#whyarthur

             Lancelot’s ride into the cart is only the first example of his willingness to give up his knightly honor for the sake of Guinevere. He demonstrates his determination to please the Queen in almost every adventure he has thereafter, from nearly jumping out the window at the sight of the Queen to purposefully doing his worst at the tournament on his lady’s behalf. His hesitation before he gets into the cart should then make the reader skeptical. One might argue that he hesitated because his honor as a knight was the last thing that he truly possessed (having already lost his Christian credibility as well as his honor as a citizen), but it is to be assumed that Lancelot had already developed this undying love for the Queen much longer before the beginning of this story. Therefore, does he really even have knightly honor at the point when he decides to get into the cart? The King and the rest of the knights might not suspect his affair with Guinevere, but both the Queen and Lancelot know that his deepest loyalty doesn’t lie with the King or the wellbeing of the kingdom. His adultery doesn’t only make him disloyal to God and one who might be outcast from society, but it also turns him against the knights’ code to be loyal to the king. What knight, then, would hesitate to get into the cart when he has already committed treason directly against the King himself?

            Whatever the reason was that may have crossed Lancelot’s mind at that moment, it was certainly not because he was unsure of his love for Guinevere. Over and over again throughout his tale, Lancelot says, thinks, or demonstrates how his love for Guinevere is boundless. He seems to have accepted his sins against the Christian faith not by repenting, but by taking up a new religious faith in Guinevere. Lancelot is always saying things like “Thanks be to God,” but his actions and feelings toward the Queen seem to contradict those utterances. When Guinevere confronts him about his hesitation before the cart, he asks for forgiveness from God but he accepts the forgiveness given to him by Guinevere as if it were of equal value. Everything that Guinevere asks of him, Lancelot does unquestioningly, as any good Christian might respond God. The tournament is a good example of this, as he does his worst at his lady’s request, thus further sullying his honor, when he could have easily come out victorious as he does in the third round. Whether or not Lancelot is conscious of his religious-like idolization of Guinevere, it would be unreasonable to say that his love for her would have caused the hesitation he had before the cart.