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Lancelot and the Lord of the Distant Isles, or The Book of Galehaut Retold (Patricia Terry and Samuel N. Rosenburg)
According to the authors of this book, in the Vulgate Cycle originally there was a book called The Book of Galehaut. Galehaut was a knight who could have defeated King Arthur, but for the love of Lancelot, surrendered to him instead. He was the enabler for Guinevere and Lancelot's love, again because of (and despite) his love for Lancelot. He's since faded from the story almost entirely, though he's sometimes mentioned with no particular connection to Lancelot. The introduction to this book suggests that that's partially because of the deeply homoerotic subtext of his relationship with Lancelot, and partly because he can be read as Welsh and Malory (for one) was writing at a time of disturbance between the English and the Welsh (what a surprise).
I haven't read the Vulgate Cycle for myself, or read any secondary sources discussing Galehaut, so I can't speak for the accuracy of their statements. It would make sense, of course, but little errors in the introduction -- it's spelt "Caerleon", or "Caerllion" if you're going for the Welsh spelling, not "Carleon", unless you're talking about a beach in Cornwall; Geoffrey of Monmouth is now thought to have been unlikely to be Welsh -- make me somewhat dubious about the scholarship. Plus, as a retelling, they might have been extremely choosy about what they took from the original text, and viewed through a modern lens stuff like sharing a bed seems more sexual than it is in medieval texts.
Still, it's interesting for two reasons: one, this is a part of Arthurian legend that has been neglected, and two, it's actually a really good story. They chose to write their retelling in a similar way to direct translations of the texts, so it feels familiar and authentic. They admit to tweaking and rearranging a little, so the final section of the story is a little different to the standard accepted versions, but mostly it fits into the canon reasonably well. Galehaut's love for Lancelot is deep and affecting: more so than the love between knights and ladies in romances of the period. Guinevere is mostly sympathetic, too, and the love between her and Lancelot is well-written in places, but the focus is Galehaut and his utter devotion to Lancelot. The ending picks up on something I just read about in a part from the Vulgate Cycle: Lancelot is buried beside Galehaut.
There are also a couple of bits that I honestly find quite funny, like this part:
Then Galehaut asked Gawain what he would give, if he had his health again, to have the Black Knight [Lancelot] as his companion. Gawain hesitated, wondering if his wounds would ever heal, and then replied that he would willingly be transformed into a beautiful young woman, if he could have the Black Knight's love his whole life long.
"And you, my lady?" Galehaut asked the queen.
"Now that Gawain has offered all that a lady can give, a lady can do no more!"
With that, they all laughed, but Galehaut when they demanded that he too answer the question, said that for the love of that knight, "I would let my very honour turn to shame."
"God knows," said Gawain, "that you have offered more than any of us." He realised that Galehaut had actually done what he said: at the very moment when he had won the war, he had given his triumph away.
The queen's response is awesome!
This story made me interested in Galehaut, in tracking down anything that mentions him, researching him, and bringing him back to life in my own writing. I think the authors of this retelling would be happy to hear that. For me, they've brought back to life a character who has been shamefully neglected. Well worth buying, I'd say, if it sounds like something you'd enjoy!
It helps that this edition includes some lovely illustrations -- wood engravings, actually -- alongside the text. They're quite detailed and lovely to look at.
According to the authors of this book, in the Vulgate Cycle originally there was a book called The Book of Galehaut. Galehaut was a knight who could have defeated King Arthur, but for the love of Lancelot, surrendered to him instead. He was the enabler for Guinevere and Lancelot's love, again because of (and despite) his love for Lancelot. He's since faded from the story almost entirely, though he's sometimes mentioned with no particular connection to Lancelot. The introduction to this book suggests that that's partially because of the deeply homoerotic subtext of his relationship with Lancelot, and partly because he can be read as Welsh and Malory (for one) was writing at a time of disturbance between the English and the Welsh (what a surprise).
I haven't read the Vulgate Cycle for myself, or read any secondary sources discussing Galehaut, so I can't speak for the accuracy of their statements. It would make sense, of course, but little errors in the introduction -- it's spelt "Caerleon", or "Caerllion" if you're going for the Welsh spelling, not "Carleon", unless you're talking about a beach in Cornwall; Geoffrey of Monmouth is now thought to have been unlikely to be Welsh -- make me somewhat dubious about the scholarship. Plus, as a retelling, they might have been extremely choosy about what they took from the original text, and viewed through a modern lens stuff like sharing a bed seems more sexual than it is in medieval texts.
Still, it's interesting for two reasons: one, this is a part of Arthurian legend that has been neglected, and two, it's actually a really good story. They chose to write their retelling in a similar way to direct translations of the texts, so it feels familiar and authentic. They admit to tweaking and rearranging a little, so the final section of the story is a little different to the standard accepted versions, but mostly it fits into the canon reasonably well. Galehaut's love for Lancelot is deep and affecting: more so than the love between knights and ladies in romances of the period. Guinevere is mostly sympathetic, too, and the love between her and Lancelot is well-written in places, but the focus is Galehaut and his utter devotion to Lancelot. The ending picks up on something I just read about in a part from the Vulgate Cycle: Lancelot is buried beside Galehaut.
There are also a couple of bits that I honestly find quite funny, like this part:
Then Galehaut asked Gawain what he would give, if he had his health again, to have the Black Knight [Lancelot] as his companion. Gawain hesitated, wondering if his wounds would ever heal, and then replied that he would willingly be transformed into a beautiful young woman, if he could have the Black Knight's love his whole life long.
"And you, my lady?" Galehaut asked the queen.
"Now that Gawain has offered all that a lady can give, a lady can do no more!"
With that, they all laughed, but Galehaut when they demanded that he too answer the question, said that for the love of that knight, "I would let my very honour turn to shame."
"God knows," said Gawain, "that you have offered more than any of us." He realised that Galehaut had actually done what he said: at the very moment when he had won the war, he had given his triumph away.
The queen's response is awesome!
This story made me interested in Galehaut, in tracking down anything that mentions him, researching him, and bringing him back to life in my own writing. I think the authors of this retelling would be happy to hear that. For me, they've brought back to life a character who has been shamefully neglected. Well worth buying, I'd say, if it sounds like something you'd enjoy!
It helps that this edition includes some lovely illustrations -- wood engravings, actually -- alongside the text. They're quite detailed and lovely to look at.
