by Mike Ashley
The –lot suffix is a variant of –let, which means small or young, and the name is sometimes spelled Lancelet, so it may have meant “young hero” or “young sword”. This would fit in with the motif of the Fair Unknown, a common theme in Arthurian romances. The Fair Unknown refers to an individual, almost always a youth, who arrives at Arthur’s court ignorant of his birthright or family origins. He is often ridiculed and sets out to prove himself. He undergoes many challenges and adventures before discovering his origin. The Lady of the Lake keeps Lancelot ignorant of his past for as long as she can, as if learning his identity is a loss of innocence and youth.
Another possible derivation applies to the character of Lanzelet in the German version by Ulrich von Zatzikhoven. He has no knightly virtues, being raised by an evil water sprite intent on revenge and unleashed on the world pretty much as a killing machine and rapist. It is only once he has achieved her goals and come of age that he earns his name. Here it may well apply to the lands he has gained, since Lanz is the Old German for land, or at least that may be how the name was interpreted for Ulrich’s story. It was purportedly based on an earlier legend, and doubtless one that Chrétien also knew but revised. Whatever story Chrétien used, there is little doubt that he originally modelled Lancelot on Tristan in order to create a parallel love triangle with Lancelot, Guenevere and Arthur.
There are other explanations for Lancelot’s name, the most interesting being that by Linda Malcor and C. Scott Littleton in From Scythia to Camelot. They have explored the legends of the Alans, Sarmatians and Ossetians, all related tribes, and found many parallels between them and the Arthurian tales. They also suspect that the Alans may be the source of Lancelot’s name. We have seen that the Alans became Kings and Dukes of Brittany and Counts of Vannes, and they also established themselves in the south of France, in Gascony and Toulouse. One of their centres was at Montauban in the old County of Lot. There is still a French département of that name but the old county was much larger and was one of the areas that suffered during the Albigensian Crusade as it was a centre for the Cathars. It does not take long to see that if there had been tales, now lost, of an heroic Alan of Lot, his name would have mutated from Alanus à Lot >Alans à Lot>Alanç-à-lot>Lancelot. It is more convincing than the derivation from Llemenig, all the more so since the name of the town of Alençon in Normandy has a similar source.
In Bloodline of the Holy Grail, Laurence Gardner provides a different derivation for Lancelot which succeeds in fusing a French origin with the Arthurian Cycle. He cites Lancelot’s surname as del Acqs, “of the water”, noting that this was a title attached to Mary Magdalen who purportedly died in Gaul in 63AD at Acquae Sextiæ (modern Aix-en-Provence). The title passed through the descendants of Mary and Jesus, the Fisher Kings, to the Counts of Toulouse and, through the female line, to the Comtesses d’Avallon. The first of these, Viviane del Acqs, is supposed to have married Taliesin and had three daughters. Ygerna became the mother of Arthur, Morgause (who married Lot) was the mother of Gawain, and Viviane, who married Ban, was the mother of Lancelot. Because of the title their names became anglicised as Ladies of the Lake. This makes Lancelot of French descent but also a cousin of Arthur.
This Messianic descent is of considerable relevance to Lancelot’s involvement in the Grail story in the Lancelot-Grail, because it not only provides an interpretation of a purportedly true secret history of the continued bloodline of Jesus – the true Sangreal – but it also explains the significance of Lancelot’s son Galahad.
Galahad is the child of Lancelot’s relationship with Elaine, the Grail Maiden and the daughter of the Fisher King. This sinless child reunites the lines of descent from David and Joseph of Arimathea, and is thereby able to achieve the Grail Quest and heal the Land. The Vulgate Lancelot states that the name of Joseph of Arimathea’s son was Galahad and, significantly, that was Lancelot’s name at birth.
The name Galahad has long been recognised as a corruption of the Biblical name Gilead – in fact, both appear as Galaad in respective Vulgate texts. Galaad means “heap of testimony” and Roger Sherman Loomis determined that the phrase is an allusion to Jesus Christ who was the personification of the “heap of testimony” given by all the Old Testament prophets. Galahad thereby becomes a symbolic Christ on earth, a sinless child, born of sin, as all mankind is born of original sin. Loomis concludes that the use of the name was a stroke of genius by the author, and indeed it was. But it does not explain why Lancelot was originally given that name. One might deduce that Lancelot was perhaps destined to become Galahad, but was not ready and held a temporary name until his “baptism”. The Lady of the Lake raised him as the perfect knight, but Lancelot failed because he sinned in his love for Guenevere and, as a consequence, like Moses, he was not allowed to enter the Promised Land. A new child, without corruption, was required. Galahad was also raised away from his family, in a nunnery, and although tempted on several occasions, he succeeded in remaining sinless and thus achieved the Quest.
Ingenious though this all seems it may not have been quite so faultlessly planned. Loomis, for instance, suspected that an earlier (now lost) Grail story has Gawain as the successful Grail Knight and that his name may have been corrupted to Galaan or Galaain. This would neatly counterbalance Balain, the knight who strikes the Dolorous Blow which gives rise to the Grail Quest. This might then suggest that the Grail Quest is a highly personalized story of redemption and self-fulfilment in which the sinful Gawain/Balain commits the “original” sin and, having gone through a rebirth, the pure Gawain/Galaad redeems himself. There may just have been a trace of this in the story of Culhwch and Olwen, where two sides of Gawain are suggested in the characters of Gwalchmai ap Gwyar and his brother Gwalchafed ap Gwyar. Sir John Rhys, in Studies in the Arthurian Legend, believes that Gwalchafed is the original Celtic name for Galahad, but few have supported this.
If, as some believe, Lancelot was a late substitute for Gawain in the story, then we may find the story having some vestige of the Gawain/Galahad partnership, but with Lancelot instead. There is indeed another character in the story with a similar name. This is Galehaut, King of the Far Isles. Galehaut is initially at war with Arthur but becomes such firm friends with Lancelot that he submits to Arthur and even joins the Round Table. Lancelot is distraught when Galehaut dies and not only builds a special tomb for him at his castle of Joyeuse Garde, but requests that when he dies he should be laid next to Galehaut. Galehaut, whose name means “High Prince”, was probably the original Galahad alter ego of Gawain in the early (now lost) story, but once the “architect” of the Lancelot-Grail had the bit between his teeth he embellished the story way beyond its original plan. And in so doing, of course, created a masterpiece.
2. The real Lancelot
One query remains. If we dust aside for the moment the religious overtones of Lancelot’s life and his possible Celtic or Alanic origins, we come back to the fact that not only did Marie de Champagne request the first story about Lancelot, she provided the matiere et san (“subject matter and treatment”). She may not have specified Lancelot as such, but she does seem to have wanted a story of heroic adventure and adulterous love, a love that seems to be condoned. This may have been an early strike for feminism, but it may also be something else. It is quite possible that the characters and events were all representative of people either at the Court of Champagne or at some rival court and Marie wanted to expose an adulterous relationship under cover of a story. The individuals at the time would have recognised themselves, but can we identify them today?
I suspect Marie had her mother in mind when thinking of Guenevere. Queen Eleanor, wife of Henry II of England and former wife of Louis VII of France, was one of the most beautiful women in Europe and one of the most influential. Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, she was mother of one of England’s most famous kings, Richard the Lionheart, and one of its most notorious, John. The love affairs of her youth were also the subject of gossip. Louis VII had adored his young wife (they
were both only about sixteen when they married) but was jealous of the attention her beauty attracted. Soon after the birth of Marie, Louis banished the troubadour Marcabru from his court for being over familiar. Eleanor had at least two other affairs soon after, firstly with Geoffrey of Anjou and secondly, and most famously, with her uncle, Raymond of Poitiers, the handsome Prince of Antioch. Either of these may be seen as “her Lancelot”, although both were older than her and neither really “rescued” her from abduction.
However, there was a famous abduction attempt in 1168, by which time Eleanor was 46 and past childbearing age. Henry had been punishing his rebellious Lusignan vassals, one of whom, Guy de Lusignan, attempted to kidnap Eleanor in order to gain concessions from Henry. Eleanor’s bodyguard Earl Patrick ensured her swift escape, but he was stabbed and it was left to his nephew Sir William the Marshal to defeat the abductors single-handedly, though he was eventually captured. Marshal, tall with brown hair, was only twenty-two but had already led an eventful life and was a renowned champion of tournaments. His valour was recognised by the Queen who personally paid his ransom and later showered him with gifts. The later archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton, called him “the best knight who ever lived”, an epithet only too obvious in its day.
More recent events also had their echoes in the Arthurian saga. Henry had probably the most argumentative, ungrateful brood of children granted to any English king. They would all eventually rise up against him, prompted by the selfish Henry, known as the “Young King”, though he would never actually reign, whom Henry II crowned as his successor in June 1170 and again in August 1172. The Young King was unsatisfied with his grant of lands and authority and, urged on by his mother Eleanor, and by Louis VII of France, who saw this as an opportunity to defeat his old enemy, he rebelled against his father during the summer of 1173. He was supported in this by William Marshal, who also believed that the Young King had been treated badly by his father. Henry II soon came to realize that Eleanor had played a key part in this and had her imprisoned, first in Normandy and later, once all the rebellion had been quashed, in Old Sarum. There was even an invasion of England by forces from Flanders under the control of Robert, earl of Leicester, though it was a weak affair and soon defeated. If Robert had sought to be Mordred, he failed dismally.
Henry II and Eleanor were ideal models for Arthur and Guenevere. Not only were they great devotees of the Arthurian legends but their lives often mirrored the tales. There was even a great irony, in that Henry almost disowned his legitimate sons whom he came to regard as “bastards”, whereas the one son who remained loyal to him and was very supportive during the rebellion was his eldest illegitimate son Geoffrey, then bishop of Lincoln and later archbishop of York. The one who ought to have become Mordred was Henry’s greatest friend, whilst the sons he had once adored were all Mordreds in their hearts.
Eleanor’s role as Guenevere continued to be followed to the letter. She was still in prison in England when Marie commissioned Chrétien to write his story of Lancelot and Guenevere. She would not be released until after Henry II’s death in 1189, and the one sent to effect that release under instruction from Richard I was none other than William Marshal.
There is no evidence that William had an affair with Eleanor – he was too much the doyen of chivalry – though rumours arose, long after her death and completely false, that she had borne him a child. He remained intensely loyal to her for the rest of her life. Curiously, there was an incident in 1181 that further echoed the Lancelot story. The popularity of the Marshal caused the inevitable envy amongst others at court and a cabal formed against him. Rumours circulated that William was having an affair with the Young King’s wife, Marguerite of France (daughter of Louis VII). William was distraught over the rumours and demanded of the Young King that he be allowed to fight in single combat anyone who would oppose him and if he lost he would be hanged for his crime. No one took up the challenge and the incident was laid to rest. William would go on to be Regent of England during the infancy of Henry III. He died in 1219 at the age of 73, having taken the habit as a Templar knight in his final days.
3. The Lancelot romances
The following are the Arthurian romances in which Lancelot features as the primary character. His Grail Quest is covered separately in the previous chapter.
LE CHEVALIER DE LA CHARRETE (The Knight of the Cart), Chrétien de Troyes (French, c1177) 7,134 lines.
The first story to mention Camelot and the first with Lancelot as the hero. At the outset a knight comes to Arthur’s court saying that he holds many knights, nobles and ladies captive. He agrees to release them only if a knight escorts the Queen through the woods and can defeat Meleagant. Kay volunteers but is defeated and taken captive, with Guenevere, to Meleagant’s castle at Gorre. Gawain sets out in pursuit and meets a knight who has himself done battle with Meleagant and whose horse is now near to death. Gawain does not recognise this knight as Lancelot. He gives Lancelot Kay’s horse. Lancelot catches up with Meleagant’s men but again his horse is killed. Lancelot meets a dwarf who agrees to take him in his cart to where the queen is held captive. Lancelot hesitates briefly because carts were used to convey criminals and he believes this will tarnish his reputation. Gawain is also offered a ride in the cart but refuses and follows on horseback.
They learn where the Queen is held prisoner. There are two ways in, via an underwater bridge or via a sword bridge. Gawain takes the underwater bridge while Lancelot heads to the sword bridge. He has several encounters on this journey, including a mystical episode in a monastery where he discovers the future graves of various knights and also learns of a magnificent tomb in which is buried one “who will deliver all those trapped in the kingdom from which none escapes.” Lancelot is able to lift the slab to this tomb, though it needed the strength of ten. The monk is astonished and asks for Lancelot’s name, but Lancelot will not reveal it. At this point Lancelot has a mystical vision of becoming the saviour of mankind, an early hint of the Grail story, but Chrétien does not pursue it, and it needed to wait for the Vulgate version to be explored in detail.
Lancelot has several temptations placed before him to stop him completing his quest but, aided by a young damsel, he makes it to and across the sword bridge. Meleagant challenges Lancelot to a duel which is postponed for a day to allow Lancelot’s wounds to heal. The next day they are evenly matched but Lancelot’s wounds hamper him. It is only then that someone in the crowd names him and, encouraged by the Queen, Lancelot defeats Meleagant but at the Queen’s wish spares his life. Lancelot is surprised to find that the Queen rebuffs him and only later learns that it is because he had hesitated in getting into the cart and that his pride had come before his duty to the Queen. Later she relents and shares a night of passion with Lancelot, though it is Kay who is accused of adultery.
Meleagant is infuriated that Lancelot had spared him and challenges him to fight again a year hence. Before that time Meleagant captures Lancelot and incarcerates him in a tower without doors or windows. Lancelot is unable to fight the duel and Meleagant claims he is a coward. The damsel who had previously helped Lancelot tracks him down and secures his release. He returns to Camelot and fights and kills Meleagant.
The final section, from Lancelot’s imprisonment, was completed by Godefroi de Leigny. Chrétien tells us that he was commissioned to write the piece by Marie de Champagne but something happened to stop him. The whole story is clearly an allegory about a knight overcoming temptation and pride in order that he can at last find union with Christ, in this case portrayed by Guenevere as the Virgin Mary. Since Chrétien followed this with the tale of Perceval he may have set Lancelot aside to rework the idea with the Grail.
The standard translations of Chrétien’s works are both called Arthurian Romances, translated by D.D.R. Owen (Dent, 1987) and by William W. Kibler (Penguin, 1991).
LANZELET, Ulrich von Zatzikhoven (Swiss, soon after 1194), 9,400 lines.
Apparently based on an Anglo-Norman book given
to Ulrich by Hugh de Morville, though its provenance is not known. It differs significantly from the Lancelot tradition drawn upon by Chrétien and others.
The story begins along the lines of the “fair unknown” motif. Lanzelet is abducted when only two years old and is ignorant of his parentage. He is raised in the kingdom of a water-fey until he is fifteen, when she releases him on condition that he seeks revenge against a powerful knight who had wronged her long ago. Lanzelet slaughters his way through several lords, the prize being their lands and their daughters. One of them, Iblis, at some stage becomes his wife, even though Lanzelet continues his conquests. Now that he is of age, Lanzelet receives word from his mother and discovers his identity and that he is related to King Arthur. Word of his activities has reached Arthur and first Walwein (Gawain) and then Arthur go in search of him. At Arthur’s court Lanzelet champions Ginover against the evil knight Valerin, but there is no adulterous love. Later, when Valerin abducts Ginover, Lanzelet is involved in her recovery, though it is achieved mostly through the help of the wizard Malduc.
The only complete translation is Lanzelet by Kenneth G.T. Webster (Columbia University Press, 1951) but an abridged version is in Secret Camelot (Blandford, 1997) and The Book of Arthur (Vega, 2002), both by John Matthews.
LANCELOT DO LAC, anon. (French, soon after 1215)
This is the original version of what was expanded as the prose Lancelot and incorporated into what became called the Vulgate Cycle, and is treated below. This version ends with the death of Galahut after the war with Arthur but does not include the adventure with Morgan le Fay or the conception of Lancelot’s son Galahad.