Throughout his story, Chrétien describes the qualities of Lancelot’s two codes of behavior as a knight and lover. These codes determine Lancelot’s decisions and ultimately the outcome of his quest to retrieve Guinevere. The most significant features of Lancelot’s codes of behavior as a lover and a knight are loyalty and the completion of a quest. Lancelot demonstrates his code of behavior as a lover through loyalty to Guinevere. Despite opportunities to betray her, Lancelot remains loyal. For example, Chrétien writes, “The maiden clearly sees and knows that he dislikes her company and would gladly dispense with it, and that, having no desire to win her love, he would not attempt to woo her” (19). Although Lancelot promises to sleep with the woman that he …show more content…
The most important trait to both a lover and a king is loyalty; by staying faithful to Guinevere, Lancelot is disloyal to King Arthur, and vice versa. The inclusion of this debacle implies that Chrétien believes in a conflict between the two codes. However, Chrétien explains how one can not control who they love, and how love can rule one’s actions. He writes, “Then each one goes his own way, and he of the cart is occupied with deep reflections, like one who has no strength or defence against love which holds him in its sway” (13). Lancelot is not intentionally disloyal to King Arthur, but his love for Guinevere prevents him from thinking rationally. While loyalty to both King Arthur and Guinevere will always conflict and can not be reconciled, the completion of Lancelot’s quest can be. Despite the true nature of the journey to retrieve Guinevere, the completion satisfies both her and King Arthur. Chrétien concludes, “The King and all the others there are jubilant and express their joy. Happier than they ever were before, they relieve Lancelot of his arms, and lead him away exultingly”
Firstly, both Lancelot and Ethan long for the forbidden; the former, for a relationship with Guinevere, King Arthur’s maiden, and the latter, for the possession of membership into the exclusive world of wealth. In example, during a rare occasion in which the Hawley family dresses up to go out for dinner, Ethan vows to his wife that they will soon be wealthy enough to further go out: ““We’re going to go out more often, my darling.” “When?” “When we are rich” “When is that?” “Soon”” (150). Evidently, Ethan longs to achieve wealth, a societal position he feels he cannot achieve due to his lack of prominence and status in town as he is solely, as he previously mentions, “a goddam grocery clerk” (4). Thus, as Guinevere was forbidden to Lancelot because of her commitment to Arthur, wealth is a state forbidden to Ethan, which he severely yearns for. However, in spite of the prohibition both men faced, the two men attempt to achieve their desires- although to do so, both men had to abandon their own codes of honour. Specifically, for Lancelot to form a relationship with Guinevere, he had to break the knighthood code composed of principles involving honour, loyalty, and integrity. Similarly, Ethan must break his own code of morality in order plan a bank robbery, a plan he composes to bring wealth to his family –
T.H. White's novel The Once and Future King presents a code of chivalry that outlines the expected knightly behavior of the time. This particular code stresses loyalty to one's liege, love and respect toward women, and absolute devotion to justice. At the height of Arthur's kingdom, this code was widely accepted by all. However, as Arthur's kingdom begins to decline, the code of chivalry begins to hold less importance among the people. The fall of Arthur's kingdom is directly related to the absence of the code of chivalry in the behavior of the Knights of the Round Table. Sir Lancelot betrays Arthur when he has an adulteress affair with Guenever. Sir Lancelot also disrespects women when he leaves Elaine to be with Guenever in Camelot. King Arthur himself is disloyal to justice when he allows Guenever to be rescued by Lancelot.
Loyalty is what the the knights demonstrated to their king by being willing to go to battle for him and die protecting his kingdom. The knights are ready to drop everything and go to fight someone they’ve never met, the second King Arthur tells them to. This loyalty is so extreme and powerful, that Lancelot refuses to fight Arthur even after King Arthur Invaded his lands, he chose to wait until he could claim self defense in order to keep his honor as a knight intact. Launcelot is a perfect example of extreme loyalty, because he does not allow his love life to get in the way of the loyalty he has towards his King. This balance that Launcelot has between his love life and loyalty to the King is why Launcelot has the greatest reputation
Numerous sources, such as Layamon's "Arthur's Dream", Marie de France's "Lanval" and Sir Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur, portray Guinevere as a unfaithful wife and the primary cause of the fall of King Arthur and The Round Table. In all of the three works, Guinevere is seen approaching various men such as Lanval and Sir Lancelot, knights of her husband. And, yet, she remains virtuous and appealing in the eyes of King Arthur, who loves her dearly. Such blindness or possibly Arthur's unconditional love of Guinevere and Lancelot, Arthur's best knight, lead to the fall of Arthur's Britain and of the Round Table.
Lanval, a handsome knight, falls desperately in love with a beautiful maiden, who grants the knight her love on the condition that he keep their bliss in full secrecy. Upon returning home, Lanval is confronted by Guinevere, who attempts to seduce him . After her initial advances are rejected, the Queen tries a new tactic, attacking Lanval 's masculinity: "I have been told often enough that you have no desire for women. Base coward, wicked recreant, my lord is extremely unfortunate to have suffered you near him. " By questioning Lanval 's worthiness to serve by Arthur, Guinevere is questioning Lanval 's very status as a knight, and once again we see a knightly protagonist put into a hopeless situation as many of his chivalric duties--- courteousness to the Queen, faithfulness to his King, honesty and loyalty to his lover, and defense of his own honor--- are forced into an unresolvable conflict. Lanval defends his honor and honors his King 's trust, but breaks his promise to his lover and grievously insults the Queen: "I love and am loved by a lady who should be prized above all others... you can be sure that one of her servants, even the very poorest girl, is worth more than you, my lady the Queen, in body, face and beauty, wisdom and goodness. " Lanval 's inability to simultaneously commit to all of his knightly responsibilities is comically underscored by his polite hesitation ("my lady the Queen") even
In Malory’s famous account of the King Arthur legend, the most notable example of woman as destructive sexual temptation is, of course, Queen Guinevere. Sir Lancelot’s affair wi...
...e’s heavenly elevation. In addition, Lancelot literally sacrifices himself for her, when he finds out mistakenly that she has died, he tries to kill him self. Guinevere is portrayed as a divinely creature. Only she had the power to save Lancelot and soothe his agony and pain. Lancelot reaffirming her alleviating power, begs Guinevere to allow him to go to her: “If you grant me permission, my way is clear. But if my scheme does not suit you, then the way is so difficult for me that my entry is impossible." Once she permits him to enter "…Lancelot had every wish ….as he held [Guinevere] in his arms… greatest joy and pleasure,” confirming that his salvation was in her hands.2
In The Lais of Marie de France, the theme of love is conceivably of the utmost importance. Particularly in the story of Guigemar, the love between a knight and a queen brings them seemingly true happiness. The lovers commit to each other an endless devotion and timeless affection. They are tested by distance and are in turn utterly depressed set apart from their better halves. Prior to their coupling the knight established a belief to never have interest in romantic love while the queen was set in a marriage that left her trapped and unhappy. Guigemar is cursed to have a wound only cured by a woman’s love; he is then sent by an apparent fate to the queen of a city across the shores. The attraction between them sparks quickly and is purely based on desire, but desire within romantic love is the selfishness of it. True love rests on a foundation that is above mere desire for another person. In truth, the selfishness of desire is the
However, Camelot dashes this expectation and shows their first interaction to be one filled with disdain caused by Lancelot’s pride and Guinevere’s indignation. Upon their introduction, Lancelot not only steals the attention of her man, he insults Guinevere belittling her agency and placing her in a position of docile, simple minded woman. She responds with quick wit and constructs a plan for his demise. Her ability to control the actions of Arthur’s strongest, most capable men shows her power and favor in the court. Within her own right she has the power to do anything she wants and the mental capability to orchestrate a plan and sway men. In “Then You May Take Me to the Fair” she convinces Arthur’s strongest men to joust against Lancelot by telling them she’s “convinced that splendid Frenchman can easily conquer one and all / And besting all our local henchmen” thereby making them feel inferior and act defensive (Then You May Take Me to the Fair). In this song she wields power that extends past the feminine influence a queen has over the men in her court. She shows intelligence and keen observance skills that shape her into a strong character that does not just easily bend to her carnal whims. The woman she portrays in this song serves as a contrast to the woman
Lancelot is portrayed mostly as a love-struck man and not a very logical knight. From the first moment he is introduced, he is seen as someone sick from love. He will do anything to save his love, Gweneviere; even if that meant dishonor. When Lancelot rode on the cart, he was immediately labeled as someone bad. He pushed aside reason for love. “Because love ordered it, and wished it, he jumped in; since Love ruled his action, the disgrace did not matter.” (212) There seemed to have been nothing that could stand in the path of Lancelot.
Lancelot, Bors, and Perceval all strive to become more like Galahad, and the author effectively uses these characters to teach his readers lessons about spiritual chivalry and personal salvation. The author provides each of these knights with a series of monks and hermits who counsel and guide him in the ways of spiritual chivalry, for only the most pure Christian knights have any hope of finding the Grail. The adventures of Perceval are very straightforward and easy to interpret, so he provides readers with a suitable introduction to spiritual chivalry and the importance of virginity, asceticism, and complete faith in God. The author faces Bors with more complicated challenges and visions than anything Perceval must handle; since the author tells Bors' adventures after Perceval's, readers should be more prepared to interpret their meaning and significance with regard to spiritual chivalry and personal salvation. The advice Lancelot receives from his series of monks and hermits shows readers the importance of confession and penance, but the author makes it clear that readers should not emulate Lancelot's life of sin ...
Queen Guinevere does not find pleasure in the male company. Love, the only benefit she could reap from men is given no room. Guinevere’s preference for Sir Lancelot creates animosity amongst the Knights of the Round Table. Her illegitimate affair is resented by Sir Modred as betrayal. The latter’s concealed jealousy towards Sir Lancelot turns into an open demonstration of loyalty to the King Arthur and eventually to unprecedented war.
Closely associated to the romance tradition are two idealized standards of behavior, especially for knights: courage and chivalry. The protagonist within many medieval romances proved their worth by going on quests, as many a knights went in those times, thus returning with great tales of their travels and deeds. Many modern people think of chivalry as referring to a man's gallant treatment of women, and although that sense is derived from the medieval chivalric ideal, chivalry could be seen as more than that. Knights were expected to be brave, loyal, and honorable-sent to protect the weak, be noble to...
Sir Lancelot, from the stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, has become by far the most popular and well-remembered knight. Through Malory's rendition of traditional materials, we have inherited a character that has become the image of the quintessential knight. How is it that "the outsider, the foreigner, the 'upstart' who wins Arthur's heart and Guinevere's body and soul" (Walters xiv) has taken the place that, prior to Malory, was reserved for Sir Gawain? Malory has made this character larger than life. Of the grandeur of Lancelot, Derek Brewer says, "In the portrayal of Lancelot we generally recognize a vein of extravagance. He is the most obsessive of lovers, as he is the most beloved of ladies, and the greatest of fighters" (8). To achieve this feat, Malory has molded Lancelot to fit the idea of the perfect knight and the perfect lover.
Sir Malory once again makes us ponder whether this could be true after we witness Lancelot’s actions in “Morte D’Arthur”. Sir Lancelot’s heroism and constant response to King Arthur’s call of duty show us that he is chivalrous. However, once Sir Lancelot “slew Sir Agravain, and after twelve of his fellows” his chivalry was stained (p 444). The controversy of Lancelot’s chivalry is inflamed when his “love for Guinevere drives him into battle” and causes the “deaths of Sir Gareth and Sir Gaheris” (Harrington 67). Is the killing of several people justified by one act of chivalry? Sir Lancelot essentially “modifies his points of honor” in order to justify his actions.(Harrington 69) Sir Lancelot’s need to modify his code of honor in order to escape a predicament let us know that his character is at times