Sir Lancelot

Lancelot, Sir, legendary medieval knight. The son of the king of Brittany, he was taken as an infant to the undersea castle of the Lady of the Lake, who brought him to the court of King Arthur after he had attained manhood. As a Knight of the Round Table, he achieved great fame and fortune, however his passionate involvement with King Arthur's wife, Queen Guenevere, led to scandal and Lancelot's ultimate ruin. During his life he involved himself in the search for the Holy Grail, but his moral flaw prevented him from finding it. The Holy Grail was, however, found by Galahad, Lancelot's illegitimate son—the product of Lancelot's youthful affair with a British Princess. Lancelot was the hero of various medieval romances. He was also a central figure in a series of poems by Alfred Lord Tennyson called Idylls of the King.

See also: Arthur, King; Round Table.