Lamorak
| Lamorak | |
|---|---|
| Matter of Britain character | |
 Sir Lamorack of Gales, Howard Pyle's illustration for The Story of the Champions of the Round Table | |
| First appearance | Prose Tristan |
| In-universe information | |
| Title | Prince, Sir |
| Occupation | Knight of the Round Table |
| Family | Pellinore (father), Aglovale, Percival, Tor, Dindrane (siblings) |
| Significant other | Morgause |
Sir Lamorak /læmərɪk/ (or Lamorac(k), Lamorat, and other spellings) is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend. Introduced in the Prose Tristan, Lamorak reappears in later works including the Post-Vulgate Cycle and Thomas Malory's compilation Le Morte d'Arthur. Malory refers to him as Arthur's third best knight, only inferior to Lancelot and Tristan, but Lamorak was not exceptionally popular in the romance tradition, confined to the cyclical material and subordinate to more prominent characters.
Lamorak is one of sons of King Pellinore and a brother of Aglovale, Percival, Tor, and sometimes the Grail maiden Dindrane and others.[1][2] Named after his uncle, who in his time had been one of the best knights of Uther Pendragon, he gains fame for his strength, fiery temper, and feats of martial prowess such as fighting off at least thirty knights all by himself on two occasions. Lamorak's adventures often involve the Cornish prince Tristan, his mortal enemy turned the best friend.
Lamorak's death comes from how his father Pellinore, one of King Arthur's earliest allies, had once killed the rebellious King Lot of Orkney in battle. Ten years later, Lot's sons Gawain and Gaheris retaliated by slaying Pellinore in a duel. Lamorak, who meanwhile has joined Lot's sons at the Round Table, exacerbates the families' blood feud by having an affair with Lot's widow, Morgause, whose son Gaheris catches the lovers in flagrante delicto while staying at Gawain's estate and promptly beheads her, letting her unarmed lover go. Lamorak reappears at a tournament and explains the situation to Arthur, but rejects the king's promise of a truce. When he rides off, he is ambushed by Gawain, Gaheris, Agravain and Mordred, who unfairly fight him all at once for hours. Ultimately, it is Mordred who delivers the blow that kills him from behind.
His cousin, named Avarlon in the Post-Vulgate and Pinel le Savage in Malory's version, later attempts to avenge Lamorak's murder by poisoning Gawain at Guinevere's dinner party. However, the poison is accidentally taken by another knight (Gaheris of Carhaix / de Karaheu, unrelated to son of Lot), whose brother Mador de la Porte then blames the queen and demands Arthur to have her executed. Guinevere is saved when Lancelot fights Mador as her champion while the sorceress Nimue uncovers the truth behind the incident.
References
- ^ Sommer, H. Oskar (1891). Le Morte Darthur: Studies on the Sources. David Nutt. pp. 197–199, 248, 282, 287 – via Google Books.
- ^ Schofield, William Henry (1895). Harvard Studies and Notes in Philology and Literature, Vol. IV. Ginn & Company. pp. 184, 185, 193 – via Google Books.
External links
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