The knight who fell in love with Guinevere 8 letters. Tales of Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere. The tragic ending and death of King Arthur

Sir Lancelot was born into the family of Queen Elaine and King Ban in the country of Benwick, and even as a child they predicted to Lancelot that he would be the greatest hero and the most glorious knight in the world. Lancelot was raised by the Maiden of the Lake and for this 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.
Queen Guinevere fell in love with him for his valor and courage, and he fell in love with 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 hike in search of adventure. They mounted their horses and set off. The day was hot, and they were soon 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 three knights 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 this skilled warrior defeated him too. Then he dismounted, tied his hands and feet and threw them across the saddle, like those three, and took everyone to his castle, where he whipped them naked with thorny vines and threw them into prison. Many knights languished in that damp and deep dungeon, and many of them suffered torment.
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 or dangers in this forest. The forester answered that there was a spreading tree behind a stream with spring water, on which hung many shields, which at one time belonged to valiant knights, and at the roots there was a copper basin nailed. If you hit that basin three times with the shaft of a spear, then many glorious adventures can happen to the one who knocked.

Sir Ector thanked the forester and went to that tree. He saw on it many shields, 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 knocked on the copper basin with the shaft of his spear more than three times and began pounding on it like crazy. A knight named Sir Tarquin appeared here and challenged Sir Ector to battle. Ector rested his spear on the saddle rest and rushed at the enemy, but struck him with such force that the horse under him turned over twice in the same place.
Sir Tarquin did not retreat, but he himself stormed into Ector and defeated him, brought him to his castle and promised that he would not harm him if only Ector would swear allegiance to him, for the younger brother of Lancelot of the Lake had shown himself to be a very good warrior. Ector refused Sir Tarquin's offer, and then they stripped him naked and flogged him with thorny vines, and then threw him into prison with other knights. And Sir Lancelot was found sleeping under an apple tree by four queens, and one of them was the Fairy Queen Morgana. And they started a dispute among themselves about who would get him as their lover. They argued for a long time until Fairy Morgana offered to cast a spell on him, transport his castle to her Chariot, and then let him choose which of the four queens would become his beloved.
So they did. And when Sir Lancelot of the Lake woke up in the palace of the Fairy Morgana, he could not at first understand who had carried him there. But soon Fairy Morgana herself appeared to him, and she was of extraordinary beauty, and invited Lancelot to choose his 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 queens 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 a tournament for the honor of her father.
Lancelot happily agreed to her proposal, for King Bagdemagus was a glorious and honest knight. Then the maiden freed Lancelot, and he competed the next day at the tournament, and defeated all the king’s opponents, and defended his honor. King Bagdemagus and his daughter were grateful to Sir Lancelot.

And the next morning Lancelot went to look for his brother Lionel, who had left him so unexpectedly. Soon he met a maiden on a white horse, who told him that there was a spreading tree nearby with a copper basin and that Sir Tarquin, a great knight and skilled in military affairs, accepted challenges there.
Lancelot went to the tree, but no matter how much he hit the basin with the shaft of his spear, no one came to his call, only the bottom of the basin fell out. 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 across the saddle lay bound one of the knights of the Round Table, the brother of Sir Gawain.
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 proposed to Lancelot to reconcile, unless his name was Sir Lancelot of the Lake, for Lancelot had killed Sir Tarquin's brother.
Lancelot then answered that he was the same knight hated by Tarquin. And therefore they have to fight not to their stomach, but to their death. And they continued to fight for a long time, until, finally, Tarquin weakened and Lancelot was able to cut off his neck. Here the end of the evil knight Tarquin came, and Lancelot freed all those languishing in prison, and among them there were many glorious men - and among them were Sir Galihud and Sir Lionel, Sir Ector and Sir Kay.
And Lancelot himself rode on and accomplished many feats. And one day he had the opportunity to free the castle of Tintagil from two huge giants, in which Queen Igraine conceived King Arthur from Uther Pendragon.
After that feat he went further; in the evening he stopped at a rich courtyard with an old woman, who received him very well, and put him to bed for the night in the gate room. There Sir Lancelot took off his armor and fell fast asleep, but at night he was awakened by the clanking of weapons at the gate. He then looked out the window and saw that three knights were attacking one and pushing him back. Sir Lancelot was angry and rushed to the aid of the lone knight and alone defeated the three of them. It turned out that they were attacking Sir Kay, who on his knees thanked Lancelot for his salvation.

Sir Lancelot went further in search of adventures, and many of them happened to him until he came to a dark forest, where he saw a black hound running, sniffing, as if following the scent of a wounded deer. Lancelot galloped after her and soon saw a wide bloody trail that led him to an old castle in the swamp. There, in the spacious hall, lay a beautiful dead knight. A black hound rushed towards him and began to lick his hands. And the lady came out of the inner chambers; She was very sad and cried for her murdered husband, whose name was Sir Gilbert the Bastard.
Sir Lancelot parted with her and rode on until he met a maiden in the same forest, the sister of Sir Meliot of Logre, a knight of the Round Table, who fought with Gilbert the Bastard and was severely wounded. He lay in his castle and bled, and one sorceress told his sister that his wounds would heal only if they touched them with a piece of bloody cloth and a sword that were hidden in the Lost Chapel. Then Sir Meliot's sister went in search of a knight who would agree to go to the Lost 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 Lost Chapel and, having arrived, tied his horse at the fence. On the walls of the chapel hung many shields, and many of them belonged to the famous knights whom Sir Lancelot had known before. He was saddened by their death. He looked around, and there were already thirty mighty and tall knights, the likes of which do not exist among people, in black armor and with drawn swords, and everyone was grinning terribly.
Then Lancelot took his sword in his hands, but the knights parted and let him into the chapel, inside which a single lamp was dimly burning. Soon Lancelot noticed a dead body wrapped in a silk cloth, from which he cut a piece. And then he found the dead knight’s sword 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 walked straight towards them, but they parted and let him through.

At the fence of the chapel, a beautiful maiden met Lancelot and asked him to leave the sword in the chapel, but the knight refused this request too.
“You are doing the right thing,” answered the girl, who was the Sorceress Helavis from the Negro 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, you would have come to an end, for it was only for your sake that I built this chapel, for the sake of Sir Haveia and you, I wanted to keep your dead body there, to kiss you day and night.”
- The Lord will save me from your spell! - Sir Lancelot answered her, jumped on his horse and galloped away, and the Sorceress Helavisa began to wither away from love for him and soon - not even two weeks had passed - she died.
Lancelot returned to Sir Meliot's sister, and together they hurried to the castle where the wounded knight lay.
Lancelot wiped Meliot's bleeding wounds with a bloody piece of cloth and touched them with his sword, and the glorious knight immediately recovered.
Great was their joy, but soon Sir Lancelot went further. And he accomplished many feats, but that will not be discussed here. Let us tell you how Fairy Morgan took revenge on the glorious Lancelot when she learned of his love for Queen Guinereva, for she loved him more than all the other knights and always sought his love. He didn't love her.
One day she sent King Arthur a magic horn, from which Queen Gwinerva was supposed to drink in order to prove her loyalty to the king, and then, when these intrigues failed, she sent her servant to lure Sir Lancelot to the castle, where thirty armed knights were waiting for him, but Sir Tristram and Sir Gawain went there, and the knights of the Fairy Morgana were afraid to come out to them.
And one day Sir Tristram came to the castle of the Fairy Morgana and asked for an overnight stay, and the knight was allowed into the castle. But the next morning the evil sorceress announced to Tristram, whom she looked at with love, that she would not let him go until he gave her his word to compete in the tournament that King Arthur was organizing at the Solid Rock, with the shield that she would give him. And when Tristram looked at the shield, he saw the king and queen depicted on a scarlet field, and above them a knight, as if standing on their heads. And the Fairy Morgana said to Sir Tristram that this shield signified King Arthur and Queen Gwynerva and the knight who held them in his power.

Tristram was surprised by such a shield, but did not see anything bad in it, and therefore agreed to compete with it in the tournament. Fairy Morgana ordered this shield specifically to insult Sir Lancelot and inform King Arthur of his and Queen Guinereva’s love. Fairy Morgan released Tristram, and after him went her lover, Sir Hemison, who noticed how King Arthur's sister did not take her eyes off Tristram in the castle and became jealous of him. He overtook Sir Tristram and fought with him, and was killed in a fair fight by the glorious knight of the Round Table. Fairy Morgana was obsessed with him like crazy. Sir Tristram performed at the tournament with a shield received from Queen Morgana the Fairy, and King Arthur marveled at that shield, and Queen Guinereva immediately realized that this was the machinations of his sister.
During the tournament, a maiden from the Fairy Morgana appeared in their chambers and told the king that that shield was specially made to warn Arthur about dishonor and treason. Then Fairy Morgana's servant disappeared, and no one noticed where she went.
When they asked Tristram what his shield meant, he answered that he did not know, but he could say that the Fairy Morgana gave him this shield.
And he fought with King Arthur because he refused to reveal the meaning of what was depicted on the shield, and he struck him down. And after that tournament Tristram went further, and no one knew the meaning of the image on the shield of the Fairy Morgana.
But Lancelot and Guinerva had many enemies besides the Fairy Morgana. So, King Mark, having learned that Arthur and Lancelot had sent letters to Sir Tristram warning about the treachery of King Mark, became terribly angry with them and sent King Arthur a letter in which he advised 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 whom Sir Tristram belonged. Mark sent letters with openly offensive hints to Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinereva.
Queen Guinerva was upset, and Sir Lancelot was very angry, 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 sung it song across all kingdoms.
And there was great shame for King Mark.

Now we will talk about how Sir Lancelot's son Galahad was born.
It is known that even before his birth, on the feast of Trinity, a hermit came to the court of King Arthur, when all the knights of the Round Table were sitting at dinner, and, seeing that the Perilous Place was empty, asked Arthur why no one was sitting on it. And when they explained to the hermit that that knight had not yet been born into the world, the holy man said:
- That knight’s name is Galahad, but he has not yet been conceived or born, and will be born no later than in a year.
At the end of that feast, Sir Lancelot set out in search of new adventures and performed many deeds in the name of Queen Guinerva, who was his Fair Lady.
One day he happened to come to the city of Corbenic, and the inhabitants of this city joyfully welcomed him, 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 being boiled alive in a cauldron until the best knight in the world took her hand. And Sir Gawain was recently in Corbenic, but he could not help the beautiful lady, who suffered such cruel torment for her beauty, which Arthur’s evil sister 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 took the knight into the tower, into a room where it was hot, like in an oven, and he took the most beautiful maiden he had ever seen, completely naked, by the hand and thereby freed her from cruel torment.
Then they brought her beautiful clothes, and, having dressed in them, the beautiful mistress of the castle invited Sir Lancelot to go to the chapel and serve a service of thanksgiving to Our Lord. Lancelot happily agreed.
After the service, the ladies' subjects began to ask Sir Lancelot to deliver them from the terrible serpent 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 gold letters: “Here the leopard of royal blood will come and defeat this serpent, and he himself will give birth to a lion, whose purity and strength will not be equal among the knights.”
Sir Lancelot lifted the slab of the tomb, and from there, spitting out flames, a terrible serpent appeared and immediately attacked the knight. Here Lancelot drew his sword 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 Elaine, and a close relative of Joseph of Arimathea, the secret disciple of Jesus, who, together with Nicodemus, redeemed His body and buried Him, appeared in the chapel, and invited Sir Lancelot to stay in his palace.
Before they had time to enter the hall of the palace, a dove with a golden incense burner in its beak flew into the window, and such an aroma spread around, as if all the incense and fragrances of the world had appeared there in one moment. Then a beautiful maiden appeared in the hall, carrying a golden cup in her palms. And before this cup, the king and all those present knelt and prayed fervently. And at that very moment their table was filled with all kinds of food 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 can own. And he also said that as soon as it is lost, the Round Table will disintegrate. The king and Lancelot spent all that day 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 would be conceived from them, the bravest and purest knight in the world, who would achieve the Holy Grail . But Lancelot did not agree to this, because he loved only one woman in the world - Queen Guinerva.
And then the court lady Bruzena, a skilled sorceress, made Lancelot lie down with Elaine, thinking that she was Queen Guinerva. Sir Lancelot, when he learned of the deception, was terribly angry, but Elaine had already given birth to a child from him. And Lancelot promised to visit Elaine as soon as he had the opportunity.
When her time came, Elaine gave birth to a wonderful baby and named him Galahad, for his father was originally named by this name.
And it must be said that one glorious knight named Sir Bromel loved Lady Elaine very much, but Elaine never loved him and declared this to him directly, and she also said that she loved only Sir Lancelot of the Lake and that she had given birth to a child from him.
Then Sir Bromel was indignant and swore to kill Lancelot in a fair duel, and for this he decided to watch him for a whole year on the bridge of Corbenic Castle.
But it so happened that Sir Bors, the nephew of Sir Lancelot, came to the castle, and he fought on the bridge with Sir Bromel, and defeated him. He then came to Corbenic and, when they learned that he was the nephew of Sir Lancelot, they received him with great joy.
Lady Elaine was very surprised that Lancelot himself did not come to them, as he had promised when leaving. And Sir Bors answered that for six months now he had been languishing in the dungeon of the Fairy Morgana. Elaina was terribly upset about this.
When Sir Bors saw Galahad, he immediately noticed that he looked like his uncle, and Elaine admitted that Lancelot of the Lake was the father of her son. Then Bors cried with joy and prayed to the Lord for the boy and his father, and a dove with a golden incense burner flew into the hall, and a wonderful fragrance spread, and food and drinks appeared on the table. And when the maiden appeared carrying the Holy Grail, she said publicly:
- Know, Sir Bore, that this baby will occupy the Perilous Seat and achieve the Holy Grail. And he will surpass his father Sir Lancelot in everything.

Then everyone bowed their knees and prayed to God, after the prayer the dove fluttered out the window, and the girl 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 replied that only a pure and innocent knight, brave and courageous, could spend the night in the Castle of the Holy Grail and that Sir Bors needed to confess and take communion. The Knight of the Round Table happily agreed to this, for he was brave and honest, and as for his innocence, Sir Bors was pure before all women, except for one only - the daughter of King Brangoris, who gave birth to a son named Elin.
And a lot happened to Sir Bors that night of adventure, but we won’t talk about that, we’ll just say that he dealt with them all with honor. And then a dove with a golden incense burner flew to him, and the whole castle was filled with wonderful aromas, and then he saw four beautiful young men carrying four clear candles, and behind them walked an old man, who had a cup in one hand, and a spear in the other. called the Spear of Reckoning.
And the old man said that Sir Bors was now 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 due to him more than all other knights, but it was not given to him, because he was mired in vile sin.
Then Sir Bors saw that four beautiful women were coming to him, and they knelt before a silver altar on four legs, and Sir Bors knelt after them. But when he looked up, he saw a sword raised above him, which sparkled so brightly that Sir Bore was temporarily blinded. 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 the 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 departed for the court of King Arthur.

When Queen Guinerva learned 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 celebration at the court of King Arthur, and Lady Elaine wanted to go to the palace. King Peles did not object to this desire 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 spent together, and did not look at Lady Elaine at all.
Such inattention was bitter to her, and she was very upset, until the court lady Bruzena made it 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 from her court, and he then went mad with grief.
He jumped out the window and ran away, and wandered like that 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 hardness, for she loved Sir Lancelot and learned about the deception of the court lady Bruzena, and ordered her knights to go in search of him.
And one day Sir Percival and Sir Ector the Outskirts 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 Holy Grail was carried before them, but only Sir Percival was given the opportunity to see its keeper - 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 Perilous Seat.

They say that when Sir Percival was knighted, on that day, by the will of God, a dumb maiden spoke and announced to everyone where the place of the new knight was at the Round Table, 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 had fallen into madness, but no one could find him, and Lancelot himself wandered around the country at that time, until he finally came to the city of Corbenic, where no one recognized him. The inhabitants of Corbenic had mercy on the unfortunate man 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 dedication he distributed gifts and rich clothes to all the inhabitants of the castle, and gave a cloak and a beautiful dress and a fool, as everyone revered the mad Sir Lancelot. Having put on his clothes, Lancelot went to the bank of a stream that flowed in the garden of the castle and fell asleep there.
Lady Elaine went out for a walk in the garden, saw her lover and immediately recognized him. She called her father, King Peles, and together they carried Lancelot to the palace chambers - to the very ones where the Holy Grail was kept. And a holy man entered there, removed the cover from the cup, and by the miraculous power of the Grail Sir Lancelot was healed.
Lancelot woke up healed, and was ashamed to return to the court of King Arthur, and then he asked Lady Elaine to ask King Peles for a place where he could settle. And the king gave him Bliant Castle on an island surrounded on all sides by the waters of a clean and beautiful river. And they gave that island the name – Island of Joy. Sir Lancelot lived there with Lady Elaine, twenty beautiful young ladies from the noblest families of the country, and twenty brave knights of King Peles. And Sir Lancelot ordered himself a blackened shield with a silver figure of the queen in the middle and a kneeling knight fully armed in front of her.
One day, at a tournament that took place three miles from Bliant Castle, Lancelot met Ector and Percival, and they recognized him. But Lancelot did not go with them to the court of King Arthur, but stayed to live with Lady Elaine. But one day, when Galahad was already fourteen years old, Percival and Ector came to Lancelot’s castle and asked him to go with them to Camelot, because Queen Guinevere was completely tormented and King Arthur could not find a place for himself, and neither of them knew what had 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 Arthur’s court, 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 during the day, and at court many spoke of this, and most of all - Sir Mordred and Sir Agravain, Sir Gawain's brother. Having learned about this, Lancelot began to behave more carefully and he often fought in tournaments and duels, defending the honor of the ladies who approached him with this request. And Queen Guinerva, who was terribly jealous of her knight, did not like this very much. No matter how Sir Lancelot tried to convince her to behave more carefully, she did not want to obey him, and once she became so furious that she drove Lancelot of the Lake away from her eyes, 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. The knights then 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 on.
After the departure of Sir Lancelot of the Lake, Queen Guinerva decided to give the knights of the Round Table a small feast to prove that they were all equally dear and dear to her and that she did not distinguish Sir Lancelot from others in any way.
Sir Gawain had a passion for fruits and berries, and he especially loved pears and apples. And one knight, named Pionel, whose brother was killed by Sir Gawain in a fair duel, decided to take revenge on Gawain in a vile way and, wishing him death, filled several apples from those prepared for Queen Guinereva’s feast with poison. But it so happened that the glorious Sir Patrice, a relative of Sir Mador de la Porte, bit into the poisoned apple, and he immediately began to swell, until finally he was torn and fell dead among the knights.
The Knights of the Round Table jumped up from their seats, became terribly angry, and Sir Mador accused the queen of treason, for she was organizing that feast. King Arthur appeared in the dining room in response to the noise and screams and was terribly saddened when he learned about what had happened.
And Arthur commanded to set a day for the duel, so that some knight could defend the honor of Queen Guinerva by fighting with 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 defend her honor. Sir Bors agreed, and he himself sent a messenger to Sir Lancelot. The queen's faithful knight rode out the next day for a duel and fought with Sir Mador, defeated him and acquitted the queen. And soon the Maiden of the Lake arrived at the court, who revealed the secret of the poisoner Sir Pionel and indicated the murderer. Sir Pionel was frightened and fled to his domain, but wherever he appeared, noble ladies and lords turned away from him. And soon he died.

And Sir Lancelot performed many other feats in the name of his queen, but we will not talk about that.
Let's just 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, for 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 Melegante and there they would be helped and their wounds healed. Secretly, the queen managed to send her page to Sir Lancelot asking 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 news from the queen, he immediately rushed to her aid and was ambushed. The archers shot arrows at his horse, because they hoped that Lancelot would not be able to reach Melegante’s castle on foot.
Lancelot stopped the woodcutter with a cart and on this cart went to the castle of the queen's kidnapper. But it must be said that at that time this was a great shame for the knight, because only criminals were transported to execution on a cart. This is how noble Sir Lancelot was, and he was not afraid of humiliation for the sake of his Beautiful lady!
As soon as Lancelot arrived at the castle gates, Melegant became frightened and asked the queen for mercy. And Guinerva forgave him, because he did not have time to cause her any harm, and she did not want the kidnapping to be talked about in Arthur’s kingdom. And then Sir Lancelot forgave him. But then Melegant managed to accuse Guinevere of treason against 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.

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Books

• Knights of King Arthur. Narration of the ancient history of cats, Kunnas Mauri, Kunnas Tarja. You, of course, have heard the legends about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. But what if things weren't quite like that? Or rather, not at all: it turns out that in ancient times the kingdom of Logres was ruled by...
• Hunting the dragon, Zvolinskaya Irina. How unfair life is! You are preparing to become a magician, you pass tests... And suddenly it turns out that you have no gift. But Guinevere is not used to giving up. If you choose between a career...

Guinevere(Guinevere, Guinevere, Guinivera, Guinevere, Guanamara, Guinevere) - the wife of the legendary, secret love, one of the knights of the Round Table.

Arthur married Guinevere soon after his accession to the throne, either for the purpose of a political alliance with her father Lodegrance, King of Camelard, or, according to another text, having met her during one of his campaigns and fallen deeply in love. Moreover, he resolutely did not advise him to marry her.

He takes the queen to the monastery (another option is to return it to the king at the request of the Pope). Lancelot fled to his homeland, Brittany. Arthur, forced by public opinion and Gawain, who had lost all his brothers, went after him across the English Channel, leaving Mordred as viceroy. In the king's absence, Mordred attempted to seize power and also force Guinevere to marry him. He calls on the Saxons for help. In some versions, the queen accepts Mordred's proposal, in others she hides from him and then hides in the monastery.

When Arthur sailed back to England, he was ambushed on the coast. Everyone died in the battle. Mordred was struck down by the king, but Arthur himself was mortally wounded. Dying, he asked Sir Bedivere to throw Excalibur into the lake. The dying Arthur was taken away by the sorceress in a magical boat.

After Arthur's death, Guinevere retired to a monastery. Lancelot came for her and called her with him, but she refused to leave the monastery and became a nun. And three years later she dies, becoming an abbess before her death.

(hence his nickname), the numerous vicissitudes of his love for Queen Guinevere - the wife of King Arthur, his futile participation in the search for the Holy Grail, which he is prevented from obtaining by the sin of adultery weighing on him, the magical spell of the false Guinevere, his conception of Galahad, pure from sin, who takes possession of the Grail , repentance and death of Lancelot.

Biography

Birth and upbringing

Lancelot's parents were King Ban and Queen Elaine in the country of Benwick (Brittany). (According to some versions, his original (or baptismal) name was "Galahad", but he changed his name and his son was later named that way.) King Ban fled his country and died. His wife gave the baby to a friendly fairy - the Maiden of the Lake, who raised the boy.

Quest for the Grail

The tragic ending and death of King Arthur

Relationships

• parents:
  • Ban, King of Benwick
  • Elaina, queen
• teacher:
• suzerain:
• beloved:
• spouse/domestic partner:
  • Elaine, daughter of King Pelles (Helena, daughter of Pelleas)
• son:
• other relatives:
  • Sir Ector (Hector de Maris)- half-brother, bastard son of King Ban
  • Sir Lionel - cousin, son of Bor the Elder, brother of King Ban
  • Sir Bore the Younger - cousin, son of Bore the Elder, brother of King Ban

Sources of image folding

• legends of Tristan and Isolde
• Breton legends
• "Proto-Lancelet"
• "The Knight in the Cart" by Chretien de Troyes - the first work centered on Lancelot
• "The Lancelet" by Ulrich von Zatzickhoven
• The Book of Sir Launcelot and Queen Guinevre, Thomas Malory

Treatment of plot in literature

The plot of Lancelot appears relatively late in the Arthurian cycle. He is completely unknown to Celtic sources unaffected by French influence. In the poetic courtly epic it is developed: “Knight of the Cart” ( Le chevalier de la charrette) Chrétien de Troyes and “Lancelot” by Ulrich von Zatzickhofen [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 Thurlin (c.), “Rigomer”, etc. In the prose French novel of the 13th century, representing the decomposition and cyclization of the courtly epic, the plot of Lancelot becomes the center of the story; they adapt to it, the plot cycles of Merlin, the search for the Holy Grail and the death of King Arthur are contaminated with it. Thus, around 1215, a large prose novel about Lancelot was created, which underlies numerous adaptations 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, XV century), Spanish, Portuguese. He defined the themes of the chivalric romance for centuries. All historically attested treatments of the Lancelot 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 violates the bonds of church marriage and vows of feudal fidelity - is formalized by Chretien de Troyes, the founder and greatest master of courtly literature in France, in a novel written at the hint of the author himself to promote the new " courtly" worldview and a new view of love. The plot of Lancelot is part of this literature - an 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 “serving a lady” (see Courtly literature). Traditional plot elements - if there were any at all - lose their significance in comparison with the new thematic setting. It is possible, as some researchers suggest, that the story of Lancelot and Guinevere is (like the story of Cliges and Fenisa in another novel by Chrétien) only a “courtly” reworking of the plot of Tristan and Isolde). In any case, the individualistic and anti-church emphasis of the plot was perceived quite clearly. This is evidenced by the enormous popularity of the plot in the era of the beginning collapse of feudalism; This is 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 (“The Divine Comedy”, “Hell”, paragraph V, terzas 43-46). The moment of protest against traditional forms of ideology and life in the plot of Lancelot did not escape Tennyson: the poet laureate of the successful 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

• In the film “New Adventures of a Yankee at the Court of King Arthur” (1988), Lancelot is played by Alexander Kaidanovsky.
• In the film To Kill the Dragon (1988), the "maternal descendant of Lancelot" is played by Alexander Abdulov.
• In the film musical Camelot (1967), Lancelot is played by Franco Nero.
• In the comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), the role of Sir Lancelot the Brave was played by John Cleese.
• In the film The First Knight (1995), Lancelot is played by Richard Gere. Merlin and other mythical components are missing here.
• In the film “Knights of the Round Table” (1953), he is played by Robert Taylor.
• In the film "King Arthur" (2004), where Lancelot plays