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When Lancelot is asked to ride in a
cart, like a common convict, he does
so very reluctantly. However, he later
redeems himself for his hesitation by
his chivalric deeds.Three distinct types of epic poetry
had evolved by the medieval period
in Western Europe. Mainly recorded in
Old French, each of these collections
was distinguished by its theme or
subject matter.See also: The Song of Roland 48 ■ “Under the Linden Tree” 49 ■ Don Quixote 76–81 ■
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 102 ■ Le Morte d’Arthur 102HEROES AND LEGENDS
recognizable by their dialects: in
the south the troubadours used the
langue d’oc, while the language
of the trouvères was the northern
langue d’oïl. It is no surprise then
that Chrétien should turn his
attention away from the classical
Mediterranean and southern
French heroes, turning it instead
toward the so-called Matter
of Britain, the legends of Britain
and Brittany.Love conquers all
In addition to introducing the
Arthurian legends to a French
audience, Chrétien reinterpreted
the idea of the chivalric (“knightly”)
romance. In the tale of Lancelot, the
Knight of the Cart, he focused on
a hitherto lesser-known character,
whose quest was largely romantic
in nature, and who demonstrated
his nobility by defending the honor
of Queen Guinevere.
Lancelot’s mission is to rescue
Guinevere from the evil clutches
of Méléagant, and he embarks
on a series of adventures. Theseinevitably involve fights with
Méléagant, in which he eventually
emerges victorious, but they also
involve his wooing of Guinevere.
However, not everything goes his
way: a series of misunderstandings
and deceits means that Guinevere
blows hot and cold along the way,
and Lancelot suffers the indignity
of being made to ride in a common
cart normally used to transport
convicts, and at one point ends up
a prisoner himself. But in the end,
he and his love are triumphant,
and both Guinevere’s honor and
Lancelot’s nobility survive intact.An age of chivalry
Chrétien’s innovative approach
to epic poetry chimed with the
mood of the time, and although the
old chansons de geste remained
popular with readers, poets across
Europe adopted the new style, often
on the themes of the Arthurian
legends. Many chose to tell the
story of lovers such as Lancelot and
Guinevere, or Tristan and Iseult;
others took up the story of the noble
quest for the Holy Grail. During the
13th century, however, the idea of
epic poetry was on the wane, and
the Arthurian romances were more
frequently told in prose, reaching
their high point with Sir Thomas
Ma lor y’s Le Morte d’Arthur.
The genre of Arthurian chivalric
romance fell out of favor with the
arrival of the Renaissance period.
The portrayal of noble knights,
damsels in distress, and mannered
courtly love had already become a
familiar cliché by the time Miguel
de Cervantes wrote his Don
Quixote in 1605, although the
words “chivalry” and “romance”
still retain their association with
that mythical medieval world. ■The Matter of RomeThe myths and legends of the
classical world, including Greek
and especially Roman mythology,
as well as stories from history,
including Alexander the
Great and Julius Caesar.The Matter of France
Legends of Charlemagne and his
paladins, and the wars with the
Moors and Saracens, including
the stories of Roland, Guillaume
d’Orange, and Doon de Mayence.The Matter of Britain
The legends of Britain and Brittany:
Arthurian legends, the quest for
the Holy Grail, and the stories
of Brutus of Britain, King Cole,
King Lear, and Gogmagog.US_050-051_Lancelot.indd 51 08/10/2015 13:03