What object did the Knights of the Round Table seek?

The Knights of the Round Table sought the Holy Grail.

The Holy Grail is the sacred object pursued by Arthur’s knights in the later medieval Grail romances. It is often described as the cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper, though some traditions connect it with the vessel that caught his blood at the Crucifixion. Its exact nature changes across texts: it may be a cup, a dish, or a mysterious serving vessel.

The Grail first becomes prominent in Chrétien de Troyes’s unfinished late-12th-century poem *Perceval, the Story of the Grail*. French prose cycles then expanded the quest, making it a spiritual test rather than simply a treasure hunt. In many versions, Galahad achieves the quest because of his exceptional purity, while Perceval and Bors also play major roles.

The Holy Grail is not the Holy Lance, Excalibur, or a royal crown. The lance is another sacred relic in some versions, but the defining object of the Grail Quest is the Grail itself.