The Face Behind the Mask: Malory’s Paradoxical Use of Incognito Tournaments
I intend to perform a literary analysis of Malory Thomas’ Lancelot and Guinevere from Le Morte Darthur. The discussion will center around the three tournaments where Lancelot appears incognito, namely: the redemption joust, the Winchester tournament, and the Candlemas tournament. Even though Lancelot disguises himself in these events, there is still an intentional expression of identity. The aim of this paper will be to first explore the modes of expression that Lancelot wears, such as certain armor or tokens, and gauge their significance in the perception of his character. The detailed imagery of the tournaments offers some interesting suggestions Secondly, the paper will discuss the consequences of Lancelot’s incognito motif and what they suggest about his identity. The use of irony, dramatic and situational, prompts the readers to consider Lancelot’s character more closely. Third, the paper will propose a few larger roles that these incognito events play in the overall narrative.
In relation to the Sankgreal quest, this narrative seems to be rebuilding Lancelot’s reputation as the greatest knight. He wins every tournament that he is in, but at what cost? Gordon argues that the conflicting loyalties of the court can force a knight, like Lancelot, to go incognito (72). In all three events, Lancelot, in disguise, fights against various members of the court, essentially threatening King Arthur. Yet, King Arthur resolves to support the knight’s concealment, directly and indirectly, in order to endorse knightly values. This response proposes an interesting view on the role deception plays in King Arthur’s court. Lancelot’s affair with Guinevere also demonstrates conflicting values a knight faces—that is, love versus duty. While Malory certainly emphasizes Lancelot’s greatness as a knight, these incognito events captures the human tendency to be fixated on ideal chivalric values, like love and reputation.
As always comments are welcome!
This is such an interesting idea! I wrote my first paper about the necessity of deception in Arthurian romances, and I think coming at that concept through Lancelot’s disguises is great. I’m sure you’re already planning to discuss this, but I did notice that you didn’t mention Lancelot’s motivations for going incognito in the proposal, and I think that those motivations on the front end really play into these ideas that you want to discuss. I’m especially thinking that because you mentioned Lancelot’s conflict in his affair with Guinevere, you could include the bit about Guinevere telling him not to disguise himself before one of the tournaments and the implications of that for the overall idea of these conflicting values (love vs. duty). Hope that’s helpful, and good luck on your draft!