Queeste. Tijdschrift over middeleeuwse letterkunde in de Nederlanden. Jaargang 1997

[p. 26]

Conclusion

The multitude of damsels and knights which amazed Mark Twain, and no doubt many other people as well, is not a useless deployment of characters. Knighthood inspired by worldly love is characterized by the courtly behaviour of the principal characters. This courtly conduct is brought out especially when the principal character is confronted with characters who behave in a very uncourtly way. The characters in the Lancelot-romance who exhibit uncourtly behaviour are minor knights.³³ They maltreat, disparage, humiliate and torment damsels. The principal characters are aroused by this behaviour and counteract the provocations. Whereas the minor knights by their violation of the courtly order activate the principal characters to re-establish it, damsels play the passive part in this inordinatio. They contribute to the re-foundation of order by their active appeal to principal characters for aid, and by informing, referring and guiding them. The minor knights help to establish the hierarchy among the principal characters within worldly knighthood.

The minor knights and especially the damsels also play an important role in strengthening the cohesion of the Lancelot-romance. It is not surprising, therefore, that so many damsels and knights appear and disappear in the Lancelot-romance.

33 There are principal knights who also occasionaly behave in an uncourtly way towards damsels (for example Guerrehet and Agravain). Cf. Smelik (see n. 21).