ABSTRACT
In every romance about Lancelot King Arthur’s position as husband of Queen Guenevere and head of the Round Table is necessarily rather delicate. An examination of his role in the non-cyclic version of the prose Lancelot 1 will help to clarify both the treatment of the theme of love in this version of the story of Lancelot and the relation between this particular story and the broader literary tradition. The nature of the theme (the hero who, under the impetus of his love for the queen, makes a name for himself and wins a place at the Round Table) and the interplay with other Arthurian romances determine the various ways in which Arthur is portrayed within the work. The presentation of Arthur’s character also reflects some of the preoccupations and aspirations of the aristocracy of the period. 2 The role played by the king begins to change when the non-cyclic romance is transformed into the Lancelot-Graal cycle, for the incorporation of the early adventures of Lancelot into a larger structure leads to a reinterpretation and re-writing of the earlier events.
