Lancelot, also known as Sir Lancelot and Lancelot du Lac (“Lancelot of the Lake”) is the greatest knight of King Arthur's court and lover of Arthur's wife, Queen Guinevere, best known from Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur (1469 CE). The character was first developed by the French poet Chretien de Troyes (l. c. 1130-1190 CE) in his Lancelot or the Knight of the Cart (c. 1177 CE) who introduced Lancelot's affair with Guinevere as well as his reputation as a famously skilled warrior.
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Definition
Timeline
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c. 1177Lancelot's character first developed by French poet Chretien de Troyes in his poem Lancelot or the Knight of the Cart.
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1194 - 1204Lancelot's character further developed by German poet Ulrich von Zatzikhoven in his Lanzelet.
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1215 - 1235The Lancelot-Guinevere affair further developed in the Vulgate Cycle.
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c. 1240 - c. 1250The Post-Vulgate Cycle further develops Lancelot's story.
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1469Sir Thomas Malory writes Le Morte D'Arthur, creating the most complete and compelling version of Lancelot's story.
