Siege Perilous

American  

[seej per-uh-luhs] / ˈsidʒ ˈpɛr ə ləs /

noun

1. Arthurian Legend. a vacant seat at the Round Table that could be filled only by the predestined finder of the Holy Grail and was fatal to pretenders.

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Siege Perilous British  

noun

1. (in Arthurian legend) the seat at the Round Table that could be filled only by the knight destined to find the Holy Grail and that was fatal to anyone else

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Etymology

Origin of Siege Perilous

First recorded in 1425–75; from Old French siege perilleus “dangerous seat”; see siege ( def. ), perilous ( def. )

Example Sentences

Enough would be a world that, like the Siege Perilous, lets us give one another the lives we are all entitled to.

From Washington Post • Apr. 22, 2021

Shortly after being beaten down by a group of cyborg supervillains, a number of the heroes enter a mirror-like portal called the Siege Perilous.

From Washington Post • Apr. 22, 2021

So the King and all went in, and every knight knew his own place and set himself therein, and all sieges were filled save only the Siege Perilous.

From Stories of King Arthur and His Knights Retold from Malory's "Morte dArthur" by Cutler, U. Waldo

Knighted by Lancelot, 224; occupies "Siege Perilous," 224; sees Holy Grail, 226.

From Legends of the Middle Ages Narrated with Special Reference to Literature and Art by Guerber, H. A. (Hélène Adeline)

That business is to reach the Siege Perilous, or Magic Chair.

From He by Pollock, Walter Herries