Sir Lancelot du Lac ~ the Noblest of Arthur's knights #kingarthur #Arthurian

Carrying on with the Arthurian theme this week, I thought we would have a recap on my favourite Arthurian knight. If you have read my books, then you will know that I have a bit of a soft spot for Lancelot. He is the father of my protagonists in The Du Lac Chronicles, and his sons have a lot to live up to.

 

Santiago Cabrera played Lancelot in the BBC drama, Merlin.

But putting my books aside, for just a moment… Scrap that, if you are in the middle of reading The Du Lac Chronicles, then please don't put it down, carry on reading.

Be gone with you back to Benwick and see what mischief Merton is getting up to now!

If you are not reading my books, I am going to assume that you have already read them, or are planning too...!!! But nevertheless, read on!

Right, (rubs hands with glee) Lancelot. What do we know about him?

Let's break this down into bullet points:

• He was Arthur's best friend.

Ioan Gruffudd played Lancelot in the 2004 film, King Arthur

• He was chivalrous.

• He was a bit of a ladies man.

• He was pretty good with the joust.

• Even better with the sword.

• Had an affair with Guinevere (what was he thinking?)!

The Accolade is a painting by British artist Edmund Leighton.

• Fell out with Arthur.

• Caused a Civil War.

• He was responsible for the downfall of Arthur, the Knights, Camelot, and consequently the whole of Britain.

Gustave Doré’s illustration of Camelot from “Enid”, 1867.

• He became a hermit (What?) 

Lancelot had a busy life, didn’t he? No wonder he has had ladies swooning for almost a thousand years. You are trying to do the math now; I can see you doing it. 

Unfortunately, this isn't entirely accurate. Until the 12th Century, Lancelot was a nobody. An unkown. It was the French poet, Chrétien de Troyes, who we have to thank for Lancelot’s creation. In Le Chevalier de la Charette, de Troyes portrays Lancelot as Arthur's greatest knight.

Chrétien de Troyes

As the years have gone by many others have contributed their 10 pence worth to this legendary knight.

Lancelot is everything a knight should be. He is noble, honest, a lover of women, kind, saintly, a lover of women, a defender of the weak, courageous, a lover of women, loyal, honourable, trustworthy, a lover of women, Follower of Christ, faithful to his word, and a lover of women.

Lancelot at the Chapel of the Holy Grail by the Pre-Raphaelite painter Edward Burne-Jones

There is a bit of a theme here, isn’t there?

Lancelot’s Achilles Heel, if you like to call it that is, is women. In particular one woman. But she is married. Worse than that she is married to his best friend who so happens to be the High King. Who so happens to be Arthur. I guess you can’t always help whom you fall in love with.

Lancelot’s story doesn’t have a happy ending. He loses almost everything. In the end, Guinevere chooses Arthur, and when he dies, she doesn't run back to Lancelot. Instead, she spends the rest of her days in a convent.

As for Lancelot, he is so guilt-ridden that he hides from the world and seeks solace in God.

Fast-forward many years to my books and Lancelot’s story does not end with the death of Arthur. He doesn’t become a hermit. He becomes a king. And what a king. But now Lancelot is dead and his sons find themselves in an ever-changing Saxon world, where chivalry is hanging in by its fingernails…

 The Du Lac Chronicles series...

 

A generation after Arthur Pendragon ruled, Briton lies fragmented into warring kingdoms and principalities.

Eighteen-year-old Alden du Lac ruled the tiny kingdom of Cerniw. Now he half-hangs from a wooden pole, his back lashed into a mass of bloody welts exposed to the cold of a cruel winter night. He’s to be executed come daybreak—should he survive that long.

When Alden notices the shadowy figure approaching, he assumes death has come to end his pain. Instead, the daughter of his enemy, Cerdic of Wessex, frees and hides him, her motives unclear.

Annis has loved Alden since his ill-fated marriage to her Saxon cousin—a marriage that ended in blood and guilt—and she would give anything to protect him. Annis’s rescue of Alden traps them between a brutal Saxon king and Alden’s remaining allies. Meanwhile, unknown forces are carefully manipulating the ruins of Arthur’s legacy.

 Grab you copy of The Du Lac Chronicles on Kindle for only 0.99 (Amazon US only) for a Limited Time.

Links for Purchase

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