Editing Lancelot (section)

{{short description|Arthurian legend character}}
{{other uses|Lancelot (disambiguation)|Sir Lancelot (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Lancelot du Lac|the film|Lancelot du Lac (film){{!}}''Lancelot du Lac'' (film)}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2019}}
{{Infobox character
| name = Lancelot
| series = [[Matter of Britain]]
| image = File:lancelot.png
| first = ''[[Erec and Enide]]''
| creator = Possibly [[Chrétien de Troyes]]
| based_on = [[#Name and origins|Uncertain origins]]
| title = Prince, Sir
| alias = [[White knight|White Knight]], [[Black Knight (Arthurian legend)|Black Knight]], Red Knight, Wicked Knight
| occupation = [[Knight-errant]], [[Knights of the Round Table|Knight of the Round Table]]
| family = [[King Ban|Ban]], [[Elaine (legend)#Elaine of Benoic|Elaine of Benoic]], [[Lady of the Lake]], [[Hector de Maris]]
| relatives = [[Sir Lionel|Lionel]], [[Bors]], [[Bleoberis]]
| significant_other = [[Guinevere]]
| children = [[Galahad]]
| religion = [[Christianity in the Middle Ages|Christian]]
| origin = Benoïc (in today's northeastern France)
| home = The Lake, [[Camelot]], [[Joyous Gard]]
| nationality = Either [[Celtic Briton]] or [[French people|French]]
| weapon = Secace (Seure),<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QAnoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA136|title=Encyclopedia of Mythological Objects|first=Theresa|last=Bane|year= 2020|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9781476639208 |via=Google Books}}</ref> [[Beves of Hamtoun (poem)#Aroundight|
Aroundight]]<ref>{{Cite book |editor1-last=Ellis |editor1-first=George |editor1-link=:en:George Ellis (poet) |chapter=Sir Bevis of Hamptoun |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QsM3AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA165 |title=Specimens of early English metrical romances<!--, chiefly written during the early part of the fourteenth century; to which is prefixed an historical introduction, intended to illustrate the rise and progress of romantic composition in France and England--> |volume=2 |location=London |publisher=Longman, Hurst, Rees, & Orme |year=1805 |url=https://archive.org/details/specimensofearly00elli/page/164/mode/2up?q=Aroundight |pages=165–166<!--93–168-->}}</ref><!--"Arondight" is the unexplained misspelling committed by Brewer's (which probably consulted Ellis), and the misspel is propagated by unreliable tertiary refernces such as Theresa Bane's book <ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RAnoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA22|title=Encyclopedia of Mythological Objects|first=Theresa|last=Bane|date=8 June 2020|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9781476676883 |via=Google Books}}</ref>-->
}}

'''Lancelot du Lac''' (French for '''Lancelot of the Lake'''), alternatively written as '''Launcelot''' and other variants,{{efn|Such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago'', and Welsh ''Lawnslot y Llyn''.}} is a popular character in the [[Matter of Britain|Arthurian legend]]'s [[chivalric romance]] tradition. He is typically depicted as [[King Arthur]]'s close companion and one of the greatest [[Knights of the Round Table]], as well as a secret lover of Arthur's wife, [[Guinevere]].

In his most prominent and complete depiction, Lancelot is a beautiful orphaned son of [[King Ban]] of the lost kingdom of Benoïc. He is raised in a [[fairy]] realm by the [[Lady of the Lake]] while unaware of his real parentage prior to joining Arthur's court as a young knight and discovering his origins. A hero of many battles, quests and tournaments, and famed as a nearly unrivalled [[Swordsmanship|swordsman]] and [[Jousting|jouster]], Lancelot soon becomes the lord of the castle [[Joyous Gard]] and personal champion of Queen Guinevere, to whom he is devoted absolutely. He also develops a close relationship with [[Galehaut]] and suffers from frequent and sometimes prolonged fits of violent rage and other forms of madness. After [[Elaine of Corbenic|Lady Elaine]] seduces him using magic, their son [[Galahad]], devoid of his father's flaws of character, becomes the perfect knight that succeeds in completing the greatest of all quests, achieving the [[Holy Grail]] when Lancelot himself fails due to his sins. Eventually, when Lancelot's [[adultery|adulterous]] affair with Guinevere is publicly discovered, it develops into a bloody civil war that, once exploited by [[Mordred]], brings an end to Arthur's kingdom.

Lancelot's first datable appearance as main character is found in [[Chrétien de Troyes]]' 12th-century French poem ''[[Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart]]'', which already centered around his [[courtly love]] for Guinevere. However, another early Lancelot poem, ''[[Lanzelet]]'', a German translation of an unknown French book, did not feature such a motif and the connections between the both texts and their possible common source are uncertain. Later, his character and story was expanded upon Chrétien's tale in the other works of Arthurian romance, especially through the vast ''[[Lancelot-Grail]]'' prose cycle that presented the now-familiar version of his legend following its abridged retelling in ''[[Le Morte d'Arthur]]''. Both loyal and treasonous, Lancelot has remained a popular character for centuries and is often reimagined by modern authors.