Chretien de Troyes' "Lancelot" Quiz

Answer: This story does not say.

Lancelot was a king's son. King Arthur had four nephews: the sons of his sister Morgause, Gawain being the eldest and most famous. In later versions, sometimes Lancelot is the foster-son of the otherworldly Lady of the Lake.

Answer: Kay lost her in a challenge from a strange knight.

For those who don't know the story, this may seem a bit complicated. A strange knight challenged King Arthur's knights, if they were not afraid, to send a champion outside the walls. If the champion won, he would release the many prisoners he was holding, and if he lost, the stranger would take the queen away. Kay made a production of leaving Arthur's service, where he was not appreciated, until the king and queen both promised to grant him any one thing he asked.

When Kay demanded to be allowed to accept the stranger's challenge, Arthur had to let the queen go, or be forsworn.

As everyone had known he would, Kay lost.

Answer: Meleagant

Mordred, King Arthur's son by his sister Morgause, was Arthur's foe from the earliest unfolding of the Round Table legends, in Geoffrey of Monmouth's "History of the Kings of Britain" (1136). However, he did not abduct the queen in this story. Clamadex was one of the villains from Chretien's "Perceval". King Ban was a perfectly respectable Round Table knight.

Answer: a mean dwarf

Oddly, Merlin does not appear in Chretien's work, or not prominently. Arthur's knights were often helped or hindered in their quests by hermits, hags and dwarves. In this case, a dwarf came along the road, pulling a cart, and announced to Lancelot that the only way to find where Guinevere had been taken was to climb in the cart, and be carried to where he could hear news of her.

Answer: Because such carts were usually used to display criminals on their way to punishment.

Lancelot mulled it over for a moment: should he incur certain dishonor by climbing into the cart? Perhaps Guinevere might not want the love of a marked man? Surely there must be some other way to rescue the queen. Finally, he climbed into the cart, the dwarf jeering at him, for the queen's safety was paramount. Gawain, the very flower of chivalry, refused to get into the cart, as this would greatly harm his reputation, but followed behind the dwarf and Lancelot.

Answer: He swooned in the presence of things belonging to his love.

Lancelot, a true courtly lover, was unable to suppress the unpleasant symptoms of the "disease" (as the medievals thought) of love. Love was known to cause its sufferers to flush or turn pale, to become weak and unable to concentrate, and to be unable to eat or sleep. Thus, just at the moment when he could least afford to lose any time, the same love that inspired Lancelot's great deeds of arms was now holding him back from his most important quest to date.

Answer: A bridge so narrow that it was like crossing on the edge of a sharp sword.

Lancelot, made rash by his love, chose the short and hazardous path, and lost a lot of blood crossing the sword-bridge. Gawain, Arthur's best knight, chose the underwater bridge, and arrived at Bademagu's kingdom much later. Is Chretien satirizing the folly of Lancelot, who was influenced by his love to do unwise things, or the "wisdom" of Gawain, who chose the safer path, and therefore passed up the opportunity for greater glory? The world may never agree...

Answer: He had to keep Guinevere in his sight at all times.

Here we see courtly love at work again. Lancelot was one of Arthur's best knights, but his famous prowess arose from his love for the queen. When he pursued his enemy away from the castle, he could not help looking back over his shoulder at Guinevere. Finally, he learned to fight always facing towards the castle, and the queen stood prominently in the window, to inspire her true knight.

Answer: He had hesitated before entering the cart.

I found this scene hard to fathom at first (and the explanation came much later). My guess was that by entering the cart, Lancelot had dishonored himself, and therefore Guinevere, the object of his love. But the source of the queen's anger was just the opposite: Lancelot had hesitated to sacrifice his reputation-- dearer than life itself to an excellent knight--for his love.

When Guinevere finally forgave Lancelot, he begged as a favor that she instruct him on how he had offended her, so that he could avoid annoying her in the future. When the queen explained his transgression to him, he was quick to acknowledge his bad behavior, and grateful for the correction. This episode is THE hallmark example of the power relationship inherent in courtly love.

Answer: Yes, and they were found out, but managed to throw off suspicion.

Oh yes, the queen did grant "the final solace" of love to her rescuer in this story. The lovers were almost caught when Lancelot's wounds were opened by his efforts to enter the queen's barred chamber in Meleagant's castle. Guinevere, thinking quickly, said that the blood stains had resulted from a nosebleed.

In the twelfth century, illicit love was a crime, but this tale remained a comedy, and Camelot was not brought down.