Courtly Love In The Knight Of The Cart

In medieval times, chivalry was something that many men lived up to. If a man lived up to the expectations of chivalry he was said to be loyal, brave and courageous. For some it was difficult to follow certain codes especially when it came to romance, an example: Sir Lancelot in the movie “First Knight.” Medieval romance was taken seriously during its time. Not only did men/knights have to follow rules and codes about war, but also about romance.

It appears that around every tree, around every bend in the round, and in any castle of village that the knight encounters, there is a damsel in need of his help, which almost always requires some sort of knightly violence. While Lancelot strives to serve all women, it is the figure of Guinevere and his devotion to her that produces his constant need to prove himself with deeds of physical valor or gentlemanly behaviour. Depicted as a true lover, the representation of Lancelot’s masculinity is characterized by devotion and

Much of Lancelot's character and story are based off the topics of love and chivalry, and are prevalent in many of the accounts of Lancelot. Despite that the legend shifts its focus from Lancelot’s chivalrous

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

Medieval Europe had a code for love know as, The Rules of Courtly Love. These rules were exemplified in characters seen in a book written about that era, The Once and Future King. One of the main characters, Lancelot, follows these rules. Lancelot follows the Rules of Courtly Love because he follows the rules that, the easy attainment of love makes it of little value: the difficulty of attainment makes it prized, he whom the thought of love vexes eats and sleeps very little, a slight presumption causes a lover to suspect his beloved, and that a true lover does not desire to embrace in love anyone except his beloved. Lancelot follows the Rules of Courtly Love because he follows the rule that, the easy attainment of love makes it of little value:

Lancelot has met chivalric standards of behavior through technicalities – he technically is defending the queen’s honor against an technically untrue accusation. But a lie of omission is still a lie; Lancelot’s equivocal oath only serves to compromise his integrity, and his immorality makes a mockery of his further appeal to God. Not only is Lancelot committing the sin of adultery by sleeping with another man’s wife, he is committing it against his king, to whom he should owe fidelity above anyone else. Although a common trope in chivalric romance is the concept that the transforming power of love makes a knight into a better person, Chretien’s narrative twists that to illustrate that Lancelot’s love has arguably made him a worse

Sir Lancelot was one of the most strongest most heroic medieval knights in the round table. King Arthur trusted Lancelot because he was known to never lose a fight, joust, or battle. Sir Lancelot was one of the most popular medieval knights in King Arthur’s court, and he was also very popular with the ladies. Lancelot was determined to fight his hardest for his king (King Arthur) and his loyalty and determination helped him to be chosen for a spot at the round table. Sir Lancelot , one of the most well known medieval knights fought for his; romance with Guinevere, his sword the Arondignt, and pushed for his quest of the Holy Grail.

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).

The Driving Force of Love Beginning with Lancelot from Knight of the Cart, and following with Erec and Enide’s Erec, both protagonists demonstrate how their love for their respective lady alters their mindset when faced with dire situations. Both Erec and Lancelot are presented with multiple challenges as they set out to accomplish their respective adventures and are equally guided, and sometimes restricted by, love. In comparison they react considerably different once affected by love, Erec becomes lazy and unmotivated while Lancelot is faced with not only an abundance of knights but also his sense of honor on his quest to prove his love.

Chivalric romances are often centered upon the efforts of gallant knights seeking to achieve a concept known as “true knighthood” which involves embarking on quests or adventures to obtain honor, love, and Christian virtue. The brave knights of these stories are met with many obstacles to overcome, commonly in regards to rescuing or protecting a lady. In other words, the typical role of women in this period is that of the damsel in distress or a helpless, dependent lady in need of a hero. However, the stories of Chrétien de Troyes’ Yvain, the Knight of the Lion and Friedrich Heinrich Karl La Motte-Fouqué’s The Magic Ring strays from the typical role of women as the damsel in distress.

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.

Compared to Gawain, Lancelot is easily influenced by his emotions. Another example is when Lancelot asks Guinevere for a kiss after she told him she was becoming a nun. He disrespected her wish to leave her past behind and had the audacity to ask for something so selfish.

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

The Medieval society was very traditional, in the aspect that men were the most dominant figure as oppose to women. Women had to learn their ‘place’ in the society. They were treated with very little respect and played a very slim role towards the country’s behalf. Her main duty was to support her husband and family and take care of all of her responsibilities. Women had very limited freedom and for the majority of the time, her father or husband would make all of the decisions on their wife/ daughter’s behalf.

and she thought it was real, revealed that Guinevere had a powerful effect on Lancelot. They both got caught up in the moment and shared a kiss. As the author says, “Their bodies locked together as though a trap had sprung. Their mouths met and each devoured the other.