Hither and Yawn: Malory’s Drowsy Lancelot in the Morte Darthur – ‘shew me somthynge of that I seke’ (MD 773.23–26).

Early in Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte Arthur Merlin predicts that the child Lancelot will become ‘the moste man of worship of the world’ ( MD 100.7). Later, in King Arthur and the Emperour Lucius , the still-youthful Lancelot is heralded as having ‘no felowe’ in ‘wyse wytte and . . gret strengthe of his ayge’ ( MD 168.17–19). Still a major character in the next four sections of the Morte Darthur – ‘Sir Launcelot du Lake’, ‘Sir Gareth of Orkney’, and the two ‘books’ of ‘Sir Tristram […]’, he loses his dominant role in The Sankgreal. As the Grail Quest begins, in fact, Malory revises his presentation of his chief knight. Thus Lancelot learns from a suddenly-appearing damsel that he is now only ‘the best knyght […] of ony synfull man of the worlde’ ( MD 672.9, 14–19). Thus lessened, he begins his Quest only to be lessened further, first defeated by Galahad, then by virtually every knight he challenges. Moreover, he is beset by sudden nap-attacks. Thus hampered – by his unconfessed sin, we learn – Lancelot fails at almost every chivalric endeavor he attempts in the Quest. The ‘hero’ of The Sankgreal is Galahad, of course – but the thematic center and the most ‘conflicted’ character is Lancelot – who, contradicting his earlier valor and success, yawns or at least naps through many of the high points of The Sankgreal . Ironically, his greatest success is a final defeat – for which he thanks God.