Sir Lancelot

Sir Lancelot



Today, Lancelot won his 100th tournament victory. He has grown into quite the knight. It seems like just the other day I first saw the sight of that exhausted, forlorn-looking knight, a sight just as vivid in my mind today as it was the first day I saw him. As I sat just outside the gate of the castle many years ago, I saw a knight passing by, barely able to sit upright on his horse. I called to him, and he directed his horse my way. I took him inside and fed him, and he told me his story as he ate. His name was Sir Lancelot.

Sir Lancelot had set out weeks earlier, with only his horse and his sword, in search of a group of hoodlums who had vandalized his father's village. He said he had followed the vandals into a forest, but had lost track of them, eventually becoming lost himself in the thick forest. Unable to find his way home, Lancelot wandered for days through the forest. Then finally, early one morning, he came upon a large open field. As he sat atop his horse, looking down into the foggy clearing, he saw an astonishing sight.

Hundreds of warriors were engaged in a fierce battle below. Some were clothed in black armor riding black horses, while their foes were wearing white and riding white horses. Sir Lancelot said he waited at the edge of the clearing, watching the battle for most of the morning. After some time, it appeared as though the white warriors were gaining the upper hand. At this point in his story, Sir Lancelot put down the large turkey leg he had been chewing on, and looked me straight in the eye as he continued.

He told me that upon seeing the white warriors take control of the battle, he felt compelled to ride to the aid of the black warriors. So, he drew his sword and charged down into the thick of the battle, slaying anything in white. No matter how much he fought or how many he eliminated, more and more of these warriors in white surrounded him. Lancelot continued to fight, but the numbers grew more overwhelming with every second. He was soon struck, and suffered several deep lacerations to his arms and legs from the blows of the swarming warriors. Finally they overcame him, and as they dragged him into the forest as a captive, he could see there were no more warriors in black left standing.

As I sat listening to his story, I remember seeing a white glow fill Sir Lancelot's complexion. He told me that he thought he was done for. He believed he was being taken back to the fortress of these warriors to be tortured and put to death. Sir Lancelot explained that they dragged him for miles, deep into the forest. Upon arriving at a small village of huts, they made him drink a strange potion. When he awoke, the men in white were gone, and Lancelot was alone with his horse and his sword by his side. The strange thing was, his wounds appeared to be healed. It appeared these enemies had preserved Lancelot, and left him to fend for himself. Exhausted, Lancelot mounted his horse, and began the slow wandering that eventually led him to me.

When Lancelot had finished his story, I went and fetched Merlin, hoping that he may be able to provide some wisdom as to why Sir Lancelot had been spared. When I told him what Lancelot had told me, a look of astonishment came over Merlin. He explained that Sir Lancelot had involved himself in a battle that myths have foretold for years. Merlin said these myths tell of earthly warriors who are dressed in black as a result of the sins they have not yet been purged of, and of white warriors who have chosen the way of holiness and begun their quest down that path.

Merlin believed the white warriors must have had good reason to spare this out-of-place knight, Sir Lancelot. When I heard this, I knew such a knight must surely join my company of knights, and take his seat at the round table.

Cover Page

Sir Bors


Story: The Adventure of Sir Lancelot, King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table, Andrew Lang, 1902.

Image: Sir Lancelot, Authurian Literary Character, Early British Kingdoms, David Nash Ford.

Note: Andrew Lang's version of The Adventure of Sir Lancelot is told in the third person narrative style with no identified narrator. King Arthur was not actually a character in the original version. This retelling uses King Arthur as narrator, and is an account of King Arthur's first encounter with Sir Lancelot, from the King's perspective.

In Lang's original version of the story, Sir Lancelot begins his adventures by staying with several hermits whom he met in a forest. While staying with them, he learns that one of the hermits is the father of Sir Galahad, who will be the character in a story to come. After leaving the hermits, Sir Lancelot comes upon a battle of knights, which is where this retelling picks up. In both this retelling and in Lang's original, the battle is between a group of holy white knights and sinful black knights. In  both versions, the outcome of the battle is the same, but in Lang's version, the white knights do not give Lancelot any potion to drink after taking him captive; they simply release him. Lang's version takes Lancelot from the battle to the company of a nun who calls Lancelot over as he is riding past her church after the battle. It is this nun who explains the implications of the battle to Lancelot. This is much different from this retelling. In his version the nun is replaced with King Arthur, and Merlin is the one who explains the meaning of the battle.

The next story will tell of the adventures of Sir Bors.

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