Lanval was directly affected
by religion and politics. Lanval who was
a generous and chivalrous knight, was put in a very difficult position. He had to choose between his love for the
king and the crown or his own morals.
King Arthur’s wife and queen, Guinevere, seduced Lanval,
who loved his king, Arthur and was loyal to his crown. Lanval who was also loved “For his valor, for
his generosity, / his beauty and his bravery, / most men envied him” (p.154
21-23), but not Arthur. Arthur was
jealous of all of Lanval’s selfless qualities, and sometimes took advantage of
them. Lanval was well off, had money and
gave it away to the less fortunate without asking for anything in return. Arthur, who knew about Lanval’s good deeds,
did nothing to show appreciation for Lanval’s generosity.
The fairy queen swore Lanval (who met and fell in love
with her) to secrecy about the relationship.
After seeing the fairy queen, the Queen Guinevere seduced Lanval, and
when Lanval rejected the queen because of his love for the fairy queen and the
love for his king, the queen’s husband and Guinevere rebelled. Because Lanval was loyal to his mistress and
his king, he was in a bad position. He
wanted to please his queen but not betray his love. Queen Guinevere was completely offended by
the lack of interest on Lanvals part and retaliated by stating “people often told
me / that you have no interest in women.
/ You have fine-looking boys / which whom you enjoy yourself.” (P.159 279-80)
In conclusion, I think Lanval was affected by the
politics of marriage. Lanval also was
accused of insulting the queen by not acting on her advances. The king took offence to the fact that Lanval
in his act to turn down the queen was saying by his actions that he believed
that Queen Guinevere was not the most beautiful and most worthy in the kingdom. Lanval was in a position he could not
win. What was never addressed was the
fact that the Queen was married to the King and never was the accusation of adultery
brought up. Adultery, which was a crime
in that time, punishable by death. Adultery
was also an issue against the moral beliefs in the eyes of the religious of
that time. Appearances of the kingdom
and the crown were more important and the fact that the queen felt rejected was
more important to King Arthur than the fact that his wife was trying to cheat
on him with Lanval. I also think that adultery
within the hierarchy was more common than it thought to be, but because of the politics
and the importance placed on appearances it was accepted but not discussed.
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