What is the nickname of Sir Lancelot the Knight? What was the nickname of Sir Lancelot the Knight of the Round Table? Legends of the Church of the Transfiguration

LANCELOT, OR LANCELOT

In the legends of the Arthurian cycle - one of the knights of the Round Table, Guinevere's lover. He appears at the end of the cycle, taking the place of Medravt; apparently, Lancelot is a reworking of the image of the sun god.

Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology. 2012

Plot history

The plot of Lancelot appears relatively late in the Arthurian cycle. He is completely unknown to sources unaffected by French influence. In a poetic courtly epic, it is developed: "Knight in a cart" ( Le chevalier de la charrette) and "Lancelot" by Ulrich von Zatzikhofen [late 12th century]; Lancelot also plays a more or less important role in a number of less significant novels, such as Diu Krône by Heinrich von dem Tyurlin (c.), Rigomer, and others. the center of the story; they adapt to it, the plot cycles, the search for the Holy Grail and the death of King Arthur are contaminated with it. This is how a large prose novel about Lancelot is created, which underlies numerous alterations and retellings in almost all European languages - German (Ulrich Fueterer and his successors), Dutch, Italian, English (which includes the printed "Mort d'Arthure" by Thomas Malory, ), Spanish, Portuguese. He has defined themes for centuries. All historically attested adaptations of Lancelot's plot in their main part can be reduced without much difficulty to "Chevalier de la charrette".

The essence of the plot

Thus, the plot of Lancelot in its main part - the glorification of the love of a vassal and a queen that violates the bonds of church marriage and vows of feudal allegiance - takes shape in Chrétien de Troyes, the founder and greatest master of courtly literature in France, in a novel written at the author's own hint to promote the new " courtly" outlook and a new outlook on love. The plot of Lancelot is part of this literature - the expression of the first glimpses of a new individualistic worldview, with its rehabilitation of earthly joy and earthly love, with its sublimation of sexual relations in the form of "service to the lady" (see). The traditional elements of the plot - if there were any - lose their significance in comparison with the new thematic setting. It is possible, as some researchers suggest, that the story of Lancelot and Ginevra is (like the story of Clijes and Fenisa in another Chrétien novel) only a "courtly" reworking of the plot). In any case, the individualistic and anti-church sharpness of the plot was perceived quite clearly. This is evidenced by the huge popularity of the plot in the era of the beginning disintegration of feudalism; this is also evidenced by the assessment of the plot of Lancelot, who puts into the mouth of Francesca da Rimini the famous reference to the novel about Lancelot (, "Hell", p. V, tercina 43-46). The moment of protest against the traditional forms of ideology and life in Lancelot's plot did not escape from: the poet-laureate of the prosperous Victorian bourgeoisie perceives and interprets as purely "shameful" and "sinful", undermining the foundations of society, the episode of love between Lancelot and Ginevra ("Idylls of the King ").

Bibliography:

I. Editions of texts: Chrétien's "Chevalier de la charrette" - best edition: W. Foerster, Halle, 1899; Roman de Rigomer, W. Foerster, 1908; Lanzelet, K. A. Hahn, Frankfurt a/M., 1845; Diu Krône, Sholl, Stuttgart, 1852; prose French novel, preserved in numerous manuscripts and printed editions from the 15th century - The vulgate version of the Arthurian romances, ed. by H. O. Sommer, Washington, 1908-1911; Der altfranzösische Prosaroman von Lancelot del Lac, Marburger Beiträge, 2, 6, 8, 1911-1912; retelling into modern French: Paris G., Les romans de la table ronde, P., 1868-1877, III-IV; prose version of Fueterer's German retelling, Peter, 1886 (Bibliothek des lit. Vereins in Stuttgart); Middle Dutch verse retelling, ed. Jonckbloet, s'Gravenhage, 1846; English (Scottish) retelling of the 15th century, Stevenson, 1865; English prose retelling - T. Malory (Mort d'Arthure) - a number of editions, the best: O. Sommer, London, 1899; Italian prose retelling - early printed edition, 1558, republished 1862.

II. Bächtold, Lanzelet des Ulrich von Zatzikhofen, Frauenfeld, 1870; Maertens P., Zur Lancelotsage, Strassburg, 1880; Weston J. L., The Legend of sir Lancelot du Lac, London, 1901; Lot F., Étude sur Lancelot en prose, P. 1918

The article is based on materials.

Sir Lancelot was born to Queen Elaine and King Ban in the country of Benwick, and as a child, Lancelot was predicted to be the greatest hero and most glorious knight in the world. Lancelot was brought up by the Lady of the Lake and for that he received the nickname Lake, and when he reached a certain age, he arrived at the court of King Arthur, where he became one of his most valiant knights.
For valor and courage, Queen Guinevere fell in love with him, and he loved her. In the name of this beautiful lady, he performed many feats of chivalry and even saved her from the fire and shame. And then one day he decided, together with his nephew and faithful squire, Sir Lionel, to go on a campaign in search of adventure. They mounted their horses and set off. The day was hot, and soon they were exhausted. The glorious knights decided to rest under an apple tree by the road. Sir Lancelot took off his armor and fell asleep, and Sir Lionel remained to guard his sleep. And suddenly he sees that three knights are rushing past at full speed, and a single knight is chasing them. He caught up and immediately defeated all three, and then tied them with bridles from their own horses. Here Sir Lionel decided to fight the mighty knight himself, but he was also defeated by this skillful warrior. Then he dismounted, tied them hand and foot and threw them across the saddle, like those three, and took them all to his castle, where he whipped the naked with thorny vines and threw them into prison. Many knights languished in that damp and deep dungeon, and many of them suffered torment.
And meanwhile, his younger brother, the glorious knight Sir Ector the Outskirts, went in search of Sir Lancelot, and he drove into a dark forest and met in that forest a man who looked like a forester. Sir Ector asked him if he had heard of any adventures and dangers in this forest. The forester answered that there is a branchy tree beyond the stream with spring water, on which hangs many shields that once belonged to valiant knights, and a copper basin is nailed to the roots. If you hit that basin three times with the shaft of a spear, then a lot can happen to the knocker of glorious adventures.

Sir Ector thanked the forester and rode to that tree. He saw many shields on it, among which he recognized the shield of his brother Lionel and many other knights of the Round Table. Sir Ector was saddened and swore to avenge them, and therefore he tapped the copper basin with the shaft of the spear more than three times, and began to beat on it like a madman. A knight named Sir Tarquin appeared and challenged Sir Ector to a fight. Ector rested his spear on the saddle and rushed at the enemy, but struck him with such force that twice under him the horse turned over in one place.
Sir Tarquin did not retreat, but he himself flew into Ector with a storm and defeated him, brought him to his castle and promised that he would not harm him if only Ector swears allegiance to him, for the younger brother of Lancelot of the Lake showed himself to be a very good warrior. Ector refused Sir Tarquin's offer, and then they stripped him naked and whipped him with thorny vines, and then threw him into prison with other knights. And four queens found Sir Lancelot sleeping under an apple tree, and one of them was Queen Morgan the Fairy. And they started a dispute among themselves, who will get him as lovers. They argued for a long time, until Fairy Morgana offered to put a spell on him, transport his castle to her Chariot, and then let him choose which of the four queens will become his beloved.
And so they did. And when Sir Lancelot of the Lake woke up in the palace of Fairy Morgana, he could not at first understand who had transferred him there. But soon Fairy Morgana herself appeared to him, and she was of extraordinary beauty, and invited Lancelot to choose her beloved from the four queens.
Sir Lancelot of the Lake refused, for all his life he remained faithful to Queen Guinevere, with the exception of only two times, but that will be discussed later. Then the queen left him in a cold room, but soon a beautiful-faced maiden brought him dinner and said that she was the daughter of King Bagdemagus and that she was ready to free Sir Lancelot if he agreed to fight in the tournament for the honor of her father.
Lancelot gladly agreed to her proposal, for King Bagdemagus was a glorious and honest knight. Then the maiden freed Lancelot, and he spoke the next day at the tournament, and struck all the opponents of the king, and defended his honor. Sir Lancelot was grateful to King Bagdemagus and his daughter.

And the next morning Lancelot went to look for his brother Lionel, who had left him so unexpectedly. Soon he met a girl on a white horse, who told him that there was a sprawling tree nearby with a copper basin and that Sir Tarquin, a great and skillful knight in military affairs, was accepting challenges there.
Lancelot went to the tree, but no matter how much he hit the pelvis with the shaft of the spear, no one came to his call, only the bottom fell out at the pelvis. He then went to the walls of Sir Tarquin's castle and suddenly noticed that someone was coming towards him. Soon he saw that it was Sir Tarquin, and one of the Knights of the Round Table, Sir Gawain's brother, was lying tied across the saddle.
And then Sir Lancelot challenged Sir Tarquin to a duel, and for a long time they fought, and neither of them could gain the upper hand, although both were already bleeding. Then Tarquin offered Lancelot to reconcile, unless his name is Sir Lancelot of the Lake, for Lancelot killed Sir Tarquin's brother.
Then Lancelot answered that he was the very hated knight of Tarquin. And so they have to fight not on the stomach, but to the death. And for a long time they were still cut, until, finally, Tarquin weakened and Lancelot was able to cut his neck. Here the end came to the evil knight Tarquin, and Lancelot freed all those languishing in prison, and there were many glorious men among them - and among them Sir Galihud and Sir Lionel, Sir Ector and Sir Kay.
And Lancelot himself went on and accomplished many feats. And one day he happened to free from two huge giants the castle of Tintagil, in which Queen Igraine was conceived by King Arthur's Uther Pendragon.
After that feat he went on; in the evening he stopped in a rich courtyard with an old woman, who received him very well, and put him to sleep in the room above the gate for the night. There Sir Lancelot took off his armor and fell sound asleep, but at night he was awakened by the rattling of weapons at the gate. Then he looked out the window and saw that three knights were attacking one and crowding him. Sir Lancelot was angry and rushed to the aid of a lone knight and alone defeated the three of them. It turned out that they attacked Sir Kay, who on his knees thanked Lancelot for his salvation.

Sir Lancelot went further in search of adventure, and many of them happened to him, until he came to a dark forest, where he saw a black hound that ran, sniffing, as if on the trail of a wounded deer. Lancelot rode after her and soon saw a wide trail of blood that led him to an old castle in a swamp. There, in the spacious hall, lay a beautiful dead knight. A black hound rushed to him and began to lick his hands. And the lady came out of the inner chambers; she was very hurt and wept for her murdered husband, whose name was Sir Gilbert Bastard.
Sir Lancelot parted from her and rode on until he met a girl in the same forest, the sister of Sir Meliot of Logr, a knight of the Round Table, who fought with Gilbert Bastard and was severely wounded. He lay in his castle and bled, and one sorceress told his sister that his wounds would heal only when they touched them with a piece of bloody cloth and a sword that were hidden in the Dead Chapel. Sir Meliot's sister then went in search of a knight who would agree to go to the Perilous Chapel, and Sir Lancelot met her.
Sir Lancelot of the Lake listened to this sad story and agreed to help the poor knight and his sister. He went to the Dead Chapel and, driving up, tied his horse at the fence. On the walls of the chapel hung many shields, and many of them belonged to glorious knights, whom Sir Lancelot used to know. He was saddened by their deaths. He looked around, and there were already thirty mighty and tall knights, which do not exist among people, in black armor and with drawn swords, and everyone was grinning terribly.
Then Lancelot took his sword in hand, but the knights parted and let him into the chapel, inside which a single lamp burned dimly. Soon Lancelot noticed a dead body wrapped in a silk cloth, from which he cut off a piece. And then he found the sword of the dead knight and, taking it, left the chapel. But as soon as he left the chapel, all thirty black knights spoke to him at once and ordered him to leave the sword, otherwise he would have to die. Sir Lancelot was not afraid and went straight for them, but they parted and let him through.

At the fence of the chapel, a beautiful maiden met Lancelot and asked to leave the sword in the chapel, but the knight refused this request.
“You are doing the right thing,” answered the maiden, and she was the Sorceress Helavisa from the Negra Castle, “for if you had respected my request, you would never have seen Queen Guinerva again. But at least kiss me goodbye.
Lancelot refused to kiss her, and then the girl said:
“Know, sir knight, that if you had kissed me, then your end would have come, for it was only for your sake that I built this chapel, for the sake of Sir Gaveia and you, I wanted to keep your dead body there, to kiss both day and night.
- The Lord will save me from your spell! - Sir Lancelot answered her, jumped on his horse and rode away, and the Sorceress of Helavis began to wither from love for him and soon - less than two weeks later - died.
Lancelot returned to Sir Meliot's sister, and together they hurried to the castle, where the wounded knight lay.
Lancelot wiped the bleeding wounds of Meliot with a bloody piece of cloth and touched them with a sword, and the glorious knight immediately recovered.
Great was their joy, but soon Sir Lancelot went on. And he accomplished many feats, but that will not be discussed here. Let us tell you how Fairy Morgana took revenge on the glorious Lancelot when she found out about his love for Queen Guinevere, for she loved him more than all the other knights and always coveted his love. He didn't love her.
Once she sent King Arthur a magic horn, from which Queen Guinerva was supposed to drink to prove her loyalty to the king, and then, when these machinations failed, she sent her servant to lure Sir Lancelot into the castle, where thirty armed knights were waiting for him, but Sir Tristram and Sir Gawain rode there, and the knights of Fairy Morgana were afraid to go out to them.
And one day Sir Tristram came to the castle of Fairy Morgana and asked for an overnight stay, and they let the knight into the castle. But in the morning the evil sorceress announced to Tristram, whom she looked with love, that she would not let him go until he gave her the word to enter the tournament that King Arthur arranges at the Solid Rock, with a shield that she would give him. And when Tristram looked at the shield, he saw on the scarlet field depicted the king and queen, and above them - the knight, as if standing on their heads. And Fairy Morgana said to Sir Tristram that this shield means King Arthur and Queen Guinevere and the knight who holds them in his power.

Tristram was surprised at such a shield, but did not see anything bad in it, and therefore agreed to speak with him at the tournament. Fairy Morgana ordered this shield specifically in order to insult Sir Lancelot and inform King Arthur of their love with Queen Guinerva. Fairy Morgan Tristram was released, and after him went her lover, Sir Hemison, who noticed how in the castle King Arthur's sister did not take her eyes off Tristram and was jealous of him. He caught up with Sir Tristram and fought him, and was killed in a fair duel by a glorious knight of the Round Table. Fairy Morgana was killing him like crazy. Sir Tristram, on the other hand, entered the tournament with a shield received from the Fairy Queen Morgana, and King Arthur marveled at that shield, and Queen Guinerva immediately realized that these were the intrigues of his sister.
During the tournament, a maiden from Fairy Morgana appeared in their chambers and told the king that that shield was specially made to warn Arthur of dishonor and treason. Then Fairy Morgana's servant disappeared, and no one noticed where she had gone.
When Tristram was asked what his shield meant, he replied that he did not know, but he could say that Fairy Morgan handed him this shield.
And he fought with King Arthur because he refused to reveal the meaning of what is depicted on the shield, and struck him. And after that tournament, Tristram went on, and no one knew the meaning of the image on the shield of Fairy Morgana.
But Lancelot and Guinevere had many enemies besides Fairy Morgana. So, King Mark, having learned that Arthur and Lancelot had sent letters to Sir Tristram warning about the treachery of King Mark, was terribly angry with them and sent a letter to King Arthur advising him to look after his own wife and his own knights, and King Mark himself would deal with his wife Isolde and his knights, to which Sir Tristram belonged. To Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere, Mark sent letters with frankly insulting allusions.
Queen Guinerva was upset, and Sir Lancelot was very furious, but Sir Dinadan helped them in trouble, who composed the most evil song about King Mark that was ever sung to the sound of a harp, and taught this song to a minstrel, and since then they have been singing this song throughout the kingdoms.
And there was a great disgrace to King Mark.

Now we will talk about how the son of Sir Lancelot Galahad was born.
It is known that even before his birth on the feast of the Trinity, the hermit came to the court of King Arthur, when all the knights of the Round Table were at dinner, and, seeing that the Deadly Place was empty, asked Arthur why no one was sitting on it. And when he explained to the hermit that that knight had not yet been born into the world, the holy man said:
- The name of that knight is Galahad, but not yet conceived and born, and will be born no later than a year later.
At the end of that feast, Sir Lancelot set off in search of new adventures and performed many deeds in the name of Queen Guinerva, who was his Fair Lady.
Once he happened to come to the city of Corbenic, and the inhabitants of this city greeted him with joy, for they believed that Lancelot could save their mistress from terrible torment.
And they said that five years ago, Fairy Morgana subjected her to the torment of boiling in a cauldron alive until the best knight in the world took her by the hand. And recently Sir Gawain was in Corbenic, but he could not help the beautiful lady, who suffered such cruel torments for her beauty, whom the evil sister of Arthur envied.
Lancelot said that he was not sure that he could help the lady, but he would do as he was told.
And then the inhabitants led the knight to the tower, to the room where it was hot, like in an oven, and he took the most beautiful maiden that he had ever seen, completely naked, by the hand and thereby freed her from cruel torment.
Then beautiful clothes were brought to her, and, dressed in them, the beautiful mistress of the castle invited Sir Lancelot to go to the chapel and serve a thanksgiving service to our Lord. Lancelot happily agreed.
After the service, the subjects of the lady began to ask Sir Lancelot to save them from the terrible snake that lived in one of the tombs of the chapel. Lancelot rejoiced at the new adventure, and then they took him to the tomb, on which it was written in golden letters: "Here will come a leopard of royal blood and defeat this snake, and he himself will give birth to a lion, which will not be equal in purity and strength among the knights."
Sir Lancelot lifted the slab of the tomb, and from there, belching fire, a terrible snake appeared and immediately attacked the knight. Lancelot drew his sword here and fought with that dragon for a long time, until he finally defeated him.
Then King Peles, the father of the owner of the castle, the beautiful Elaina, and a close relative of Joseph of Arimothea, the secret disciple of Jesus, who redeemed His body together with Nicodemus and buried Him, appeared in the chapel, and invited Sir Lancelot to stay in his palace.
No sooner had they entered the hall of the palace than a dove flew in through the window with a golden incense burner in its beak, and such an aroma spread around, as if all the incense and fragrances of the world were there in a single moment. Then a beautiful maiden appeared in the hall, carrying a golden cup in her hands. And before this cup, the king and all those present knelt down and fervently prayed. And their table at the same moment was filled with all sorts of dishes and drinks.

Then King Peles explained to Sir Lancelot that he had just been honored to see the Holy Grail, the most valuable treasure that a mortal could possess. And he also said that as soon as it is lost, the Round Table will disintegrate. All that day the king and Lancelot spent together, and Sir Peles tried to get the glorious knight to agree to lie with his daughter, the beautiful Elaine, for he knew that Galahad, the bravest and purest knight in the world, who would reach the Holy Grail, would be conceived from them. . But Lancelot did not agree to this in any way, for he loved only one woman in the world - Queen Guinerva.
And then the court lady of Bruzen, a skilled sorceress, made Lancelot lie down with Elaine, thinking that she was Queen Guinerva. Sir Lancelot, when he found out about the deceit, was terribly angry, but Elaina had already carried a child from him. And Lancelot promised to visit Elaine as soon as he had the opportunity to do so.
When her time came, Elaine gave birth to a wonderful baby and they named him Galahad, for this name was originally given to his father.
And it must be said that a glorious knight named Sir Bromel loved Lady Elaine very much, but Elaina never loved him and announced it to him directly, and she also said that she loved only Sir Lancelot of the Lake and that she bore a child from him.
Then Sir Bromel was indignant and swore to kill Lancelot in a fair duel, and for this he decided to guard him for a whole year on the bridge of Corbenic Castle.
But it so happened that Sir Bors, nephew of Sir Lancelot, drove into the castle, and he fought on the bridge with Sir Bromel, and defeated him. Then he came to Corbenic, and when they learned that he was Sir Lancelot's nephew, they received him with great joy.
Lady Elaine was very surprised that Lancelot himself did not come to them, as he promised when he left. And Sir Bors answered that for half a year he had been languishing in the dungeon with Fairy Morgana. Elaine was terribly upset by this.
When he saw Sir Bors Galahad, he immediately noticed that he looked like his uncle, and Elaine admitted that Lancelot the Lake was the father of her son. Then Bors wept for joy and prayed for the boy and his father to the Lord, and a dove with a golden censer flew into the hall, and a wonderful fragrance spread, and dishes and drinks appeared on the table. And when the girl appeared, carrying the Grail, she said aloud:
“Know, sir Bore, that this infant will occupy the Perilous Seat and reach the Holy Grail. And he will surpass his father Sir Lancelot in everything.

Then they all bowed their knees and prayed to God, but after the prayer, the dove flew out the window, and the maiden left the hall. Then Sir Bors asked permission to stay in the castle for the night, for he knew that a wonderful adventure awaited him. King Peles answered that only a pure and innocent knight, brave and courageous, can spend the night in the Castle of the Holy Grail and that Sir Bors needs to confess and take communion. The Knight of the Round Table gladly agreed to this, for he was bold and honest, and as for his innocence, Sir Bors was clean before all women, except for one only - the daughter of King Brangoris, who gave birth to a son named Elin from him.
And a lot happened to Sir Bors on that night of adventure, but we won’t talk about that, we’ll just say that he coped with everyone with honor. And then a dove flew to him with a golden incense burner, and the whole castle was filled with wonderful aromas, and then he saw four beautiful young men carrying four clear candles, and behind them was an old man who had a bowl in one hand, and a spear under it in the other. called the Spear of Reckoning.
And the old man told that now Sir Bors was supposed to go to the court of King Arthur and tell everyone about his adventures. And he asked Lancelot of the Lake to convey that this adventure was more fitting for him than all other knights, but it was not given to him, for he was mired in vile sin.
Then Sir Bors saw that four beautiful women were coming towards him, and they knelt before the silver altar on four legs, and behind them Sir Bors also knelt. But when he looked up, he saw a sword raised above him, which sparkled so brightly that Sir Boret was blinded for a while. And a voice rang out:
- Go away, Sir Bors, for you are not yet worthy to be in the Castle of the Holy Grail.
And then Sir Bors lay down on his bed and slept until morning. He was awakened by King Peles, who, after listening to the story of the Knight of the Round Table about the adventures that had happened to him, was very happy. Soon Bore left for the court of King Arthur.

When Queen Guinerva found out about the birth of a son from Sir Lancelot, she was indignant and accused him of treason. But Sir Lancelot told the queen about the deception of the court lady Bruzena, and then the queen forgave her faithful knight. Soon the heralds announced a great feast at the court of King Arthur, and Lady Elaine wanted to go to the palace. King Peles did not object to this wish of hers.
And she was so beautiful that everyone admired her beauty, and even King Arthur himself, and Sir Lancelot was ashamed, remembering the night they had spent together, and did not look at Lady Elaine at all.
Such inattention was bitter to her, and she was very hurt, until the court lady of Bruzen did so that Sir Lancelot of the Lake came to her again, thinking that she was Queen Guinerva, and they spent the night together. And Guinerva found out about this and was so angry that she drove Sir Lancelot out of her court, and then he went mad with grief.
He jumped out the window and ran away, and wandered like this for two whole years, and no one could recognize him as a glorious knight, but they considered him a fool.
Queen Guinerva repented of her cruelty, for she loved Sir Lancelot and learned about the deceit of the court lady Bruzena, and ordered her knights to go in search of him.
And one day Sir Percival and Sir Ector the Outlying met in the forest and began to fight, for they did not recognize each other. They fought for a long time and, when they were completely exhausted, they decided to reconcile and then they recognized each other. Both were so bleeding and wounded that they thought that the hour of their death had come. They knelt down and prayed to the Almighty. A wonderful aroma spread through the forest, and the Grail was carried before them, but only Sir Percival was allowed to see her guardian - a beautiful maiden, for he was pure in soul and body, and his place at the Round Table was on the right hand of the Deadly Sitting.

They say that when Sir Percival was knighted, on that day, by the will of God, a dumb girl spoke and announced to everyone where the place of the new knight at the Round Table was, and then she repented, received absolution and died.
For a long time the knights of King Arthur searched for the glorious Sir Lancelot of the Lake, who fell into madness, but no one could find him, and Lancelot himself wandered around the country at that time, until finally he came to the city of Corbenic, where no one recognized him. The inhabitants of Corbenic took pity on the unfortunate and allowed him to spend the night under the castle walls.
And King Peles had a nephew named Castor, who was soon knighted. And on the day of his initiation, he distributed gifts and rich clothes to all the inhabitants of the castle, and gave a cloak and a beautiful dress and a fool, which everyone revered the mad Sir Lancelot. Putting on his clothes, Lancelot went to the bank of the stream that flowed in the garden of the castle, and fell asleep there.
Lady Elaina went out for a walk in the garden, saw her beloved and immediately recognized him. She called the father of her king Peles, and together they carried Lancelot to the palace chambers - to the very ones where the holy grail was kept. And the holy man entered there, removed the veil from the cup, and Sir Lancelot was healed by the miraculous power of the Grail.
Lancelot woke up healed, and he was ashamed to return to the court of King Arthur, and then he asked Lady Elaine to ask King Peles for him a place where he could settle. And the king gave him the castle of Bliant on an island surrounded on all sides by the waters of a pure and beautiful river. And they gave that island a name - the Island of Joy. Sir Lancelot dwelt there with Lady Elaine, twenty fair young ladies from the noblest families of the country, and twenty brave knights of King Peles. And Sir Lancelot ordered for himself a blackened shield with a silver figure of the queen in the middle and a kneeling knight fully armed in front of her.
Once, at a tournament that took place three miles from Bliant Castle, Lancelot met Hector and Percival, and they recognized him. But Lancelot did not go with them to the court of King Arthur, but remained to live with Lady Elaine. But somehow, when Galahad was already fourteen years old, Percival and Ector came to the castle to Lancelot and asked him to go with them to Camelot, for Queen Guinevere was completely exhausted and King Arthur does not find a place for himself, and both of them do not know what happened with Sir Lancelot.
Then Lancelot agreed to their proposal, and they went to Camelot, where everyone was very happy about Sir Lancelot. And again Queen Guinevere fell in love with her glorious and faithful knight.
After the feat of the knights in the name of the Holy Grail, which will be discussed later, there was great joy at the court of Arthur, and the king and queen caressed their vassals even more.
Sir Lancelot fell in love with the queen again, although he had to give up his love for her during his wanderings in the name of the Holy Grail, but he could never forget her.

And so they began to meet again secretly at night and day, and many at court spoke of this, and most of all - Sir Mordred and Sir Agravain, Sir Gawain's brother. Upon learning of this, Lancelot began to behave more carefully and he often fought in tournaments and fights, defending the honor of the ladies who turned to him with this request. And Queen Guinerva did not like it very much, who was terribly jealous of her knight. No matter how Sir Lancelot tried to persuade her to behave more carefully, she did not want to obey him, and once she was so furious that she drove Lancelot of the Lake out of her sight, calling him a traitor.
Sir Lancelot was very sad and called Sir Bors, Sir Ector and Sir Lionel to him and told them about his grief. Then the knights advised Lancelot not to kill himself like that, but to wait with a hermit until the queen calmed down. Sir Bors promised to send a messenger to Sir Lancelot with news. That's what they decided.
After the departure of Sir Lancelot of the Lake, Queen Guinerva planned to give the Knights of the Round Table a small feast to prove that they were all equally dear and sweet to her and that she did not distinguish Sir Lancelot from others.
Sir Gawain, on the other hand, had a passion for fruits and berries, and he especially liked pears and apples. And one knight, named Pionel, whose brother was killed by Sir Gawain in a fair duel, conceived in a vile way to take revenge on Gawain and, wishing him dead, fed several apples from Queen Guinerva prepared for the feast with poison. But it so happened that the glorious Sir Patrice, kinsman of Sir Mador de la Porte, bit the poisoned apple, and immediately began to swell, until at last it was torn and he fell dead among the knights.
Then the knights of the Round Table jumped up from their seats, terribly angry, and Sir Mador accused the queen of treason, for she arranged that feast. At the noise and screams, King Arthur appeared in the dining room and was terribly sad when he learned about what had happened.
And Arthur commanded to fix the day of the duel, so that some knight could defend the honor of Queen Guinevere by fighting Sir Mador. But none of the knights wanted to protect her, because they did not know who poisoned the apple.
On the eve of the day of the duel, the queen sent for Sir Bors and begged him to protect her honor. Sir Bors agreed, and he himself sent a messenger to Sir Lancelot. The queen's faithful knight rode out the next day to duel and fought with Sir Mador, defeated him and acquitted the queen. And soon the Lady of the Lake arrived at the court, who revealed the secret of the poisoner Sir Pionel and indicated the killer. Sir Pionel was frightened and fled to his possessions, but wherever he appeared, noble ladies and lords turned away from him everywhere. And soon he died.

And many other feats Sir Lancelot performed in the name of his queen, but we will not talk about that.
We will only say that one day, when Queen Guinerva was again unreasonably angry with Sir Lancelot, he left in search of adventure, and at that time she was kidnapped by Sir Melegant, who had long loved the Queen, but was afraid to kidnap her, because Sir Lancelot was always nearby. He killed all her knights, and then Guinerva surrendered, but on the condition that all her wounded knights would be taken with her to the castle of Melegant and there they would be helped and their wounds healed. Secretly, the queen managed to send her page to Sir Lancelot with a request for help. But Sir Melegant saw this and set up an ambush of thirty archers to kill Lancelot.

When Sir Lancelot of the Lake received word from the queen, he immediately rushed to her aid and was ambushed. The archers fired arrows at his horse, for they hoped that Lancelot would not be able to reach the castle of Melegant on foot.
Lancelot stopped the woodcutter with a cart and on this cart went to the castle of the kidnapper of the queen. And I must say that at that time it was a great shame for the knight, because only criminals were carried on the cart to be executed. Such was the noble Sir Lancelot, and he was not afraid of humiliation for the sake of his Fair Lady!
As soon as Lancelot drove up to the gates of the castle, Melegant was frightened and asked for mercy from the queen. And Guinerva forgave him, for he did not have time to do her any harm, and she did not want to talk about the abduction in the kingdom of Arthur. And then Sir Lancelot also forgave him. But then Melegant managed to accuse Guinevere of betraying her king Arthur, and then Lancelot fought for her honor and defeated the enemy. And the Queen's honor was restored. This concludes the story of Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere and their love.

It was considered unapproachable. However, to ensure that his wife and son are completely safe, the king decides to leave the castle with his family and a few close associates, leaving the fortress to one of his loved ones. But when he returned for the last time, the king realized that he had been betrayed, and that his castle had been burned down by his enemy, King Claudas of the Desert Land. Unable to bear this picture, the king dies, leaving his wife and child alone. While Elaina was grieving over the body of the king, Galahad was kidnapped by the fairy Vivian, a creature that lives at the bottom of the lake. The queen thought that Lancelot was dead and soon retired to a monastery.

All historically attested adaptations of Lancelot's plot in their main part can be reduced without much difficulty to Chrétien's Chevalier de la charrette.

Storyline analysis

Thus, the plot of Lancelot in its main part - the glorification of the love of a vassal and a queen that breaks the bonds of church marriage and vows of feudal allegiance - takes shape in Chrétien de Troyes, the founder and greatest master of courtly literature in France, in a novel written at the author's own hint to promote a new "courtly" outlook and a new outlook on love.

The plot of Lancelot is part of this literature - the expression of the first glimpses of a new individualistic worldview, with its rehabilitation of earthly joy and earthly love, with its sublimation of sexual relations in the form of "service to the lady" (see Courtly literature). The traditional elements of the plot - if there were any - lose their significance in comparison with the new thematic setting. It is possible, as some researchers suggest, that the story of Lancelot and Guinevere, like the story of Clijes and Phoenix in another Chrétien novel, is only a "courtly" reworking of the plot of Tristan and Iseult.

In any case, the individualistic and anti-church sharpness of the plot was perceived quite clearly. This is evidenced by the huge popularity of the plot in the era of the beginning disintegration of feudalism; this is also evidenced by the assessment of the plot of Lancelot by Dante, who puts into the mouth of Francesca da Rimini the famous reference to the novel about Lancelot (“Divine Comedy”, “Hell”, p. V, tercina 43-46).

The moment of protest against the traditional forms of ideology and life in Lancelot's plot did not escape Tennyson either: the poet-laureate of the prosperous Victorian bourgeoisie perceives and interprets as purely "shameful" and "sinful", undermining the foundations of society, the episode of love between Lancelot and Guinevere ("Idylls of the king").

In popular culture

In cinema

Knights of the Round Table / Knights of the Round Table (; USA) directed by Richard Thorpe, in the role of Lancelot Robert Taylor.
In the film musical Camelot (1967), Lancelot is played by Franco Nero.
In the Doctor Who television series, Lancelot appeared as a fictional character come to life in the episode "Mind Thief" (1969).
In the comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), the role of Sir Lancelot the Brave was played by John Cleese

In Excalibur (1981) by John Boorman.
In King Arthur (1985), Rupert Everett.
In The New Adventures of a Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1988), Lancelot is played by Alexander Kaidanovsky.
In the film Kill the Dragon (1988), the "maternal descendant of Lancelot" is played by Alexander Abdulov.
In The First Knight (1995), Lancelot is played by Richard Gere. There are no Merlin and other mythical components.
In The Knight of Camelot (1998), the role is played by James Coombs.
In the film " King Arthur" (2004), where Lancelot is played by Ioan Griffith, there are extensive differences from the generally accepted legend - Lancelot dies at the hands of enemies when Guinevere has not even become queen, and in general, the whole key story of their love and her role in death Arthur is completely ignored.
In The Mists of Avalon (2001) by Uli Edel, based on the novels by Marion Zimmer Bradley, the role is played by Michelle (Michael) Vartan.
Jeremy Sheffield in Merlin (English)Russian.
In the film Guinevere, the role is played by Noah Wyle. In this rather feminist interpretation, Guinevere and Lancelot have known each other since early childhood, as both were trained in the use of weapons and the knowledge necessary for noble knowledge from Fairy Morgana, a priestess of the Mother Goddess.
In the film Lancelot of the Lake by Robert Bresson.
In the anime series Fate/Zero (2011), Lancelot is reborn as Berserker's servant.
In the Merlin series, his role is played by Santiago Cabrera.
In the Code Geass anime series, Suzaku Kururugi's Nightmare is named "Lancelot".
Dan Stevens will play Lancelot in Night at the Museum 3.
In the television series The Librarians, the role of Lancelot Dulac is played by Matt Frewer.
Cinqua Walls plays Lancelot in Once Upon a Time.
In the musical "La Légende du roi Arthur" the role of Lancelot is played by Charlie Boisseau

Jack of clubs

In medieval France, where modern playing cards (“classical” or “French”) appeared around the 14th century, “pictures” (cards with characters - kings, queens and jacks) were associated with certain historical or legendary characters. Jack of clubs corresponded to Lancelot.

Bibliography

Editions of texts: Chrétien's "Chevalier de la charrette" - the best edition: W. Foerster, Halle, ; Also known publications:
- Roman de Rigomer, W. Foerster, ;
- Lanzelet, K. A. Hahn, Frankfurt a/M., ;
- Diu Krône, Sholl, Stuttgart, ;
Prose French novel, preserved in numerous manuscripts and printed editions from the 15th century - The vulgate version of the Arthurian romances, ed. by H. O. Sommer, Washington, - ;
Der altfranzösische Prosaroman von Lancelot del Lac, Marburger Beiträge, 2, 6, 8, - ;
Retelling into modern French: Paris G., Les romans de la table ronde, P., -, III-IV;
Prose version of Fueterer's German retelling, Peter, 1886 (Bibliothek des lit. Vereins in Stuttgart);
Middle Dutch verse retelling, ed. Jonckbloet, s'Gravenhage, ;
English (Scottish) retelling of the 15th century, Stevenson, ;
English prose retelling - T. Malory (Mort d'Arthure) - a number of editions, the best: O. Sommer, London, 1899; Italian;
Prose retelling - old printed edition,, reprinted;
Bächtold, Lanzelet des Ulrich von Zatzikhofen, Frauenfeld, 1870;
Maertens P., Zur Lancelotsage, Strassburg, ;
Weston J. L., The Legend of sir Lancelot du Lac, London, ;
Lot F., Étude sur Lancelot en prose, P., ;
See "Courtly Literature", "Roman" (section "Christian Romance").

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- article from (author - Rosalia Shor)

The article uses text from the Literary Encyclopedia 1929-1939, which has passed into the public domain since the author - R. Shor - died in 1939.



Main characters

Knights of the Round Table

Magicians and fairies

Minor characters

Geographical points

Legendary Items

An excerpt characterizing Lancelot

Often he said the exact opposite of what he had said before, but both were true. He loved to talk and spoke well, embellishing his speech with endearing and proverbs, which, it seemed to Pierre, he himself invented; but the main charm of his stories was that in his speech the simplest events, sometimes the very ones that, without noticing them, Pierre saw, took on the character of solemn decorum. He liked to listen to fairy tales that one soldier told in the evenings (all the same), but most of all he liked to listen to stories about real life. He smiled joyfully as he listened to such stories, inserting words and asking questions that tended to make clear to himself the beauty of what was being told to him. Attachments, friendship, love, as Pierre understood them, Karataev did not have any; but he loved and lived lovingly with everything that life brought him, and especially with a person - not with some famous person, but with those people who were before his eyes. He loved his mutt, loved his comrades, the French, loved Pierre, who was his neighbor; but Pierre felt that Karataev, in spite of all his affectionate tenderness for him (with which he involuntarily paid tribute to Pierre's spiritual life), would not have been upset for a minute by parting from him. And Pierre began to experience the same feeling for Karataev.
Platon Karataev was for all the other prisoners the most ordinary soldier; his name was falcon or Platosha, they good-naturedly mocked him, sent him for parcels. But for Pierre, as he presented himself on the first night, an incomprehensible, round and eternal personification of the spirit of simplicity and truth, he remained so forever.
Platon Karataev knew nothing by heart, except for his prayer. When he spoke his speeches, he, starting them, seemed not to know how he would end them.
When Pierre, sometimes struck by the meaning of his speech, asked to repeat what was said, Plato could not remember what he had said a minute ago, just as he could not in any way tell Pierre his favorite song with words. There it was: “dear, birch and I feel sick,” but the words did not make any sense. He did not understand and could not understand the meaning of words taken separately from the speech. Every word of his and every action was a manifestation of an activity unknown to him, which was his life. But his life, as he himself looked at it, had no meaning as a separate life. It only made sense as a part of the whole, which he constantly felt. His words and actions poured out of him as evenly, as necessary and immediately, as a scent separates from a flower. He could not understand either the price or the meaning of a single action or word.

Having received news from Nikolai that her brother was with the Rostovs in Yaroslavl, Princess Mary, despite her aunt's dissuades, immediately prepared to go, and not only alone, but with her nephew. Whether it was difficult, easy, possible or impossible, she did not ask and did not want to know: her duty was not only to be near, perhaps, her dying brother, but also to do everything possible to bring him a son, and she got up. drive. If Prince Andrei himself did not notify her, then Princess Mary explained that either by the fact that he was too weak to write, or by the fact that he considered this long journey too difficult and dangerous for her and his son.
In a few days, Princess Mary got ready for the journey. Her crews consisted of a huge princely carriage, in which she arrived in Voronezh, chaises and wagons. M lle Bourienne, Nikolushka with her tutor, an old nanny, three girls, Tikhon, a young footman and a haiduk, whom her aunt had let go with her, rode with her.
It was impossible to even think of going to Moscow in the usual way, and therefore the roundabout way that Princess Mary had to take: to Lipetsk, Ryazan, Vladimir, Shuya, was very long, due to the lack of post horses everywhere, it is very difficult and near Ryazan, where, as they said, the French showed up, even dangerous.
During this difficult journey, m lle Bourienne, Dessalles and the servants of Princess Mary were surprised by her fortitude and activity. She went to bed later than everyone else, got up earlier than everyone else, and no difficulties could stop her. Thanks to her activity and energy, which aroused her companions, by the end of the second week they were approaching Yaroslavl.
During the last time of her stay in Voronezh, Princess Marya experienced the best happiness in her life. Her love for Rostov no longer tormented her, did not excite her. This love filled her whole soul, became an indivisible part of herself, and she no longer fought against it. Of late, Princess Marya became convinced—although she never said this clearly to herself in words—she was convinced that she was loved and loved. She was convinced of this during her last meeting with Nikolai, when he came to her to announce that her brother was with the Rostovs. Nikolai did not hint in a single word that now (in the event of the recovery of Prince Andrei) the former relations between him and Natasha could be resumed, but Princess Marya saw from his face that he knew and thought this. And, despite the fact that his relationship to her - cautious, tender and loving - not only did not change, but he seemed to be glad that now the relationship between him and Princess Marya allowed him to more freely express his friendship to her love, as she sometimes thought Princess Mary. Princess Marya knew that she loved for the first and last time in her life, and felt that she was loved, and was happy, calm in this respect.
But this happiness of one side of her soul not only did not prevent her from feeling grief for her brother with all her strength, but, on the contrary, this peace of mind in one respect gave her a great opportunity to give herself completely to her feelings for her brother. This feeling was so strong in the first minute of leaving Voronezh that those who saw her off were sure, looking at her exhausted, desperate face, that she would certainly fall ill on the way; but it was precisely the difficulties and worries of the journey, which Princess Marya undertook with such activity, saved her for a while from her grief and gave her strength.
As always happens during a trip, Princess Marya thought about only one trip, forgetting what was his goal. But, approaching Yaroslavl, when something that could await her again opened up, and not many days later, but this evening, Princess Mary's excitement reached its extreme limits.
When a haiduk sent ahead to find out in Yaroslavl where the Rostovs were and in what position Prince Andrei was, he met a large carriage driving in at the outpost, he was horrified to see the terribly pale face of the princess, which stuck out to him from the window.
- I found out everything, Your Excellency: the Rostov people are standing on the square, in the house of the merchant Bronnikov. Not far, above the Volga itself, - said the haiduk.
Princess Mary looked at his face in a frightened, questioning way, not understanding what he was saying to her, not understanding why he did not answer the main question: what is a brother? M lle Bourienne made this question for Princess Mary.
- What is the prince? she asked.
“Their excellencies are in the same house with them.
“So he is alive,” thought the princess, and quietly asked: what is he?
“People said they were all in the same position.
What did “everything in the same position” mean, the princess did not ask, and only briefly, glancing imperceptibly at the seven-year-old Nikolushka, who was sitting in front of her and rejoicing at the city, lowered her head and did not raise it until the heavy carriage, rattling, shaking and swaying, did not stop somewhere. The folding footboards rattled.
The doors opened. On the left was water - a big river, on the right was a porch; there were people on the porch, servants, and some sort of ruddy-faced girl with a big black plait, who smiled unpleasantly feignedly, as it seemed to Princess Marya (it was Sonya). The princess ran up the stairs, and the girl, smiling feignedly, said: “This way, this way!” - and the princess found herself in the hall in front of an old woman with an oriental type of face, who, with a touched expression, quickly walked towards her. It was the Countess. She embraced Princess Mary and began to kiss her.
- Mon enfant! she said, je vous aime et vous connais depuis longtemps. [My child! I love you and have known you for a long time.]
Despite all her excitement, Princess Marya realized that it was the countess and that she had to say something. She, not knowing how, uttered some courteous French words, in the same tone as those that were spoken to her, and asked: what is he?
“The doctor says there is no danger,” said the countess, but while she was saying this, she raised her eyes with a sigh, and in this gesture there was an expression that contradicted her words.
- Where is he? Can you see him, can you? the princess asked.
- Now, princess, now, my friend. Is this his son? she said, turning to Nikolushka, who was entering with Desalle. We can all fit, the house is big. Oh what a lovely boy!
The countess led the princess into the drawing room. Sonya was talking to m lle Bourienne. The countess caressed the boy. The old count entered the room, greeting the princess. The old count has changed tremendously since the princess last saw him. Then he was a lively, cheerful, self-confident old man, now he seemed a miserable, lost person. He, speaking with the princess, constantly looked around, as if asking everyone whether he was doing what was necessary. After the ruin of Moscow and his estate, knocked out of his usual rut, he apparently lost consciousness of his significance and felt that he no longer had a place in life.
Despite the excitement in which she was, despite one desire to see her brother as soon as possible and annoyance because at that moment, when she only wants to see him, she is occupied and pretended to praise her nephew, the princess noticed everything that was going on around her, and felt the need for a time to submit to this new order into which she was entering. She knew that all this was necessary, and it was difficult for her, but she did not get annoyed with them.
“This is my niece,” said the count, introducing Sonya, “do you not know her, princess?”
The princess turned to her and, trying to extinguish the hostile feeling for this girl that had risen in her soul, kissed her. But it became difficult for her because the mood of everyone around her was so far from what was in her soul.
- Where is he? she asked again, addressing everyone.
“He’s downstairs, Natasha is with him,” answered Sonya, blushing. - Let's go find out. I think you are tired, princess?
The princess had tears of annoyance in her eyes. She turned away and wanted to ask the countess again where to go to him, when light, swift, as if cheerful steps were heard at the door. The princess looked round and saw Natasha almost running in, the same Natasha whom she did not like so much on that old meeting in Moscow.
But before the princess had time to look at the face of this Natasha, she realized that this was her sincere comrade in grief, and therefore her friend. She rushed to meet her and, embracing her, wept on her shoulder.
As soon as Natasha, who was sitting at the head of Prince Andrei, found out about the arrival of Princess Marya, she quietly left his room with those quick, as it seemed to Princess Marya, as if with cheerful steps, and ran to her.
On her excited face, when she ran into the room, there was only one expression - an expression of love, boundless love for him, for her, for everything that was close to a loved one, an expression of pity, suffering for others and a passionate desire to give herself all for in order to help them. It was evident that at that moment not a single thought about herself, about her relationship to him, was in Natasha's soul.
The sensitive Princess Marya, at the first glance at Natasha's face, understood all this and wept on her shoulder with sorrowful pleasure.
“Come on, let’s go to him, Marie,” Natasha said, taking her to another room.
Princess Mary raised her face, wiped her eyes, and turned to Natasha. She felt that she would understand and learn everything from her.
“What…” she began to question, but suddenly stopped. She felt that words could neither ask nor answer. Natasha's face and eyes should have said everything more clearly and deeply.
Natasha looked at her, but seemed to be in fear and doubt - to say or not to say everything that she knew; she seemed to feel that before those radiant eyes, penetrating into the very depths of her heart, it was impossible not to tell the whole, the whole truth as she saw it. Natasha's lip suddenly trembled, ugly wrinkles formed around her mouth, and she, sobbing, covered her face with her hands.

G vinevere (Guinevere, Genevera, Guinerva, Genevra), the queen, wife of Arthur, is one of the most amazing and memorable characters in the collection of Arthurian novels. Her tragic love for the knight Sir Lancelot became the central theme of short stories, poems, and films.

She first appeared in Historia Regum Britanniae, History of the Kings of Britain, written by Geoffrey of Monmouth around 1136. Subsequently, her image has undergone changes, not always justified, being filled with new features, motifs and adaptations borrowed from early legends. In Galfrid's History, for example, Guinevere is called Genevere: she is an aristocrat of Roman blood, famous for her extraordinary beauty. In Welsh tradition, Guinevere was the daughter of King Ogrvan Gaur. Gwenhwyfar, the Welsh version of Guinevere's name, can be translated as "white ghost" or "white faerie". In one of the Welsh triads - "Three Great Queens" - all three queens are named Gwenhwyfar, and in another it is said that Gwenhwyfar is the most unfaithful compared to the "Three unfaithful wives of the island of Britain."

By the thirteenth century, Guinevere appears as the daughter of King Lodegrance. In this capacity, she is first mentioned in the prose Vulgate - The Story of Merlin (c. 1215 - 1235), and then in the novel The Death of Arthur by Thomas Malory (c. 1470), when King Arthur met Guinevere at a feast arranged by her father in gratitude to Arthur for his help in defeating King Rience. In Malory's novel we see Guinevere as the most splendid queen of the most majestic court of medieval Europe.

As Arthurian literature developed, so did the nature of the relationship between Guinevere and Sir Lancelot. In the novel Lancelot, or the Knight of the Cart (late twelfth century), Chrétien de Troyes does not focus on the love affair. However, the text shows that Lancelot is fascinated by the queen, and Chrétien paints one episode: Lancelot and Guinevere made love after he released her from captivity. Subsequently, the love story of the queen and her knight would dominate the Arthurian novels, with the exception of Lancelet by Ulrich von Satzikhoven (c. 1195), in which the love of Lancelot and Guinevere is not even mentioned. In the cycle "Vulgate" and "Death of Arthur" Malory tells about the passion of lovers in every detail and with all the tragic consequences for those whom she touched.

Descriptions of the romance between Guinevere and Lancelot reflected the medieval notion of a relationship of love and fidelity between knights and their ladies. The knight was portrayed as completely subservient to the lady of his heart, ready to perform heroic deeds for her and even sacrifice his life. A similar stereotype is depicted and to some extent ridiculed in Chrétien de Troy's The Knight of the Cart. Genievra (as Chrétien called Arthur's wife) treats Lancelot with disdain after he rescues her from another kidnapping (this time from the captivity of Melegant). The queen mockingly speaks to the knight after learning that he hesitated before jumping into the wagon and going in search of the lady. It was considered unworthy for a knight to ride in a cart, and Guinevere decided: Lancelot, having hesitated, even for a moment, but put his pride above her interests, and this is unacceptable for a real lover.

In the Vulgate (Lancelot propre, Genuine Lancelet, c. 1220s), the unknown author did not see anything reprehensible in the love affair between the queen and the knight, and the Lady of the Lake not only did not condemn Guinevere, but also told her that she is right in her love for Lancelot. True, the authors of other prose novels of the Vulgate were not so tolerant of a clear violation of morality. In The Quest for the Holy Grail (Queste del Saint Graal) and The Death of Arthur (Morte Arthure), it was stated that Lancelot failed to achieve the Grail only because of Guinevere's adultery. Moreover, the author of "The Death of Arthur" found in adultery the main reason for the fall of the Arthurian kingdom. At the same time, Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur and a number of Vulgate novels did not see anything shameful in the love of a married queen for a knight. The sorcerer Merlin told Arthur that Guinevere and Lancelot were destined to love each other, and many misfortunes would happen from their love. Their passion is rock, and all the future troubles of the knights of Arthur and his kingdom are not the result of adultery, but the fact that lovers cannot follow their true destiny. Malory describes the amorous relationship between Guinevere and Lancelot as "true love", he sympathizes with a woman who fell in love with a man whom she would never marry, and this idea contrasted sharply with the position of other authors who accused Guinevere of all sins and painted her as a seducer.

According to Malory, King Arthur almost pandered to his wife's relationship with Lancelot, because he loved his wife very much and appreciated the knight. And besides, extramarital amorous pastimes were obviously not exclusive to Arthur's court. According to one of the legends, at the court there was a custom to check the fidelity of the beloved with the help of a magic horn or handkerchief. In this way, Guinevere and Arthur, and all other married couples, were convicted of infidelity, except for one old knight and his young wife.

An interesting interpretation of the relationship between Guinevere and Mordred. In the "History" of Geoffrey of Monmouth, Genever (as Geoffrey) became the wife of Mordred (Arthur's nephew according to Geoffrey) after Mordred took the throne from Arthur. Vasa's poem The Romance of Brutus, Layamon's Brutus, and Harding's Chronicle (c. 1457) allege that Guinevere married Mordred after his usurpation of power. In Vasa and Layamon's versions, Guinevere felt guilty towards her husband and feared his retribution, and this implied her complicity in Mordred's betrayal. In Harding's Chronicle, Mordred took Guinevere as his wife by force to legitimize his claim to the throne.

The motif of kidnapping was constantly present in Arthurian legends and tales. The Life of Gildas by Caradoc (early twelfth century) tells of how King Melias of Somerset kidnapped Guinevere and kept her in captivity for a year until Arthur found her and freed her with the assistance of Saint Gildas. In The Knight of the Cart by Chrétien de Troyes, Genievra is kidnapped by Melegante. In Lancelet by Ulrich von Zatzikkhoven, Valerin acted as the kidnapper, stealing Guinevere twice, drugging her with a magical dream on the second occasion. The abduction of Guinevere is also reflected in early Arthurian sculpture: for example, in the archivolt of the Porta della Pescheria of the Cathedral of Modena in Italy.

In Malory, and indeed in most of the Arthurian legends, there is no hint that Guinevere had children, which suggests her sterility. However, the anonymous poem "Morte Arthure" ("The Death of Arthur"), written around 1400, claimed that she had two sons by Mordred, and Welsh tradition reports sons by King Arthur. According to Malory's novel The Death of Arthur, when Mordred and Agravaine denounced Guinevere for adultery in front of Arthur and the court, the king had no choice but to sentence his wife to be burned at the stake. The half-naked Guinevere was saved from the fire by the faithful Lancelot, brought her to his castle, and then returned to Arthur to become a full-fledged queen again. In the end, Guinevere withdrew from worldly life, became a nun and found atonement for sins in the monastery of Amesbury.

William Frank Calderon "The Four Queens Find the Sleeping Lancelot"

With Er Lancelot is the most brilliant figure among the Knights of the Round Table and perhaps the most famous chivalric literary name. It is always associated with Guinevere and wanderings in search of the Holy Grail. At the same time, this is also a negative character, since his forbidden love for Queen Guinevere led to the collapse of Camelot. The love triangle Arthur - Guinevere - Lancelot became a favorite theme of English and French Arthurian novels.

Lancelot made a late appearance at the court of King Arthur. It is assumed that this character was taken both by Ulrich von Zatzikkhoven for his "Lanzelet" ("Lanzelet"), and Chrétien de Troyes for the novel "Lancelot, ou le chevalier de la charrette" ("Lancelot, or the Knight of the Cart") from us Anglo-Norman "Lancelot". It has been argued that in the French Arthurian novels Sir Lancelot is given more attention than Arthur.

Lancelot was the son of Elaine and King Ban, ruler of Benwick or Benoic. When Lancelot was still a child, his father Ban was supplanted from the kingdom by Cloud the Renegade. Ban and Elaina fled with little Lancelot to the magical forest of Broceliande. But Ban, turning around and seeing how his castle was burning, lost consciousness. While Elaina was busy with her dying husband, the Maiden of Lake Vivian appeared and took the boy to her, in an underwater abode. Therefore, they sometimes began to call him Lancelot of the Lake.

Paintings by Frank Cooper "Four Queens Find Sleeping Lancelot" and
"Lancelot defeats Sir Tarquin, the Caliph's knight."

Vivian raised Lancelot with his cousins Lionel and Bors. Lancelot grew into a handsome young man with extraordinary ability in everything he did. At the age of eighteen, he left the Broceliande Forest and went in search of adventure, not knowing his family or tribe. In the novel Lancelot in Prose, Vivian brought him to Arthur's court. In other versions of the legend, Lancelot left her when he still had much to learn, and appeared at the court of Arthur, having already gone through a good school of life.

Lancelot fell in love with Guinevere, the wife of King Arthur, at first sight and swore, becoming a knight of the queen, to protect her and honor her above all other women. Their first meeting marked the beginning of an entertaining love story, culminating in the collapse of the Brotherhood of the Knights of the Round Table and the death of Arthur's kingdom.

Going in search of adventure, Lancelot met a maiden weeping over a knight who had been slain near the castle of the Grief Guard. He learned that the owner of the castle, Brandin Island, introduced the custom to challenge anyone who appeared at the walls of the citadel to a duel. In this case, a random rider or traveler must first fight twenty deadly opponents before meeting Brandin himself. The servant of the Lady of the Lake gave Lancelot three magical shields: the first - with one ribbon - doubles his strength, the second - with two ribbons - triples, and the third - with three ribbons - quadruples. With these shields, Lancelot defeated Brandin and all of his knights and became the new lord of the Grimwatch castle. He was handed the keys to the citadel, taken to the cemetery and shown a slab with a very strange prophecy: "No one will lift this slab, except for the one who overcomes the castle of the Sad Guard, and his name is inscribed below."

Frank Dicksee "Beauty Without Mercy" (La Belle Dame Sans Merci).

Lancelot was told that many knights had already tried to raise the slab, but to no avail. Lancelot lifted it without difficulty and saw on the reverse side the inscription: "Here will lie Lancelot of the Lake, son of King Ban of Benwick." He learned about his royal origin, liberated the fortress and gave it a new name - the castle of the Merry Guard.

In the novel The Knight of the Cart, the villain Melegant kidnapped Guinevere, and Lancelot had the honor of rescuing her. Melegant, son of the good King Bagdemagus, was once a Knight of the Round Table. Lancelot rode in search of Guinevere, but his horse was treacherously killed by the archers of Melegant. Lancelot, after long hesitation, was forced to use the wagon (a humiliating thing for a knight, and not only because they carry criminals). To get to Melegant's castle, Lancelot had to cross the deadly Sword Bridge. To do this, he had to take off his gauntlets and walk along a giant sharp blade, injuring his hands and bare feet. King Begdemagus marveled at the courage of Lancelot and insisted that his evil son give the knight time to recover from a dangerous adventure. In the duel that began, Lancelot, encouraged by the sight of Guinevere, who looked at him from a high window, defeated Melegant, but saved his life at the request of his father, who stopped the fight and offered to continue it a year later at the court of Arthur. Guinevere was free, and the next year Lancelot and Melegant met again on the lists. They knocked each other out of the saddle, shields shattered, opponents fought with swords. Lancelot cut off Melegant's hand, and then his head. In Malory's novel, Lancelot fought Melegant without a helmet and with one hand. With a single blow, he split Melegant's head in two.

King Pelles, guardian of the Holy Grail, tricked Lancelot into the bed of his daughter Elaine. While under the spell, he mistook Elaine for Queen Guinevere. They spent the night together, and Elaina conceived a son, Galahad. Guinevere, learning that Lancelot was reclining with Elaine, forbade him to appear in her presence. Lancelot lost his mind from grief and wandered naked in the forest for almost two years. He was eventually found by King Pelles and cured of his madness with the help of the Holy Grail.

Lancelot returned to Arthur's court, reconciled with Guinevere and again became her knight. They fell in love even more, but one day King Arthur went hunting, and the lovers were found in Guinevere's chambers. Lancelot, hiding from Camelot, killed several knights and realized that internecine war was inevitable. Returning from the hunt, Arthur, with a heavy heart, agreed to betray the adulterous Guinevere to be burned at the stake.

At the last moment, when Guinevere was already tied to a post, and a fire was laid under her feet, Lancelot appeared. Saving Guinevere from the fire, he killed many of the knights who tried to stop him, including Gareth and Gachesis, Sir Gawain's brothers. Lancelot took Guinevere to the castle of the Merry Guard. Arthur pursued them and laid siege to the castle. A fierce slaughter broke out, but Lancelot refused to raise his weapon against the king, although Arthur flew at him with a spear and knocked him out of the saddle. Lancelot's brother Hector knocked Arthur off his horse, but Lancelot again evaded killing his master.

In the end, Arthur allowed Guinevere to return to Camelot. Lancelot sailed to France, Arthur pursued him, prompted by Gawain, who thirsted for revenge. He left the insidious Mordred to rule the kingdom, who seized the throne, and Arthur was forced to return to fight Mordred. At the last battle of Camlan, King Arthur killed the traitor Mordred, but he himself, mortally wounded, fell to the ground.

Lancelot, wanting to avenge the death of his king, went to Britain with his cousins Lionel and Bors and expelled the sons of Mordred, who had captured Arthur's kingdom. Lionel and two sons of Mordred died. Lancelot learned that Guinevere had gone to a convent and decided to look for her in Amesbury. The last time they met was in the monastery's seclusion. This is how Mallory describes the date:

“When she saw Lancelot, she fainted three times in a row, so that all the ladies and noble maidens had a lot of care to raise and support her. And Guinevere said: “Sir Lancelot, I beg you and implore you with all my heart, in the name of all our love, never again seek to see my face. And I command you in the name of the Lord God, leave me forever.

Lancelot left Guinevere and became a priest. A year later, a divine vision appeared to him at night and ordered him to hurry to Amesbury in atonement for sins. He was on the road for two days, and when he arrived at the place, he found Guinevere dead. After the Queen's funeral, Lancelot refused to eat or drink and wept at her grave until he himself gave up his ghost. His body was taken to his beloved castle of the Merry Guard, where he was buried, according to the prediction in the inscription on the slab. Sir Ector, who had searched all over England, Scotland and Wales for seven years for his brother Lancelot, said as he said farewell to the most distinguished knight of King Arthur's court:

"Oh, Lancelot! You were the head of all Christian chivalry! And I will say now, Sir Lancelot, as you lie here dead, that you have no equal among the knights in all the earth. You were the noblest knight that ever rode a horse, and the most faithful lover of all sinful men who ever loved a woman, and the kindest man who ever lifted a sword. You were the most beautiful of all among the knights, and you were the meekest husband who ever sat at the table with the ladies, and for a mortal enemy, the most severe opponent who ever clutched a spear in his hand.

IMAGE OF QUEEN GUINEVER IN MOVIES:

Keira Knightley (Guinevere) "King Arthur" 2004	Richard Gere (Lancelot) and Julia Ormond (Guinevere) "First Knight" 1995	Sheri Lungi (Guinevere) "Excalibur" 1981

Julia Andrews (Guinevere) and Richard Burton (King Arthur) in the musical Camelot at Bodway 1960	Vanessa Redgrave (Guinevere) "Camelot" 1968	Robert Taylor (Lancelot) and Ava Gardner (Guinevere) "Knights of the Round Table" 1953

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NOTES

1) The archers of Meleagant (Melegant at Malory) killed Lancelot's horse, and he had to ride on a cart. Hence his nickname of the Knight of the Cart.

2) enchanted Broceliande Forest (The Broceliande Forest) present in many Arthurian novels. This is the name in the legends of the modern Pemponsky forest in Brittany, reminiscent of the former thickets that covered most of the north-west of France. Here, in the shade of oaks, beeches, birches and chestnuts, the sorcerer Merlin wandered, besotted with a passion for Vivian, Lancelot of the Lake grew up and Fairy Morgana lured lost romantics into her magical nets. The French symbolist poet Albert Samin called Broceliande "a forest of dreams and magical visions", and C.S. Lewis wrote: "Broseliande attracts everyone equally - saints, sorcerers, lunatics and lovers."

Broceliande forest.

Fairies were waiting for the knights in the Brocéliandes Forest of Chrétien de Troyes. In the novel Yvain, or the Knight with the Lion, Yvain, wandering in the forest, found the source of Barenton. Near the key, he saw a tree with a golden ladle and a stone. Yvain filled a ladle with water from the spring and watered the stone. Immediately, the sky turned black, a deafening thunder resounded, and leaves flew from the trees. Just as suddenly, the storm subsided, and out of nowhere, the Knight of the Spring appeared and attacked Yvain. Yvain mortally wounded an unexpected enemy and, pursuing him, ended up at the gates of the castle. The bars of the gate fell with lightning speed and cut the knight's horse in two. Ywain fell into a trap, but was rescued by Lunetta, the servant of Lodina, the mistress of the castle. Lodina was saddened by the death of her husband, the Well Knight. Yvain fell in love with Lodina, with the help of Lunetta won the hand of the mistress of the castle and became the Knight of the spring himself.

Broceliande was and remains a mystical forest where the most unusual things can happen. It opens the way to the fantastic realm of fairies. Previously, supernatural creatures flickered among the trees, druids collected mistletoe, knights fought giants, wizards and treacherous fairies-demons prepared their potions. And today in the Pempona Forest there are many Arthurian sights and you can meet, if you're lucky, Merlin, Vivian or Fairy Morgana.

Now, at the site of the Barenton spring, there is a pool lined with stone, the spring ice water in it suddenly “boils, while remaining cold.” Nearby lies the "Merlin's stone slab", which is capable of causing torrential thunderstorms. In The Charter of Usage and Customs of the Forest of Broceliande, drawn up in 1467, it was written that Guy de Laval, Lord Compet, owned the spring, and only he had the right to call storms. In 1835, a drought threatened to ruin the crops. The local priest, according to popular rumor, prayed at a magical spring, and rain fell on the fields. The belief that the "fountain" Barenton generates downpours is still alive. It is said that in the eighties of the last century, a group of enthusiasts of Arthurian legends fell in heavy rain, as soon as they asked for a miraculous source. When Mark Oxbraugh (one of the authors of the book), trying to find his way to the spring, got lost in the Pemponna forest, a downpour poured on him too.

According to legend, the enchanter Merlin, while hiding in the Broceliande Forest, met Vivian, the Lady of the Lake. The old wizard and the young maid liked each other, they talked a lot about witchcraft and love, and subsequently Merlin had to be torn between King Arthur's court in Camelot and Broceliande. Arthur married Guinevere and Merlin dedicated himself to Vivian. He built for her a crystal castle in a mirror lake, taught her the art of magic, sorcery, spells. Having learned almost all the secrets, Vivian asked the magician if there was a spell that could imprison a person. Merlin knew what Vivian was going to do, but nodded in agreement and gave her his last secret.

Merlin's grave. Sleeping Merlin.

It is said that Merlin still lives with the faerie Vivian in Broceliande Forest. Her crystal castle is hidden under the mirror surface of Lake Compe. Nearby are the remains of a megalith known as Tombeau de Merlin, Merlin's Crypt. Once upon a time, there was indeed a Neolithic burial ground here, consisting of at least a dozen stone slabs. In the nineties of the nineteenth century, it was almost completely dismantled by a local farmer who decided that treasures were hidden under the stones. Everyone who comes to the "crypt" usually brings gifts to Merlin and leaves notes with wishes, all the surrounding boulders are literally strewn with them. Other Neolithic stone monuments were also found in the Broseliand forest: the Garden of the Monks, the Crypt of the Giant, the Three Rocks of Treban, which, according to legend, fell out of the fairy apron, and the tomb called Hotie de Viviane, Abode Vivian.

The Broceliande Forest is also presented in the Arthurian epic as the place where Lancelot's childhood and adolescence passed. His mother took him into the forest with her, Viviana appeared in the thicket and carried the boy into the lake. For many years he was brought up by the Lady of the Lake, and when he grew up a little, he went to Arthur's court in Camelot to become one of the Knights of the Round Table, Lancelot of the Lake.

Not far from the village of Treorentek is located Valsans Retour, Valley of no return, a tangled labyrinth of rocks and crevices. To this day, in the Valley of No Return, Fairy Morgana casts a spell on men and women, boys and girls who cheat on their lovers. The sorceress was once betrayed by some mortal, and since then, with her charms, she turns unfortunate travelers into stones, like Rocher des Faux Amants, Rock unfaithful lovers. At the entrance to the Valley of no return, the expanse of a mysterious pool flickers - Miroir-aux-fees, fairy mirror. Looking at him at least once, consider that you have already fallen under the power of Fairy Morgana. If you have never cheated, then you have a chance to return back, otherwise you will be lost forever in the Valley without a return.

In the years 1942-1954, Abbe Henri Gillar converted the church in the village of Treorenteuk into a chapel of the Holy Grail. The abbot restored the temple of God, decorating it with mosaics, stained-glass windows, paintings, adding scenes from the legends of Broceliande and King Arthur to the atmosphere of the Christian sanctuary. The stained glass windows depicted Lancelot and Fairy Morgana in the Valley of No Return, Ywain and the Knight of the Barenton Spring, Vivian enchanting Merlin, the apparition of the Holy Grail before the Knights of the Round Table. The abbot placed Jesus Christ at the feet of Fairy Morgana.

In the castle of Compère-en-Broseliande in the northern part of the Pemponne Forest, a magnificent Center de l'Imaginaire Arthurien, Center for Arthurian Legends. The castle rises above Lake Compe, where Viviana raised Sir Lancelot, and Merlin created a crystal palace for her. The center hosts exhibitions, theatrical performances and shows featuring valiant knights in shining armor, wizards in pointed hats, fabulous beauties in floor-length velvet dresses and, of course, the Lady of the Lake with Excalibur soaring up their waters.

3) Lady of the Lake. One of the most impressive artistic images in the Arthurian epic is the girl's hand rising from the lake with the sword Excalibur for King Arthur. When the wounded king died, she rose again from the water to grab the blade thrown by Sir Bedivere. One can often come across the assumption that supposedly this mysterious hand belongs to the Lady of the Lake (in other versions - the Lady of the Lake, including in the translation of Malory's novel). However, in Sir Thomas Malory's novel The Death of Arthur, we find another version: the sword was given to Arthur by a water fairy, and the Lady of the Lake was a real mortal woman who lived in a castle carved into the rock at the edge of the lake. The sorcerer and mentor of Arthur Merlin told the young king to turn to the Maiden of the Lake, sailing to them in a barque, for permission to take the sword Excalibur. Thus, Malory made it clear that this mysterious lady acts as the actual mistress of the lake and the keeper of the magic sword. It follows from Malory's text that the name "Lady of the Lake" does not refer to any particular individual, but rather is an honorary title of a sorceress-keeper, which can pass from one woman to another.

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