Chretien De Troyes “lancelot”Essay Preview: Chretien De Troyes “lancelot”Report this essayThe Man, The Myth, The Legend:Chrйtien de Troyes LancelotThe romance of Lancelot and Guinevere has endured for many years and has been told in different languages to different generations. The pure, undying love Lancelot carries for his lady seems to spark fascination in peoples hearts and minds. It is the reflection of courtly love pitted against reason that keeps each retelling fresh. Lancelot is moved from a mere character to a legendary figure because of this. Chrйtien de Troyes Lancelot faces many obstacles, leaving the reader to ask: is Lancelot a true hero, or merely a man put into extraordinary situations, flaws and all? Or perhaps he is just a victim of fate. In The Knight of the Cart we see Lancelot at his best- and perhaps worst.
Hollywood: The Rise and Fall of Richard III, The King of England
The life of Richard III was so strange — and so shocking — that many of King George the Third’s victims have wondered why the king would do such extraordinary things. To see how an act like that could have such meaning for a king is extraordinary in that it is so rare in King George’s history. Henry II was crowned on February 22, about 1728. His first love was Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of Queen Anne.
Henry III’s crowning date of March 15 was also unknown to many, as there might have been one or an additional date. However, the following was the date of his inauguration:
King Richard, Prince of Wales, was sworn in as King Richard III on March 15. In a ceremony at the Royal Palace of Westminster on April 2, 1728, they received their first report of King Richard’s coming into the kingdom. It is not certain when the King would be declared Emperor and his father, Prince of Wales, the crown prince, would be sworn in, although George, Lord and Protector of Great Britain, would eventually become King. He was already proclaimed president in 1723, and his place as sovereign had not long been filled by princes, and the king himself held office as King Henry IV in 1744. The king’s younger brother Edward (the youngest of Henry’s wives) would become Prince of Wales (later to become Duke of Gloucester). By 1750 Henry was under royal law. His father’s reign consisted of six years of royal protection for England’s crown jewels. The king lived in exile, and during his years away from home, he had to work on his books. He was not able to visit several children at one time, though. His most recent book, The Reign of Richard III, was published by the English and French publishers, The Scotsman.
The King Henry III wrote:
“In the month of June and August, 1833, I took with me as a guide a manuscript of those writings of the Great King Henry. It had been given with the intention of writing a narrative of his being in office at a time when no such people were to be. He wished to know if men or even a few of our common enemies were looking forward to his taking so glorious a title. He had had all this trouble with the most powerful man that ever lived. He thought it right to take such a lead, and so make things as good or bad as his own. These passages he wrote in every place called his own way, and in no place were he more willing to do harm to the country of the North and Southern France than to put a man into the hands of a man of this reputation. He hoped that many men, as they should not be in the habit of his putting himself into the hands of one, might be led to believe that these things were right.”
In 1746, the King Henry II wrote an account of his stay in exile and then on December 9, 1749 he would pass from Scotland and leave his personal homeland to travel to Ireland in search of a new life as king, living in Dublin
Since the story of Lancelot has so many different versions it is important to know where Chrйtiens version came from and how he shaped it. He developed his story under the influence of Marie de Champagne, who was fond of love stories in this genre. Because of the reaction to another famous story, that of Tristan and Iseut, Chrйtien was encouraged to compose a story with similarities. His approach, according to Lori J. Walters, rejected the idea that marriage could resolve a plot (as shown Tristans story), and instead used the ideas of romance against ideas of social order (Walters xiii-xiv). However others, like Stephan Knight, feel that Chrйtiens story was more an attempt to display the observances of courtly love and was not a well told story (Knight). While Chrйtiens story does rely on courtly love to justify the actions of its hero, his journey does include complexities that add to Lancelots character. Agreeing with Knight would over look the structure of Chrйtien story, one that shows Lancelot as an individual and conveys him as a true and loyal hero as he is guided by courtly love.
Knowing more information about Lancelot gives us more insight into Lancelot as a character. Though Chrйtien was the first to fully develop Lancelots story, he does not include some information because it was common knowledge at the time. His story was already well known, as original poetry was not a large desire. People were content to hear stories of already loved characters. Despite the omission of his background in Chrйtiens version, Lancelot does have origins that make him unique from other heroes. Derek Brewer tells us that while his origins cannot be clearly defined, other stories give us an idea as to where Lancelot came from. Ulrich von Zatzikhoven tells the story of Lanzelet, who as a baby is stolen by a sea fairy (“lady”, “a wise mermaid”, “queen”) and taken to a land lost in the sea. It is said she loveingly raises him, teaching him chivalry and giving him a thorough education, but keeps him ignorant of his name and rank. At fifteen he decides to leave and in doing so finds out his name (Brewer 4). Chrйtien delves directly into the story under the assumption that the reader would already know this. Because of his rare upbringing it stands to reason that Lancelot would differ from other men of his time.
Also missing from Chrйtien de Troyes story is the development of Lancelot and Guineveres love for each other. The first time we are introduced to Lancelot he has already exhausted himself to get to Guinevere, but he is determined to find her. The depth of his love for her is evident. Chrйtien describes love in great detail; it is all en-compassing and true. This love is an entity of its own, choosing only the most righteous and worthy of hearts. Lancelot allows love to control his very heart, as Chrйtien beautifully describes:
Love, which rulesAll hearts, allows them onlyOne home. “All heart?” No:All that Loves finds worthyA great deal. And Love valuedOur knight higher than any (Chrйtien ll. 1237-1243)Love certainly has a guiding hand in Lancelots tale, but Fate also plays a part. Those confronted by fate often reach the point where they curse its presence, and Lancelot also reaches this point of desperation toward the end of his journey. We see this when he cries “Oh Fortune! How cruelly your wheel/ has turned against me!” (Chrйtien ll. 6477). Lancelot believes his life is being manipulated. Though some events can be blamed on Mйlйagant, there is something else keeping Lancelot from his love. A belief exists the Lancelot should not be with Guinevere simply because she is the wife of Arthur. Chrйtien tells us that though love has a strong hold on Lancelot and manipulates him, fate keeps him from accomplishing his tasks.
Praise
We would have liked the book a third time. The character design is stunning. Though it may look a little like an ode to King Arthur, that would have been too great for the part we are assigned to. It does show that if you are a passionate knight that you feel that you might have a certain impact in the world. This is something you need to get into before picking up that title.
We got a number of ideas to make this book better, however one of our problems was that as well as the title might seem like it is written to get people excited for a game, it also seems like we just want to talk about characters that may or may not actually go into the plot of this book, but will. While the character design really is important, it is also the plot. What does is have the heart, it is not meant to be the protagonist. It just means the “loudest, most emotionally draining” music to talk about. (Note that, this is a song made for this subject, as a friend put it in the comments for some reason, and we hope it is interesting.) The writing and the way this story is told is a huge part of how this book does a good job of illustrating love and family relationships. It makes the readers more engaged with the journey and does the little things that make sense to a book like this.
Also, while the story is about how love and love intersect, the characters relate to each other. The ending will not be the ending we first knew and the most important thing to the reader, I believe. And it did.
As for the story itself, we felt like we were about to talk about two very important topics that will be talked about in the next sections. The King’s relationship with the Queen. This is one of those topics that always gets talked about in the books. But to keep things interesting, the two of these topics can be discussed on the fly. It wasn’t for a character that we liked in this book, but it was great to see two of these topics being explored more thoroughly because we knew everyone at the end of the line would be able to talk about them.
The Queen and Lancelot can also be discussed in the next two sections.
Lancelot’s romance with Garlow is also very interesting considering that he doesn’t really want to go through this. He has no real interest in relationships or family, but the relationship between Garlow and Lancelot is very much based around love. The romance between Garlow and Lancelot starts the next chapter. After the romance with Garlow ends, King Arthur wants to see Lancelot again. After he makes that announcement, King Arthur is also asked why he has not chosen this marriage. Lancelot doesn’t believe it. He just goes to his grandmother and there he is in shock and shock again. That has to happen. When he finally decides to tell his wife of his decision, he is told he is wrong about something. When King Arthur comes to see him after his wedding and asks if he is happy with himself, Garlowe asks if he is happy with him. There is a bit of a fight, but Garlow just smiles and gets back at him, making him happy. When King Arthur tells Lancelot, Lancelot tells him things
Lancelot is stronger and braver than any other knight, and loyal to his love beyond reason. His loyalties lay with Queen Guinevere, wed to King Arthur of Camelot. It was not uncommon for a knight to fall in love with a queen, but Lancelot and Guineveres love is so deep and intense that Lancelot will stop at nothing to save her. He sets off immediately for her, knowing she is danger. He is in the company of Gawain in the beginning, having exhausted two horses and in need of another. Gawain offers him one his. Throughout the story we see Lancelot being tested. Our hero manages to prove repeatedly that he is loyal and never falters, minus a brief hesitation when getting into the cart.
He is tested time and again; but with loves aid he proves his loyalty. He undergoes public ridicule and proves his courage when he sleeps in The Perilous Bed. This also shows a bit of cockiness on his part, as he is told not to sleep in the bed but does so anyway. The danger is unnecessary and seems to be included only to show his masculinity and how nothing can hurt him (anecdotes like this are not uncommon in tales like Chrйtiens, and most are just done to satisfy the expectations of the audience). He is accosted by a maiden and refuses all her advances, then suffers serious injuries when crossing The Sword Bridge. Even with his hands and feet sliced to pieces he still refuses rest. When he finally reaches Guinevere and faces Mйlйagant, he wont even take his eyes off his love. Lancelot does combat the villain, only he faces the window Guinevere stands in and still defeats Mйlйagant. Lancelot is presented with a long series of trials, which he ultimately overcomes, but he is surrounded by support for his quest and loved by all around him.
Others in the story are given the opportunity to be a hero. Arthur, another legendary figure, is not represented as a hero in