#the prose lancelot

[queer-ragnelle]

i’m new to arthuriana but love your posts nonetheless

i am just curious about the many references to gawain sleeping with so many people when, to my understanding, in sir gawain and the green knight he specifically breaks this promiscuous behaviour and makes sure he doesn’t sleep with the wife of the duke

(i apologize if this is a stupid question!)

hello anon!

welcome to arthuriana and thank you so much for the kind words. this is not a stupid question at all! the truth is gawain is nothing if not inconsistent between texts haha. he's different from other knights such as lancelot who pines solely for guinevere across text after text, in that it seems every author wanted to create their own special gal for gawain. he therefore has numerous women attached to him, and when readers try to reconcile those many texts into a single story thread, it gives the impression our mans gawain gets around! (and he does!) i have several examples here to illustrate this so i'll put it below a cut.

for all the textual variance, sir gawain and the green knight is the exception that proves the rule—meaning that it's perhaps the only text in which gawain is abstinent. we know this because one of the five virtues attributed to the five points of his pentacle crest on his shield is chastity.

furthermore, on the wife's second seduction attempt, gawain pleas his own inexperience with "love" (ie: women).

whether or not that's true is up for debate, but it's worth mentioning, as it's a departure from other texts where his virile prowess is well-known, and in the knight of the two swords, he openly boasts about his own attractiveness and popularity. (humble guy, that gawain!)

there are several examples of gawain's reputation with the ladies preceding him and actually benefitting his odds of getting laid. one of my favorites is from lancelot part II in the vulgate. gawain had just cured his brother agravaine of an illness and agravaine's amie basically wingwoman's her sister.

goated of her. so gawain pencils it in on his calendar. later, he locates the castle, sneaks in, and succeeds in bedding the maiden. she's not named here, although malory later refers to her as "the lady of lys," and accredits her as the mother of gawain's three sons, (although the couple never formally wed).

among the strangest of examples is the middle english text the carle of carlisle, in which the carle brings gawain to the bedchamber and orders him to make out with his wife. but things quickly heat up...

so the carle stops gawain from outright cuckholding him, then leads gawain to his daughter's chambers, gives them his blessing, and locks them inside. at the end of the text, gawain marries her.

now i would be remiss not to mention my beloved the wedding of sir gawain and dame ragnelle. i think it's notable that ragnelle specifically asks for gawain by name, much like the lady of lys did (according to her sister and her warm reception of him).

now the conclusion of this poem brings us to another theme of gawain's which ties into his many partners, and that is his consistent subservience to ladies. he breaks the curse on ragnelle by granting her "sovereignty" in the relationship. this seems to be another aspect of character which sets gawain apart from other knights, as this is not a chaste expression of courtly love, but a precursor to fornication, and draws the attention of strong-willed ladies, such as ragnelle, with whom he is "a coward," or according to the translation notes, "submissive."

then again in roman van walewein, he's already famous by the time he meets his ladylove, ysabele, and whilst tied up in her father's prison, he leaves the decision of his own life in her hands.

which then results in their coming together because this is a gawain story and he always gets the girl.

even in the post vulgate, which we can all agree portrays every single character at their absolute worst (and is therefore invalid<3), gawain's choice of words consistently upholds the lady's desires above his own. at first, gawain intended wingman for pelleas by pretending he, pelleas, was dead to begrieve arcade. he discovers instead that she's elated by pelleas's supposed passing, so she and gawain fall in love. but even after admitting his feelings, he still takes great pains to frame the final crossing of that line as her choice, and only relents when she makes her intentions plain.

he might also just like it when women boss him around if his treatment from orgeluse in parzival by wolfram von eschenbach is any indication.

similarly to the knight of two swords, in parzival, gawain is aware of his fame, fosters it, and then employs his orgeluse brain worms as a motivation for sparing lives instead of like...morality.

i think what's particularly interesting about gawain's relationship history is that many of his partners are named, whereas it's pretty common for damsels and maidens in medieval texts to exist without identities of their own. there are so, so many named, interesting, fully developed women linked to gawain, it's actually pretty awesome! here are a few more:

lunette in yvain: knight of the lion by chrétien de troyes...

amurfina in the crown by heinrich von dem türlin...

bloiesine in the 4th perceval continuation by gerbert de montreuil...

marjorie in gawain and marjorie by oscar fay adams (if we extend our search through the 20th century!)...

and on and on forever! so in conclusion, gawain has been pulling bitches for many hundreds of slutty, slutty years, and from what modern retellings i've read, authors have no intention of interrupting this trend. i hope that helps clear things up somewhat. thanks for the ask!

[talesfromtheenchantedforest]

really really really not over Gawain being called "Gawainet" in the Prose Merlin. Just a lil Gawain. Gawainlet. Gawainling. Pocket-sized Gawain. A tiny ball of oldest brother syndrome and parent issues.

[arthurian-texts]

When the youth [Mordred] saw [Gawain's] wounds, he turned away, grieving as bitterly as any man could ever grieve [...] He went to another chamber and fell down upon a bed and wept and cried and wrung his hands and tore all his clothes. [...] [Agravain] found the youth tearing his hair and his clothing. And when the youth saw his lord [Agravain] before him, he neither moved nor left off his grieving. "What is this, you bastard," said the lord, "what are you grieving about? Don't you see that I have been healed?" "Indeed," he replied, "I don't care, because for that good I see a greater ill." "And what is that?" asked the knight. "Ah, noble man," he replied, "in there they have mortally wounded Sir Gawain, your brother and mine." "Gawain?" he exclaimed. And thereupon his grief was so great that he fainted.

-Vulgate Lancelot, c. 1220, trans. Samuel N. Rosenberg and Carleton W. Carroll

They pushed and shoved at one another and Mordred fell backwards from the force of Gawain’s spear and landed on his shoulders, badly wounded. Sir Gawain leapt onto the man and seized him by the head. His grief was ready for this moment but so, unfortunately, was destiny. He pulled out a short knife from a silver sheath intending to stab Mordred in the throat with it; but the cut never occurred. His hand slipped and slid on the shiny chainmail as Mordred slyly shot a hand under the man on top and heaved him off, then drew a knife of his own and stabbed Gawain through a gap in his helmet, through his head and up into his brain. Sir Gawain was gone, that good man of arms. [...] "He was a giant amongst men, that’s for sure," Sir Mordred [said]. "This was the good Sir Gawain, the most considerate, the most gracious man ever to live under God’s Earth, the strongest with weapons, the happiest in battle and the noblest and most courteous in the king’s hall. He was openly praised as having the bravery of a lion and if you had known him, sir king, in the land where he lived, his wisdom, his knighthood, his accomplishments, his leadership, his courtesy, his courage, his fighting skills, then you would lament his death for the rest of your life." This traitor allowed a tear to trickle down his cheeks. Then he turned around and said no more but went away weeping, cursing the day that destiny had dealt him such a blow.

-Alliterative Morte Arthure, c. 1400, trans. Richard Scott-Robinson

I love weaving together strands from different Arthurian versions, because you can find incredible parallels like this. In the Vulgate Cycle Lancelot, we see young Mordred (in his pre-villain days) breaking down in terror at the thought of losing his older brother, so grief-stricken that he "fell down upon a bed and wept and cried and wrung his hands and tore all his clothes."

And yet in an ironic twist, in the Alliterative Morte Arthure it's Mordred himself who ends up killing Gawain at the end of their story. Yet we still see the same love and hero-worship for his brother that the younger Vulgate Mordred had, and like his younger self, Morte Arthure Mordred breaks down in tears at Gawain's death (no longer a prospect but now a reality), despite having been its cause. He "went away weeping, cursing the day that destiny had dealt him such a blow" - filled with grief and remorse at what he's done, but too late to undo it.

[gawrkin]

Arthurian Trope Spotlight: Love will make you stronger

(and Queen Guinevere and the other ladies function like support buffs

Historia Regum Britanniae - A description of Arthur's Court

Knight of the Cart - Lancelot's Strength and Courage

[...]

Vulgate Cycle - Lady of the Lake's advice to young Lancelot

La Tavola Ritonda - Sir Viano's advice

****(Ouch. Tristan's father is a huge asshole here...)

Le Morte D'Arthur - Arthur commands Guenever to accompany him to war

This should put a perspective on a lot of things about Arthurian Literature, Chivalric Romance and Courtly Love: Love is objectively a force/element present in the World of Romance.

[kashilascorner]

What were the prose Tristan authors eating for lunch when they wrote Mark and Tristan's dynamics seriously it's so toxic but also like they keep hanging around each other? Toxic exes except family instead of lovers

[iyliss]

I hope everyone knows I still haven't done a single proper source gathering on possible chilvaric romance similarities with specific ffiv characters, but I did spend way too much time today reading papers by medievalist on the meaning and symbols and context of courtly love and projecting baron trio on it.

[andalon-historian]

Finished Lancelot Part 4 today!

(Vulgate Cycle edited by Norris J Lacy)

It ends so suddenly! Part three ended with The Knight of the Cart, the most famous Lancelot story and the deaths of one of the few actually important villains.

Part four ended with four or five fully isolated miniquests that didn't even star the same characters. Absolutely no climax. If they had started part 5 right after Gawain's vision in Corbenic that would've seemed much more appropriate. I assume that would've made part 5 weird though lol.

[tiodolma]

I LOVE THIS BIT AS ALWAYS. Lamorak, Lancelot and Maleagant are arguing who's the hottest lady between Morgause and Guinevere again lmaooo

The Amoral and Tristan parted company, and the former met with the brave Meleagant. The Amoral, who was in love with the Queen of Orcania, began to extol her beauty, proclaiming her the fairest of her sex, without exception. Meleagant, the ill-favoured lover of Queen Genievre, but no less jealous of her honour, offered to dispute for her the palm of beauty. The two Knights were engaged in a bloody combat, when Lancelot of the Lake, the favourite of Queen Genievre, claimed from Meleagant the honour of fighting for her. He instantly attacked the Amoral, who kept retreating, and at last made himself known as a Knight companion of the Round-table. We have before observed, that these worthies were not permitted to assail each other, but upon some personal quarrel. The two companions embraced and complimented each other on this happy meeting. The Amoral informed Lancelot, that Tristan, was in the forest, a piece of intelligence which was the more welcome to Lancelot, that he had particular orders from his royal mistress to seek out for that brave Knight.

hahahahahhaha

[lefresne]

Arthur suggesting that his (potential) illegitimate daughter be named after his WIFE

[liminalpsych]

Skipping scene 8 because it's vaguely sexual, though not explicit, and I'm not super certain of Tumblr's rules anymore. You can read it on AO3.

9. I've cried for love

Sir Trystan spoke, “I love my uncle’s wife. Iseult, the one who tempts me, and all the reason I am in self-exile.”

His words were melodic, such that all who heard might think a song was to be sung before them. He sought to sway them with passion and with poetry. He spoke of his own sorrows, extolled the virtues of Iseult the Fair, and implored all who listened to think of their own beloveds, their own lawful or forbidden loves.

“How would it wound you to hold true, should your great love belong to another? I do not know that I could hold to honor, should I live in my uncle’s service. I fear I might commit the same sin as Sir Lancelot, should I dwell so near to my own beloved queen.”

He addressed Arthur, then. Trystan waxed poetic in describing Gwenhwyfar, asked how anyone could not love her, and thus how could Lancelot refrain from being drawn to her? And she to him, with his accomplishment and courtesy, his charm and chivalry. He reminded them all of Lancelot’s finer qualities, in equal poetry to his bardic treatment of the queen.

“I understand my brother’s contradictions,” he said at last, bending into a low bow, “and I beseech you for mercy, my king.”

Sir Tristan spoke, "I love my uncle's wife.

For her I gladly suffer, she is my heart's delight

Isolt, the one who tempts me and she for whom I'm pure,

My love for her confounds me and is all of which I'm sure;

I understand my brother's contradictions."

And Lancelot, his head held high,

Said, "I cry my love for Guinevere,

I've cried for love."

[mashmouths]

would a audiobook of tennyson's idylls help you? i manage to read the whole thing using an audiobook. also, pausing and reflecting on each poem helped me understand more. the thing about idylls, and this is me talking about my experience, is that he's heavy on the prose and lot of things will go over your head if one does not pause to reflect on what's going on because there's a LOT going on. for me, managing to read idylls was an accomplishment for me.

of course, if you're not feeling reading tennyson, then that's okay too.

here's the audiobook i used -> https://www. youtube. com/playlist?list=PLnlWthlB1Pf4pNUQO5Q-oEMaV25L_I0ye

i hope this helps you!

anon you're my hero, a thousand blessings and smooches be upon thee <3

[rialtoir]

@swanfloatieknight

[queer-ragnelle]

Beginner’s Guide to Medieval Arthuriana

Just starting out at a loss for where to begin?

Here’s a guide for introductory Medieval texts and informational resources ordered from most newbie friendly to complex. Guidebooks and encyclopedias are listed last.

All PDFs link to my Google drive and can be found on my blog. This post will be updated as needed.

Pre-Existing Resources

Hi-Lo Arthuriana

♡ Loathly Lady Master Post ♡

Medieval Literature by Language

Retellings by Date

Films by Date

TV Shows by Date

Documentaries by Date

Arthurian Preservation Project

The Camelot Project

If this guide was helpful for you, please consider supporting me on Ko-Fi!

Medieval Literature

Page (No Knowledge Required)

The Vulgate Cycle | Navigation Guide | Vulgate Reader

The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle

The Marriage of Sir Gawain

Sir Gawain and The Green Knight

The Welsh Triads

Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory

Squire (Base Knowledge Recommended)

The Mabinogion

Four Arthurian Romances by Chrétien de Troyes

King Artus | scan by @jewishlancelot

Morien

Knight (Extensive Knowledge Recommended)

The History of The King's of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth

Alliterative Morte

Here Be Dragons (Weird or Arthurian Adjacent)

The Crop-Eared Dog

Perceforest | A Perceforest Reader | PDF courtesy of @sickfreaksirkay

Wigalois | Vidvilt

Guingamor, Lanval, Tyolet, & Bisclarevet by Marie of France

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

Grail Quest

Peredur (The Mabinogion)

The Story of the Grail + 4 Continuations by Chrétien de Troyes

Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach

The Crown by Heinrich von dem Türlin (Diu Crône)

The High Book of The Grail (Perlesvaus)

The History of The Holy Grail (Vulgate)

The Quest for The Holy Grail Part I (Post-Vulgate)

The Quest for The Holy Grail Part II (Post-Vulgate)

Merlin and The Grail by Robert de Boron

The Legend of The Grail | PDF courtesy of @sickfreaksirkay

Lancelot Texts

Knight of The Cart by Chretien de Troyes

Lanzelet by Ulrich von Zatzikhoven

Spanish Lancelot Ballads

Gawain Texts

Sir Gawain and The Green Knight

The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle

The Marriage of Sir Gawain

Sir Gawain and The Lady of Lys

The Knight of The Two Swords

The Turk and Sir Gawain

Perilous Graveyard | scan by @jewishlancelot

Tristan/Isolde Texts

Béroul & Les Folies

Prose Tristan (The Camelot Project)

Tristan and The Round Table (La Tavola Ritonda) | Italian Name Guide

The Romance of Tristan

Tristan and Iseult by Gottfried von Strassburg

Byelorussian Tristan

Educational/Informational Resources

Encyclopedias & Handbooks

Warriors of Arthur by John Matthews, Bob Stewart, & Richard Hook

The Arthurian Companion by Phyllis Ann Karr

The New Arthurian Encyclopedia by Norris J. Lacy

The Arthurian Handbook by Norris J. Lacy & Geoffrey Ashe

The Arthurian Name Dictionary by Christopher W. Bruce

Essays & Guides

A Companion to Chrétien de Troyes edited by Joan Tasker & Norris J. Lacy

A Companion to Malory edited by Elizabeth Archibald

A Companion to The Lancelot-Grail Cycle edited by Carol Dover

Arthur in Welsh Medieval Literature by O. J. Padel

Diu Crône and The Medieval Arthurian Cycle by Neil Thomas

Wirnt von Gravenberg's Wigalois: Intertextuality & Interpretation by Neil Thomas

The Legend of Sir Lancelot du Lac by Jessie Weston

The Legend of Sir Gawain by Jessie Weston

[gawrkin]

Galehaut challenges Arthur. (From Vulgate Cycle)

The last bit about taking away Gwen from Arthur amuses me, not only because of Galehaut's later infatuation with Lancelot, but also the fact that implies either Guenevere is so desirable that Galehaut also wants her too or that seizing Guinevere is part-and-parcel to seizing Arthur's Kingdom.

Note that realistically, the Church would never condone this violation of Arthur and Guinevere's marriage.

[gaykarstaagforever]

...Why is today the first time I'm hearing about Galehaut, the half-giant warrior from French Arthuriana who was so gay for Lancelot that he stopped being a bad guy just to date him, then died specifically at 39 of a broken heart when Lancelot chose Guinevere over him?

And after Lancelot died they buried him and Galehaut side-by-side like a married couple.

I never read the medieval Prose Lancelot because I figured by this point I had heard of all the wacky adventures that were in it; but ODDLY ENOUGH, no one seems to talk about Lancelot's giant boyfriend.

"THEY WERE JUST DUDES BEING BROS! IT WASN'T GAY!"

Oh fuck you. Galehaut stops his army from winning a certain victory over Arthur's in exchange for getting to spend "one night alone" with Lancelot.

Plus, what straight man would have this coat-of-arms?

[cuties-in-codices]

christ releasing hell's captives

miniature in "lancelot en prose", france, 15th c.

source: Paris, BnF, Français 113, fol. 117r