Gaherïet) among King Arthur's knights in the late 12th-century French poem Erec and Enide by Chrétien de Troyes. Gaheriet and Guerehet also appear in Chrétien's later Perceval, the Story of the Grail, described as sons of King Lot and younger brothers of Gawain and Agravain.^{[note 3]}

In Wolfram von Eschenbach's German poem Parzival, the figure of Gaheriet is represented by Gawain's cousin Gaherjet (Gaherjêt). Der Pleier’s Meleranz mentions Gaharet (also rendered Kaheret in Tandareis and Flordibel), a son of Arthur's sister Anthonje and the unnamed King of Gritenland,^[12] presented as one of Gawain's (Gawan) cousins alongside the protagonist Meleranz.^[13] As Karjet (Karyet), he also appears in Ulrich von Zatzikhoven's Lanzelet, where he assists Lancelot in rescuing Guinevere from King Valerin's abduction.^[14]

The extensive Lancelot-Grail (Vulgate Cycle) prose cycle of the early 13th century is the first known work to feature Gaheris as a major character. In the Prose Lancelot, Gaheris is portrayed as valiant, agile and handsome (with "his right arm longer than the left"), but reticent in speech and prone to excess when angered; he "was the least well-spoken of all his peers."^[15] The narrative recounts how the nobles of Orkney (Orcanie), which his father King Lot once ruled, wish to make Gaheris their king, believing him better suited than any of his brothers. Gaheris declines to be crowned until the completion of the Grail Quest. The Prose Merlin similarly depicts him as the finest warrior among Gawain's brothers, at least equal to Gawain himself.

As a youth, Gaheris joins Gawain and Agravain in defecting from Lot to support Arthur in his wars against the rebel kings and the Saxons (replaced by Saracens in some English versions such as Arthour and Merlin). Distinguished for his valour, he is knighted by Arthur along with his brothers in the Vulgate Cycle, though in the later Post-Vulgate Cycle he is knighted first among them. In the Post-Vulgate Merlin, Gaheris receives flowers from the Queen of the Fairy Isle, who prophesies that he would surpass all Round Table knights save for two (presumably Galahad and Lancelot) were it not for the destined sin of killing his mother. He later rescues Gawain and Morholt after defeating his envious elder brother Agravain in combat on two occasions, subsequently accompanying Morholt to Ireland.

Throughout the prose cycles, Gaheris participates in Arthur's wars and frequently accompanies Gawain on his adventures, in addition to undertaking quests of his own — such as rescuing King Bagdemagus. These episodes are retold in Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, where Gaheris (also rendered Gaherys or Gaheryes) initially serves as Gawain's squire, tempering his brother's anger, before being knighted. He later marries Lynette, sister of his younger brother Gareth's wife, Lyonors. The Lancelot and Mort Artu sections of the Lancelot-Grail differ in their portrayal of Gaheris's relationship with Gawain: in the Lancelot, Gareth is Gawain's most beloved brother, while in the Mort Artu, it is Gaheris, whose death causes Gawain deep grief.^[16]

In the Post-Vulgate tradition, including Malory's version, Gaheris participates in the revenge killing of King Pellinore, who slew King Lot. He later murders his mother, Queen Morgause, after discovering her in flagrante delicto with Lamorak, Pellinore's son and one of Arthur's greatest knights. Lamorak escapes, but is later ambushed and killed by Gaheris and three of his brothers (excluding Gareth), an act condemned as cowardly and dishonourable. When Arthur learns that Gaheris killed Morgause, he banishes him from court. Gaheris narrowly avoids execution by Mordred and Agravain through Gawain's intervention. After his exile, he joins Perceval on the Grail Quest, having previously been rescued from captivity by Palamedes.

In the Prose Tristan, Gaheris is depicted as a friend and ally of Tristan, opposing the villainous King Mark and compelling him to revoke Tristan's banishment from Cornwall. The Belarusian version Povest' o Tryshchane [be] portrays him as Arthur's son, named Garnot.^[17] In Malory's account, however, Gaheris despises Tristan for being favoured by Arthur, considering him an enemy. When Gaheris and Agravain attack Tristan, the Cornish knight denounces them and Gawain as "the greatest destroyers and murderers of good knights" before defeating them.^[18]

Gaheris's death during Lancelot's rescue of Guinevere from execution is recounted in the Mort Artu, the concluding section of the Vulgate and Post-Vulgate cycles.^[19] While Gawain and Gareth refuse to take part in Mordred and Agravain's plot against Lancelot and Guinevere, Arthur commands the remaining brothers to guard the queen's execution. Gaheris and Gareth reluctantly comply, though Gawain declines. When Lancelot arrives to save Guinevere, he kills both brothers. In the Vulgate Mort Artu, Gaheris kills Meliadus the Black before having his helmet knocked off by Hector de Maris, after which Lancelot strikes him dead. Their deaths drive Gawain into a vengeful rage, and the ensuing feud contributes to the downfall of Arthur's realm.

In the Post-Vulgate version of the Mort Artu, a knight from North Wales also named Gaheris takes the vacant Round Table seat that had belonged to Gaheris of Orkney following the latter's death. This 'new' Gaheris (Gaheres de Norgales) participates in the ensuing civil war, fighting on the side of Arthur and Gawain against the followers of Lancelot.

Adding to the confusion, there is also Gaheris of Karaheu, another Knight of the Round Table. Both are entirely distinct from Gaheris, the brother of Gawain.^[10]

• In T. H. White's The Once and Future King, the act of matricide is attributed to Agravaine rather than Gaheris. White offers his own interpretation of the story, depicting Agravaine as harbouring an unhealthy obsession with his mother, while Gaheris is repeatedly described as "dull" or "dull-witted".
• In Gerald Morris's book series The Squire's Tales, Gaheris is portrayed as one of the main protagonists. He is depicted as a witty and quietly courageous man who prefers agriculture to warfare.
• In the 1995 film First Knight, Gaheris is portrayed by Alexis Denisof. He takes part in the final battle for Camelot and survives the conflict against Malagant and his army.

• Gaheris at The Camelot Project