ipl-logo

Lancelot's Love Analysis

745 Words3 Pages

1. The reason that Chrétien of Troyes undertakes this romance is because of his loyalty to Countess Marie of Champagne. In the prologue he states “Since my lady [Countess Marie] of Champagne wishes me to undertake to write a romance, I shall very gladly do so, being so devoted to her service as to do anything in the world for her”, which shows that he wrote this tale of Lancelot for her (Chrétien 1). He then goes on to say that she is worth many queens, and that she surpasses all others who are living. He appears to almost have hero worship for her, if not something more. His relationship to her could be equated to that of Lancelot’s love and devotion to Queen Guinevere, as he states “I will say, however, that her command has more to do with …show more content…

The woman’s request is that “… ‘my house is prepared for you, if you will accept my hospitality, but you shall find shelter there only on condition that you will lie with me’…”, which is essentially saying that Lancelot can only be sheltered and fed if he decides to have sex with the woman (Chrétien 1). The reason Lancelot refuses (at first) is because he only has the heart for Guinevere. To lie with another woman would be to betray his true love, even if he cannot have her because she is his King’s wife. Another reason could be that he does not want to allow her to believe he could love her, and thus be leading her on. Lancelot is a chivalrous knight and would not want to make a woman feel that she was used. One line states “And he, since it is unavoidable, lets her have her way, though his heart grieves to give consent”, which is where it is seen that his love for Guinevere and his want to not harm the woman is apparent (Chrétien 2).
3. Lancelot consents because he knows it is the only way that he will be able save his queen. This woman has information on what happened to Guinevere, and is Lancelot’s only hope for finding shelter. He consents to having sex with the woman so that he can continue his journey to save the woman he actually loves, and so he does not return to his king empty handed. In the grand scheme of things, he probably realizes that even though having sex with this woman is, in a way, betraying Guinevere, it is also the path he must take to be reunited …show more content…

One value expressed by this romance is to honor your word. When the woman is being attacked in her room, Lancelot could have let her be raped and/or killed, which would have absolved him of his promise to sleep with her. He could have left on his quest to save his queen, but instead he thinks to himself “…may God have mercy on me if I do not prefer to die honorably rather than live a life of shame!”, which means that he would rather be killed by these men in his attempts to defend the woman he has made a promise to than run away and live his life knowing he was a coward (Chrétien 3). He makes the decision to save her and keep his promise of sex to her rather than leave her to the mercy of the other

Show More
Related

  • Use Of Satire In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

    898 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the film, the queen, Guinevere, is in danger because of the villian, Malagant. Lancelot goes to battle with him to help protect her and save her. Lancelot hardly knows Guinevere because he just met her. He was completing a dangerous act to get her to notice him. These acts of courtly love are ridiculed in Monty Python.

    Read More

  • The Once And Future King Lancelot Analysis

    1391 Words  | 6 Pages

    He, however, is noted to ignores these women. The book shows that Lancelot continuously rejects women because wouldn’t be happy with these women because he doesn’t desire to be with anyone except his beloved. He even goes crazy when he realized that he embraced in love someone other than his beloved. The evidence shows that even if he sometimes does embrace in love someone other than his

    Read More

  • King Arthur Love Triangles

    603 Words  | 3 Pages

    Because of Arthur’s denial of Guinevere's affair with Lancelot, Mordred seizes his opportunity to accuse Guinevere, which causes Arthur to stage her “execution” and her rescue. Because of this, Gaheris and Gareth are placed in danger, and killed by Lancelot in his rampage, as well as many other soldiers who were only doing their duty. “” (White #) However, this has wider repercussions, and Mordred and Agravaine use Lancelot’s crime of “treason” to persuade some of the knights of the Round Table to follow his ideas. This culminates in a battle between his followers and Arthur’s, and ultimately ends in Arthur’s death, marking the end of his kingdom. “” (White #) All of Mordred’s actions would never have occurred if not for Guinevere’s affair. The chain of events causing Camelot’s collapse would never have happened if Guinevere had not loved both Arthur and

    Read More

  • In Cold Blood Dialectical Journal

    436 Words  | 2 Pages

    Because of this, she’s expected to love him no matter what. The reasons stated within the passage would make no sense to any ordinary person, and would not be recognized as reasons to love someone. “She loved him for the way he sat loosely in a chair, for the way he came in a door, or moved slowly across the room with long strides. She loved the intent, far look in his eyes when they rested on her, the funny shape of the mouth”(pg 2). In order to justify her servitude to him, she unconsciously attempted to look for valid reasons to love him, which didn’t exist, which resulted in these inadequate

    Read More

  • The Quest Of The Holy Grail Character Analysis

    585 Words  | 3 Pages

    gracious Lord Jesus Christ, let not my going to help this priest, who stands in need of aid, be cause to me of hurt or of damnation.” Here, Lancelot either took a leap of faithfully conscious that he was disobeying the order he had received or he truly wanted to help the man. Perhaps it was a tiny bit of both, but the emotions and amazement he had definitely influenced his decision. If the case had been that he had died, he would have been fully responsible for it, once again going back to what Galahad and the hermit told him. In other words, this event attributed to Lancelot’s free will.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Lanval And Guinevere's '

    946 Words  | 4 Pages

    Lancelot has all he ever desired and has no wish to leave her. Lancelot worships Guinevere as a religion, for as he left after their lovemaking “he bowed before the room, behaving just as though he were before an altar.” (Chretien, 248). Queen Guinevere succeeds through her power of her words and the power of her appearance, she

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Kennedy And Jfk

    548 Words  | 3 Pages

    King Arthur’s wife, Guinevere, was a strong woman, who cared for Arthur. In many books that tell of the tales of Arthur, they often show how important she was to him. There are many examples that describe how much the two loved and cared for each other. This is shown in the book King Arthur and His Knights when, “His love for Guinevere made him fight even more bravely than usual, and he soon won the battle. After he had returned to Camelot, he told his Knights that he wished to marry the princess.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Women In Dante's Divine Comedy

    1237 Words  | 5 Pages

    Moreover, she continues “…reading one day, for pleasure, of Lancelot, … without any suspicion” (Dante Inf. 5. 127-79). “Without any suspicion” indicates that she was sure of herself and had nothing about falling in love in her mind before reading the book: she was reading the book just for “pleasure” and it “overpowered” (Inf. 5.133) the lovers. She clearly blames her adultery on Lancelot and she does not take the responsibility of her actions.

    Read More

  • What Is Sir Lancelot's Code Of Chivalry

    416 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are a few codes of chivalry that he breaks because of Gwynevere. In a way he betrays King Arthur by staying as a guest in the palace knowing he will be able to be around Gwynevere and possibly tempt her. Lancelot’s only motivation to become a knight is Gwynevere and to still remain in Camalot. Even though he is a strong Knight that saves people, his weakens is a very small but powerful thing called love/

    Read More

  • Courtly Love In The Knight Of The Cart

    1269 Words  | 6 Pages

    Lancelot was so gracious that even despite Queen Guenievre acting ungrateful for his efforts at first, he does not object to her words. Instead, like a “perfect lover”(The Knight of the Cart, p. 256) he apologizes and takes his leave, careful to not upset her further. This further demonstrates his loyalty to his

    Read More

  • The Role Of Sir Launcelot In King Arthur's Knights Of The Round Table

    475 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sir Launcelot and Queen Guinevere have been sleeping together this makes both him and the queen unloyal to King Arthur. Sir Launcelot and Queen Guinevere’s sin could have had them both killed for adultery. Sir Launcelot made it his very priority to protect the queen.

    Read More

  • Chivalry In The Green Knight And Morte D Arthur

    899 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sir Lancelot was loyal to King Arthur, which shows part of the Chivalry code. Chivalry is show agains when Sir Lancelot and King Arthur battle themselves. This shows Chivalry on both sides of King Arthur and Sir Lancelot. They battle to the death. “Yet Some men say in many parts of England that King Arthur is not dead, but carried by the will of the Lord Jesus to another place”(195).

    Read More

  • On Friar Lawrence's Death In Romeo And Juliet

    452 Words  | 2 Pages

    The playwright, William Shakespeare, writes a beautiful tragic story of two young lovers who face a devastating death in the end. In the play, Romeo and Juliet, the characters actions lead to a tragic death in the end. The two young couple face the threat of what would happen if anyone found out a Montague married a Capulet. So as the play comes to the end, Romeo and Juliet sacrifice themselves but who is to blame for this turn of events? The two lovers themselves or other characters in the play?

    Read More

  • Examples Of Chivalry In Excalibur

    661 Words  | 3 Pages

    Have you ever wondered if chivalry was still alive today? For those of you who don’t know what chivalry is, chivalry is the act of religion, moral, and social code. We all may have different opinions of whether not chivalry is still alive today and how we view it. In Excalibur there are more than 3 examples of chivalry, but in this essay, only three are going to be talked about. One example is when King Arthur decides to go fight lancelot instead of having his knights go for him.

    Read More

  • Sir Lancelot In Jerry Zucker's First Knight

    1420 Words  | 6 Pages

    In a more accurate depiction of Arthurian lore, Lancelot's individualist qualities and nomadic background would have been down played and his purely chivalric nature would have played up. There is one film, however, that does look to portray chivalry is a more historical light than First Knight and King

    Read More

More about Lancelot's Love Analysis

Open Document