| Lancelot | |
|---|---|
| Matter of Britain character | |
 | |
| First appearance | Erec and Enide |
| Created by | Possibly Chrétien de Troyes |
| Based on | Uncertain origins |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | White Knight, Black Knight, Red Knight, Wicked Knight |
| Title | Prince, Sir |
| Occupation | Knight-errant, Knight of the Round Table |
| Weapon | Secace (Seure),[1] Aroundight[2] |
| Family | Ban, Elaine of Benoic, Lady of the Lake, Hector de Maris |
| Significant other | Guinevere, Galehaut, Elaine of Corbenic |
| Children | Galahad |
| Relatives | Lionel, Bors, Bleoberis |
| Religion | Christian |
| Origin | Benoïc (in today's northeastern France) |
| Nationality | Either Celtic Briton or French |
Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), alternatively written as Launcelot and other variants,[a] is a popular character in Arthurian legend's chivalric romance tradition. He is typically depicted as King Arthur's close companion and one of the greatest Knights of the Round Table, as well as a secret lover of Arthur's wife, Guinevere.
In his most prominent and complete depiction, Lancelot is a beautiful orphaned son of King Ban of the lost kingdom of Benoïc. He is raised in a fairy realm by the Lady of the Lake while unaware of his real parentage prior to joining Arthur's court as young knight and discovering his origins. A hero of many battles, quests and tournaments, and famed as a nearly unrivalled swordsman and jouster, Lancelot soon becomes the lord of the castle Joyous Gard and personal champion of Queen Guinevere, to whom he is devoted absolutely. He also develops a close relationship with Galehaut and suffers from frequent and sometimes prolonged fits of violent rage and other forms of madness. After Lady Elaine seduces him using magic, their son Galahad, devoid of his father's flaws of character, becomes the perfect knight that succeeds in completing the greatest of all quests, achieving the Holy Grail when Lancelot himself fails due to his sins. Eventually, when Lancelot's adulterous affair with Guinevere is publicly discovered, it develops into a bloody civil war that, once exploited by Mordred, brings an end to Arthur's kingdom.
Lancelot's first datable appearance as main character is found in Chrétien de Troyes' 12th-century French poem Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, which already centered around his courtly love for Guinevere. However, another early Lancelot poem, Lanzelet, a German translation of an unknown French book, did not feature such a motif and the connections between the both texts and their possible common source are uncertain. Later, his character and story was expanded upon Chrétien's tale in the other works of Arthurian romance, especially through the vast Lancelot-Grail prose cycle that presented the now-familiar version of his legend following its abridged retelling in Le Morte d'Arthur. Both loyal and treasonous, Lancelot has remained a popular character for centuries and is often being variably reimagined by modern authors.
- ^ Bane, Theresa (29 May 2020). Encyclopedia of Mythological Objects. McFarland. ISBN 9781476639208 – via Google Books.
- ^ Ellis, George, ed. (1805). "Sir Bevis of Hamptoun". Specimens of early English metrical romances. Vol. 2. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, & Orme. pp. 165–166.
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