Summary of Chapter 4: “Sir Launcelot”
The main character in Chapter 4 is Sir Launcelot, who is considered to be the greatest knight among sinful men. Because of his sin with Gwenevere, Launcelot will not be the Grail knight who achieves the Grail. Instead, as we began to see in Chapter 2, Launcelot’s tale within the Grail story is one of humiliation, repentance, and penance.
After spending three days with the hermit to whom he confessed, Launcelot rides off and comes to a small chapel. Inside was the corpse of a very old man in a white shirt. A hermit then leads Launcelot into the inner sanctuary, where they are confronted by a hideous fiend. Amazingly, the fiend tells them that the old man was a holy man who had been wronged at the end of his life. After that, the fiend departs. It is then that the hermit tells Launcelot that even though he was the greatest knight on earth, he would never achieve the Grail because of his sin. Nevertheless, the hermit impresses upon Launcelot to do penance and gives him a hair shirt and tells him to abstain from meat and wine and go to mass whenever he can.
Launcelot rides off and comes to a cross, where he lays down to sleep. As with the last time he laid down to sleep at the foot of a cross, Launcelot has another vision. He sees a man wearing a gold crown, surrounded by stars. This man led seven kings and two knights to the cross, where they all knelt down to pray. Just then, the clouds parted, and an ancient man descended with angels and blessed all but one. He told the one he did not bless that he had profaned his gifts and fought to win vainglory.
The next day, Launcelot happens to come upon the wounded knight he had seen healed by the Grail. They fight, and the knight knocks Launcelot off his horse, then trades horses and rides off on Launcelot’s horse. Launcelot makes his way to another hermitage, where a monk explains to Launcelot his vision. What Launcelot saw was his lineage—seven kings and two knights. Lancelot was the eighth descendant but was not part of the fellowship of that holy lineage, because (you guessed) of his sin. He is told that Galahad, his son with Princess Elaine, the daughter of King Pelles, will surpass all earthly knights. The hermit also tells Launcelot that even though Galahad’s prayers have helped Launcelot, Launcelot would ultimately have to bear his burden alone.
Launcelot rides off to another castle that was having a tournament between a team of black knights and a team of white knights. Launcelot chooses to fight with the black knights, but he and the black knights lose the tournament, and Launcelot is shamed on the battlefield. Afterwards, Launcelot slinks back to another small chapel, to talk with a recluse. The recluse tells him that the black knights represented earthly sin, whereas the white knights (who were the knights of King Eliazar, King Pelles’ son) were those who were free from sin and in a state of grace. The recluse then tells Launcelot, “If you do not renounce your evil ways, which are now proved, and for which God has punished you, you shall surely end in the deepest pit of hell, where your worldly glory will avail you nothing. Repent!”
Launcelot goes off again until he comes to the turbulent waters of the Mortayse River. There, he meets a black knight on a black horse, and the black knight kills Launcelot’s horse and rides off. Launcelot then takes up his helmet and shield and gives thanks to God for the encounter.
My Comments on Chapter 4
The tale of Launcelot certainly is one of constant humiliation and a call to repentance. The chapter starts of with Launcelot in a small chapel, confronting a fiend, and being told by a hermit that because of his sin he will never achieve the Holy Grail, and then being told that he must do penance by wearing a hermit’s hair shirt, abstaining from meat and wine, and going to mass whenever he can. This, if you will, is the beginning of Launcelot’s quest—not for the Holy Grail—but for simple repentance and forgiveness. It isn’t that surprising, therefore, to find that chapter 4 finishes with Launcelot in another small chapel, being told by a recluse, once again, that he must renounce his evil ways and repent.
In between these two scenes, Launcelot falls asleep under a cross and has a vision (similar to what we read in chapter 2). And much like that vision of the wounded knight being healed by the Grail and Launcelot being told he is sinful and must depart, Launcelot’s dream of his lineage here in chapter 4 ends up emphasizing to Launcelot once again that he is sinful and therefore will be denied the Grail. In a further connect to chapter 2, after this dream of his lineage, Launcelot ends up actually encountering that formerly wounded knight from chapter 2 again and gets knocked off his horse. In chapter 2, the formerly wounded knight took Launcelot’s helmet, sword, and horse; here, again, the formerly wounded knight takes Launcelot’s horse.
Launcelot’s defeat with the black knights at the tournament is just one more example that emphasizes Launcelot’s sin, for the black knights represent earthly sin—and because Launcelot chooses that side, he is defeated and shamed.
After his being told by the recluse the meaning of his dream and being told to repent, Launcelot ends up by the Mortayse River. Another encounter with a black knight results in the black knight killing Launcelot’s horse. Apparently, Launcelot had gotten another one after the formerly wounded knight took his previous one. The chapter ends with Launcelot picking up his helmet and shield, and then giving thanks to God. Why? I have to believe this signals his acceptance of his punishment and shame. This final scene echoes so many other things in Launcelot’s tale: (1) he is constantly losing his horse (shameful for a knight), (2) the knight that kills his horse is a black knight, echoing Launcelot’s choosing to fight with (and lose with) the black knights in the tournament who represent earthly sin—and Launcelot has a lot of that to account for!
I do not know if the name of the Mortayse River is significant, but in any case, water can symbolize a number of things, most notably death, rebirth, or baptism. Perhaps it symbolizes here Launcelot’s spiritual rebirth.
