The Knight of the Cart: The Unstoppable Knight
By Michael Facenda.
Sir Thomas Malory’s depiction of The Knight of the Cart is well known for its depiction of Lancelot as a knight that devoutly follows the principles of courtly love even at the cost of his humility. However, one often overlooked aspect of the story is Lancelot’s sheer martial prowess, perfectly displaying why he is the champion of Arthur’s court. This is not an issue exclusive to Malory, as many medieval texts disregard the martial abilities of their characters in favor of portraying their values and philosophies, such as the romanticized chivalry of Ivanhoe’s titular character. However, a knight’s first and foremost requirement was to be a warrior, so to disregard this means to disregard an important aspect of what it meant to be a knight. Fortunately, The Knight of the Cart spends a great deal of time focusing on Lancelot’s strength. Lancelot is portrayed as a juggernaut of a man, completely unstoppable in any sort of physical challenge that he is confronted with, particularly when protecting his beloved Guinevere is involved. When he finds the imprisoned Guinevere, Lancelot “set his hands upon the bars of iron and pulled at them with such might that he brast them clean out of the stone walls.” (Malory, King Arthur & His Knights, Page 62). Despite this act of bravado severely cutting his hand, Lancelot continues to fight unimpeded throughout the remainder of the story. This characterizes Lancelot as somewhat macho, as he shows off his raw physical strength for the sake of Guinevere, regardless of the physical toll. Of course, Lancelot’s greatest feat of strength and skill within the story is found in his duel with Mellyagaunce, as depicted in the image above. Truth be told however, the image does very little to do the battle justice, as Lancelot is depicted as a typical knight complete with full armor and a sword and shield. In actuality, the story makes it very clear to the reader that Lancelot is not only extremely skilled in combat but self-aware of his power. For instance, Lancelot maintains a surprisingly comfortable attitude when entering combat, so much so that he intentionally handicaps himself to make the fight more even for his opponent. Specifically, Lancelot states that he “will unarm my head and my left quarter of my body… and I will let bind my left hand behind me here.” (Malory, King Arthur & His Knights, Page 69). Yet none of this impedes Lancelot, who quickly manages to overpower Mellyagaunce, and “smote him on the helmet with such a buffet that the stroke carved the head in two parties.” (Malory, King Arthur & His Knights, Page 69). Through the course of the duel, the reader is able to see a more competitive and even prideful part of Lancelot’s personality, a far cry from what one would expect from the somewhat submissive lover of Guinevere.
