|
Elaine of Corbenic (also known as Amite, Heliaebel, Helaine, Perevida or Helizabel; identified as "The Grail Maiden" or "Grail Bearer"),〔''Arthurian Women.'' www.timelessmyths.com. Jimmy Joe, 1999.〕 is a character in the Arthurian legend. She is the daughter of King Pelles and the mother of Sir Galahad by Sir Lancelot. She first appears in The Prose Lancelot (The Vulgate Cycle),〔 but fully emerges as a character in Sir Thomas Malory's ''Le Morte d'Arthur''.〔Malory, Sir Thomas. ''Le Morte d'Arthur''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.〕 She is described as "passing fair and young".〔Malory, p.283.〕 Her first significant action is showing the Holy Grail to Sir Lancelot. ==Story== Elaine's father, King Pelles, knew that Sir Lancelot would sire a son with Elaine, and that that child would be Sir Galahad, described as "the most noblest () knight in the world".〔Malory, p.288.〕 Moreover, King Pelles claims that Galahad will lead a "foreign country...out of danger" and "achieve...the Holy Grail".〔 The source of King Pelles' knowledge is undisclosed. After Sir Lancelot rescues her from a boiling bath, Elaine falls in love with him. In order to seduce Lancelot, who is in love with Queen Guinevere and would not knowingly sleep with another woman, Elaine goes to her serving woman, Dame Brusen, for help. Dame Brusen gives Lancelot wine and Elaine a ring of Guinevere's in order to trick Lancelot into thinking Elaine is Guinevere.〔Malory, p.283-284.〕 The next morning, Lancelot is most displeased to discover that the woman he slept with was not Guinevere. He draws his sword and threatens to kill Elaine, but she tells him that she is pregnant with Galahad and he agrees not to kill her, but instead kisses her.〔Malory, p.285.〕 Lancelot departs, and Elaine remains in her father's castle and gives birth to Galahad. Thereafter, there is a feast at King Arthur's court, and Elaine goes to it. Lancelot ignores her when he sees her, and she is sad because she loves him. She complains of this to Dame Brusen, and Dame Brusen tells her that she will "undertake that this night he () shall lie with ()".〔Malory, p.286.〕 That night, Dame Brusen brings Lancelot to Elaine, pretending that it is Guinevere that summons him. He goes along, and once again sleeps with Elaine. At the same time, however, Guinevere herself actually summons Lancelot, and is enraged to discover that he is not in his bedchamber.〔Malory, p.287.〕 She hears him talking in his sleep, and finds him in bed with Elaine. She is furious with him and tells him she never wants to see him again. Lancelot goes mad with grief and, naked, jumps out a window and runs away.〔 Elaine confronts Guinevere as to her treatment of Lancelot. She accuses Guinevere of causing Lancelot’s madness and tells her that she is being unnecessarily cruel. After this, she leaves court. Time passes in the story, and Elaine next appears when she finds Lancelot insane in her garden.〔Malory, p.297.〕 She brings him to the Holy Grail, which cures him. When he regains his mental facilities, he decides to live with Elaine, and they live together for several years as man and wife.〔Malory, p.299.〕 Elaine appears in the 1939 novel ''The Once and Future King'', by T.H. White. The basic character does not change, however, there are several key differences. Time is more specifically enumerated in this version, for instance, when Elaine finds Lancelot in the garden, Galahad is three years old. Additionally, Elaine and Lancelot live together as husband and wife for ten years and actively raise Galahad while Lancelot bears a pseudonym to hide from the court at Camelot.〔White, Terence Hanbury. ''The Once and Future King''. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1958.〕 Another key difference between White and Malory is that in White, Lancelot is cured of his insanity by seeing Elaine, but becomes physically sick and is nursed back to health by Elaine. White also chronicles Elaine's final fate, having her commit suicide when it becomes clear that Lancelot will never truly love her or end his obsession with Guinevere. This creates a parallel with the character of Elaine of Astolat, who is also referenced in the novel.〔 A more contemporary novel is ''Elaine of Corbenic'' by Tima Z. Newman. 〔Newman, Tima Z. ''Elaine of Corbenic''. Honolulu: Savant Books, 2015.〕 Based on Malory's account in ''Le Morte d’Arthur'' of the three brief encounters of Launcelot and Elaine, it chronicles Elaine’s journey through abandonment to the finding of inner strength and deepening wisdom. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Elaine of Corbenic」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|