Medieval (Middle English) Period – 1066-1485

Significant Historical Dates:

 1066 Battle of Hastings: William the Conqueror, Duke of French Normandy,

defeats last Anglo-Saxon King, Harold II, establishing the feudal system in
England.

1095: Pope Urban II declares first Crusade.

1170: Archbishop of Canterbury is murdered, showing conflict between church
and monarch of England

1215: Declaration of Magna Carta, restricting power of the monarch; first step
toward constitutional government in England

1315-17: Great Famine in Northern Europe
 
1320: Dante completes The Divine Comedy

1337-1453: Hundred Years’ War between England and France

1347-51: Black Death (bubonic plaque), one of the largest pandemics in human
history

1415: Henry V defeats the French at Agincourt

1439: In Germany, Gutenberg invents the printing press with movable type:
begins a revolution in book printing and spread of information

1476: William Caxton sets up printing shop in Westminster in England.

1485: Richard III is defeated in battle of Bosworth, ending reign of Plantagenet
family and beginning reign of Tudor monarchs.

1485:  William Caxton prints Malory’s Morte D’Arthur, one of first books printed
in England

William King of England 1066

 William the Conqueror, the most powerful
duke in France, descendant of the Viking ,
ruled England with strength and efficiency ,
Within four years he established his rule all
over the country
 To eliminate arguments and establish a firm
basis for awarding confiscated lands, William
ordered an extensive survey of all property,
the results of which were recorded in the
Domesday Book in 1086.
 William introduced into England the system
of reciprocal loyalties called feudalism.
Under feudalism the land is the property of
the king, not of the tribe. He kept huge areas
for himself, but made grants of land for his
nobles
The Roman Catholic Church

 The unifying force as well as powerful institutions.

 The religious writings were very popular
 Within 10 years of the Conquest only one bishop, of Worchester, and only 2
major monasteries remained under control of English abbots, the rest were
Normans appointed by the king, who controlled the wealth of these church
estates.
 Later the relations between the crown and church became complex. Conflict
often arose between church and crown; in England it was settled by
Compromise.
 The Roman Catholic Church was the unifying force of the age, as well as one of
England's most powerful institutions. Clergy and scholars at the abbeys
performed the traditional services of educating clergy and nobles and of writing,
translating, copying, gathering, and storing manuscripts.

The 3 Estates in the Middle Ages

The idea of estates, or orders, was
encouraged during the Age, but this
ordering was breaking down.

 Clergy - Latin chiefly spoken,

those who pray, purpose was to
save everyone’s soul
  Nobles - French chiefly spoken, those who fight, purpose was to protect—
allow for all to work in peace— and provide justice
 Commoners - English spoken, those who work, purpose was to feed and
clothe all above them

Characteristics of Medieval Literature

 Romance
 Chivalry
 Courtly Love
 The miracle and morality play

Chivalry - Refers to the lifestyle and moral code of medieval knights.

-The Medieval knight was bound to the chivalric code to be loyal to God , his
lord , his lady
- Chivalric ideals includes benevolence, brotherly love, politeness

Romance - Romance is a literary genre popular in the Middle Ages, dealing, in verse or
prose, with legendary, supernatural, or amorous subjects and characters.
- The name refers to Romance languages and originally denoted any lengthy
composition in one of those languages.
- Later the term was applied to tales specifically concerned with knights, chivalry,
and courtly love.

The Ideal of Courtly Love - This relationship was modeled on the feudal relationship
between a knight and his liege lord.
- The knight serves his courtly lady with the same obedience and loyalty which he
owes to his liege lord.
- She is in complete control; he owes her obedience and submission

 The knight's love for the lady inspires him to do great deeds, in order to be worthy of
her love or to win her favor.

“Courtly love" was not between husband and wife because it was an idealized sort of
relationship that could not exist within the context of "real life" medieval marriages.
- In the middle ages, marriages amongst the nobility were typically based on
practical and dynastic concerns rather than on love.

- The lady is typically older, married, and of higher social status than the knight
because she was modeled on the wife of the feudal lord, who might naturally
become the focus of the young, unmarried knights' desire.
Mystery plays - were stories taken from the Bible.
- Each play had four or five different scenes or acts.
- The priests and monks were the actors.
- Each scene or act was preformed at a different place in town and the people
moved from one stage to the next to watch the play.
- The play usually ended outside the church so that the people would go to church
and hear a sermon after watching the play.

The miracle play was about the life or actions of a saint, usually about the actions that
made that person a saint.
-One popular Miracle play was about Saint George and the dragon.

Morality plays were designed to teach people a lesson in how to live their life according
to the rules of the church.
- Sometimes these plays had elaborate sets, sometimes no sets at all.  It didn't
seem to matter.

Ballads- One of the most popular forms of literature in the  a narrative song. Ballads
told of common folks and of characters and events from legend and folklore.
- Consists of stanzas that contain a quatrain , rhyme scheme ABAB

Important figures of the Medieval Period

John Gower (1325-1408) - He has

important place in English Medieval poetry. He
is a great stylist. He proved that English might
complete with the other language which had
most distinguished themselves in poetry.
Works: confession Amantis which is
conversation between poet and a divine
interpreter. He presents himself as moralist

Geoffrey Chaucer (1345-1400),

- ‘Father of English poetry’
 - a poet who demonstrated the potential of Middle English as a literary
language.
- He was the son of a wealthy London wine merchant; he became a page in
a noble household, and later a high official in the royal service.
- He travelled widely in Europe negotiating financial treaties for the
crown, and thus became acquainted with the works of Dante, Boccaccio and
Petrarch.

Chronology of Chaucer's works

 before 1372 The first part of The Romaunt of the Rose
 1368-72 The Book of the Duchess
 1378-83 The House of Fame
 1380-2 The Parlement of Fowls
 1382-6 Boece and Troilus and Criseyde
 1380-7 Palamon and Arcite
 1387 The Legend of Good Women
 1388-1400 The Canterbury Tales

Sir Gawain and the Green knight

 During a New Year’s Eve feast at King Arthur’s court, a strange figure, referred
to only as the Green Knight, pays the court an unexpected visit. He challenges the
group’s leader or any other brave representative to a game. The Green Knight says that
he will allow whomever accepts the challenge to strike him with his own axe, on the
condition that the challenger find him in exactly one year to receive a blow in return.

Stunned, Arthur hesitates to respond, but

when the Green Knight mocks Arthur’s silence,
the king steps forward to take the challenge. As
soon as Arthur grips the Green Knight’s axe, Sir
Gawain leaps up and asks to take the challenge
himself. He takes hold of the axe and, in one
deadly blow, cuts off the knight’s head. To the
amazement of the court, the now-headless Green
Knight picks up his severed head. Before riding
away, the head reiterates the terms of the pact,
reminding the young Gawain to seek him in a year
and a day at the Green Chapel. After the Green
Knight leaves, the company goes back to its
festival, but Gawain is uneasy.

Time passes, and autumn arrives. On the Day of All Saints, Gawain prepares to
leave Camelot and find the Green Knight. He puts on his best armor, mounts his horse,
Gringolet, and starts off toward North Wales, traveling through the wilderness of north
west Britain. Gawain encounters all sorts of beasts, suffers from hunger and cold, and
grows more desperate as the days pass. On Christmas Day, he prays to find a place to
hear Mass, then looks up to see a castle shimmering in the distance. The lord of the
castle welcomes Gawain warmly, introducing him to his lady and to the old woman
who sits beside her. For sport, the host (whose name is later revealed to be Bertilak)
strikes a deal with Gawain: the host will go out hunting with his men every day, and
when he returns in the evening, he will exchange his winnings for anything Gawain has
managed to acquire by staying behind at the castle. Gawain happily agrees to the pact,
and goes to bed.

The first day, the lord hunts a herd of does, while

Gawain sleeps late in his bedchambers. On the
morning of the first day, the lord’s wife sneaks
into Gawain’s chambers and attempts to seduce
him. Gawain puts her off, but before she leaves
she steals one kiss from him. That evening, when
the host gives Gawain the venison he has
captured, Gawain kisses him, since he has won
one kiss from the lady. The second day, the lord
hunts a wild boar. The lady again enters Gawain’s
chambers, and this time she kisses Gawain twice.
That evening Gawain gives the host the two kisses
in exchange for the boar’s head.

The third day, the lord hunts a fox, and the

lady kisses Gawain three times. She also asks him
for a love token, such as a ring or a glove. Gawain
refuses to give her anything and refuses to take
anything from her, until the lady mentions her
girdle. The green silk girdle she wears around her waist is no ordinary piece of cloth,
the lady claims, but possesses the magical ability to protect the person who wears it
from death. Intrigued, Gawain accepts the cloth, but when it comes time to exchange his
winnings with the host, Gawain gives the three kisses but does not mention the lady’s
green girdle. The host gives Gawain the fox skin he won that day, and they all go to bed
happy, but weighed down with the fact that Gawain must leave for the Green Chapel
the following morning to find the Green Knight.

New Year’s Day arrives, and Gawain dons his armor, including the girdle, then
sets off with Gringolet to seek the Green Knight. A guide accompanies him out of the
estate grounds. When they reach the border of the forest, the guide promises not to tell
anyone if Gawain decides to give up the quest. Gawain refuses, determined to meet his
fate head-on. Eventually, he comes to a kind of crevice in a rock, visible through the tall
grasses. He hears the whirring of a grindstone, confirming his suspicion that this
strange cavern is in fact the Green Chapel. Gawain calls out, and the Green Knight
emerges to greet him. Intent on fulfilling the terms of the contract, Gawain presents his
neck to the Green Knight, who proceeds to feign two blows. On the third feint, the
Green Knight nicks Gawain’s neck, barely drawing blood. Angered, Gawain shouts that
their contract has been met, but the Green Knight merely laughs.

The Green Knight reveals his name, Bertilak, and explains that he is the lord of
the castle where Gawain recently stayed. Because Gawain did not honestly exchange all
of his winnings on the third day, Bertilak drew blood on his third blow. Nevertheless,
Gawain has proven himself a worthy knight, without equal in all the land. When
Gawain questions Bertilak further, Bertilak explains that the old woman at the castle is
really Morgan le Faye, Gawain’s aunt and King Arthur’s half sister. She sent the Green
Knight on his original errand and used her magic to change Bertilak’s appearance.
Relieved to be alive but extremely guilty about his sinful failure to tell the whole truth,
Gawain wears the girdle on his arm as a reminder of his own failure. He returns to
Arthur’s court, where all the knights join Gawain, wearing girdles on their arms to
show their support.

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1345–1400) was enormously popular

in medieval England, with over 90 copies in existence from the 1400s.

About The Canterbury Tales:

Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, a collection of stories in a frame story, between 1387 and
1400. It is the story of a group of thirty people who travel as pilgrims to Canterbury (England). The
pilgrims, who come from all layers of society, tell stories to each other to kill time while they travel to
Canterbury.
 If we trust the General Prologue, Chaucer intended that each pilgrim should tell two
tales on the way to Canterbury and two tales on the way back. He never finished his
enormous project and even the completed tales were not finally revised. Scholars are
uncertain about the order of the tales. As the printing press had yet to be invented when
Chaucer wrote his works, The Canterbury Tales has been passed down in several
handwritten manuscripts.

The Canterbury Tales

The General Prologue
(In a Modern English translation on the left beside the Middle English version
on the right.)

When April with his showers sweet   Whan that Aprill with his shoures
with fruit soote
 
The drought of March has pierced unto The droghte of March hath perced to
 
the root the roote,
 
And bathed each vein with liquor that And bathed every veyne in swich
has power licour
To generate therein and sire the flower; 5 Of which vertu engendred is the flour,

When Zephyr also has, with his sweet   Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete
breath, breeth
 
Quickened again, in every holt and Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
 
heath,
The tendre croppes, and the yonge
 
The tender shoots and buds, and the sonne
young sun 10
Hath in the Ram his halve cours
Into the Ram one half his course has   yronne,
run,
  And smale foweles maken melodye,
And many little birds make melody
  That slepen al the nyght with open ye
That sleep through all the night with
  (so priketh hem Nature in hir corages),
open eye
15 Thanne longen folk to goon on
(So Nature pricks them on to ramp and
pilgrimages,
rage)-  
And palmeres for to seken straunge
Then do folk long to go on pilgrimage,  
strondes,
And palmers to go seeking out strange  
To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry
strands,
  londes;
To distant shrines well known in
  And specially from every shires ende
sundry lands.
20 Of Engelond to Caunterbury they
And specially from every shire's end
wende,
 
Of England they to Canterbury wend,
The hooly blisful martir for to seke,
 
The holy blessed martyr there to seek
That hem hath holpen whan that they
 
Who helped them when they lay so ill were seeke.
and weak.  
 
  25
Befell that, in that season, on a day   Bifil that in that seson on a day,

In Southwark, at the Tabard, as I lay   In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay

Ready to start upon my pilgrimage   Redy to wenden on my pilgrymage

To Canterbury, full of devout homage,   To Caunterbury with ful devout

corage,
There came at nightfall to that hostelry 30
At nyght was come into that hostelrye
Some nine and twenty in a company  
Wel nyne and twenty in a
Of sundry persons who had chanced to  
compaignye,
fall
 
Of sondry folk, by aventure yfalle
In fellowship, and pilgrims were they
 
all In felaweshipe, and pilgrimes were
  they alle,
That toward Canterbury town would
ride. 35 That toward Caunterbury wolden
ryde.
The rooms and stables spacious were  
and wide, The chambres and the stables weren
 
wyde,
And well we there were eased, and of
 
the best. And wel we weren esed atte beste.
 
And briefly, when the sun had gone to And shortly, whan the sonne was to
rest, 40 reste,

So had I spoken with them, every one,   So hadde I spoken with hem everichon

That I was of their fellowship anon,   That I was of hir felaweshipe anon,

And made agreement that we'd early   And made forward erly for to ryse,
rise
  To take oure wey ther as I yow
To take the road, as you I will apprise. devyse.
 
   
45
But none the less, whilst I have time   But nathelees, whil I have tyme and
and space, space,
 
Before yet farther in this tale I pace, Er that I ferther in this tale pace,
 
It seems to me accordant with reason Me thynketh it acordaunt to resoun
 
To inform you of the state of every one To telle yow al the condicioun
50
Of all of these, as it appeared to me, Of ech of hem, so as it semed me,
 
And who they were, and what was And whiche they weren, and of what
 
their degree, degree,
 
And even how arrayed there at the inn; And eek in what array that they were
  inne;
And with a knight thus will I first
begin. 55 And at a knyght than wol I first
bigynne.
   
 
A knight there was, and he a worthy  
man, A knyght ther was, and that a worthy
 
man,
Who, from the moment that he first
 
began That fro the tyme that he first bigan
60
To ride about the world, loved To riden out, he loved chivalrie,
chivalry,  
Trouthe and honour, fredom and
Truth, honour, freedom and all   curteisie.
courtesy.
  Ful worthy was he in his lordes werre,
Full worthy was he in his liege-lord's
  And therto hadde he riden, no man
war,
ferre,
65
And therein had he ridden (none more
As wel in cristendom as in hethenesse,
far)  
And evere honoured for his
As well in Christendom as  
heathenesse,   worthynesse.

And honoured everywhere for   At Alisaundre he was whan it was

worthiness. wonne.
70
At Alexandria, he, when it was won; Ful ofte tyme he hadde the bord
 
bigonne
Full oft the table's roster he'd begun
 
Aboven alle nacions in Pruce;
Above all nations' knights in Prussia.
 
In Lettow hadde he reysed and in
In Latvia raided he, and Russia,
  Ruce,
No christened man so oft of his degree.
75 No cristen man so ofte of his degree.
In far Granada at the siege was he
  In Gernade at the seege eek hadde he
Of Algeciras, and in Belmarie. be
 
At Ayas was he and at Satalye Of Algezir, and riden in Belmarye.
 
When they were won; and on the At Lyeys was he and at Satalye,
 
Middle Sea
Whan they were wonne; and in the
 
At many a noble meeting chanced to Grete See
be. 80
At many a noble armee hadde he be.
Of mortal battles he had fought fifteen,  
At mortal batailles hadde he been
And he'd fought for our faith at   fiftene,
Tramissene
  And foughten for oure feith at
Three times in lists, and each time slain Tramyssene
 
his foe.
In lystes thries, and ay slayn his foo.
85
This self-same worthy knight had been
This ilke worthy knyght hadde been
also  
also
At one time with the lord of Palatye  
Somtyme with the lord of Palatye
Against another heathen in Turkey:  
And always won he sovereign fame for   Agayn another hethen in Turkye.
prize.
90 And everemoore he hadde a sovereyn
Though so illustrious, he was very wise prys;
 
And bore himself as meekly as a maid. And though that he were worthy, he
 
was wys,
He never yet had any vileness said,
 
And of his port as meeke as is a
In all his life, to whatsoever wight.
  mayde.
He was a truly perfect, gentle knight.
95 He nevere yet no vileynye ne sayde
But now, to tell you all of his array,
  In al his lyf unto no maner wight.
His steeds were good, but yet he was
  He was a verray, parfit gentil knyght.
not gay.
  But, for to tellen yow of his array,
Of simple fustian wore he a jupon
  His hors were goode, but he was nat
Sadly discoloured by his habergeon;
gay.
100
For he had lately come from his voyage
Of fustian he wered a gypon
 
And now was going on this
Al bismotered with his habergeon,
pilgrimage.  
For he was late ycome from his viage,
   
And wente for to doon his
With him there was his son, a youthful  
pilgrymage.
squire,
 
 
A lover and a lusty bachelor,
105
With hym ther was his sone, a yong
With locks well curled, as if they'd laid
  squier,
in press.
  A lovyere and a lusty bacheler,
Some twenty years of age he was, I
guess.   With lokkes crulle as they were leyd in
presse.
In stature he was of an average length,  
Wondrously active, aye, and great of 110 Of twenty yeer of age he was, I gesse.
strength.
  Of his stature he was of evene lengthe,
He'd ridden sometime with the cavalry
  And wonderly delyvere, and of greet
In Flanders, in Artois, and Picardy, strengthe.
 
And borne him well within that little And he hadde been somtyme in
 
space chyvachie
115
In hope to win thereby his lady's grace. In Flaundres, in Artoys, and Pycardie,
 
Prinked out he was, as if he were a And born hym weel, as of so litel
mead,   space,

All full of fresh-cut flowers white and In hope to stonden in his lady grace.
red.
Embrouded was he, as it were a
Singing he was, or fluting, all the day; meede

He was as fresh as is the month of May. Al ful of fresshe floures, whyte and
reede.
Short was his gown, with sleeves long
and wide. Syngynge he was, or floytynge, al the
day;
Well could be sit on horse, and fairly
ride. He was as fressh as is the month of
May.
He could make songs and words
thereto indite, Short was his gowne, with sleves
longe and wyde.
Joust, and dance too, as well as sketch
and write. Wel koude he sitte on hors and faire
ryde.
So hot he loved that, while night told
her tale, He koude songes make and wel
endite,
He slept no more than does a
nightingale. Juste and eek daunce, and weel
Courteous he, and humble, willing and purtreye and write.
able,
So hoote he lovede that by
And carved before his father at the nyghtertale.
table.
He sleep namoore than dooth a
  nyghtyngale.

A yeoman had he, nor more servants, Curteis he was, lowely, and
no, servysable,

At that time, for he chose to travel so; And carf biforn his fader at the table.

And he was clad in coat and hood of  

green.
A yeman hadde he and servantz namo
A sheaf of peacock arrows bright and
At that tyme, for hym liste ride so,
keen
And he was clad in cote and hood of
Under his belt he bore right carefully
grene.
(Well could he keep his tackle
A sheef of pecok arwes, bright and
yeomanly:
kene,
His arrows had no draggled feathers
Under his belt he bar ful thriftily,
low),
(wel koude he dresse his takel
And in his hand he bore a mighty bow.
yemanly:
A cropped head had he and a sun-
His arwes drouped noght with
browned face.
fetheres lowe)
Of woodcraft knew he all the useful
And in his hand he baar a myghty
ways.
bowe.
Upon his arm he bore a bracer gay,
A not heed hadde he, with a broun
And at one side a sword and buckler, visage.
yea,
Of wodecraft wel koude he al the
And at the other side a dagger bright, usage.

Well sheathed and sharp as spear point Upon his arm he baar a gay bracer,
in the light;
And by his syde a swerd and a
On breast a Christopher of silver sheen. bokeler,

He bore a horn in baldric all of green; And on that oother syde a gay daggere

A forester he truly was, I guess. Harneised wel and sharp as point of

spere;
 
A Cristopher on his brest of silver
sheene.

An horn he bar, the bawdryk was of

grene;

A forster was he, soothly, as I gesse.

Summary: Introduction to the Pardoner’s Tale

The Pardoner describes a group of young Flemish people who spend their time
drinking and reveling, indulging in all forms of excess. After commenting on their
lifestyle of debauchery, the Pardoner enters into a tirade against the vices that they
practice. First and foremost is gluttony, which he identifies as the sin that first caused
the fall of mankind in Eden. Next, he attacks drunkenness, which makes a man seem
mad and witless. Next is gambling, the temptation that ruins men of power and wealth.
Finally, he denounces swearing. He argues that it so offends God that he forbade
swearing in the Second Commandment—placing it higher up on the list than homicide.
After almost two hundred lines of sermonizing, the Pardoner finally returns to his story
of the lecherous Flemish youngsters.

As three of these rioters sit drinking, they hear a funeral knell. One of the revelers’
servants tells the group that an old friend of theirs was slain that very night by a
mysterious figure named Death. The rioters are outraged and, in their drunkenness,
decide to find and kill Death to avenge their friend. Traveling down the road, they meet
an old man who appears sorrowful. He says his sorrow stems from old age—he has
been waiting for Death to come and take him for some time, and he has wandered all
over the world. The youths, hearing the name of Death, demand to know where they
can find him. The old man directs them into a grove, where he says he just left Death
under an oak tree. The rioters rush to the tree, underneath which they find not Death
but eight bushels of gold coins with no owner in sight.

At first, they are speechless, but, then, the slyest of the three reminds them that if they
carry the gold into town in daylight, they will be taken for thieves. They must transport
the gold under cover of night, and so someone must run into town to fetch bread and
wine in the meantime. They draw lots, and the youngest of the three loses and runs off
toward town. As soon as he is gone, the sly plotter turns to his friend and divulges his
plan: when their friend returns from town, they will kill him and therefore receive
greater shares of the wealth. The second rioter agrees, and they prepare their trap. Back
in town, the youngest vagrant is having similar thoughts. He could easily be the richest
man in town, he realizes, if he could have all the gold to himself. He goes to the
apothecary and buys the strongest poison available, then puts the poison into two
bottles of wine, leaving a third bottle pure for himself. He returns to the tree, but the
other two rioters leap out and kill him.

Le Morte d'Arthur
Le Morte d'Arthur tells the story of King Arthur and his Knights at the Round Table.
Arthur, who is son of King Uther Pendragon but was raised by another family, takes his
rightful place as king when, as a boy, he is able to pull the sword called Excalibur from
the stone. Although he rules wisely and is counseled by Merlin the magician, Arthur
makes enemies of other kings and is often at war.

When Arthur marries Genevere, her father gives Arthur the Round Table, at which 150
men can sit. Genevere, who is often present at the convening of the Round Table, acts as
a moral compass for the knights, rewarding knights who behave well and chastising
those who choose poorly. Malory specifically relates the stories of Sir Gawain, Sir Tor,
and Sir Pellanor as a means of introducing the concept of chivalry.

Arthur is nearly betrayed by his sister Morgan le Fay, but he is helped by Nineve, a
sorceress who learned her magic powers from Merlin before killing him. Arthur then
fights the Romans when Emperor Lucius of Rome demands that Arthur bow to him.
Although the war requires several battles, Arthur and his knights win and return to
Guinevere and the other wives. Soon after, Launcelot establishes himself as the greatest
knight in all the world by his virtue, loyalty, and bravery. At the same time, Sir Gareth,
Gawain's brother, proves valiant in his adventures.

Tristam (also known as Tristan), who is son of King Melyodas de Lyones and the sister
of King Mark of Cornwall, is then introduced, and his adventures unfold. He kills Sir
Marhault to free his uncle from a debt owed to King Angwyssh of Ireland, and then
falls in love with Isode (also known as Isolde), Angwyssh's daughter. Isode marries
Tristam's uncle Mark, but Tristam and Isode remain lovers. Tristam is exiled by Mark,
which means he can no longer use his true identity; thus, he fights as The Knight with
the Black Shield. Tristam duels and beats many of Arthur's knights, but is eventually
thrown in prison and becomes ill. He escapes and eventually meets and fights
Launcelot in a duel predicted by Merlin. They become the best of friends.

Launcelot, who is in love with and completely loyal to Guinevere, rides one day in
search of adventure. He kills a dragon, sees the Grail, and is tricked into lying with
Pellas' daughter Elayne, with whom he has a son, Galahad. Guinevere, upon hearing of
the affair, has Launcelot banished from court; Launcelot then wanders from place to
place in his grief. Elayne, through her father, heals Launcelot through the Grail, and he
eventually returns joyously to Camelot and the Round Table.

Launcelot introduces his son, Galahad, to the court, and Galahad takes the Sege
Perilous, the seat at the Round Table that no knight has been worthy enough to fill.
Galahad also draws the sword from the floating stone, establishing him as the best
knight in the world, but also accepting the sword's curse — that it will later cause a
grievous wound.

Most of the knights then set out separately on Grail Quest. During the Quest, Launcelot,
Percival, and Bors experience deep religious conversion, while Ector and Gawain are
told by a hermit that they are not pure enough to achieve the Grail Quest. Galahad,
Percival, and Bors meet up and continue the Grail Quest, but they are briefly parted.
Launcelot and Galahad continue to the Grail at Castle Corbenic, where Launcelot is
shown to be unworthy of the Quest. When Sir Evelake dies after his embrace with
Galahad, Galahad is identified as the knight who will achieve the Grail Quest. Galahad
is made a king who dies shortly thereafter, while Percival becomes a hermit. Bors
returns to King Arthur's court.

Launcelot also returns to the court and continues his love for Guinevere. After a series
of trials, Guinevere is convinced of Launcelot's love for her. Although Arthur knows of
the affair and overlooks it, he is prompted by Aggravain and Mordred (Arthur's son by
Lot's wife) to take action; Guinevere is sentenced to be burned at the stake. Launcelot
rescues her and takes her to his castle, Joyous Gard, but in the battle, Launcelot kills
Gareth and Gaheris, who are at the execution but are unarmed. Launcelot returns
Guinevere to Arthur, but Launcelot is banished, along with his followers. Gawain
swears vengeance for the death of his brothers and insists that Arthur attack Launcelot.
Arthur agrees, but while Arthur and Gawain are away, Mordred makes himself King of
England, claims Guinevere as his wife, and attacks Arthur's army. Gawain is mortally
wounded and warns Arthur in a dream not to continue the battle. Through a
misunderstanding, however, the battle continues; Arthur kills Mordred but is mortally
wounded by him, as Merlin has prophesied.

Launcelot and Guinevere both die of illness soon after, and Constantine becomes king.
The Round Table is disbursed.