Stubborn. Honorable, but stubborn...

'Knight of the Cart (Lancelot), go this route because it'll be safer!' 'Nope it will take me longer to get to my beloved.'. Wouldn't you want a a greater chance to live in order to get to your beloved? I guess it does remind me of when Spongebob and Patrick went through the scary trench to continue on their mission for the crown to save Mr. Krabs. He is very chivalrous in doing anything for her and wanting her out of harms way.

Did the troll ever give him the whereabouts of Guinevere? Red flag mister! Trolls are never up to any good! I suppose in this case the troll didn't do anything malicious but carry a cart that was meant for prisoners. I really didn't see a huge deal with him riding in the cart because I thought it was sweet that he would risk looking dishonorable in order to find the woman that he loved.


Lancelot also spared the sentinels life and he delivered on his promise to the girl to do whatever she asked. Doesn't it seem like everyone in the stories we have read have almost always followed through with their promises? I'd like to see trust and dependence like that nowadays!

The woman who faked her own sexual assault in order to find out whether he would be courageous enough to fight the guards was a little extreme..and by a little...I mean what the actual hell was she doing? That was definitely not OK! She also just leaves him alone once she suspects that he is into another woman. Everything is so anticlimactic! I do not see why the father and the knight had to be a part of the story either. The son gets into a disagreement with the father and the father takes Lancelot's side. Then they just leave and nothing happens...again!

I guess if there were to be anybody coming to save you, Lancelot isn't a bad pick at all but is she actually going to end up with him? Shouldn't the king be doing something? Shouldn't the king have sent all his men to her rescue? You do know you're a king right? Again with the events that could be avoided or helped if people would use their damn heads. Or maybe they are too worried about staying honorable?

Correct me if I'm wrong...

I'm titling this post "correct me if I'm wrong," because I don't feel completely confident on what I just read. There. I said it. Chances are, I'm not the only one.

First of all, I'm confused as to why The Knight of the Cart (Lancelot) will not tell people his name. Is it for his own protection? Is it for Guinevere's? Is it possible that if Meleagant found out Lancelot was coming for her, he would kill her? Then again, I got the impression that Guinevere was "for Meleagant's son. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Also, the idea that Guinevere, a powerful (albeit bitchy) woman can still be held captive. It reminds me of a recent event in the news where female Olympic gymnasts were said to be sexually harassed by their doctor. You can be a queen, or an Olympic athlete, and even then you run the risk of being sexualized. Maybe reading this story in such a modern context is wrong, but there are some passages in the story that simply cannot be ignored. Like...

"But if she [a damsel in distress, presumably] was under the escort of one knight, another, anxious to fight for her and successful in winning her in armed combat, might do with her as he pleased without receiving censure or shame." (186)


...Okay. Correct me if I'm wrong, but is that passage essentially condoning rape? It seems like such a weird passage. It also treats women as flat screen tvs during Best Buy's Black Friday sale.



I will say one thing though...the courtly love aspect of this story, although a little heavy handed, is quite beautiful at times. A knight fighting for his love no matter what, warding off foes and refusing any other woman. Charged by his love and desire for her. Call me a hopeless romantic, but I find that quite lovely. Even if he does get himself in a "hairy" situation. (Ha ha...hair pun. Get it?)

Honor or Stupidity?

What does it mean to be honorable? Knights are expected to flow a code of conduct, not just amongst themselves, but in every aspect of their lives. Throughout this story, Lancelot has to push aside the rules of honor of his love, Guinevere. These rules work in correlation with his personal desires.


Lancelot’s love for Guinevere is genuine, but it causes him to make some pretty stupid decisions, that could be looked down upon for an honorable knight.  In his first encounter with Melegant, Lancelot, “began to defend himself from behind his back so he would not have to turn or divert his face from her,” I mean he’s so freaking honorable that he can’t even take his eyes off of his beloved to defend himself? I think that speaks to his character, and shows what it means to be a knight (even if it is foolish).


I don’t think rational thought could be possible with love like Lancelot’s and Guinevere’s. Because he loves her so much, he is forced to do some things he wouldn’t normally do. His only thoughts are of the queen, and the only rationality he finds he can abide is so he can continue to see the queen. This also reminds me of the ridiculous courtly rules; adultery is bad, but not if the two involved are in love? Does that still make him honorable?


Love pretty much conquers everything in this story, which to some, could be considered honorable. But, to me it’s stupid. I can’t justify the actions of this dude.

A Cart Full of Irritation

I'm not really sure why, but this little riding in the cart bit has got me really irritated. So Lancelot is walking around and runs into this dwarf . . . and BOOM! We already know that dwarves mean trouble from our past readings so it's clear that this journey is about to get a whole lot more problematic.

But on top of that the dwarf is driving a cart which is supposedly reserved for criminals and the dishonorable. Anyone seen riding in one immediately is looked down upon and unwelcome in the area. It is the ultimate ride of shame followed closely by the prisoner's walk to death. In what world would you ever want to get in one (especially as a knight) knowing you were going to lose all of your honor and standing?

Yet, Lancelot does it anyway . . .

The romantic in me wants to swoon at this. Lancelot is risking everything - his honor, his standing, his reputation - all in hopes that by doing as the dwarf asks he will get the information to his loves whereabouts. He is choosing love over honor (a major necessity during this time). SUPER romantic! And it worked to a point, I guess. He did end up finding Guinevere but the man almost got killed in the process just trying to sleep in a bed. And then the dwarf just disappears out of nowhere! Again, I'm not sure why this part irritated me as much as it did, but it seems almost like too much drama and reputational sacrifice for something that could have been resolved in another way.

On one hand I like him (like I assume I am meant to). He is daring and brave and nearly perfect - the best kind of hero in any story. But there is something wrong. Something that my hopeless romantic mind is refusing to overlook with this particular scene yet I can't put my finger on it. Perhaps that is where my overall irritation is stemming from.

Let's Play a Game

Okay, I want to talk about Guinevere because I've read this story before, and I'm most fascinated with the queen's character. I’ve read quite a few stories about Queen Guinevere, and her character never changes too much. She usually represents a pretty powerful female role – one that makes decisions and takes action – so it surprises me that King Arthur asks her to be passive and that Mélégant so easily takes her back to his land as his prisoner in “The Knight of the Cart.” Guinevere doesn’t even put up a fight! To me, this weakens her character. Whether she likes being held hostage and used as man-bait or simply got tired of being badass, Guinevere goes from queen to damsel in distress too quick.

It also irritates me that Guinevere’s character becomes so cold towards Lancelot when he first comes to Gorre to save her, but in some ways, her coldness also shows me that she’s still a little badass inside. She’s the damsel, and he’s the hero, but Guinevere isn’t ready for her “happily ever after.” Somehow, she knows Lancelot hesitated to ride in the dwarf’s cart in the beginning of the story. Omniscience is badass. (That’s right, boys. Women know everything. Women have always known everything.) Perhaps she wants Lancelot to understand that there’s nothing more shameful than thinking twice about love…

OR maybe Queen Guinevere is secretly Queen Drama who is obsessed with creating high-energy, tense, life-or-death situations.  Guinevere lets Lancelot fight Mélégant when he accuses her of sleeping with Kay. It’s not worth pointing out, since I never read a truly logical story for one of Dr. MB’s classes, but the logic behind this accusation is…well, stupid. Nonetheless, Guinevere watches Lancelot do her dirty work for her…for the second time. I guess I can’t blame her for just wanting to watch Lancelot sweat, but why does she ask him to lose the fight until he’s losing; then, she asks him to win? It’s like Guinevere is playing a game the entire story – a game that she thinks will either prove or disprove Lancelot’s love for her, but she has to know he loves her the entire time. To Guinevere, there is no proof or disproof of love unless she denotes it as such.

Yup, this is how I view Guinevere.

"The Knight of the Cart" by Chrétien de Troyes.

What is HAPPENING!?

Guys, I'm legit confused...

I totally understand the beginning of the story, although some things are just too weird and are not really realistic. I mean, if a dude walked up to me and said that he had a bunch of people as his prisoners and there wasn't anything I would do about it, I wouldn't just say "Meh.. you're right!" and move on! Come on, Arthur! Get your shit together! Be a king and whoop some ass!

What I'm confused about is Lancelot's little tryst in the woods.

So he and Gawain come across a lady in the woods. Totally got it there.

She tells them to pick a path. They do. Got that, too.

Lancelot gets to his path totally consumed with Love. (But, um... Who is he in love with? Queen G?)

He duels. He wins. Lady in the woods comes back and says, "Hey Mr. Sexy Knight! If you let this guy live and grant him mercy, I'll repay you with something you'll like very much *wink wink*" (AHEM, I think she means the Hoo-Hah here)

BUT THEN!! Good ol' Lance "realized who she was from her statement" and Lady "was ashamed and embarrassed to think he might have recognized her"

Sooo...... Who is she? Queen G? Some mysterious fairy woman? WHO!?

She says, "Hey, I'll give you my Hoo-Hah" and he says:

But she's like, "Take my Hoo-Hah!!" and he says "Alright, chill. I'll do it but I'm not happy about it"

Then Lady almost gets raped... Then somehow wants to have the sex with Lance afterwards.

She becomes super needy throughout their journey, and a tad bit shady.

Then after a while, Lance goes to fight King M. for Queen G.

BUT I STILL DON'T KNOW WHO THE LADY IS!!!!

I feel like there is this whole backstory about Lance and Queen G. and this mysterious lady that I'm just not privy too and it's pissing me off. Like, I want to know all the dirty details about what's going on but I feel like I'm missing a huge chunk of the story. I KNEW I should have taken Dr. MB's  Arthurian class! 

I'm not off to a good start with this story. Hopefully it will get better but for now: