There once was a king, who was noble and true,
He was loved by many and loathed by few.
Arthur his name was, with his fair queen Guinevere
Their marriage and kingdom was the most revered.
Now begins my tale,
One that I swear,
Upon the life of my Amie that will dispel the air
Of illusion and treachery that clouded my sight.
Of all the Knights of the Round Table,
I was the most able
To protect and serve my good lord.
Scots and Pict both, I fought and slew,
As my Lord’s domain grew and grew.
When the time of praise and gratitude arrived,
The righteous King supplied and multiplied;
Baron, Knights and Dukes with treasure and land,
While I received nothing but my empty hand.
Broken and wounded from battle;
I sat with a heavy heart and melancholic mind.
I thought I was brave, beautiful, bold and kind;
Yet the great king appeared to shun me,
Something that I did not foresee.
While I displayed nothing but loyalty and tenacity.
Arthur and his knights celebrated with glee.
Despair and Despondent, I wandered off,
Searching for comfort I had lost.
Out of divine luck I should find,
A goddess and kingdom that would become mine.
Lost was I in the ecstasy that is love,
I return to my lord as a turtledove
To nest and rest while forgetting
Of the King’s earlier misgivings.
Content and happy was I that day,
Oblivious to what lies and evils would later play.
Having forgiven my lord for his ungratefulness,
The fair queen approached me with dagger in her dress.
“Lanval my dear, for long I have watched you,
Your lance makes me perspire with dew.
Please take me now for I want you in bed,
Thoughts of you roam my head,
My body grows hot and red,
With desire to be your first and only one.�
Shocked and disturbed, was I at the queen’s request,
I professed my allegiance to Arthur. But obsessed,
And surprised at my refusal,
The fork-tongued siren conjured delusions
And lies to vilify and destroy,
My life and reputation in a ploy.
Loving young boys and men
Was I accused of doing then.
The most heinous of sins was I to be brand
By the jealous queen in Arthur’s hand.
As an epitome of truth,
I declared the Queen to be dumb as a mute,
Her beauty in comparison
To be less than the maiden
Who tended my queen and Amie.
Guinevere recounted, ranted and raved,
As a hell spawned demon from a grave.
She cried to Arthur about my betrayal
Who swiftly judged without hearing of my portrayal.
My good brother and king placed me on trial
To be defamed and thrown into exile.
I pleaded and begged for him to recall
My deeds, devotion and service to all.
Alas, did my queen and love finally enter,
To prove her Lanval was no deceiver.
Shocked and stupefied was the king with the queen,
To realize her innocence was not so pristine.
Content and satisfied was I
That I did not bat an eye,
To leave the accursed land; I was gone
With my one true love to Avalon.
Now before my story comes to an end,
I do want to make amends.
Arthur, my lord and brother,
Please be advised that your son’s mother
Made your heir with another,
The noble Sir Gawain. Your lover
Is nothing but a usurper,
Whom you’ve vested trust and lust
Has now destroyed your comitatus.
Truly yours,
Lanval
The knight who Ladies And Noblewomen Venerate And Love
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I have just tried to imitate Marie’s writing by having Laval tell the story. Crude and pathetic as it may be. I wanted to have Lanval give his own personal account instead of the narrator. I got the idea from the Grendal excerpt we read. Hope it’s alright.