One of the most interesting things
about “The Knight of the Cart” is the way it approaches piety and faith. As per
the norm, characters interact with each other in a deeply Christian age, but Chrétien
de Troyes creates a land where faith means different things to different
people. The knights in particular approach faith in a different way.
Lancelot has a shaky manifestation
of his faith in God. He starts off fairly merciful and noble, sparing the life
of the knight at the ford: “‘I have always shown mercy to anyone . . . if he
seeks mercy in the name of God. I do this in God’s name, as is right’”
(Chrétien 181). Mercy is one of the core Christian virtues, so Lancelot seems
pretty solid in his faith. Things soon change when he beheads the knight who
interrupts his meal. That knight also asks for mercy in God’s name, but
Lancelot instead sides with “Generosity” and gives the head to a passing maiden
who asks for it.
The
“dueling virtues” of Generosity and Pity seem pretty strong as Chrétien
portrays them, but that is an argument people (myself included) have been using
for ages to justify doing something wrong. While Lancelot doesn’t abandon his
Christian nature, he certainly diminishes it after losing his mercy.
Rather than focusing on God,
Lancelot spends most of the story fixated on the queen, who, it becomes
evident, is an empowering force. One of the biggest examples is when Lancelot
breaks open a barred window: “‘I believe these bars to be useless. Only you may
prevent me from reaching you. If you grant me permission, [my lady,] my way is
clear’” (Chrétien 226). The instance’s significance comes from its resemblance
to water-walking miracle from the Bible. Jesus walks across the Sea of Galilee
to meet the disciples. Peter responds much like Lancelot does: “And Peter
answered Him and said, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the
water’” (Matt. 14.28). Clearly, faith is a force that empowers humans to
greatness, but in “The Knight of the Cart,” Love is also a force that empowers
greatness. It seems like Lancelot puts his love for the queen before his love
for God, which is a no-no in traditional Christianity.
So, I’ve been wondering, can a lover
in courtly romance truly be dedicated to his faith? What does it mean to be
faithful? Is love greater than faith? I don’t know, but it doesn’t seem like
the infatuation of courtly love and faith coexist fairly well; however,
Chrétien de Troyes would probably disagree.
***
Additional Works Cited
The New King James Bible. Nashville:
Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1982. Print.
I'm going to comment on this because I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to even though it doesn't seem like the other folks from our group got the memo? Idk.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I agree, there's a lot of talk about God and faith throughout these stories, and even a few visits to churches and prayers said before combat, but when it comes down to it Lancelot doesn't seem to stop off once a week to go to church or anything. I'm also pretty sure you're right about him beheading people, God would probably think that's not very cool...or maybe he would, he does some killing in the Bible...in any case, I think he tells other people not to, so Lancelot maybe made the wrong call choosing "generosity" over mercy in that case.
Similarly, he does seem to worship the queen more than anything else, as you pointed out. He tries to kill himself (another no-no for Christians if I'm correct) because he thinks the queen is dead. So...clearly his priorities are out of whack. You're right, courtly love and faith seem to be hard to juggle, since each asks you to think about something different as your highest priority: God or your mortal beloved.
My bad people! I'm here, I'm here. I swear I didn't forget.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think you're on the right track here though Sam. To me, reading the rules did seem like people would put their love before their faith. When it discusses becoming love sick, everything you do is supposed to remind you of your beloved, the last thing you think about before bed is your beloved, it does seem like Love becomes an idol to be worshipped before God. It wouldn't be very hard to believe Lancelot worships The Queen as an idol before God.
During the scene where Lancelot beheads that dude, I think he let the maiden persuade him. Which it would seem worked out for him in the end, as her favor was repaid, but it definitely wasn't very "christian-like" on Lancelot's part. For shame Sir Knight, for shame.