Wow .. what an ending to a long, drawn out affair. So Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere have finally been found out by the court of King Arthur. After all this time, it is only now that King Arthur is aware of his wife's affair with his most trusted knight. I find it unusual that King Arthur is only aware of this fact AFTER being told by Moldred ... the man responsible for the untimely end of Britian's Golden Age.
I find it highly ironice that there is a mention of Tristan and King Mark. The paralles between the two men are striking!
It is unfortuante that it was Sir Gawain who fought against Sir Lancelot. Lancelot's skill in fighting is pretty much unfathomable. But once again, it is easy to see why Sir Lancelot is such an honorable man, even though he did sleep with his leige's wife. Once Gawain is hurt, Lancelot refuses to fight him. It is hard to be disappointed by Lancelot's actions - while you want to hate him for his affair with the Queen, he proves to be an honorable fighter.
5 comments:
Mrs. Whitaker, I must say that I find your opinion to be highly pessimistic; why do you only make it a point to make clear of the negative in all of this? Yes it is true that Lancelot turned his back on his king by trysting with Queen Guineviere, and Tristan just the same, but both men were not black of heart. They were good knights who made small mistakes, mistakes that any normal man with a right mind would have to make sometimes. Adultery can be forgiven however, and King Arthur and Queen Guinieivere both have been most merciful to me even when I committed the sin of lust.
Though we have fought each other in battle, Sir Lancelot and I are close friends who would never intentionally harm one another for the sake of skill.
Sir Gawain, I highly value your opinion. I do not find MY opinion to be pessimistic ... I am only astounded by the sheer magnitude of Sir Lancelot's actions. Yes adultry can be forgiven, but I find it hard to imagine King Arthur's point of view - imagiine your best friend AND greatest knight, one and the same person, committing this crime against you. I would think that it would be even more painful for the great king to stomach. What betrayal could be any worse from the one person you trust - both in and out of courtly life?
I am ashamed of Arthur. He needs to stand up for what he believes in. If he wants to forgive Lancelot and Guinvere then he should. It should not be of any consequence whether or not Sir Gawain approves of it. Sir Gawain is not King. The other knights would have supported Arthur. He could have been a true King and a true man and ordered Gawain how to behave, but instead he showed true weakness which is the folly of many men. He had an opportunity to prove his power and superiority and missed it. I find this more disturbing then any other part of the story.
Thank you Mrs. Whitaker for finally arguing my point of view. Gawain and I are like brothers and we both support and honor our king so it was right of him to fight me on behalf of King Arthur. I purposely did not fight him once he became wounded because not only would fighting him have been un-chilvallric, but I also simply would not have had the heart to fight and possibly kill one of my closest friends and one of the best knights I know. And while it is easy to fault me for my love for Guinevere, you must also remember that I simply had no choice in the matter. One cannot simply choose who they love. If we could choose the ones we love than the world would have no sorrow or suffering. But because we cannot, I could not control my love for my Queen, even though it went against my loyalty to my liege.
Yes, I agree. The similarities between our two lives and love triangles is undeniable. Tristan and myself have often reflected upon this. I'm glad that someone else was in the same position as myself. At least someone else can somewhat understand. Poor Guinevere, I know how she feels to be forced to hide her love. But the true victims here are Arthur and Mark. They are innocent in all of this. Oh but Arthur did take the news better then my Mark. If only he were able to be more forgiving, maybe me and my beloved Tristan would have been able to be together.
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