The Once And Future King Lancelot Analysis

Lancelot performs several dangerous acts after reading a letter from an imprisoned person. He is committing these acts as an attempt to win the lady’s heart. When Lancelot makes it to Camelot, he discovers a man. This

Because of Arthur’s denial of Guinevere's affair with Lancelot, Mordred seizes his opportunity to accuse Guinevere, which causes Arthur to stage her “execution” and her rescue. Because of this, Gaheris and Gareth are placed in danger, and killed by Lancelot in his rampage, as well as many other soldiers who were only doing their duty. “” (White #) However, this has wider repercussions, and Mordred and Agravaine use Lancelot’s crime of “treason” to persuade some of the knights of the Round Table to follow his ideas. This culminates in a battle between his followers and Arthur’s, and ultimately ends in Arthur’s death, marking the end of his kingdom. “” (White #) All of Mordred’s actions would never have occurred if not for Guinevere’s affair. The chain of events causing Camelot’s collapse would never have happened if Guinevere had not loved both Arthur and

Lancelot has met chivalric standards of behavior through technicalities – he technically is defending the queen’s honor against an technically untrue accusation. But a lie of omission is still a lie; Lancelot’s equivocal oath only serves to compromise his integrity, and his immorality makes a mockery of his further appeal to God. Not only is Lancelot committing the sin of adultery by sleeping with another man’s wife, he is committing it against his king, to whom he should owe fidelity above anyone else. Although a common trope in chivalric romance is the concept that the transforming power of love makes a knight into a better person, Chretien’s narrative twists that to illustrate that Lancelot’s love has arguably made him a worse

Lancelot in Arthurian Legend Cycle The most focusing and recurring themes from both French and English Arthurian Legend Cycle about Lancelot, are his love with Guinevere and his failure of quest for the Holy Grail. The French version appears to focus more on his romance with the Queen and the conflict with King Arthur than his quest in his knighthood. “Le Chevalier de la Charrette” by Chrétien de Troyes and “Le Morte d’Arthur” by Thomas Malory are the most famous version of legend from the Middle Ages.

Lancelot is aware that he must maintain his composure and control his desires in order to see what his heart truly seeks: the Holy Grail. When he is outside the room where it is discovered, he is cautioned not to enter on the grounds that he has no privilege to. In spite of the fact that he shows himself to be loyal at first, when Lancelot sees a priest "struggling" at the sanctification of mass, he rapidly goes inside to help him. Immediately, he faces the consequences. Before Lancelot goes in, he says, “Ah!

Guinevere’s desire for Lancelot becomes so strong that Lancelot can not defeat it and it becomes nearly impossible to avoid her. Chretien makes Lancelot look just like a puppet while Marie makes Arthur look like one as well. Both authors make Guinevere desire men besides her own husband. In Chretien’s Lancelot, Guinevere has full control over Lancelot. Lancelot is so passionately in love, that he looks foolish which makes Guinevere look more intelligent.

Moreover, she continues “…reading one day, for pleasure, of Lancelot, … without any suspicion” (Dante Inf. 5. 127-79). “Without any suspicion” indicates that she was sure of herself and had nothing about falling in love in her mind before reading the book: she was reading the book just for “pleasure” and it “overpowered” (Inf. 5.133) the lovers. She clearly blames her adultery on Lancelot and she does not take the responsibility of her actions.

“Defend the weak and innocent”(chivalry code), is one of the many codes that Sir Lancelot followed. In the film, Sir Lancelot helped Gwynevere escape from Malagant’s men as they jumped her carriage. From there him and Gwynevere had a spark that they found difficult to hide due to their circumstances, so both of them had to exhibit self control around each other.

Lancelot was so gracious that even despite Queen Guenievre acting ungrateful for his efforts at first, he does not object to her words. Instead, like a “perfect lover”(The Knight of the Cart, p. 256) he apologizes and takes his leave, careful to not upset her further. This further demonstrates his loyalty to his

After all three of them being together talking, Lancelot and Guinevere decide to take it a step further with each other since they had sensed their feelings for each other when she kept touching his arm as a tease. Lancelot becomes weak and guilty for doing this to his bestfriend behind his back. Not only his bestfriend, but a King that you were supposed to respect and stay loyal to. Disobeying the king was the reason why the code was broken by Sir

Sir Launcelot and Queen Guinevere have been sleeping together this makes both him and the queen unloyal to King Arthur. Sir Launcelot and Queen Guinevere’s sin could have had them both killed for adultery. Sir Launcelot made it his very priority to protect the queen.

and she thought it was real, revealed that Guinevere had a powerful effect on Lancelot. They both got caught up in the moment and shared a kiss. As the author says, “Their bodies locked together as though a trap had sprung. Their mouths met and each devoured the other.

Sir Lancelot was loyal to King Arthur, which shows part of the Chivalry code. Chivalry is show agains when Sir Lancelot and King Arthur battle themselves. This shows Chivalry on both sides of King Arthur and Sir Lancelot. They battle to the death. “Yet Some men say in many parts of England that King Arthur is not dead, but carried by the will of the Lord Jesus to another place”(195).

When he spurns her love, refusing to betray his King, the Lady goads him into breaking the one rule given to him by Queen Semiramis, lest he never see his beloved again. Lanval announces to Arthur’s Queen “any one of those who serve her / the poorest girl of all / is better than you, my lady queen,”(298-300). This upset the Lady who complained to King Arthur, claiming that Lanval dishonored her, and the king was angered and “he swore an oath / if Lanval could not defend himself in court / he would have him burned or hanged” (326-28). By standing by his boast as truth, and through the efforts of Queen Semiramis, Lanval overcame the Supreme Ordeal of the trial by his King and as a reward “He was set free by their decision” (629). From there Lanval left the court to await his Queen on a marble stone and “When the girl came through the gate / Lanval leapt, in one bound / onto the palfrey, behind her.”

So the Lady of the Lake decides to send him to be apart in King Arthurs court under Sir Gawain. For a very long time Lancelot has been trying to prove to King Arthur that he is the greatest knight, and all of his time to prove to King Arthur that he is the best knight of them all he spends a lot of time at the castle and he always saw King Arthur’s wife Guinevere, an he starts to fall deeply in love with her. Like most romances in this time is forms very slowly, it was also very hard because Guinevere is still married to King Arthur. Although it was taking Guinevere quit a bit of time to warm up to Lancelot and fall deeply in love with him. Guinevere does not at first respond to Lancelots advances, but eventually gives in to his request.