Lancelot du Lac is a character in some versions of Arthurian legend, where he is typically depicted as King Arthur’s close companion and one of the greatest Knights of the Round Table. In the French-inspired Arthurian chivalric romance tradition, Lancelot is the orphaned son of King Ban of the lost Kingdom of Benwick, raised in the fairy realm by the Lady of the Lake. A hero of many battles, quests and tournaments, and famed as a nearly unrivalled swordsman and jouster, Lancelot becomes the lord of the castle Joyous Gard and personal champion of Arthur’s wife Queen Guinevere. But when his adulterous affair with Guinevere is discovered, it causes a civil war that is exploited by Mordred to end Arthur’s kingdom. His first appearance as a main character is found in Chrétien de Troyes’ poem Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, written in the 12th century. Later, his character was expanded upon in other works of Arthurian romance, especially the vast Lancelot-Grail prose cycle that presented the now-familiar version of his legend following its retelling in Le Morte d’Arthur. There, Lancelot’s and Lady Elaine’s son Galahad, devoid of his father’s flaws of character, becomes the perfect knight and succeeds in completing the greatest of all quests by achieving the Holy Grail after Lancelot himself fails due to his sins.
Creators/Key ContributorsN. C. Wyeth, Chrétien de Troyes
First Appearance Arthurian legend
First Publisher ○
Appearance List Literary: The Vulgate Lancelot (1475), Ballads of Bravery (1877), The Story of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table (1862), The Story of King Arthur and His Knights (1903), Stories of King Arthur and His Knights (1904), The Story of the Champions of the Round Table (1905), Idylls of the King (1913), Legends of King Arthur and His Knights (1914), Legends and Romances of Brittany (1917), The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights (1912). Comic Books: Star Comics #1, Robin Hood & His Merry Men #32, Robin Hood & His Merry Men #36, Atomic Comics #1, Catholic Comics #5, 9, Four Color #775, Kid Eternity #4, 12. Film: Lancelot and Elaine (1909), A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1921), Sword of Lancelot (1963). Television: The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (30 episodes, 1956).
Sample Read The Boy’s King Arthur; Sir Thomas Malory’s History of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table [Internet Archive]
Description Lancelot du Lac is a character in some versions of Arthurian legend, where he is typically depicted as King Arthur’s close companion and one of the greatest Knights of the Round Table. In the French-inspired Arthurian chivalric romance tradition, Lancelot is the orphaned son of King Ban of the lost Kingdom of Benwick, raised in the fairy realm by the Lady of the Lake. A hero of many battles, quests and tournaments, and famed as a nearly unrivalled swordsman and jouster, Lancelot becomes the lord of the castle Joyous Gard and personal champion of Arthur’s wife Queen Guinevere. But when his adulterous affair with Guinevere is discovered, it causes a civil war that is exploited by Mordred to end Arthur’s kingdom. His first appearance as a main character is found in Chrétien de Troyes’ poem Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, written in the 12th century. Later, his character was expanded upon in other works of Arthurian romance, especially the vast Lancelot-Grail prose cycle that presented the now-familiar version of his legend following its retelling in Le Morte d’Arthur. There, Lancelot’s and Lady Elaine’s son Galahad, devoid of his father’s flaws of character, becomes the perfect knight and succeeds in completing the greatest of all quests by achieving the Holy Grail after Lancelot himself fails due to his sins.
, 
, 