Lancelot’s character is more fully developed in the Vulgate and post-Vulgate Cycle, which evolved Chrétien’s work to include tales of Lancelot’s childhood, his early adventures, and his quest for the Holy Grail.
After Lancelot’s affair with Guinevere was exposed to Arthur, the king prepared to burn his queen at the stake. Lancelot rescued her, splitting the allegiance of the Order of the Round Table and killing several leading knights in the process. After Arthur’s death, Lancelot became a monk and died six weeks after Guinevere.
Lancelot battles Meleagant to rescue Guinevere. His hands and feet have been cut open by the Sword Bridge that he crossed to reach the queen as quickly as he could. Lancelot is enamoured with the queen and turns to gaze at her throughout the fight; from a high window a kindly lady advises Lancelot to manoeuvre around his opponent so that he can face forward and still see the queen. The coat of arms worn by Lancelot in this plate is based on that shown in a French manuscript c. 1300; Meleagant’s is based on D’Armagnac Armoral.
LANCELOT AND THE FOUR QUEENS
It was a scorching summer’s day, and Lancelot had ridden out with his nephew Lionel, looking for adventure. Shading themselves under an ancient tree as they rested their horses, Lancelot’s eyes slowly closed and he slept peacefully. Lionel remained alert, and after some time had passed, three riders came into view. As they drew closer, Lionel saw that they were knights galloping in a fearful panic. Behind them came a fourth knight, a warrior with great horns on his helmet, and he overtook the other horsemen in turn, smiting each from their saddle with a powerful blow from his axe. Dismounting, the horned knight bound his three prisoners and started to lead them away slung over their own saddles.
Lionel mounted his horse and gave pursuit, not stopping to wake Lancelot. He overtook the horned knight and challenged him. Turning to receive Lionel’s charge, the horned knight dealt him such a heavy blow that both rider and horse collapsed to the ground. When he came to, Lionel realized that he too was bound and hanging over his saddle, led away to the castle of the horned knight. Once there, each of the prisoners was stripped and flayed with thorns, and then thrown into a dark dungeon alongside many other knights who had fallen victim to the horned knight.
Lionel’s brother Ector de Maris had set out after Lancelot and Lionel, hoping to join them on a quest. He met not with the sleeping Lancelot, but instead with a forester, whom he asked where adventure could be found. The forester explained that he should keep riding until he found a tree upon which hung the many-colored shields of the good knights defeated by Turquin the horned knight. At the tree, Ector should beat on the copper drum hanging there and prepare himself for defeat. Ector thanked him and rode on, also destined to be beaten and thrown naked into Turquin’s dungeon.
THE VULGATE CYCLE
In the early 13th century a group of French Cistercian monks wrote a series of Arthurian adventures based on the earlier works of Geoffrey of Monmouth, Wace, and Robert de Boron, but focusing on the romance of Lancelot and Guinevere and the quest for the Holy Grail. These five tales were: Lancelot du Lac, Queste del Saint Graal, Estoire del Saint Graal, Mort Artu, and Estoire de Merlin. Collectively they are known as the Vulgate Cycle (and sometimes as the Prose Lancelot).
These five stories greatly influenced later Arthurian legend, including a series of works known as the post-Vulgate Cycle, which added to or reworked the detail of some of the tales. The Vulgate and post-Vulgate Cycles introduced Arthurian love affairs, morality, and stronger religious elements than had previously been present in Arthurian legend, demonstrating these qualities through the actions of the knight heroes.
‘How four queens found Launcelot sleeping.’ By Aubrey Beardsley; Beardsley’s first commission as an artist was to illustrate JM Dent & Co’s 1893 Le Morte d’Arthur.
Lancelot, meanwhile, dreamt many a joyous dream. His sleep was not disturbed by the arrival of four queens of great beauty. With the four queens rode four knights, holding a canopy to shade the ladies from the summer heat. As they passed Lancelot, the queens stopped to admire the handsome young knight. As they watched him sleep, they began to argue over which of them could make this sleeping knight into their lover. One of the four, Morgan Le Fay – Arthur’s sister and enemy – was an enchantress of great repute, and cast a spell on Lancelot to make him sleep for another quarter of a day. She explained that she would take him to her castle, remove the enchantment of sleep and replace it with a binding of iron chains, and then make him choose one of the queens as his paramour. One of them, she said, would eventually have him.
The bespelled Lancelot was carried away by the queens’ knights and placed under lock and key. When he awoke from the spell, Morgan Le Fay introduced the other queens: the Queens of Northgales, Eastland, and the Outer Isles. She then instructed him to choose his lover. Although he thought each of them was beautiful, he could not choose between them, for he loved another. Lancelot explained that he would not, and should rather remain imprisoned. And so he remained in the dungeon, answering the question in the same way every day. The queens grew frustrated but Lancelot still refused to play their game. His salvation came in the form of the serving girl who brought his food every day. She too was a captive, a daughter of Duke Rocedon who desperately needed a courageous champion to fight in a tournament against the King of Northgales the next day. In return for the keys to his cell, Lancelot promised to fight for her father. And with that, both captives fled the castle.
As the next day dawned, Lancelot prepared to fight as Rocedon’s champion, and carried a plain white shield so that no-one would know his true identity. Fighting on behalf of the King of Northgales were three Knights of the Round Table – Mordred, Mador de la Porte, and Gahalantine – but Lancelot bested them all. Hacking away in the centre of the melee amidst the throng of scores of battered and battering knights, Lancelot delivered a blow to the King of Northgales that broke his thigh, and remained the only knight standing at the end of the day. Duke Rocedon’s champion had prevailed.
LANCELOT IN LOVE
When the queens asked the captive Lancelot which of them he would love, he was unable to do so because he loved another. Morgan Le Fay, with her magical powers, knew who this was: Arthur’s wife, Guinevere. In Malory’s Le Morte Darthur, this plot device is announced early in the story and acts as a backdrop to many of Lancelot’s later adventures. Lancelot and Guinevere’s relationship is always kept discreet, although for a time Lancelot runs mad in the forest due to his love of the queen. Their liaisons are eventually revealed by Mordred, sparking a civil war between Arthur on one side and Lancelot on the other… events escalate and result at the end of Arthur’s reign at the battle of Camlann.
Although Lancelot loved Guinevere this did not stop his involvement with other women, including two ladies named Elaine. Elaine of Astolat was Tennyson’s famous Lady of Shalott, who fell in love with Lancelot from afar and when this remained unrequited, she committed suicide, floating down the river to Camelot in a barge. Elaine of Carbonek was rescued by Lancelot from both a scalding bath and a dragon; Elaine tricked Lancelot into thinking she was Guinevere, and after they slept together, Elaine gave birth to Lancelot’s son Galahad. A third Elaine was important to Lancelot: his mother, the wife of King Ban of Benwick.
The love between Lancelot and Guinevere was present from Lancelot’s earliest introduction to Arthurian legend, eventually leading to the downfall of Arthur’s kingdom. By C Walter Hodges.
Thankful for Lancelot’s help and the safe return of his daughter, Rocedon asked Lancelot his name. Upon discovering he was a Knight of the Round Table, the old man’s face lit up as he realized how he could repay his champion: a false knight named Turquin held in his dungeon three score Knights of the Round Table. None had yet outfought him but, the grateful duke exclaimed, a warrior as fine as Lancelot stood a better chance than any other knight in Logres. Lancelot mounted his horse and rode to find Turquin.
As Lancelot approached the tree from which the shields of t
he fallen knights swung, a horse slowly approached. On the horse, Gawain’s brother Gaheris lay slumped with a terrible wound, another victim of Turquin; Gaheris had fought valiantly yet in vain, and his horse had carried him clear of Turquin’s intended humiliation. Lancelot struck the copper drum and awaited the horned knight.
Barely a birdsong later, as the drum still rang, Turquin appeared. The two knights spurred their horses at one another. Lances smashed on shields, and the collision held such force as to break both horses’ backs. On foot the two combatants came eagerly together and laid about each other with sword and axe. Such was the strength and ferocity of the duel that shields shattered and broken armour fell to the floor. They fought for two hours, until both collapsed, exhausted.
‘Sir Launcelot doeth battle with Sir Turquine.’ By Howard Pyle.
Between heavy breaths, Lancelot asked why Turquin so hated the Round Table. Turquin explained that one of their number – Lancelot of the Lake – had slain his brother Carados, and in return Turquin had slain a hundred of Arthur’s knights and maimed as many again. Still carrying the white shield from the tournament, Lancelot was unknown to Turquin, but revealed his true identity as the duel resumed. Each knight went at the other like a wild bull, fighting for two hours more before Lancelot wrestled his opponent to the floor, tore off his helmet, and cut his head from his body.
From the castle of the defeated Turquin, Lancelot released Lionel, Ector de Maris, and many other sorely wounded knights. Having rested and recovered his strength, Lancelot defeated yet more dishonourable knights and a pair of giants who terrorized the land. Returning to Camelot, he recounted his deeds, and from that time on Lancelot was renowned as the greatest knight in the world, and most honoured by the Order of the Round Table as Arthur’s new champion.
* * *
This story first appeared in the French prose Lancelot Propre (written in the early 13th century), although in this original version only three queens hold the knight prisoner. By the time of Malory, a fourth queen was added and the lord whom Lancelot championed had changed from Rocedon to Bagdemagus, the father of Meleagant in The Knight of the Cart.
As usual, Morgan appears as an enemy of Arthur’s despite their blood relation, and her demand of Lancelot to choose a lover forces him to demonstrate that his true love is Guinevere: a fact not lost on the enemies of Arthur.
The tale is not without medieval humour; after his escape from Morgan Le Fay, Lancelot rests for the night in an empty pavilion and is awakened by a bearded face kissing him. Jumping out of the bed, Lancelot discovers that the knight who owns the pavilion has returned, believing that the warm sleeper in his bed is his wife.
As Lancelot sleeps under a tree, Morgan Le Fay and the Queens of Northgales, Eastland, and the Outer Isles ride up. Intrigued by his good looks, the four queens have decided to carry him away and hold him as their prisoner until he chooses one of them as his lover. The coat of arms shown for the sleeping Lancelot is one of the most commonly worn designs for him in medieval manuscripts from the 13th century onwards.
GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT
On the first day of a new year the snow fell deep around Camelot. As was his custom, Arthur held a feast to celebrate the coming year and his followers gathered in the warmth of the Great Hall. Scarcely had the guests taken their seats when a howling wind flung open the heavy wooden doors and in a flurry of snow a giant of a knight rode in, a vision of green.
His green skin was clad in green armour, around which was wound holly. His bushy great beard was green, as was his hair, and from both sprouted yet more flora. His horse was equally green and bedecked with green leaves. In his hand he gripped a sharp-bladed battle-axe, and his eyes shone red as he rumbled out a deep-voiced challenge to any brave knight present.
The headless Green Knight in Arthur’s hall, from the Gawain and the Green Knight manuscript, c. 1375–1400. (Bridgeman)
Gawain leapt forward ahead of any other knight, and accepted on behalf of his uncle the king. The Green Knight had not yet explained the nature of the challenge, but did so now. Each of them would strike one blow against the other and the better man would be the winner. He threw his giant axe to Gawain’s feet, and Arthur’s brave nephew hefted it. He would strike first.
The Green Knight dismounted, and strode across the hall to kneel before Gawain, exposing his neck and asking Gawain to deliver a blow when he was ready to do so. Gawain brought the axe down heavily and cleanly onto the giant’s neck. The sharp blades sliced through flesh and bone, and the Green Knight’s head fell to the floor. No return blow would be struck, Gawain thought to himself.
But then the outcry began. The Green Knight’s body began to stand, even though his green bearded head lay some distance across the paved floor. Unsteady at first, but then standing firm, the green torso moved across the hall to recover its detached head and lifted it aloft. The unseeing eyes flashed red once more, and spoke out loud that one year to the day, they must meet at the Green Chapel where Gawain would receive his blow in return.
Sean Connery’s monumental Green Knight prepares to remove the head of Gawain (played by Miles O’Keeffe) in 1984’s Sword of the Valiant. (Alamy)
The Green Knight tucked his head under his arm, remounted his green horse, and slowly departed the hall. As the doors closed out the snow and the feast resumed, the court of Camelot had little appetite.
Least of all Gawain.
The year passed quickly for Gawain; as summer ended he set out from Camelot to find the mysterious Green Chapel, heading north for want of better direction. As Gawain rode and enquired about the chapel without success, winter set in. The further north he travelled, the more the snow settled on the uplands and the woodland trees lost their leaves. Gawain ploughed forward through icicled forests and crossed frozen rivers. His armour sat cold against his flesh. Still none could give him directions to the Green Chapel.
Only three nights from his appointment with the Green Knight, Gawain crested a snowy hill and saw before him a small castle sheltered in the valley below. Cold and in need of a meal, he headed towards it.
The lord of the castle met him at the gate and cordially welcomed him. Bercilak, as was the lord’s name, explained that few visitors found his home and that a nephew of Arthur was doubly welcome to his hospitality. Changed into warm, dry garments Gawain was introduced to Bercilak’s wife; Lady Bercilak was a vision of beauty tempered only by the wizened old crone who stood always by her side. The crone was her mother, whose cold dark eyes viewed Gawain with suspicion.
As darkness fell Gawain was summoned to a fine dinner, where he asked if Bercilak knew of the Green Chapel. The chapel, Bercilak explained, lay close by and he would set the questing knight on the correct path once he had rested with them for a few days. This suited Gawain and he relaxed into the feast, courteous as ever a knight should be to the lord and lady of a castle.
Before retiring to sleep, Bercilak explained that he would set off early in the morning snow to hunt for the next day’s table; Gawain, he said, should rest, but they must agree to exchange whatever winnings came their way on the following day. An odd suggestion, Gawain thought, but bowed his acceptance and went to his warm bed.
As he awoke on a hazy, cold winter morning Gawain heard Bercilak and his huntsmen leaving the castle. A few moments later came a soft knock at his door and Lady Bercilak appeared. This time her mother was absent. She sat beside Gawain on the bed and jested with him in word games. Each amused the other, even though the courteous Gawain spurned the lady’s advances, and when the time came for Lady Bercilak to busy herself for her husband’s return, she gifted Gawain a fine redgold ring from her finger as a token of their friendship.
Bercilak’s wife visits Gawain in his bedchamber, from the Gawain and the Green Knight manuscript, c. 1375–1400.
Bercilak clattered into the castle courtyard followed by his huntsmen staggering under the weight of a freshly slain boar. Calling to Gawain, Bercilak offered the boar as his winnings from the day
and asked Gawain to share the results of his own toils. Gawain dutifully presented the ring he had been given but Bercilak refused to accept it: he cheerily said that the ring must have been given to Gawain as a token of a lady’s love, and that he could not take that from Gawain. With that, he waved away the day’s exchange and shared the boar with Gawain anyway.
Over dinner that night of wild boar, with both Lady Bercilak and her mother present, the lord of the castle made the same agreement with Gawain: each would share their winnings from the next day’s toil. Lady Bercilak’s mother glowered furiously at Gawain.
Once again, Gawain awoke to the sound of Bercilak’s hunting party leaving in the early morning light; and once again a soft knock came at his door. The lady sat with Gawain just as she had the previous day, and each enjoyed the other’s company even though the virtuous Gawain spurned her alluring advances. As she left, the lady kissed Gawain on the cheek and left his chamber. Shortly afterwards, Bercilak arrived with the warm carcass of a great stag and shared his winnings with Gawain. In return Gawain embraced his host and kissed him on the cheek. Bercilak chuckled to himself about this frivolous gift and went about the rest of his day a happy man. At dinner, as they ate the stag, the old crone stared daggers at Gawain but said nothing. Bercilak and Gawain agreed to continue their arrangement the next day, the visiting knight unwilling to disagree with his host.
As Gawain lay down that night, he realized that the next day was the start of a new year, and that in the morning he must face the Green Knight. Thinking of Lady Bercilak instead, he drifted into sleep. When he awoke, Gawain lay in bed pondering the day ahead: his honour meant that he must ride to the Green Chapel, even if it meant he would die. He would not let down the honour of the Round Table by failing to appear.
The Knights of the Round Table Page 4
