Sophie Anderson - Elaine - Google Art Project

Elaine is a name shared by several female characters in

Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain (; ; ; ) is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. The 12th-century writer Geoffr ...

, where they can also appear under different names depending on the source. They include Elaine of Astolat and Elaine of Corbenic among others.

Elaine of Astolat

Lady Elaine of Astolat (a common mistake misspelling of "Ascolat") or Elaine the Fair is a maiden daughter of the lord of Astolat (''Ascolat'', ''Escalot''). She falls in unrequited love with Sir

Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), alternatively written as Launcelot and other variants, is a popular character in the Matter of Britain, Arthurian legend's chivalric romance tradition. He is typically depicted as King Arthu ...

, leading to her death of sorrow. In modern times, she is also often known as " The Lady of Shalott" after the eponymous poem.

Elaine of Benoic

Queen Elaine of Benoic (Old French: ''Élaine de Bénoïc''; alternative forms including ''Elainne'', ''Elene'', ''Helaine'', ''Helainne'', ''Helayne'' and ''Helene''; also known as ''Provida'' or ''Perevida'') is wife of King Ban and birth mother of

. The

Vulgate Cycle The ''Lancelot-Grail Cycle'', also known as the Vulgate Cycle or the Pseudo-Map Cycle, is an early 13th-century French Arthurian literary cycle consisting of interconnected prose episodes of chivalric romance originally written in Old French. T ...

's Prose ''Lancelot'' traces her descent to the holy bloodline of the biblical Israeli king

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

. Following the conquest of their kingdom of Benoic (known as Benwick in English) by King Claudas, the death of her husband, and the taking of the infant Lancelot by the

Lady of the Lake The Lady of the Lake (, , , , ) is a title used by multiple characters in the Matter of Britain, the body of medieval literature and mythology associated with the legend of King Arthur. As either actually fairy or fairy-like yet human enchantres ...

, Elaine becomes known as the Queen of Great Sorrows, living as a nun along with her sister Evaine, the widowed wife of King Bors and mother of Sir Lionel and Sir Bors. In an alternate version from the Italian rewrite '' Tavola Ritonda'', the queen is named Gostanza and she dies of distress just few days after Ban's death and Lancelot's

premature birth Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 weeks, very early preterm birth is betwee ...

. An early and even more distinctive Lancelot romance, the German '' Lanzelet'', calls its eponymous hero's mother Clarine and makes her a sister of

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

Elaine of Corbenic

How Sir Launcelot was known by Dame Elaine

Princess Elaine of Corbenic (also known as ''Amite'', and alternatively written ''Helaine'', ''Heliaebel'' or ''Helizabel'') is daughter of

King Pelles The Fisher King (; ; ; ) is a figure in Arthurian legend, the last in a long line of British kings tasked with guarding the Holy Grail. The Fisher King is both the protector and physical embodiment of his lands, but a wound renders him impotent ...

of Corbenic, descended from a relative of

Joseph of Arimathea Joseph of Arimathea () is a Biblical figure who assumed responsibility for the burial of Jesus after Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion. Three of the four Biblical Canon, canonical Gospels identify him as a member of the Sanhedrin, while the ...

. She is identified as "The Grail Maiden" or "Grail Bearer" due to her connection to the

Holy Grail The Holy Grail (, , , ) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miraculous healing powers, sometimes providing eternal youth or sustenanc ...

. In the Vulgate Cycle, Lady Elaine becomes mother of Sir

Galahad Galahad (), sometimes referred to as Galeas () or Galath (), among other versions of his name (originally ''Galaad'', ''Galaaz'', or ''Galaaus''), is a knight of King Arthur's Round Table and one of the three achievers of the Holy Grail in Ar ...

after raping Sir Lancelot and later lives with Lancelot as his wife for several years.

Elaine of Garlot

Queen Elaine of Garlot (''Garloth'') or Elaine of Tintagel, originally known as Blasine (''Blaasine'', ''Basyne'') in the Vulgate ''Merlin'', is one of the daughters of

Gorlois In Matter of Britain, Arthurian legend, Gorlois () of Tintagel was the List of legendary rulers of Cornwall, Duke of Cornwall. He was the first husband of King Arthur's mother Igraine and the father of her daughters, King Arthur's family, Arthu ...

and

Igraine In the Matter of Britain, Igraine () is the mother of King Arthur. Igraine is also known in Latin as Igerna, in Welsh as Eigr (Middle Welsh Eigyr), in French as Ygraine (Old French Ygerne or Igerne), in ''Le Morte d'Arthur'' as Ygrayne—ofte ...

. She is a sister to Morgan and

Morgause Morgause ( ) is a popular variant of the figure of the Queen of Orkney, an Arthurian legend character also known by various other names and appearing in different forms of her archetype. She is the mother of Gawain and often also of Mordred, ...

and a half-sister to Arthur. Elaine marries King Nentres of Garlot and has a son named Galeschin, who becomes a

Knight of the Round Table The Knights of the Round Table (, , ) are the legendary knights of the fellowship of King Arthur that first appeared in the Matter of Britain literature in the mid-12th century. The Knights are a chivalric order dedicated to ensuring the peace ...

, and a daughter also named Elaine. The form Elaine (''Elayne'') was invented by ''

Le Morte d'Arthur ' (originally written as '; Anglo-Norman French for "The Death of Arthur") is a 15th-century Middle English prose reworking by Sir Thomas Malory of tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin and the Knights of the ...

'' author

Thomas Malory Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', the classic English-language chronicle of the Arthurian legend, compiled and in most cases translated from French sources. The most popular version of ''Le Morte d'A ...

and without an identifying moniker "of Galot which he only used for her husband. All texts mention her only very briefly and there is a confusion regarding the sisters within the Vulgate Cycle, with either Belisent (Morgause) or Morgain (Morgan) replacing her as the wife of Nentres in the variants of the Vulgate ''Merlin Continuation''.

Elaine the Peerless

Lady Elaine the Peerless (''Elaine sans Pere'', ''Helaine the Peerless'', ''Helayn Withouten Pere'', ''Heleine sans Pair'', ''Heliene sans Per'', ''Heliene without Equal'') is niece of the Lord of the Fens and wife of Persidés the Red of Corbenic. She is introduced in the Vulgate ''Lancelot'' wherein she is freed from her captivity in her husband's castle by Hector de Maris.

Others

*Princess Elaine (''Elainne''), daughter of King Nentres and Queen Elaine (''Didot-Perceval'' casts her as a child of

King Lot King Lot , also spelled Loth or Lott (Lleu or Llew in Welsh), is a British monarch in Arthurian legend. He was introduced in Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudohistorical ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' (c. 1136) as King Arthur's brother-in-law, who s ...

named ''Aleine''). She is a niece of King Arthur and either a sister or cousin of

Gawain Gawain ( ), also known in many other forms and spellings, is a character in Matter of Britain, Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and one of the premier Knights of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned und ...

who falls in love with Perceval. Possibly the same as Elaine the Peerless. *Princess Elaine (''Eleine''), daughter of King Pellinore in ''Le Morte d'Arthur''. She kills herself after the death of her lover Sir Miles of the Laundes. Some modern works such as ''

The Mists of Avalon ''The Mists of Avalon'' is a 1983 historical fantasy novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, in which the author relates the Arthurian legends from the perspective of the female characters. The book follows the trajectory of Morgaine ...

'' combine or conflate her with Elaine of Corbenic, due to their shared name and the similarity of their fathers' names. *Princess Elaine, daughter of King Brandegore and mother of Sir Elyan in a print variant of ''Le Morte d'Arthur''. Usually named Claire in other texts. *Elaine, an alternative name of Viviane, the Lady of the Lake in the Sommer version of the Vulgate Cycle. Mike Ashley identified her with Arthur's sister Elaine.

References

Sources

University of Idaho, 1997. Web. 04/1999. “The Elaines.”
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elaine (Legend) Arthurian characters Family of King Arthur