The Legend of Sir Lancelot du Lac

CHAPTER XI

THE MORT ARTUR

This, the final section of the Lancelot cycle, offers less opportunity for criticism. The versions of D. L. and 1533, though still closely in accord with each other, differ much less from the summary given by Dr. Sommer, and show less affinity with Malory.196

So far as Malory is concerned I differ from Dr. Sommer, who says that 'he cannot have derived his account from the prose Lancelot.'197 On the contrary I think there is little doubt that Malory had the latter portion of the Lancelot before him, but dislocated it by the introduction of the Charrette and Urre of Hungary198 episodes, which he most probably knew in an independent form; though of course, as I have suggested above, it is quite possible that some Lancelot MSS. may have included the latter. But considering the clear proof that the English compiler was following an Agravain MS. for the earlier part of his Lancelot adventures, and that he includes the Astolat and Patryse stories, which are a part of the ordinary Mort Artur199 section, I see no reason to doubt that his Lancelot MS. represented all the latter part of the cycle (as we know he had, and followed, an alternative version of the M. A. proper). I have carefully compared both D. L. and 1533 with the abstract given in the Studies, and give the following as the most important of the variants, but I should like to make it clearly understood, both as regards this and the previous sections, that the instances I quote by no means represent all the points of contact and departure to be noted between the different versions. I have many others in my notes, and a critical edition will certainly very much strengthen the case I have here stated in outline.

As we have before noted, D. L. and 1533 agree against S. in incorporating with the Queste the passage generally given as the opening of M. A. Otherwise all three versions are in practical agreement as regards the events leading up to the tournament at Winchester. D. L. does not mention Hector when Lancelot inquires on which side his kinsmen are fighting, but only Bohort and Lionel. 1533 agrees here with S.

According to D. L. and 1533 Gawain and Gaheriet take no part in the fighting at Arthur's desire: he fears they may fight with Lancelot, and ill-will arise from it. S. does not mention this, so I cannot say if it be in the 1513 edition or not.

S. says, 'The people think the two knights' (Lancelot and his comrade) 'cannot be the sons of the lord of the castle of Escalot.' This does not agree with the other versions: the people think they are the lord's sons at first; then Gawain says, one of them cannot be. D. L.:

'Ende man waende daer wel dat LanceloetWare een vanden broderen van Scaerloet.'—ll. 851-2.

and Gawain proceeds to say, 'This knight with the red sleeve is not he whom I thought, no one ever saw such valour by one of the "Kinder van Scaerloet."' Arthur asks what knight he may be. D. L. makes Gawain say simply he does not know, 'but he is certainly a good knight'; while 1533 goes on to add 'if Lancelot had not been left at Kamalot he would have said that this was he.' This does not at all agree with S.

Both 1533 and D. L. agree against S. in saying Lancelot's wounds will take six (not seven) weeks to heal.

When Gawain and Gaheriet follow Lancelot, S. says they meet a wounded knight; in 1533 the knight is dead. D. L. omits the incident.

When Gawain returns to Arthur, S. represents the king as saying 'it was not the first time he took trouble without results, nor will it be the last.' 1533 and D. L. here add 'through that knight,' which is evidently correct.

S. simply says the second tourney is fixed at Tanebor, 'du lundi dapres en ung moys'; whereas the other versions carefully specify the wherabouts of this place, 'dat een casteel es, Staende in den inganc van Nortgales.' D. L. spells it 'Caneborch.'

Again, according to S., Lancelot, unable to go to the tourney, sends greeting to the queen and Gawain, 'from the knight who wore the red sleeve'; whereas D. L. and 1533 say 'the knight who won the tournament at Winchester' and make no mention of the sleeve, which, considering the relations between Lancelot and Guinevere, seems to me the better version. Neither do these mention that Guinevere tries to persuade Bohort to return to Camelot.

When Gawain comes to Escalot S. represents him as admiring the maiden's beauty and envying the knight 'with the red sleeve.' 1533 says, more correctly, 'the knight who wins her love'; he has not yet learned to whom the sleeve belonged.

In the account of what happens after Gawain's return to court, and Guinevere's learning the truth, all the versions agree on the whole, and it is noticeable that M., though making Bohort a more energetic defender of his cousin's good faith, yet correctly reproduces all the main features of incident and speech. I think any one comparing his version closely with two or three others can hardly fail to come to the conclusion that it is the prose Lancelot and no other account he is reproducing.

According to S. Lancelot's kinsmen only remain for a week at court; according to 1533 and D. L. it is 'that week and the next.'

When they leave the court on the second occasion after the tournament of Tanebor, neither D. L. nor 1533 say (as S. does) that the queen tries to persuade Bohort to remain, though they agree in making her regret his departure.

After Lancelot's return to court when Bohort lectures Guinevere on the mischief done by women, with reference to David, Solomon, etc., D. L. omits the reference to Tristan, while 1533 amplifies it by saying 'it is not five years since Tristan died for love of Iseult.'

D. L. omits all reference to Lancelot's being wounded in the wood, condensing considerably at this point, and gives no account of the arrival of the dead body of the maiden of Escalot.

In the account of how Lancelot learns of the queen's danger from Madoc de la porte, all three versions differ. According to S. he meets a knight from Kamalot who tells him of the queen's plight, and at once resolves to rescue her. The next day he meets Hector and reveals his intentions; and a few days after both meet Bohort, who asks if they know the news. 1533 says that as the first knight rides off, Hector appears from a cross-road; he is on his way to defend Guinevere.

In D. L. it is not said how Lancelot first learns the news, but he meets Hector and Bohort together, and on their asking him if he has heard, replies in the affirmative.

I suspect M. had a version akin to this last before him as he makes Bohort Lancelot's informant.

In the account of the final detection of Lancelot and Guinevere, S., as I have before pointed out, goes wrong, by substituting Guerreshes for Gariët. All the texts I have consulted agree in stating that it is this latter who sides with Gawain, and refuses to be a party to the betrayal.200

D. L. omits the fact that Arthur hears of Lancelot's victory at the tournament of Cahere; and also the remark of Bohort that only Morgain or Agravain can have betrayed him.

In the details of the detection all three versions agree closely.

In the account of Guinevere's trial S. again diverges from the others. We read201 'Arthur decides to punish Guinevere with death. He will have her tried at once. P. L. introduces here, and a little later, a certain "roy Yon" who counsels moderation. The trial takes place; Arthur, with Gaheriet, Mordred, and Agravain, doom the queen to the stake.' I do not know if this accurately represents the text 1513, it certainly differs widely from the reading of D. L. and 1533.

D. L. does not mention Yon; 1533 simply introduces him as telling Arthur that the trial cannot take place that evening, while both agree in saying that Gawain (whom S. does not mention at all) warns the king not to proceed to extremities, threatening to give up all his lands if the queen be burnt. Mordred and Agravain doom the queen to death, Arthur alone specifies the nature of that death.202

In the account of the fatal fight at the stake, D. L. represents Lancelot as slaying both Gawain's brothers, while 1533 agrees with S. in saying that Bohort kills Guerresches and Lancelot Gaheriet. M., it will be remembered, agrees in this with D. L. It may be noted that all three, 1533, D. L., and M., while making no remark about Guerresches, especially lament Gaheriet: the two first say that Lancelot knows Gawain will never forgive him for this, and M. speaks of him as 'the noble knyghte,' making the identity with Gareth quite clear.

The castle at which the queen and Lancelot stay en route for Joyous Garde, called Scalee by S., Scalle in 1533, and Calet in D. L. does not, I think, belong to Keux the seneschal, as S. supposes; D. L. does not mention him, and 1533 speaks of 'ung Keux,' a friend of Lancelot's, which cannot be Kay. Both here, and in the 'Keux du Parc' of the Turquine adventure, I suspect that we have not a proper name at all, but a misreading of 'Queus'=count. In the latter instance D. L. renders Keux by Grave.

On p. 255, S. must surely have misread his source, as he says that Lancelot sends messengers to King Ban of Benoyc, asking his aid. King Ban was of course dead long before; D. L. and 1533 say to the barons of Benoyc, which must be the right reading

Again, the summary of the battle, S., p. 256, differs very materially from D. L. and 1533. S. says Gawain fights like a madman and kills thirty of Lancelot's men with his own hand, wounding others, Lionel among them. The next day there is another battle, in which occurs the incident of Arthur being unhorsed by Bohort, and remounted by Lancelot. Now in the other two versions Bohort and Gawain wound each other so desperately at the first onslaught that they are carried off the field half dead, and it is Hector who overthrows Arthur.

Later on, after the return of Guinevere, when S. represents Hector as challenging Gawain, the other two versions give Bohort.

After the kinsmen return to Benoyc we find D. L. in apparent contradiction with the other versions. S. says that he makes Bohort king of Benoic and Lionel of Gannes, while he himself keeps the crown of Gaule, because Arthur gave it to him. 1533 seems to agree with this latter phrase, as it says, 'et pour ce que le roy Artus me donna le royaulme de Gaule ie le tiendray.203 D. L. on the contrary says:

'Ende vanden conincrike, dat secgic u,Van Gaule sone doe ic niet nu,Ende ne houder gene tale af,Om dat mi die coninc Artur gaf;Want al haddi mi gegeven vor nuAl die werelt, dat secgic u,Ic gavese hem al weder te hant,Bedie ic ne soude en geen lantNu ter tijt van hem willen houden.'—ll. 7407-15.

Now in the earlier portion of D. L., after the war with Claudas, we are told that Lancelot has made Bohort king of Gannes, Hector of Benoyc, and Lionel of Gaul, an arrangement which exactly agrees with that which M. takes from the English M. A. In this earlier passage Lancelot gives as reason for not taking the crown that he prefers to remain a simple knight, and 1533 represents Bohort and Hector as following his example and declining the offered kingdoms.

I think the lesson of this discrepancy is that the Lancelot and the M. A. were fundamentally independent of each other, and each contained an account of the crowning of the race of Ban. When brought into close contact this caused a contradiction of statement which D. L. and 1533 evaded each in their own way. S. gives no clue to what happened on the earlier occasion.

The number of knights Arthur takes with him on his last expedition agrees in D. L. and M., sixty thousand, against forty thousand in the two French versions.204

In both 1533 and D. L., Guinevere does not, as in S., ask for a week's respite, but for a day, and Mordred himself suggests she shall have the week. Labor, whom S. calls simply 'a faithful knight,' is in both these versions a near kinsman—neve, cousin. D. L. gives as a reason for Guinevere's rejection of Mordred's offer that she suspects his true relation to Arthur. This is not in 1533.

In the account of the fight between Lancelot and Gawain, all three versions apparently differ at the outset. Gawain will send the challenge by a squire. S., squire refuses, fearing Lancelot's wrath; 1533, refuses, fearing to bring about Gawain's death; D. L., goes at once.

The issue of the fight too is different in D. L. and 1533. In S., Gawain receives a mortal wound in the head and retreats. In 1533, Lancelot appeals to the king: it is vesper-tide, and a fight for treason must be concluded by nightfall. Arthur, seeing Gawain is getting the worst of the battle, stops it at once. D. L. apparently condenses a similar version, but makes Arthur appeal to Lancelot, who says that he will be dishonoured if he leave his foe in possession of the field, but Arthur entreats him to do so for his sake, and Lancelot retires. Both agree in saying that Gawain is over twenty years Lancelot's senior, and is now eighty-two years old!205

D. L. represents the war with Rome as lasting twenty years, which would make both Arthur and Gawain well over a hundred at the time of their death!

After the news of Mordred's treachery D. L. makes no mention of Gawain being carried in a litter on the return journey, or of his desire for Lancelot's forgiveness; nor does he warn Arthur against fighting with Mordred. This is, I suspect, due to the compiler's desire to condense, as 1533 agrees in the main with S. The warning against Mordred appears, however, to be fuller in the former, e.g. Studies, p. 265. Gawain is represented as saying briefly, 'Avoid, if possible, fighting with Mordred, for it will cause your death,' which is in 1533, 'Car ie vous dy vrayement que se vous mourez par une homme [=q] vive vous mourrez par lui et madame la royne,' p. 154, which certainly seems to point to an earlier redaction of the M. A., where Guinevere was a partner in Mordred's treason.206

In the description of Arthur's death there are some interesting variants. Both 1533 and D. L. account for Lucan's death by the weight of Arthur's armour; it is that, and not the vehemence of the king's embrace, which really kills the sorely wounded knight.

They again differ in the details of the final scene. S. says 'a boat full of ladies arrives; they land, go ashore, put Arthur, his horse, and armour into the boat, and row off.' D. L. says they call Arthur, who rises, takes his horse and armour, and goes into the ship. 1533 says the mistress of the party is Morgain; she calls Arthur, who rises at sight of her, she takes him by the hand (which would seem to imply her landing), and bids him bring horse and arms and enter the boat, which he does. Dr. Sommer evidently regards the entire account as absurd, but I not only accept it, but regard the versions of D. L. and 1533, which would merit his strictures more fully than that in which he finds such difficulty, as representing the earlier and more primitive form of the story. There is no doubt that Arthur was conceived of as living and ruling in Avalon. This account of his practically voluntary departure for the mysterious island is much more in accord with that idea than the version which represents him in the extremity of mortal weakness, and subsequently dead and buried. Arthur's tomb is not compatible with Arthur in Avalon, and I strongly suspect that the earlier redaction of the M. A. made no mention of it; it is certainly omitted in the corresponding section of the Didot Perceval, which only says he departed to have his wounds healed in Avalon, and has not since been seen; but Bretons claim to have heard his horn, and seen his armour, and believe he will return.

There is a curious discrepancy in the accounts of Lancelot's death, which seems to point to two distinct versions of that event. S. says he died August 5th, but does not say how long he was ill. D. L. says he fell ill on May 15th, and died after four days. 1533 says he fell ill May 15th, was ill four days, and died August 5th! Evidently a combination by some unintelligent compiler of the two previous accounts, but it is unusual to find such an obvious bévue in so otherwise admirable a version as that of 1533.

All three agree that Lancelot is buried in Galehault's tomb, and that Bohort becomes a hermit in his stead.

From the above comparison it seems clear that though offering less striking and interesting variants, the Dutch version and that of 1533 yet maintain, on the whole, their previous agreement as against S.; while M., which here possesses an alternative source the English M. A., yet occasionally betrays the same curious agreement with D. L. which we have noted before. The result appears to confirm the conclusion previously arrived at, that D. L. and 1533 represent a common French original, and that M.'s source, whether complete or incomplete, was a MS. belonging to the same family.

CHAPTER XII

CONCLUSION

We have now reached the final stage of our Lancelot studies, and it only remains for us to gather up the threads of the previous investigation, and to endeavour to formulate the results at which we have arrived. We have seen that the Lancelot legend was one of remarkably speedy growth. We find no mention of the hero's name before the latter half of the twelfth century, yet within ten years of that first mention he is the most famous of Arthur's knights, and the lover of the queen.207

We have examined the legend (a) in the form of a loosely constructed biographical romance, composed of episodes originally foreign to each other; (b) in detached episodic poems; (c) in its final form as the most important member of a great prose cycle; and we have found that in all this mass of literature the only really distinctive and individual trait on which we could lay our finger was the story of the hero being stolen as a child and brought up by the mistress of a water kingdom.208

Into the question of the character of the Lady of the Lake we have not entered deeply; we have seen that she touches on the one side the mysterious queen of the Other World, on the other the scarcely less enigmatic Morgain le Fay, King Arthur's sister. The subject was too wide in extent to be adequately treated in this series; it demands separate study, but the result, so far as the Lancelot legend is concerned, was to lead us to believe that the root of that legend was a lai, presumably Breton, dealing with the theft of a king's son by a water fairy; a theme which afterwards underwent considerable expansion, in the course of which the characters of the hero and of his patroness alike became greatly modified from the original conception.

The final and best known form of the story was mainly influenced by the introduction of a motif foreign to the earlier and tentative development, i.e. that of Lancelot's love for the wife of his lord. This motif, however, we saw reason to believe, did not really represent the earlier tradition of Guinevere's infidelity, but was a practically new development introduced under the dual influences of a special social condition and the high popularity of the earlier Tristan story. As to the reasons which determined the choice of Lancelot as the queen's lover, we found ourselves unable to express any decided opinion.209

But from its very earliest stages the Lancelot story came into contact with another and highly popular tale, the legend of Perceval. The earlier and later biographical forms (Lanzelet and the prose Lancelot) and the episodic romances (Le cerf au pied blanc and Morien) show traces of contact, direct or indirect, with this story; while the precise statements of certain MSS.210 make it quite clear that even at an advanced stage of its evolution the Lancelot legend formed part of a cycle of which the most important member was the story of Perceval and the Grail.

This continued contact with the Perceval story, with the resulting developments, appears to be the most important factor in the evolution of the Lancelot legend, and one which has hitherto been overlooked.

So far as the evidence at our disposal permits us to trace it, the course of development seems to have been the following. Gradually the legend of the Grail,211 originally foreign to the Perceval story, completely dominated that story and changed the character of the hero, who became transformed into an ascetic celibate; while, on the other hand, the growing popularity of the Lancelot story had reacted prejudicially on the position alike of Perceval and the still earlier hero Gawain as knights of King Arthur's court. Eventually the two competing centres of romantic interest were Lancelot and the Grail, and it became necessary to combine them in such a manner that the latter, while still retaining its sacrosanct character, should yet contribute to heighten the fame of the popular 'secular' hero.

Such a combination was possible, under certain conditions, and an ingenious writer, perceiving this possibility, turned it to account by inventing the Galahad Queste, which, poor and inadequate as a Grail romance, yet as a contribution to the Lancelot cycle had a very certain and decided value. It put the final touch to the evolution of the hero by enabling him to take part, under circumstances which should vicariously increase his fame, in the great adventure of the Arthurian cycle, the Grail Quest; it also restored superficially the unity of the cycle, which had been injured by the cleavage between the Grail and the other sections, caused by the growing popularity of Lancelot as compared with Perceval.