Mythological
Lancelot
Figure from the Arthurian cycle cited by Dante in the context of the lustful: he is linked to Queen Guinevere, wife of King Arthur, and to the love that «bound him».
Profile
Lancelot is a figure from the French romance of Lancelot of the Lake, belonging to the cycle of the Round Table, very well known in the Middle Ages. The romance recounts the love of Lancelot for Queen Guinevere, wife of King Arthur. Dante also recalls the Arthurian romances in the De vulgari eloquentia and refers to this same story also in Par. XVI 15. In the passage of the fifth canto of the Inferno, Lancelot is called upon to indicate the love that «bound him», read as the passion that enthralled the Arthurian hero and which Dante uses to define the root of the story of the two lovers.
In the text
Linked verses
1 verses| Cantica | Canto | Verso | Testo | Open verse |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inferno | Canto V | 128 | di Lancialotto come amor lo strinse; | Open verse |