In order to trace the disaster that the affair between Queen Guinevere and Sir Lancelot caused, we must first examine the origins of their powerful feelings.  Obviously, a love that eventually destroyed a kingdom must be of the deepest—and perhaps the most desperate—kind.  It is almost definite that neither the queen nor her knight were in search of such a profound connection, since at the time of their meeting, both had their own separate places and goals in the world.  Yet perhaps fate played a minor part in causing love to bloom between the two.  The roots of their relationship can be found in a mixture of mutual needs for comfort, fulfillment, and release.

            Firstly, we must concentrate on the perspective of Guinevere.  We have already learned that she was a princess from a distant British kingdom who was brought to Camelot only for the purpose of becoming King Arthur’s wife.  T.H. White describes the situation as a “made marriage”, in which her fate was decided for her by a treaty between her father and future husband (12).  One can imagine that she felt rather powerless and perhaps a bit miffed at being reduced to what was essentially a diplomatic tool.  Thus, when she settles into her throne at Camelot, there are almost certainly feelings of helplessness running through her head.  However golden her new home may be, the fact remains that she was brought there without her own consent.

            Although Guinevere’s situation may seem bleak, she does eventually settle into the castle that will become her residence.  After a thorough acquaintance, she finds that she regards her husband as the wisest, most intelligent, and most capable man she has ever known (13).  Alas, it is difficult to love a god.  In Tennyson’s poem “Lancelot and Elaine”, she asks her lover rather dryly, “‘But who can gaze upon the sun in heaven?’” (14).  Clearly, she does not regard Arthur as being ‘human’ enough to be able to coax her heart into becoming smitten.  Although her king offers her security, affection, and contentment, he does not have the power to make her feel passion (15). 

Yet there is one person who has this ability, and it is Lancelot.  In stark contrast to her traditionally much older husband, the young knight offers her a breath of fresh air with his physical capabilities, fearless nature, and sheer determination to serve his God, king, and lady.  Here is the mortal that she has been waiting to give her heart to, and here is the “warmth and color” that she found so lacking in her oftentimes godly king (16).  In time, Guinevere gives into her youthful feelings of love for Lancelot, and shuns her marriage vows in the process.  “‘I am yours, not Arthur’s…save by the bond,’” (17) she boldly declares to her lover in Tennyson’s “Lancelot and Elaine.”  And it is this redefined ownership that helps to ignite a scandal in the court of Camelot.

Secondly, we must examine Lancelot’s own perspective.  He too came from royal roots, and was a young French prince before enemy forces invaded his homeland.  As a child, he was stolen away by a mythical figure, the Lady of the Lake, who took him to live in her house.  From boyhood, the sorceress trained him to become the prophesized Grail Knight.  This pre-ordained destiny was essentially to become the man who would find and obtain the sacred Holy Grail, the holiest of Christian vessels and the ultimate achievement for any devout medieval knight.  Yet, it is also a huge commitment demanding the ultimate dedication to not only piety, but also celibacy.  Just as Guinevere had no choice in choosing her fate, Lancelot was helpless in his own situation, as well.

According to the traditional legend, Lancelot was knighted at the court of Camelot at the age of eighteen.  Upon meeting Guinevere, the young man found himself “innocently enraptured” (18) by her beauty, and could not help himself from falling deeply in love with her, blaming the incident on fate and claiming, “‘It cannot be ordained whom we shall love.’” (19).  Thus, his struggle with conflicting loyalties begins.  If he stays true to his God and king, he must shun the love he feels for this woman.  And if he gives into his own undeniable feelings, then he will be betraying everything he has been taught to obey.  This conflict oftentimes throws Lancelot into a deep despair, and in his search for solace, he decides on Guinevere.

            The two star-crossed lovers of the Arthurian legend gravitated towards one another naturally, since they both shared a mutual need for an escape from their pre-ordained fates and expectations.  Both Guinevere and Lancelot had been brought to Camelot in order to serve the needs of someone else—she, to marry a powerful king that would grant her father an added ally, and he to achieve the Holy Grail for the sake of Christianity.  Furthermore, both were forced to keep up a pure or valiant image according to what they represented in the court.  Guinevere could never let on that the love in her life was not her husband, just as Lancelot could never admit to the fear he felt in his heart when he thought about the consequences of his betrayal.  According to William Morris’s poem “The Defence of Guenevere”, the lovers were able to forget their problems in each other’s arms, essentially becoming “‘like children once again, free from all wrongs.’” (20).  Yet it was in each other’s arms where Lancelot first began to betray the near sacred code of chivalry, and where his loyalty to nearly everything was challenged and contradicted.