Character Analysis Of Lancelot

Lancelot is known to be the greatest knight in the Arthurian legend. He is talked greatly about by John Steinbeck and Sir Thomas Malory. In their tales, Lancelot, is shown as a perfect knight and has a pure personality. Sir Launcelot du Lake and The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights, present Lancelot in a way where he is likable by all. Lancelot’s pure personality and bravery makes him the greatest knight.

First, Lancelot is always loyal to his closest friends, such as Guinevere and King Arthur. The love triangle that Lancelot is involved in, is with Guinevere and Arthur. In John Steinbeck’s The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights, Lancelot is always loyal to his King, Arthur. Lancelot shows this when he kisses Guinevere and feels

guilty for it: “Their mouths met, and each devoured the other. Each frantic heartbeat at the walls of ribs trying to get to the other until their held breaths burst out and Lancelot, dizzied, found the door and blundered down the stairs. And he was weeping bitterly.” (Steinbeck 1098). Lancelot kisses Guinevere and starts crying because he feels like he betrayed King Arthur. Although Lancelot is in love with Guinevere, his loyal bond to Arthur is unbreakable. Another example is the love triangle with Elaine and Guinevere. In this relationship, Elaine is in love with Lancelot, but Lancelot does not love her. Lancelot states that his love is only for Guinevere, but Elaine proceeds to disguise herself as Guinevere and later gives birth to Lancelot’s child. When Lancelot finds out he becomes furious and confronts Elaine, leaving her to cry. Lancelot does this because he is enraged and only loves Guinevere and his love was unfairly taken away from him. Lancelot shows that Guinevere is the only one for him and that he is always loyal to Guinevere’s love.
Second, Lancelot is honest towards anyone, even his enemies.

In Sir Thomas Malory’s Sir Launcelot du Lake, Lancelot shows his honesty many times. For example, when he was captured by the four queens and was asked whom he wanted to marry, he blatantly refused all of them. “A hard choice! Understand that I choose none of you, lewd sorceresses that you are; rather will I die in this cell.” (Malory 1075). Lancelot stands for what he thinks is right and rejects all of them, because of his love for Guinevere. His honesty makes the queens go away, but at the cost of him staying imprisoned. Later in the story, Lancelot encounters the knight, Sir Tarquine, who has captured his friends. Sir Tarquine hates Lancelot and does not realize that the knight in front of him is Lancelot. When Sir Tarquine asked if he was Lancelot, Lancelot replies that he is. “Sir, I see now that I might go in peace and good fellowship or otherwise fight to the death; but being the knight I am, I must tell you: I am Sir Launcelot du Lake, son of King Ban of Benwick, of Arthur’s court, and a knight of the Round Table.” (1079). Since Lancelot follows the Code of Chivalry, he reveals himself to Sir Tarquine. If Lancelot was not honest, he would not be considered a

“knight”.
Additionally, Lancelot had no fear of fighting and won many of his battles. In Sir Thomas Malory’s Sir Launcelot du Lake, Lancelot fights for King Bagdemagus. Lancelot accepts King Bagdemagus’s request without hesitation. When Lancelot was fighting in the tournament he defeated many knights. “Sir Launcelot took another spear and unhorsed sixteen more of the King of North Galy’s knights and, with his next, unhorsed another twelve; and in each case with such violence that none of the knights ever fully recovered” (Malory 1078). Lancelot easily defeats his enemies and wins the battle. Another battle Lancelot has is the battle with Sir Tarquine. Lancelot battles a knight who hates him. His opponent is strong, but in the end Lancelot prevails. “At last, however, Sir Tarquine grew faint and unwittingly lowered his shield.” (1079). Lancelot wins his battle against a strong opponent and ends their life. Lancelot is a undefeated knight and has prevailed against many people.
Lancelot’s loyalty, honesty, and bravery makes him the greatest knight in the Arthurian legend. The way he is interpreted in many stories is as a perfect being. Lancelot has little flaws and gets through all of his obstacles. Maybe Lancelot’s perfect image can be used as a role to today’s society.