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Lancelot is a latecomer to Arthurian tales, but becomes a central character in Mallory’s version, with his adulterous relationship with Queen Guinevere causing the division of the Round Table and Arthur’s downfall. Lancelot is also the father of Galahad, and his guilt over his adultery is often explored. Modern interpretations include TH White’s depiction of Lancelot as an “ill-made knight” and Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon.
Lancelot is considered in many versions of Arthurian tales to be the best and ablest of the Knights of the Round Table. He’s kind of a latecomer to the Arthur stories. He is not mentioned by Wolfram von Eschenbach or Geoffrey of Monmouth, but tales of him seem to derive particularly from the French Arthurian legends.
When Mallory rewrites the Arthurian cycle with the approval of the Roman Catholic Church, Lancelot is one of the central characters and the main reason for the division in the Round Table which ends with Arthur’s death.
According to legend, Lancelot is the son of King Ban and cousin of Sir Lionel and Sir Bors. After spending several years proving himself a knight, he arrives at King Arthur’s court and immediately falls in love with Queen Guinevere. Their adulterous relationship will ultimately prove Arthur’s undoing, as the Round Table is torn between support for Lancelot and the Queen and support for Arthur.
Lancelot is also the father of Galahad, the last of the Arthurian cycle to seek and find the Grail. Indeed, Lancelot’s guilt at being barred from sight of the Grail because of his adultery is often a matter of interest. In many versions, Lancelot’s parenting of Galahad is often the result of deception. Galahad saves a maiden named Elaine who immediately falls in love with him. She conspires with her maid to send him a note, implying that she will meet the queen for hookup.
Since it is dark, Lancelot promptly makes love to the supposed queen, and is devastated to discover that he has made love to Elaine instead. This type of story is often startling to the modern reader because it lacks credibility. It also puts the woman in the place of the temptress and trickster, which isn’t very flattering to women in general.
In some versions, Guinevere learns of this affair and banishes Lancelot from court. However, they reconcile and Arthur’s grandsons Gawain Agravaine and Arthur’s son Mordred find out. This forces Arthur to decide to have the queen burned alive.
Lancelot saves her, but unfortunately kills Gareth, Gawain’s younger brother. This makes Gawain an enemy of him and allows Mordred to kill the king. It is thought that Lancelot became a hermit after Arthur’s death and lived his life in obscurity.
While Lancelot doesn’t capture much of the imagination in early Arthurian legends, he becomes arguably the most identifiable Knight of the Round Table, in post-medieval legend treatments. Tennyson, in particular, invested Lancelot with nobility and tragedy.
Perhaps the most interesting modern interpretation of Lancelot is in TH White’s The Once and Future King. In White’s version, Lancelot calls himself “le chevalier mal fet” or ill-made knight. He is depicted as extremely ugly, antithetical to most representations of him. She is also intensely conflicted in his love for both Arthur and Guinevere. Not being able to perform miracles after he begins his illicit dealings with the queen devastates him.
Other modern versions of Lancelot that are fascinating to play include Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon and the 2004 film King Arthur. For mature audiences only, Monty Python and the Holy Grail teases Lancelot with great glee.
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