LANCELOT
Many are the attempts to show Lancelot as a real character. None definitive. It appears in all the legends about the legendary King Arthur. He is considered the best of Arthur’s knights, but Arthur appoints him defender of the king’s wife, Guinevere. Then it happens that Lancelot falls in love like a madman with Guinevere, and this leads him to betray Arthur. From here, a series of events take place that end with the end of Arthur and his reign.
These legends present Lancelot to us not as a simple knight but as a noble son of a king. Lancelot is not educated by his parents, but by The Lady of the Lake, a character that can be seen in many Arthurian legends. Hence the name of Lancelot del Lago. The Lady of the Lake teaches Lancelot everything a knight needs to know. Later he takes him to the court of King Arthur where he acquires the fame of the noblest and most loyal knight. However, his love for Guinevere causes him to abandon all his duties as a knight. And to show his chivalry he has to overcome a multitude of challenges. Deceived, he sleeps with Elaine, daughter of the Fisher King. From this union Galahad is born, who when he grows up represents the perfect gentleman and full of purity .
At that time, Christian dogmas prevailed over all others, hence the systematic allusion to sin, atonement, morality. Galahad, the perfect knight, representing all Christian thought, replaces his father as the ideal knight, since Lancelot submitted to his passion for Guinevere. This love story was tragic because as the story progresses, Lancelot’s affair with the king’s wife completely tears King Arthur’s court apart, with a harsh and bloody war.
When Mordred rebels, Arthur fights him and is mortally wounded. Guinevere and Lancelot realize that their life together has been a continual transgression, and they both abandon worldly life and become a monk and nun, and remain so until their last breath.
The best-known story of Lancelot was written by Chrétien de Troyes , and there is no doubt that the Christian beliefs that prevailed at the time were of great importance in writing this story. Therefore, it is not surprising that the writer paid special attention to the Bible. Some believe that Lancelot’s story is similar to Lot’s.
Fact or fiction, the figure of Lancelot is closely linked to Arthurian legends, and represents the beginning of the European romantic novel. Even though he is English, these days he is considered a mythical European knight.
WHAT WAS THE SWORD OF LANCELOT CALLED?
The name of the sword that Lancelot of the Lake wields in combat is Arondight . It is similar to Excalibur, King Arthur’s sword. Magical properties are attributed to it and it is said that it was forged by fairies. It is a sword that withstood any kind of blow without suffering any damage. Some say it was sacred, a quality it lost when it was used against the Knights of the Round Table.
WHAT POWERS DID LANCELOT HAVE?
He is credited with superhuman strength : When he was just a 10-year-old boy, Lancelot was capable of knocking out an adult, hoisting a towering rock, or throwing a spear with such strength that it could break a stone into a thousand pieces.
WAS LANCELOT THE GREATEST OF KNIGHTS?
Indeed, he became the most faithful and best friend of King Arthur, and played a very important role in all of Arthur’s victories, always accompanied by his sword Arondight . His love affair with Queen Guinevere loses his status as the best of knights, a status that will pass to his son Galahad, the son of his relationship with Elaine, the daughter of King Fisherman.
WHERE IS LANCELOT’S ARONDIGHT SWORD FOUND NOW?
Nothing is known where it is at the moment, although there are several theories without any proof. Some say that she disowns Arondight when he becomes a monk and throws her into a forest. Others believe that he threw it into the lake as Arthur’s sword, Excalibur, and others say that it was inherited by his son Galahad, when Lancelot ceased to be a knight.
