In Which Sir Gawain ships Launcelot and Astolat

            Poor Lancelot may have lost his one chance at true love, and by his folly caused the fall of an innocent maiden.

            Be not mistaken by my words, fellow gentry. Lancelot du Lac is the finest warrior I know, and among the noblest of knights. True, at my Lord Arthur’s behest I have abstained from any tournament from him, but this is merely to spare the kingdom of the weary spectacle of us crossing lances. From the many quests and feasts we have enjoyed together, I can attest that his courage and charisma knows no end. But in the times we spent together, as if we had been brothers from birth, I have also ascertained the qualities which he still lacks, namely the control over his fleshy passions.

            The Queen Lady Guinevere, as I’ve always known, is the mistress of Sir Lancelot, but I have remained suspicious if this love is true. With all due respect to her majesty, the Queen has a very childish temperament, and often appears to merely coax this sire along with her malevolent charms until she obtains what she desires. Therefore, I hoped and continue to hope that Lancelot would befall into the passions of a maiden who could truly love him unconditionally.

            And indeed such a maiden appeared.

            Now of course, I am not dismissing the great stress that Lancelot’s body was forced to endure, having accidentally received a blow from Sir Bors almost to the doorstep of death itself. However, I know that the Knight of the Cart is as sturdy as a rock, and although the wound was deep it only served to render him immobile for several weeks at the Castle Astolat. After all the smiting the rest of the knights have received over the years, even myself at the hands of Sir Galahad, it is only fitting that Lancelot should have to endure a similar wound at some point.

Lancelot is the original Captain Hammer

            Nevertheless, ever concerned for fellow knight, I began searching for Lancelot after the beginning of his disappearance. After many days I arrived at the Castle of Sir Barnard of Astolat. It was here, so I ascertained, that Lancelot recovered from his wounds by the aid of Lady Elaine. But what struck me as most peculiar was the implied intimacy between this knight and Lady Astolat. Clearly she loved Lancelot with all her heart, and even offered him the red token to wear at the tournament. And what did Lancelot do? He accepted the token! I say, there have been many, many ladies to offer immense gifts to this knight, but never in all my years have I known him to accept one.

            I even attempted to dissuade the advances of Guinevere by reporting what I found, but alas she would not hear any word of it. Inevitably, Lancelot would break Elaine’s heart by forsaking her at Astolat and returning to Camelot, leaving her to take her own life as tragically as Lucretia. I only hope this death does not cause any lasting erratic effects on Lancelot’s behavior.