sir lancelot

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Recommended: Character analysis of sir lancelot from the first knight

Sir Lancelot
Sir Lancelot is recognized to be one of the finest Knights of the Round Table and he is also considered to be Arthur’s best friend. Sir Lancelot is the son of King Ban of Benwick and Queen Elaine. He and his family were forced to leave their kingdom because King Ban’s enemy Claudas de la Deserte was waging war on it. While Queen Elaine is tending to King Ban’s wounds, Lancelot is carried off by the Lady of the Lake. She fosters him until adulthood and at the age of fifteen or eighteen (this depends on which sources are used) he goes out in to the world to find adventure. Because he was raised by the Lady of the Lake, he gains the title of Lancelot of the Lake. Lancelot’s name is also spelled as Lancelot du Lac, Launcelot, Lanzelet, Lancilotto, and Lanceloet. Although Lancelot is known as the king’s champion and loyal friend, he is most known for being Queen Guinevere’s adulterous lover, and it is this relationship that causes Camelot’s downfall.
Sir Lancelot first appears in Chretien de Troyes' work, “The Knight of the Cart.” In this story Queen Guinevere is abducted by Sir Meleagant. Lancelot acts swiftly and rides off toward Sir Meleagant’s castle in the land of Gorre. On his way to the castle, Lancelot’s horse is killed and he is forced to ride in a cart usually used to transport prisoners. When he reaches the tower where Guinevere is held, Sir Meleagant challenges him to a battle for the possession of Queen Guinevere. The fight proceeds the next morning and when Lancelot is about to defeat Meleagant, King Bagdemagu, the father of Meleagant, pleads with Guinevere to have Lancelot spare his son’s life and for them to fight within a year’s time in Arthur’s court. Both the queen and Lancelot agree to these terms. L...

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...auncelot.asp. Nathan Currin, 2009. Web. 18 Jan. 2014.
Higginson, Thomas W. "Sir Lancelot of the Lake." Http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/23887/. N.p., 2011. Web. 18 Jan. 2014.
Malory, Thomas. "The Death of Sir Launcelot and Queen Guinevere." http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/l/le-morte-darthur/. Houghton Miflin Harcourt, 2013. Web. 18 Jan. 2014.
Malory, Thomas. "The Tale of the Holy Grail." http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/l/le-morte- darthur/. Houghton Miflin Harcourt, 2013. Web. 18 Jan. 2014.
"Sir Lancelot." http://arthurianadventure.com/sir_lancelot.htm. N.p., 2013. Web. 18 Jan. 2014.
"Sir Lancelot (Sir Launcelot) of the Lake." http://www.sir-lancelot.co.uk/. N.p., 2009. Web. 18 Jan. 2014.
Wild, Michael. "The Knight of the Cart by Chrétien De Troyes." http://www.geocities.ws/dagonet_uk/poemab.htm#ONE. N.p., 11 May 2009. Web. 18 Jan. 2014.

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