Lancelot: The Knight of the Cart [Paperback]

Chretien de Troyes is one of the unsung heroes of world literature in general and Arthurian legend in particular. In Perceval he introduced the Grail, a fundamental symbol that fascinated other medieval writers, who expanded on it until the Grail became the defining object of the entire literature. And in Lancelot, Chretien created a story of love and betrayal that achieved almost equal importance with the Grail legend.

Chretien was the first poet to ascribe importance of any kind to Lancelot, who had been sometimes mentioned in Arthurian tales but never a major figure. In this poem, Lancelot becomes one of the bravest of Arthur's knights and, what is more, Queen Guinevere's lover.

The poem begins as so many do that concern Arthur--the court has gathered for merry-making and the festivities are interrupted by an evil figure. Here, it is Maleagant, who challenges Arthur to entrust his queen to any knight in the court. The knight will combat Maleagant, and whoever wins takes the queen home. Arthur is hard-pressed to choose, but the royal steward, Sir Kay, forces him to a decision by swearing he will leave the court if he is not chosen for the contest. Arthur submits to the demand and Kay is defeated.

Sir Gawain sets out to follow the captive queen and, perhaps, rescue her. He is joined by a young, unnamed knight, who is just as determined to rescue the queen. The knight, however, is forced to ride in a cart, a humiliating gesture that soils his reputation for the rest of the story. This "knight of the cart," of course, is Sir Lancelot, and he is bound to find and rescue Guinevere because of his deathless love of her. Lancelot and Gawain agree to journey separately to Maleagant's kingdom and try to save her.

Needless to say, Lancelot succeeds and it is during his stay there that he continues his adulterous liaisons with the queen, further complicating matters. Single combats and a lengthy term of harsh imprisonment ensue, and Lancelot can only be saved by the good things he has done for others.

Chretien's work has stood up well to the test of time. Not only is the quest perfect mixture of adventure and excitement--with numerous combats, near-deaths, and feats of courage and endurance--the story resonates with deep meaning and themes that are still important today. Humility is among the foremost--Lancelot is not named for nearly half the story, and he willingly endures the humiliation of the cart for the chance to rescue his queen. Love and betrayal are also prominent, as is the question of how deeply in love a person should actually be.

Burton Raffel's translation of Lancelot is a brisk read, both exciting and fun. As a non-French-speaker, I can't attest to the literal accuracy of the traslation, but based on his track record in Old English and Middle High German, it can't be very loose. The afterword by Joseph Duggan is very good, highlighting the importance of the poem and its themes, as well as the interesting notion--very strongly argued--that Chretien was not particularly fond of this story. In fact, it was probably not even his idea, which is why Lancelot is sometimes painted as a dolt and sometimes as an idolater, worshipping Guinevere as some would God.

If you're interested in medieval literature, particularly knightly tales and anything concerned with Arthurian legend, Lancelot is in indispensable read. You won't be disappointed.

Highly recommended.

This book has been translated into English, but I don't think that he translates as best as he could. He translates into modern/slang English, and not the English that would French would directly translate to. If you would like to get a general gist of Chrétien de Troyes' book, then this translation would be the best to read. Unfortunately, the lines of this book are only in English; there is no Old French to compare his English to. That does make it harder to read if you're into die-hard French Translation. For the average reader, this book would be a good buy.

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