Lancelot of the Lake

Lancelot is a character of the cycle of the novels of the Roundtable and the hero éponyme of the tale of chivalry Lancelot of the Lake , written at the 13th century in Romance Langue by a medieval anonymous author. However, it is especially known for the courtly romance of Chrétien of Troyes, the Knight of the cart , composed between 1177 and 1181 at the request of the countess Marie de Champagne, girl of Aliénor of Aquitaine.

It is one of the knights of the Roundtable, thus forming part of the cycle of the Graal. Lancelot is the prototype of the courteous knight, with the indéfectible service of its lady, being even ready to sacrifice its honor to join this one. However, this love will be at the origin of its loss and will prevent it from contemplating the Saint Graal: only his/her son, Galahad Pure the, will have this privilege.

However, a second Lancelot of the Lake , written into of Provence and only known by a German version, lends somewhat different adventures to him.

Birth with adolescence

In spite of the diversity of the accounts, one can first of all retain that Lancelot, whose Christian name is Galaad, is the son of the king Ban of Bénoïc and of the Élaine queen. He is thus the heir to the Armorican Brittany, but he is also and especially the descendant of a prestigious line, going back in particular to Joseph d' Arimathie, the biblical character having collected the blood of Christ in the Graal Saint and having brought this one out of Breton ground.

The castle of his/her father, located at the edge of a lake in the middle of the Forest of Brocéliande, (in fact it is acted at the time of drafting of the accounts arthuriens of de Gaulle walk and of Small Brittany located by recent research between Vannes and Bellême, the Mount Saint Michel and Mans), was considered impregnable. However, at the time of a campaign at the sides of the King Arthur, king Ban of Benoïc died by leaving his castle which burned, leaving only his expectant mother. A few months after his birth, the Galaad young person is removed under the eyes of his mother by a creature coming from the bottom from the lake, and disappears, believes it, forever.

This lake was in fact the residence of the Dame of the Lake”, and was the footbridge towards the magic island of Avalon, country of the magi and wizard. The Viviane fairy, because it was it, had removed Galaad to take it along in its underwater palate and to educate it like a son. It thus decided to call it Lancelot of the Lake. During 18 years, she intentionally educated it to make the perfect knight of it: drive out, music, combat but also courtesy and nobleness of spirit.

Painful Guard

Arrived at the 18 years age, it pressed the Viviane fairy to introduce it near king Arthur to be adoubé knight. Thanks to its support, but also thanks to the assistance of the knight Gauvain, nephew of the king, it was made knight the following day even, day of Midsummer's Day. It is during this dubbing that he notices that which will be its lady, but which will cause also its loss, the Reine Guenièvre. Dazzled by this one, it goes to its meeting and proposes to him to become its knight, which she accepts: the love at first sight is reciprocal. However, as of the end of the ceremony, an young girl comes to find it and teaches him that it must take the road at once, in order to deliver evil spells the castle of the Painful Guard. This one gives to him, on behalf of the Lady of the Lake, one ecu with three red edges, which will multiply by ten its force with the combat.

After having overlapped all the day, it arrives finally at the disaster castle: behind the doors of the double enclosure, twenty knights keep captive the villagers and wait to cut it in parts. Thanks to the ecu of Viviane, it however manages to come to end from its adversaries and thus endorses this castle, renaming it at the same time castle of the Merry Guard. It however sets out again immediately towards Carduel, impatient to re-examine its lady. But while skirting the cemetery of the castle, a tomb, overhung of a gold sword, its attention attracts. It approaches some and manages to decipher the inscription: “Here Lancelot of the Lake will rest, wire of king Ban of Benoïc and victorious of the Painful Guard”. He thus learns at the same time the secrecy from his birth and that of his death.

The cart of shame and the Bridge of the Sword: tests with its love for the queen

On its return, he is celebrated by the whole of the court, more particularly by the queen. Arthur then makes of them its principal relay for the mission of search of Graal. Lancelot is indeed best knights of the Roundtable, sovereign in courtesy, tournament and with the combat. Lancelot, during its adventures, will be able to even see Graal by twice. However, its love prohibited for the queen will prevent it from having access to its mysteries.

With the wire of the tournaments and combat, its reputation does not cease growing, just like its love for Guenièvre. However, one day when Lancelot was absent from court, Méléagant, wire of king de Gorre, comes to defy the knights. Thus, he affirms to hold captive in his castle a certain number of knights and proposes to release them if somebody succeeds in overcoming it in singular combat. In the contrary case, it will remove the Guenièvre queen. Only the seneshal Keu accepts and takes up the challenge.

The following day, Keu and Guenièvre arise to orée of the forest, where Méléagant waits. After a very short combat, Keu is found with ground. Méléagant then seizes the queen and the knight, and is on the point of from going away when Lancelot, newcomer with full gallop, springs on prince de Gorre. It succeeds in wounding it with the shoulder, but Méléagant inserts its sword in the sides of the destrier of Lancelot and escapes.

Lancelot is found then only, far from all but especially private of its horse. It is thus put to go through the forest during hours. He suddenly sees, at the edge of the way, a dwarf leading a cart to cattle, dirty and wormeaten. He asks this one if he did not see passing the crew made up of Méléagant, Guenièvre and Keu. The dwarf answers him that it will be able to lead it to his lady in the condition of going up on the cart. Lancelot hesitates: only the brigands and the men of little faith move in this implements, but it is however its only chance to re-examine the queen. It is thus solved to go up on this cart of shame. Begin one then testing voyage: on the way, all make fun of this attachment of a dwarf and a miserable knight. Finally, the cart arrives at a castle where they spend the night.

At dawn, the dwarf awakes Lancelot: he saw the Guenièvre queen taken along by guards. After having overlapped night and day, he arrives at the accesses of the castle of Baudegamu. But it is not at the end of its sorrows: it must indeed cross terrible Pont of the Sword, an immense sharp sword like a razor posed between two banks. This bridge, located above a black and frozen water, is kept by two lions. Thinking only of its lady, it takes off its gloves and coats pitch, viscous matter, to avoid the fall. After many cuts, it joined finally the other bank whose the lions have, by enchantment, missing. In front of this exploit, Lancelot is acclaimed and king Baudegamu then proposes to release all the prisoners, but Méléagant refuses and defies Lancelot. As of the following day, the combat between Lancelot and Méléagant begin. Despite everything the tests which it underwent, Lancelot has the top quickly. Baudegamu orders the stop of the combat then, and Lancelot can thus set out again for Camelot with his lady.

A fatal love

In spite of this exploit, the proximity of Lancelot and Guenièvre are seen of an evil eye, and their quickly ventilated relation. One evening, whereas it had joined Guenièvre in its room after a banquet, it is surprised by Arthur. This one thus sees its confirmed suspicions and then decides to make it stop. Lancelot succeeds in fleeing, but must give up its lady. According to the laws of the kingdom, this one betrayed and must thus die: it will go up on roughing-hew it.

The said day, the soldiers hesitate to seize the queen: its will have is still intact. Whereas this one advances itself towards the place of the torment, about thirty riders arrive at shot down support: it is Lancelot which, at their head, comes to remove Guenièvre. But the knights of Arthur take care: after a hard battle, in which Lancelot keep silent Agravain and Gahieret, the nephew and the brother of Gauvain, alone Gauvain and Lancelot is able to fight. Arthur then sees clashing its two better knights, formerly friendly. He asks them to avoid this useless massacre but the determination of Gauvain is large. In this ultimate combat between two of the same adversaries value, Lancelot ends up taking the top and strikes a fatal blow. He then asks for Arthur the favor of stop the combat and to turn over in his Gaulle native. Thus it leaves king Arthur, to join the hermitage of its last days and not to re-examine its king and his lady more.

Localization and interpretation

Certain chroniclers, such Rene Bansard, believed to recognize like native land of Lancelot of the Lake the area of Pass-the-Design, which includes part of the north of the current department of the Mayenne and south of the Orne. With its death, several authors relayed his work. A collective work named the Arthurienne legend and the Normandy , indicates: “Our matter is only to open a new track… For better including/understanding how traditions relating to Saint-Fraimbault, Saint-Bômer, or Saint-Ernier had been able to lead to the romantic transpositions which one knows”. For Réjane Molina, in an article entitled the Royal Vault Saint-Fraimbault-of-Senlis and Graal , “Fraimbault de Lassay” and “Lancelot of the Lake” have the same significance exactly étymologiquement. The calendar of the cultural events of Motor-in-the Orne includes a visit of the most famous sites arthuriens.

Notice

At the time of the episode of the cart, Lancelot is lengthily pulled about between its honor and the love which it tests for the Guenièvre queen.

“Dwarf, makes the knight, in the name of the sky, say to me if you saw passing to my lady the queen.

- If you want, answers it, to go up in my cart, before tomorrow you will be able to know what the queen became. ”

On top, it continues to go without awaiting one moment the knight. This one delays a little, in all the time of two steps, to take the advice. It is for its misfortune that it delayed, for its misfortune which it had shame and abstained from jumping at once in the cart. But Reason, in dissension with Love, exhorts it to take care not to make a similar jump, sermonizes it and teaches anything to him to undertake where the opprobrium would stick to him. Reason has its stay only on the lips… Love is in the enclosed heart: it gives an order and a dash. Well quickly it is necessary to go up in the cart. Love wants it: the knight leaps there. What imports shame to him, since such is the command of Love?

This passage is typical courtly romance, where the knight will choose to lose his honor rather than to have to give up his love. Guenièvre will hold even rigor in Lancelot to have hesitated before jumping in the cart of shame…

Posterity

The history of Lancelot was the number object certain of works, among which:

the film Lancelot, the first knight (original Title: First Knight ) realized by Jerry Zucker in 1995 with Sean Connery and Richard Gere;
the film Lancelot of the Lake realized in 1974 per Robert Bresson;
Jean Markale, the Cycle of Graal (Birth of King Arthur, Knights of the Roundtable, Lancelot of the Lake, the Morgane Fairy, Gauvain and ways of Avalon, Perceval the Welshman, Galaad and King Pêcheur, the Death of King Arthur) , Pygmalion, 1992-1996, 8 flight;
Karen Wallace, Sir Lancelot and the Ice Castle ;
Jacques Boulenger, the Legend of king Arthur and knights of the Roundtable .
the tube of italo-disco music Lancelot , interprets in 1986 by Valerie Dore, exciting the history of the famous knight as well as the Courtly love.

Concerned

Card decks Lancelot is the knave of clubs, alchemical symbol of the ondins;
card deck HerosDeï : knights of the Roundtable of Arnaud CHAPALAIN in 2005;

Simple: Lancelot

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