Can one Love so, as to transcend Death?

In the Spanish lyrics Herido esta Don Tristan, Tristan and Isolde’s, or here Iseo, love surpasses all and neither of the lovers are willing to let Tristan’s demise keep them apart. Iseo goes to her lover when she hears of his fate and weeps bitterly over him, covering his death bed with tears of mourning and kissing him sweetly. This portrayal of such complete love for someone shows a side of Arthurian legend that is often left out in the old days, the side of compassion and true feeling for another person. Might it be of interest that this fate was brought on from the root of Arthurian writings, the battling aspect. But one must also take into account the way the outcome of these so-called acts of heroism affect the ones who love their knights so deeply. The ladies that are not willing to let their lovers go, even in death. Iseo does not let her lover’s death keep her from being with him as long as she possibly can be. If only there were more thought put towards reason than pure malice, would Tristan have ended up with such a fate as death by a poisoned lance thrown by the hand of a jealous king? I wonder how the king feels to make Queen Iseo weep so? Perhaps had he listened to the voice of Reason that speaks wisely and not brashly like the voice of Jealousy, this tragedy could have been avoided. But for how long? As it is a knight’s duty to bring himself in harms ways for the betterment and protection of his people. It is his chosen path and though Iseo may weep so due to the cruel hand of the King, it may have been that someone else’s cruel hand would have given him the same fate. But would it have been such a tragedy, had it been done by another knight? I believe it especially stings because the King acted out of ill will, as a way to stop the lovers. But no mortal can stop a love that transcends through death, such that Tristan and Iseo share.

Not Our Best Moment...

That Mantle made quite a mess of things, it did!  The women of Camelot, exposed as adulterers, one and all!  And the Queen one of them!

And the men were so overwhelmed with shame like I had never seen them before, they began to laugh as each woman in turn was brought to the Mantle.  But I brought them to order!  I am Valven, I am the chief of Arthur's court of knights, and it was my unfortunate duty to tell these lesser men over and over how great our injuries were that day.  Damned messenger!  Damned Arthur's kindness!

I am sorry, this is not easy for me to write about.

We were the greatest and noblest kingdom in the land!  Camelot!  The great King Arthur's round table!  How could this have happened to us?!  Our women shamed, our honor destroyed.  Only one faithful lover in the entire court.  ONE!!  We will never know a day where this Mantle's curse does not haunt us.

All the love is gone from our court.  The women, too shamed to speak to anyone.  The men too hurt and furious.  Myself, driven nearly mad at the revelation of my own love's infidelity. 

Friends, forgive me.  I can not write another word.

Lancelot's heart; noble, but foolish

It is truly a pleasure to see Chretien portray my lord Lancelot so accurately. One can clearly discern just how brave and honorable my lord is from his text. One instance that demonstrates this comes when Sir Lancelot shows mercy to a knight that had the misfortune of facing my lord in battle, upon the plea of a damsel. My lord could have delivered him a final lethal blow, and was certainly prepared to do so, but the kindness in his heart succumbed to the request of a poor damsel. Yet his noble heart will prove to be his downfall. That which brings him life belongs to a woman who does not deserve it, and abuses her influence over him. My lord continuously risks his life in the name of an illicit relationship. Not only is my king being betrayed, but the queen also takes advantage of my lord Lancelot. This is illustrated when the queen flatly rejects my lord after he has defeated Mallegant in battle, all in the name of a sick joke. My lord did not think it funny because he nearly died as a result of the queen's vile humor. The queen might love Lancelot, but it is not nearly a balanced love. Therefore, she will continue to have great influence over my lord. Although I may think otherwise, my lord has fallen for the queen and as wrong as that relationship may be, it is my duty to serve my lord and to do my best to assure his safety and happiness.

The True Ending of "Lancelot" or "The Knight of the Cart"

My Valiant Lords and Sweet Ladies of the Round Table,

I do not wish to disturb your tender hearts away from your peacetime reverie however a truth must be brought to light. A terrible lie has been fed to you. The ending of the good cleric Chrétien’s story was erased and rewritten by the wicked Godefroy of Lagny. Now, Godefroy himself acknowledged that he wrote the ending but said he had Chrétien’s approval. Not so! The gentle Chrétien passed from this life to the next believing that the true story of Lancelot’s love for me, his queen, would go down in history as the greatest love story ever told.

So, you ask, what really happened? Lancelot was indeed rescued from the tower by Meleagant's kind sister and (like most of the other women in the story) asked for Lancelot's love in return. However, Lancelot DID NOT respond by pledging his heart, body, aid, and possessions to her. Instead he promised to free her from Meleagant's tyranny (by causing his death) but that his love was only for his queen (the same answer given to all other women in the story). Lancelot returned to King Arthur's court and defeated the loathsome Meleagant. When I first saw that he was alive and well, my heart leapt and could not be contained in my body. Love indeed ruled me over Reason and I outwardly rejoiced. This was not at all taken as odd because of course he was there as my champion and Arthur himself was overjoyed by his return. After Lancelot slew the traitor Meleagant, Arthur gave Meleagant's sister to Lancelot as a wife believing that would please them both. For shame! Shame on such a day! Lancelot and I were heartbroken and intent again on killing ourselves out of love. In the end we decided to try to live honorably for each other and arrange more secret trysts whenever we could. It was bittersweet, but it was true love.

Why, you ask, would the vile Godefroy have changed this ending? He felt that the pure but tragic love between Lancelot and me was shameful and should not be recited to future generations. He changed it in an attempt to make Lancelot seem more honorable and less sinful. But is not a lie even more disgraceful? I hope to have shed some light onto why Chrétien's story ended so strangely and abruptly. Please do not judge Lancelot and me too harshly. We are both ruled by Love instead of Reason.

Meleagant Has It Right!

This knight, Meleagant, is a true challenger. I myself have walked the dangerous path of challenging Arthur, with little result. I offer him a challenge- tell me what it is that women most desire, or die -and what does the coward do? He retreat's to his castle and broods until he summons the energy to have his knights do the work for him. His troops save him, and take my Inglewood forest from me. Repulsive! This lazy king will not even lift a finger to save his own life, let alone the life of his queen.

Now, with his queen taken, and his people enslaved, what is the great Arthur's response? He must accept this, because he cannot change it, and it grieves him. Awwww. I grieved when you gave my forest to Gawain, but I went out and challenged you head on. What do you do? Allow Kay to manipulate you into letting your wife get captured for the sake of his honor. Good job. Kay is possibly dead, and the queen is certainly missing. But hey, she made her own decision, right? WRONG! She was overheard muttering that she would rather not go with Kay. Not only have you lost your queen, Sir King, but you have forgotten the knowledge that saved you from me.

Hopefully, when your knights arrive at Meleagant's castle, he destroys all of them. It is YOU who should be after your queen. How can you sit by and let events pass like these without lifting your own sword? Get out of your throne room, go be a man. Face the challenge head on, not cowering behind your lines of loyal men who shield your frightened face from problems. DO THINGS YOURSELF!

I am not my own man.

It’s okay that Chretien doesn’t identify me at first. I’m used to it – I actually prefer it. Do you know how hard it is to get around and live a life with a name so popular as mine? I can never have just a simple joust; as soon as they hear my name, one of two things happen: either my opponent immediately backs down, or every man looking to make his name known shows up. Take that cretin Meleagant. Although he didn’t know who I was at first, he immediately set a vendetta against me in the fair name of my most beloved queen.

Never will a man besmirch my queen’s name and live to tell about it. Although I do hold honor in the highest regard, nothing compares to my adored queen. My heart is not mine; my eyes are not my own; my soul is not in my keeping. These are only a few of the possessions my dear lady holds in the palm of her hand.

Oh to live the life of a man whose name and heart were his own. Twas so long ago I can barely remember what I would be like. Don’t make the mistake that I wish I were back in those days. The only thing that I could wish for, the only thing that could make my life more whole, were if my lady were my own. But alas, tis not to be. I cannot even wish ill upon my king. Woe is me.

The Ending of Chretien's Perceval