Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart
Encyclopedia
Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart is an Old French
poem by Chrétien de Troyes
. Chrétien probably composed the work (in the 1170s) at the same time as or slightly before writing Yvain, the Knight of the Lion
, which refers to the action in Lancelot a number of times. The love affair between Guinevere
and Lancelot
appears for the first time in this poem as does Arthur
's court city of Camelot
.
and carved on the archivolt in Modena Cathedral. After Chrétien's version became popular, it was incorporated into the Lancelot-Grail Cycle and eventually Thomas Malory
's Le Morte d'Arthur
. The story deals with Lancelot's trials rescuing Guinevere and also his struggles to balance his duties both as a warrior and a lover bound by the conventions of courtly love.
Chrétien says he composed the romance at the behest of Marie
, countess of Champagne
, the daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine
and Louis VII of France
and apparently his patroness at the time. There is reason to believe the adultery of Lancelot and Guinevere was invented wholecloth by Chrétien for the poem, but it is possible he found the episode already in whatever source material Marie provided him. It is also interesting to note that this work is the only work of Chrétien where Guinevere is featured as a main character. In nearly all his other works, she has a smaller and more traditional role. The poet did not finish the work himself, leaving Godefroi de Leigni
to complete the last thousand lines, with Chrétien's permission. There has been much speculation about Chrétien's attitude towards the poem; some scholars suggest he abandoned it because he disapproved of its adulterous subject. Additionally, he may have been uninterested by a tale thrust on him by his patroness, preferring to spend more time on Yvain. There is also speculation as to its relationship to the German
Lanzelet
by Ulrich von Zatzikhoven
, which features the Queen's abduction but not her affair with Lanzelet, and may derive from a version of the story that predates Knight of the Cart.
The context in which Chretien wrote this work is essential in explaining some of its content. The customary legal traditions that are featured so prominently in the work were undergoing a gradual change in the twelfth century. Gratian
had earlier written his 'Decretum
' which helped to establish a unified canonical law. Secular law too was undergoing codification owing in part to the increasing prevalence of Roman law. Both secular and religious law can be seen in Chrétien’s work, particularly in Lancelot’s mounting of the cart and his adherence to the courtly ideals. It is particularly important to recognize the customary nature of the law that caused Lancelot to mount the cart and the decreasing prevalence of such law in Chrétien’s time.
or "amour courtois" was coined by the medievalist Gaston Paris in 1883 to help understand the relationship between Lancelot and Guinevere in "Lancelot ou le chevalier de la charrete." "Paris defined courtly love principally from the male lover's perspective an illicit, furtive, and extraconjugal liaison that placed the lover in the service of and at the mercy of a haughty and capricious lady" (Burns 28). Therefore, to define Lancelot's behavior as representative of that within the tradition of "courtly love" becomes circular. An important distinction is made between "fin’ amours" as depicted by the Troubadours of in the Occitane dialect of southern France from "amour courtois" in what is known as "Old French," coming from the literature of Northern provinces. There exists some debate as to whether the examples set by Lancelot, and others in this tradition, were actually in practice at medieval courts. One side maintains this practice did exist and the other believes that "courtly love" is a construction of the Romantics and, at best, a game to be taken lightly in medieval courts. This position can be evidenced by Chretien's treatment of the ideal in "The Knight of the Cart."
within the narrative portrays the ideal behaviors of courtly love
. His actions are subordinate to his relationship and indeed, his behaviors are forced more by his affair than by more conventional social norms of the time. When Lancelot
and Gawain
first encounter the cart driving dwarf in the woods, Lancelot hesitates because his social standing will be crushed by riding in the cart, or more appropriately, pillory. Lancelot does inevitably mount to the amazement of Gawain and proceeds to the castle of the perilous bed. The significance of Lancelot mounting the pillory is subtle and substantial. The cart, which is reserved for criminals, is in fact an appropriate vehicle for Lancelot's progress. Being as the protagonist engages in an affair with the queen Guinevere
he is subverting social order. Lancelot has essentially broken the social contract
and become a malefactor. His actions remind us that the relationship between king and vassal are meant to supersede those of the private life. By ruining his reputation Lancelot also tarnishes the reputation of the king he represents. Lancelot is thus a criminal, though his crime is private and unknown.
Old French
Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century...
poem by Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes was a French poet and trouvère who flourished in the late 12th century. Perhaps he named himself Christian of Troyes in contrast to the illustrious Rashi, also of Troyes...
. Chrétien probably composed the work (in the 1170s) at the same time as or slightly before writing Yvain, the Knight of the Lion
Yvain, the Knight of the Lion
Yvain, the Knight with the Lion is a romance by Chrétien de Troyes. It was probably written in the 1170s simultaneously with Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, and includes several references to the action in that poem...
, which refers to the action in Lancelot a number of times. The love affair between Guinevere
Guinevere
Guinevere was the legendary queen consort of King Arthur. In tales and folklore, she was said to have had a love affair with Arthur's chief knight Sir Lancelot...
and Lancelot
Lancelot
Sir Lancelot du Lac is one of the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. He is the most trusted of King Arthur's knights and plays a part in many of Arthur's victories...
appears for the first time in this poem as does Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
's court city of Camelot
Camelot
Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and eventually came to be described as the fantastic capital of Arthur's realm and a symbol of the Arthurian world...
.
Story
The action centers on Lancelot's rescue of the queen after she has been abducted by Meleagant, the son of Bademagu. The Abduction of Guinevere is one of the oldest motifs in Arthurian legend, appearing also in Caradoc of Llancarfan's Life of GildasGildas
Gildas was a 6th-century British cleric. He is one of the best-documented figures of the Christian church in the British Isles during this period. His renowned learning and literary style earned him the designation Gildas Sapiens...
and carved on the archivolt in Modena Cathedral. After Chrétien's version became popular, it was incorporated into the Lancelot-Grail Cycle and eventually Thomas Malory
Thomas Malory
Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author or compiler of Le Morte d'Arthur. The antiquary John Leland as well as John Bale believed him to be Welsh, but most modern scholars, beginning with G. L...
's Le Morte d'Arthur
Le Morte d'Arthur
Le Morte d'Arthur is a compilation by Sir Thomas Malory of Romance tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, and the Knights of the Round Table...
. The story deals with Lancelot's trials rescuing Guinevere and also his struggles to balance his duties both as a warrior and a lover bound by the conventions of courtly love.
Chrétien says he composed the romance at the behest of Marie
Marie de Champagne
Marie of France , Countess of Champagne was the elder daughter of Louis VII of France and his first wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine.- Family :Marie's younger sister was Alix of France....
, countess of Champagne
Countess of Champagne
- House of Champagne, 1234-1284 :- House of Capet, 1284-1349 :...
, the daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages. As well as being Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, she was queen consort of France and of England...
and Louis VII of France
Louis VII of France
Louis VII was King of France, the son and successor of Louis VI . He ruled from 1137 until his death. He was a member of the House of Capet. His reign was dominated by feudal struggles , and saw the beginning of the long rivalry between France and England...
and apparently his patroness at the time. There is reason to believe the adultery of Lancelot and Guinevere was invented wholecloth by Chrétien for the poem, but it is possible he found the episode already in whatever source material Marie provided him. It is also interesting to note that this work is the only work of Chrétien where Guinevere is featured as a main character. In nearly all his other works, she has a smaller and more traditional role. The poet did not finish the work himself, leaving Godefroi de Leigni
Godefroi de Leigni
Godefroi de Leigni was a clerk and an associate of Chrétien de Troyes during the 12th century, presumably at the court of Marie de Champagne. He finished Chrétien's romance Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart after Chrétien abandoned it for unknown reasons....
to complete the last thousand lines, with Chrétien's permission. There has been much speculation about Chrétien's attitude towards the poem; some scholars suggest he abandoned it because he disapproved of its adulterous subject. Additionally, he may have been uninterested by a tale thrust on him by his patroness, preferring to spend more time on Yvain. There is also speculation as to its relationship to the German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
Lanzelet
Lanzelet
Lanzelet is a medieval romance written by Ulrich von Zatzikhoven after 1194. It is the first treatment of the Lancelot tradition in German, and contains the earliest known account of the hero's childhood with the Lady of the Lake in any language. The poem consists of about 9,400 lines arranged in...
by Ulrich von Zatzikhoven
Ulrich von Zatzikhoven
Ulrich von Zatzikhoven was the author of the Middle High German Arthurian romance Lanzelet.Ulrich's name and his place of origin are only known definitively from the work itself...
, which features the Queen's abduction but not her affair with Lanzelet, and may derive from a version of the story that predates Knight of the Cart.
The context in which Chretien wrote this work is essential in explaining some of its content. The customary legal traditions that are featured so prominently in the work were undergoing a gradual change in the twelfth century. Gratian
Gratian (jurist)
Gratian, was a 12th century canon lawyer from Bologna. He is sometimes incorrectly referred to as Franciscus Gratianus, Johannes Gratianus, or Giovanni Graziano. The dates of his birth and death are unknown....
had earlier written his 'Decretum
Decretum Gratiani
The Decretum Gratiani or Concordia discordantium canonum is a collection of Canon law compiled and written in the 12th century as a legal textbook by the jurist known as Gratian. It forms the first part of the collection of six legal texts, which together became known as the Corpus Juris Canonici...
' which helped to establish a unified canonical law. Secular law too was undergoing codification owing in part to the increasing prevalence of Roman law. Both secular and religious law can be seen in Chrétien’s work, particularly in Lancelot’s mounting of the cart and his adherence to the courtly ideals. It is particularly important to recognize the customary nature of the law that caused Lancelot to mount the cart and the decreasing prevalence of such law in Chrétien’s time.
Courtly Love
Courtly loveCourtly love
Courtly love was a medieval European conception of nobly and chivalrously expressing love and admiration. Generally, courtly love was secret and between members of the nobility. It was also generally not practiced between husband and wife....
or "amour courtois" was coined by the medievalist Gaston Paris in 1883 to help understand the relationship between Lancelot and Guinevere in "Lancelot ou le chevalier de la charrete." "Paris defined courtly love principally from the male lover's perspective an illicit, furtive, and extraconjugal liaison that placed the lover in the service of and at the mercy of a haughty and capricious lady" (Burns 28). Therefore, to define Lancelot's behavior as representative of that within the tradition of "courtly love" becomes circular. An important distinction is made between "fin’ amours" as depicted by the Troubadours of in the Occitane dialect of southern France from "amour courtois" in what is known as "Old French," coming from the literature of Northern provinces. There exists some debate as to whether the examples set by Lancelot, and others in this tradition, were actually in practice at medieval courts. One side maintains this practice did exist and the other believes that "courtly love" is a construction of the Romantics and, at best, a game to be taken lightly in medieval courts. This position can be evidenced by Chretien's treatment of the ideal in "The Knight of the Cart."
Significance of the Cart
LancelotLancelot
Sir Lancelot du Lac is one of the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. He is the most trusted of King Arthur's knights and plays a part in many of Arthur's victories...
within the narrative portrays the ideal behaviors of courtly love
Courtly love
Courtly love was a medieval European conception of nobly and chivalrously expressing love and admiration. Generally, courtly love was secret and between members of the nobility. It was also generally not practiced between husband and wife....
. His actions are subordinate to his relationship and indeed, his behaviors are forced more by his affair than by more conventional social norms of the time. When Lancelot
Lancelot
Sir Lancelot du Lac is one of the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. He is the most trusted of King Arthur's knights and plays a part in many of Arthur's victories...
and Gawain
Gawain
Gawain is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table who appears very early in the Arthurian legend's development. He is one of a select number of Round Table members to be referred to as the greatest knight, most notably in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight...
first encounter the cart driving dwarf in the woods, Lancelot hesitates because his social standing will be crushed by riding in the cart, or more appropriately, pillory. Lancelot does inevitably mount to the amazement of Gawain and proceeds to the castle of the perilous bed. The significance of Lancelot mounting the pillory is subtle and substantial. The cart, which is reserved for criminals, is in fact an appropriate vehicle for Lancelot's progress. Being as the protagonist engages in an affair with the queen Guinevere
Guinevere
Guinevere was the legendary queen consort of King Arthur. In tales and folklore, she was said to have had a love affair with Arthur's chief knight Sir Lancelot...
he is subverting social order. Lancelot has essentially broken the social contract
Social contract
The social contract is an intellectual device intended to explain the appropriate relationship between individuals and their governments. Social contract arguments assert that individuals unite into political societies by a process of mutual consent, agreeing to abide by common rules and accept...
and become a malefactor. His actions remind us that the relationship between king and vassal are meant to supersede those of the private life. By ruining his reputation Lancelot also tarnishes the reputation of the king he represents. Lancelot is thus a criminal, though his crime is private and unknown.