The Tragic Love Triangle of Camelot

 

I.  Introduction: The Love that Damned a Dream

A.       Roles of the Three Participants

1.        Arthur, the king, Guinevere, the queen, and Lancelot, the knight

a.        Metaphors: “‘Lancelot, the flower…pearl of beauty.’” (Tennyson, L&E, 141)

b.        Lancelot largely remains the tragic hero of the legend

B.       Thesis of Research Paper

1.        “The infamous love triangle of Camelot effectively paved the way to the kingdom’s tragic end by violating the laws of chivalry, creating a shameful scandal, and emotionally destroying its participants.”

 

II.    Historical Backgrounds.

A.       Background of Camelot

1.     Young King Arthur fills his court with the laws of chivalry and courtly love

2.            Chooses Guinevere of Cameliard for his wife

3.            Lancelot soon joins the Round Table as his greatest knight

B.  History of the Love Triangle in Arthurian Literature

1.        Chrétien de Troyes, a French writer, introduced courtly love to the legend

a.        Did this in order to please his aristocratic patroness, Marie de Champagne, who wrote a book on the rules of this new social component

b.        This shifted the main reason for Camelot’s fall from something simple, like Mordred’s scheme, to something complex, like forbidden love

 

III.  Origins of the Affair

A.  Reasons for Affair

1.        Guinevere’s perspective

a.        Given up by her father without her consent to the powerful King Arthur, making her hand in marriage a diplomatic agreement

i.         Guinevere wasn’t consulted about marriage, therefore had no control over her future.  “The marriage between her…without consulting her.” (White, 362)

b.        Easily loved Arthur with her mind, but not her heart, since it was difficult to love a god

i.         “‘Arthur, my lord…the sun in heaven?’” (Tennyson, L&E, 141)

c.        Lancelot was the earthy man she desired—Arthur gave her security, and her knight gave her passion (White, 363)

i.         Guinevere found “warmth and color” in Lancelot, compared to her oftentimes godly king (Tennyson, G, 239)

ii.   Guinevere gave her heart to Lancelot and her mind to       Arthur “‘…I am yours…save by the bond.’” (Tennyson, L&E, 141) 

2.        Lancelot’s perspective

a.        Had been stolen away by the mythical figure, the Lady of the Lake, who trained him to become the Grail Knight

i.         This was a huge expectation, and also a huge dedication, since he must remain pure

b.        After meeting Guinevere, he falls deeply in love with her, an event he is unable to prevent (Malory, 453)

3.        Mutual mitigation

a.        Guinevere and Lancelot’s relationship made them forget their problems (Morris, DG)

b.        Could relate to each other

i.         Guinevere was brought to Camelot to become Arthur’s wife, Lancelot was brought to Camelot to achieve the Grail

ii.       Both had somewhat restricted lifestyles—they must both keep up a pure or valiant image to cover what they truly felt

c.        The two young people gravitated towards each other naturally (Morris, DG)

 

IV.  The Violation of Chivalry

                A.  Brief Definition of Chivalry

1.        Code of moral laws that Christian, medieval knights lived by, Camelot had chivalry as one of its main pillars

a.  “According to this system…to his lady-love.” (PH, 732)

2.        Also included courtly love

a.        This social component was introduced by French writers, where love was almost a kind of religion

i.         “…the lover should be humble…as completely as she cared to.” (Hibbert, SFKA, 22)

B.       Lancelot’s Infringement of Chivalry

1.        Disloyalty to God

a.        Broke several Commandments

i.    “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife”—yet he coveted his best friend’s wife

ii.       “Thou shall have no other Gods before me”—yet he loved Guinevere more than he loved God (Matthews, AT, 55)

b.        By giving up his virginity physically to Elaine, and spiritually to Guinevere, he lost his ability to achieve miracles with God’s help (White, 383)

c.        By giving into carnal sin, Lancelot was also denied the right to achieve the Holy Grail (Hibbert, SFKA, 47)

2.        Disloyalty to King

a.        Obviously, betrayed Arthur by having a secret affair with the queen behind his back

i.         The situation was aggravated by the fact that Arthur trusted Lancelot completely, and thus was further devastated when the truth was revealed (Malory, 486)

ii.       A further slap in the face was the fact that the affair went on for roughly twenty-five years (White, 383)

3.        Disloyalty to Lady

a.        Although Lancelot was deeply in love with Guinevere, he was enchanted into sleeping with Elaine of Corbin, whom he thought was Guinevere

i.         As a result of the accidental event, Lancelot impregnated the Princess with Galahad, a knight who would somehow become pure from the sin he had been conceived in

b.        Was further unfaithful, although unintentionally, with Elaine of Astolat

i.         The young girl fell in love with him, and he competed in a tournament for her

ii.       Lancelot managed to avoid her advances, however happy a life she promised him: “The shackles…falsely true.” (Tennyson, L&E, 158) 

iii.  Elaine ended up dying of her unrequited love for him

 

V.  The Scandal that Ignited Camelot

A.       Decades of Dangerous Trysts

1.        Adultery was a fateful act in the Arthurian legend

a.        Morgause, Arthur’s half-sister, was killed by her sons when they caught her in bed with a young lover

b.        Other texts tell of how a man who killed his wife for infidelity was hunted down by the chivalric knights

2.        Lancelot and Guinevere’s situation was no less hazardous

a.   Their high profiles magnified the shame that they would inevitably be subject to, Guinevere warned Lancelot about the consequences: “…Get thee hence…break and blaze.” (Tennyson, G, 226)

a.        The two knew the risks that they were running, Guinevere warns Elaine to keep her mouth shut: “‘It will be his death if you do.” (White, 396)

B.  A Situation Easily Preyed Upon by Evil (Malory, 472)

1.        Power-hungry Morgause, seduced him in his younger years in order to father his bastard child, who would later destroy him

2.        When Morded was old enough, his mother sent him to Camelot to stir up trouble along with his half-brothers

a.    Blame is placed on Agravaine and Mordred : “…two knights with malice…Sir Launcelot and Queen Gwynevere.” (Malory, 472)

3.        Mordred’s intentions were to expose the scandal of his father’s court, and then take the throne for himself (Tennyson, G, 227)

a.        “Lured by the crimes…spoil the land.” (Tennyson, G, 227)

4.   His plan worked beautifully, and Lancelot and Guinevere were set up and caught on the very night that they had decided to end the affair

C.      The Legacy of Shame

1.        The Queen’s trial

a.        Arthur had no choice but to put Guinevere on trial for her adultery (White, 579)

i.         She was found guilty and condemned to burn at the stake, but Lancelot rescued her in the knick of time

ii.   However, this only confirmed the affair to the public, and time started ticking for Camelot

b.        The British population placed most of the blame on Guinevere: “‘While the wine ran…the sinful Queen.’” (Tennyson, G, 231)

c.        Guinevere retired to a nunnery to escape the shame, Lancelot, to a monastery

2.        Historical infidelity

a.    Guinevere’s adultery earned her a place in history in a Welsh “Triad”: “‘One was more faithless…any of the others.’” (Matthews, KAGQ, 31)

b.        Guinevere said it plainly: “‘And mine will ever be a name of scorn.’” (Tennyson, G, 239)

 

VI.  The Self-Destruction of Camelot’s Three Pillars

A.       Guinevere’s Shameful Denial

1.        Was caught between loyalty to her husband, and passion for her lover throughout her entire life (Tennyson, G, 239)

a.        Lancelot was more mortal to her than sometimes godly Arthur

i.         “‘For who loves me…touch of earth.’” (Tennyson, L&E, 141)

2.        As the years dragged on, her fidelity was constantly questioned by troublemaking knights and members of the court

a.   Ironically, Lancelot always ended up fighting for her in order to deny the claim

3.        Her shame haunted her for the remainder of her life (Tennyson, G, 240)

a.        Spent the time after Arthur’s final battle in a convent, seeking forgiveness for her vice

i.         Guinevere contemplates suicide, but soon decides: “‘I cannot kill my sin.’” (Tennyson, G, 239)

B.       Lancelot’s Emotional Erosion

1.        The sinful love between him and Guinevere plagued his mind for years (Hibbert, 48)

a.        Did everything to try to banish his impure thoughts, and also to be able to overcome his desires (Matthews, AT, 54)

i.         Spent many years away from Camelot on random quests

ii.       Wore a hair shirt

b.        However, all these efforts failed him

i.         His conscience was a wreck: “He loved Arthur…he hated himself.” (White, 368)

c.   Truly, Lancelot’s only weakness and only sin revolved around his love for the Queen of Camelot (Matthews, AT, 54)

2.        Was spiritually weakened by the affair

a.        Could no longer achieve the Holy Grail, for he was no longer a virgin, and had committed a grievous sin (Hibbert, 47)

b.        His son, Galahad, usurped his position as Grail Knight—in effect becoming everything that his father could not (Matthews, KAGQ, 86)

3.        Guinevere, the demanding lover

a.        Guinevere exhibited violent jealousy on account of Lancelot’s unintentional affair with Elaine of Corbin, and brief relationship with Elaine of Astolat

i.         Upon hearing of his second accidental night with Elaine of Corbin, Guinevere flew into a rage: “‘I curse him…die for all I care.’” (Malory, 450)

b.        As a result of her shunning, Lancelot went mad and lived in the forest for years as a savage before being found

4.        The greatest knight’s sad end

a.        Was so deeply in love with Guinevere that he was willing to risk his life to protect her after their affair was exposed: “There hold thee….the world.” (Tennyson, G, 227)

b.        But all ended in tragedy, and like his lover, Lancelot, too, retired to a religious house—a monastery, where he sought God’s forgiveness

c.        After all his expectations and struggles, Lancelot is mortal and tragic, after all (Matthews, AT, 62)

C.      Arthur’s Greatest Betrayal

1.        The sheer pain of realization

a.        For years, Arthur had not noticed, or had at least turned a blind eye to the affair, playing the part of the innocent bystander finding bliss in ignorance

b.        Merlin had warned him about Guinevere’s prophesized infidelity before their marriage, but Arthur had ignored it

c.        His eventual acceptance of it devastated him—his best friend and his wife, the two people he loved most on earth, had gone and betrayed him

i.         This was made even worse by the fact that Arthur had never shown anything but love to Guinevere, and friendship to Lancelot

ii.        Arthur was devastated by the news: “‘Thou hast spoilt…my life.’” (Tennyson, G, 235)

2.        The challenge of upholding the law

a.        Putting his wife on trial was difficult for Arthur, since he still loved her after all she had done (Tennyson, G, 236)

b.        He was challenged to uphold his firm law, and not to bend it in this case, as a strong ruler would do

i.         Still, his heart disagreed with what he must do: “‘Ought I to…new law aside?’” (White, 579)

ii.       Also, would he let his best friend who had betrayed him save his queen?

3.  The devastation that gave way to war

a.        The terrible reality of his betrayal gave Arthur nothing left to live for (Tennyson, G, 235)

i.         His wife had betrayed him

ii.       His best friend had betrayed him

iii.     His son was attempting to usurp his throne

iv.      All that he had worked Camelot up to, had been for naught

b.        With so bleak a situation, he was willing to fight an almost suicidal war against the invading, evil forces of his son, Mordred

c.        This decision resulted in the physical destruction of Camelot, although the moral destruction had already been completed (Tennyson, G, 240)

i.         “From morning until night…dead upon the field.” (Hibbert, 54)

d.        Guinevere had broken “the cast design and purpose of the king.” (Tennyson, G, 240)

e.        Arthur’s dream was shattered, and Camelot’s luster faded in the aftermath (Tennyson, G, 236)

 

VII.  Conclusion

A.       The Intertwining of Problems

1.        The restricted circumstances of Guinevere and Lancelot’s life caused them to gravitate towards one another

2.        The resulting affair started off as a comforting thing, but grew into something bittersweet as “seeds of hatred and fear and confusion” were added by her jealousy (White, 386)

a.        Lancelot and Guinevere betrayed the rules of chivalry by loving each other

3.        As word got out about the affair, a scandal developed

a.        Mordred preyed upon the scandal, using it to his own tastes

b.        Arthur was told, Guinevere was tried and rescued

c.        Lancelot accidentally killed two knights—Agravaine and Gareth—and the war with Arthur was set in motion (Malory, 475)

d.        The final battle for Camelot raged, and the Round Table was spiritually destroyed (Malory, 478)

i.         Nearly all the knights of the Round Table were killed, as well as Arthur (Hibbert, 54)

e.        Lancelot and Guinevere lived with their sins for several years before dying alone and unhappy as a result of the love that they had shared

B.       Messages of de Troyes, Malory, Tennyson, and White

1.        The tragedy is meant to show the darker side of love and the fragility of a dream

a.        Lancelot is portrayed as a tragic hero whose love for one forbidden woman exceeds that of his love for his God or his King (Matthews, AT, 55)

i.         This flaw is distinctively human, and results in spiritual and emotional ruin

b.        Love can be both an incredibly powerful creative and destructive force at the same time

c.        And a dream can easily cave in on itself when the three pillars holding it up are destroyed