"This I knew," said the king, "because I saw Sir Lancelot in Sir Barnard's garden when we stayed in Astolat on the way up to Camelot. But I wonder that he wore the maid's token."
This line from King Arthur as well as the first half really have me asking the question, why? It's a little confusing how King Arthur knew the whole time who the mystery knight was, but did not reveal his identity until it was confirmed to be Lancelot. I would think that King Arthur would be in more of a rush or hurry to find Lancelot when he knew how badly he was wounded after the tournament rather than keep it secretive like he did. Also he let Lancelot ride off terribly wounded. Why didn't he help his guy out?
Excellent points here Matt, makes me think why keep your best knight secret. Letting everyone know who it is might make them search harder. As Lancelot's King, you would think Arthur would maybe step in and help them search. If I were Lancelot, I'd ask Arthur what HE was doing during the search...
ReplyDeleteHi Matt - sorry I didn't see your post til tonight but it's one of those odd things that we keep coming back to. Lancelot disguises himself regularly so that he can be judged by his deeds rather than just by his reputation, which has a certain sense to it I think. But these moments in which Arthur recognizes him can be confusing. To be sure, Arthur knows that Lancelot has a place to go and people who will care for him, and perhaps simply presumes that if Lancelot wanted help from the court, he would have stayed. There's a kind of respect for Lancelot's free will that is nice, if a tad perplexing. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI think that maybe Arthur understood what Lancelot was trying to do. He knew that Lancelot wanted to prove himself without using his name. And maybe he did not help out Lancelot because it was Lancelot's choice.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I think that Arthur is a character that sticks to his own business. He is one that will not get involved unless he is asked to.
DeleteI agree, Arthur has so many other things to worry about anyway so if Lancelot was in grave danger and was not going to have anyone come to his aid then im sure Arthur would have done something to help
ReplyDelete