Sir Lancelot
Sir Lancelot kneeling beside his after
capturing a castle. He is very young here and this is depicted not long after his is knighted into King Arthur's "Knights of the round table"
Sir Lancelot was the son of King Ban and Queen Elaine. He was also the first knight of the round table. Sir Lancelot is commonly recognized as the greatest of the round table fighters and swordsmen. All Knights of the round table vowed to fulfill the code of chivalry and to do their work in god's name. These were a moral set of rules they all followed. They weren't actually written down per say. The rules look similar to the moral codes of a modern day soldier or police officer. " To live by honour and glory.", "To protect the weak and defenseless.", "To respect those placed in Authority", "To respect the honour of women.". They were all bound by honor in what they believed in . At age 18 it is believed Sir Lancelot met with his two cousins and set out for Camelot. Upon his arrival he was accepted and knighted by King Arthur. During this time he concurred Dolorous Gard with the help of his foster mother ( Lady of the Lake) and became a full Knight of the Round table and King Arthur's closest friend. Lancelot's son Galahad finds his father at Camelot and they embark on a quest for the Holy Grail. Lancelot supposedly had multiple visions of where exactly the grail was at but he is ultimately unable to claim the grail based on his inability to put his love for god before his emotions for Guinevere. Not long after that Guinevere and Lancelot are spotted committing adultery in her chamber. Lancelot was able to escape leaving Guinevere behind, who was sentenced to be burned. In his rescue attempt before her burning he mistakenly kills 3 people and sparks a war with King Arthur. This would turn out to cause the downfall of King Arthur. But with rebellions running rampant during these times, Lancelot returns to late to help King Arthur and Arthur ends up dying from a wound signifying the end of what was known as Camelot. Sir Lancelot saw the widow Guinevere and announced his withdraw from being a knight. Not all times were glorious for Sir Lancelot, he was saved by Malory for his love of Guinevere before it turned into something much worse. Perhaps his biggest downfall is his never-ending return to adultery and such acts that bring him farther and farther from the true code of chivalry and less respect. Sir Lancelot inevitably eventually ended up committing adultery with Guinevere and finds himself trapped. It seems throughout all of his mistakes he never learned that they were all due to his desire for Guinevere. He was even willing to betray his closest friend, Arthur, to get what he wanted. He most likely didn’t see things going and ending as they did but it isn't as if he was willing to change anyway. These types of stories go to show what things where like and even then, the highly honored Knights of the round table were not always bound by the code of Chivalry.