Little is known about Lancelot's early life, only that he lost his family when his home was ransacked by bandits and only he got away. This made Lancelot vow to never again be as helpless as he was that day. Lancelot would had spent some time wandering around until he found Camelot.
Lancelot first meets Merlin when he saves him from a Griffin in the forests. Merlin was surprised at his courage and takes him back to Camelot. They soon become good friends and Lancelot soon tells Merlin his biggest wish was to be a member of the Knights of Camelot, but only noblemen are able to be a Knight of Camelot, so Merlin uses his magic to create a seal of nobility to make him the fifth son of Lord Eldred of Northumbria. Merlin asks Gwen to provide clothes and armour so Lancelot looks like a nobleman. Lancelot falls for Gwen, only naming her "my lady" and although Gwen is pleased with the name, she tells him she is not a lady and shouldn't be addressed as one. He is happy to find out that Merlin is only friends with Gwen and he later would tell Arthur he thinks she is very beautiful.
Lancelot tries out for the knights and although at first Arthur is left feeling a bit unimpressed, he sees the potential he has, so he is given the task of cleaning the stables, and would sometimes help Merlin, which to him Arthur does not treat him quite as well as he should. Soon, he would be given a second chance when Arthur tests him. Both men use two brooms as staffs and duel and ends with Arthur telling Lancelot he had passed his first test and he should go to basic training where he finds himself being made one of the Knights of Camelot.
But Uther did not think he was a noble man and asked the historian, Geoffrey of Monmounth to make sure his seal of nobility was not a forgery, which he found it was. Lancelot was thrown into prison but Arthur did not share his father's anger towards Lancelot and went to free him, telling him his father has banished him from Camelot and he must never return. But Lancelot, although he decided he is best to depart, does not wish to depart without the griffin being stopped. He goes to Gwen's home to get his armour, where he bids his goodbye to Gwen who begs him to stay and not go and fight the griffin to which he says he must go as it is his duty whether he be a knight or not. He makes it in time to find Arthur wounded and he alone must fight against the Griffin. As he alone rides towards the Griffin with a lance, Merlin enchants the lance which makes the Griffin fall. As Arthur awoke, he is led to think Lancelot had slain the Griffin and thanks him. Arthur takes him to his father, where he begs an exception is made in Lancelot's place by which he is made a knight but Lancelot decides he still had a lot to prove to himself and says he intends to depart anyway to redeem himself for lying to him. Before he departed, he thanks Merlin and tells him he knows he has magic because he heard him enchant the lance. He promises to keep the magic secret and says goodbye (Lancelot).
Lancelot would travel to many places after departing Camelot and he starts earning a living by fighting for other's entertainment. He feels hopeless and that his life has become meaningless. At one point, he found himself fighting for Hengist, a horrible man who had also kidnapped Gwen. He sneaks to Gwen's prison and finds out the bandits had mistaken her for Morgana and were holding her ransom, but Gwen does not think anyone was going to either pay the ransom or save her and so when Hengist realizes the truth, he will kill her. Lancelot promises he won't allow this to happen and promises to free her. He says he has now found his reason to live again. But when they try to escape, Lancelot has to stay behind to fight some of the bandits, where they share a kiss and their feelings for each other were rekindled. But both are captured and sent to be executed where they both declare their love for each other.
But to their surprise, Arthur and Merlin suddenly appear and rescue them, as Arthur's feelings for Gwen also meant he too, would not forget her and let her die. While making their way home to Camelot, Lancelot notices that Arthur appears upset by Lancelot's presence and Gwen's feelings for him. He also notices Gwen and Arthur were being strangely indifferent to each other. But Lancelot was not fooled and he soon realized they both had strong but unspoken feelings for each other. He questions Merlin and finds out this was true, and although he has his own feelings for Gwen, he says he won't get between her and Arthur. Saying it was best he depart, he tells Merlin to pass on a message to Gwen, saying perhaps they aren't meant to be but she has changed his life forever (Lancelot and Guinevere).
Saving Camelot
He returns again with his friend Percival when Merlin sent word he needed help. Camelot had been lost to Morgana and they were being pursued by soldiers from an immortal army. They stop them by making big boulders fall and goes with Merlin, Arthur, Gwen, Sir Leon and Gaius to an ancient castle (Castle of the Ancient Kings), where Arthur proposes they try and fight the immortal army to save his father.
He also notices Arthur and Gwen were quite close, and he sees them kiss. As they sit amongst the round table, Lancelot was the first to stand up and say he would be honoured to fight alongside him with pride because Arthur had taught him the knight's code and so he is knighted by Arthur as a Knight of Camelot. He then discusses plans for the battle and tells Merlin he is the bravest of them all, and thus he should be knighted. He then goes to and saves Camelot, although he is wounded during the final battle which he does not suffer much from. He then goes back to the Castle of the Ancient Kings to get Gwen and Gaius, guarding them as they went home wearing the knight's armour with the great crest of Camelot (The Coming of Arthur: Part 2).
Time as a Knight
Lancelot is seen again one year later as one of the knights of Camelot. Although not much is known about what he and the other knights did during this time, he rides out with Arthur to explore mysterious reports about strange beings going to small towns and attacking these towns, many whom had suffered deaths. He and the others soon find out they are named the Dorocha, and he saves Merlin from one when he finds that his magic does not appear to be working against what appear to be ghosts. Upon finding out the only way to stop them is to repair the veil between their world and the dead, he sets out to help Arthur, Merlin and the other knights on their quest to get to the Isle of the Blessed. Before he departs, he has one last word with Gwen, who makes him promise to protect Arthur. The group set up camp among the forest, and he goes to help Merlin find wood to plead with him to go home because there is nothing he is able to do his magic is useless and he is no soldier. But Merlin says he won't, as he does not wish to depart his friends. Soon, Lancelot helplessly sees Merlin get seriously wounded by one of the spirits (The Darkest Hour: Part One).
Arthur struggles to decide whether he should turn around and take his friend back home and try again another time or go on with the quest with Merlin. He decides Merlin must go home to Gaius so he will be saved but Sir Leon and some of the other knights say the quest must also go on. Lancelot then goes alone with Merlin to get him home to Gaius. They stop by a stream to rest and drink water as Merlin gets worse.
But then, a type of spirit appear to Lancelot, telling him they are kind spirits who live amongst brooks and streams who also wish to go home when the veil is restored. They say they want to help him and Merlin, saying they both still have an important part to play and Merlin has a destiny written about since the dawn of time. They heal Merlin and give them shelter and protection for the night while Merlin rested. By morning, they set out to find Arthur and the others again and they talk about why they are helping Arthur. Merlin says he thinks Lancelot is only helping Arthur because he has promised Gwen, and he says he needs to stay away from Arthur and Gwen's happiness as he does not wish to ruin what they have but Arthur is also is friend. But they are pursued by the spirits again and so Merlin has no choice but to summon the great dragon, who goes to help them. At first, Lancelot is a little scared by the dragon's sudden presence, drawing his sword. But he stops when he realizes he is a friend of Merlin's. Upon discovering who he was, the dragon names him the "bravest and most noble of them all" which a humble Lancelot says he does not think is true. Lancelot soon hears the dragon and Merlin bid their goodbyes to each other, and he finds out that not only is Arthur intending to die to repair the veil, but Merlin intends to take his place. He tells Merlin he admires him and wonders perhaps that maybe he would have the courage to save his friend's life by giving his own. (The Darkest Hour: Part Two).
Lancelot's Sacrifice
On the Isle of the Blessed, Lancelot sacrifices himself instead of Merlin (after he takes the place of Arthur after knocking him out) and walks though the Veil, fulfilling the blood-sacrifice required by the Cailleach, thus sealing the Veil to the spirit world, saving Camelot. Before walking though the Veil, he looks back at Merlin, giving him a small smile and nod, before embracing his fate and walking with open arms into Veil (The Darkest Hour: Part Two).
Lancelot's death comes as a big shock to Camelot, he is heavily mourned by Merlin and his fellow knights. Arthur says that Lancelot is one of the bravest and noblest knights Camelot has ever had. He conducts a memorial service by burning a knight's cloak and Lancelot's sword on a woodpile in the courtyard. Gwen is also especially mournful as tells Arthur that she thinks that Lancelot sacrificed himself not for Camelot, but because he was true to his promise to her to keep Arthur safe, and he promised he would do so with his life.
Releasing of The Shade
Morgana resurrected Lancelot as a Shade, he had an affair with Guinevere. Arthur had Gwen exiled from Camelot, but before he could pass judgement on Lancelot (unbeknownst that he was Shade), a final order from Morgana came ordering the Shade to kill himself, thus sparing Arthur the need to punish him. Arthur, melancholic on hearing the news, assumed "Lancelot" had done so out of guilt and because of his strong sense of right and wrong, commenting that he had always been a man of honour "in all ways but one". Arthur therefore gave orders for him to have a proper burial. Merlin then took the Shade to the lake and performed a blessing on Lancelot's body. This temporarily resurrected Lancelot for a few seconds where it was shown that his soul was now free from Morgana's control and he was restored to his true self. He looked at Merlin and spoke his final words: "Merlin, thank you". Lancelot finally died in peace and Merlin cast his friend's body across the lake in a floating pyre, igniting it with magic (Lancelot du Lac).
No comments:
Post a Comment