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Elaine is a name shared by several different female characters in Arthurian legend.
Elaine of Astolat
Main article: Elaine of AstolatLady Elaine of Astolat (a common mistake misspelling of Ascolat) or Elaine the Fair is a maiden daughter of the lord of Astolat (Ascolat, Escalot). She falls in unrequited love with Sir Lancelot, leading to her death of sorrow. In modern times, she is also often known as "The Lady of Shalott" after the eponymous poem.
Elaine of Benoic
Queen Elaine of Benoic (Old French: Élaine de Bénoïc; also written Elainne, Elene, Helaine, Helainne, Helayne, or Helene) is wife of King Ban and birth mother of Lancelot. The Vulgate Cycle traces her descent to the holy bloodline of the biblical Israeli king David. Following the conquest of their kingdom of Benoic (Benwick) by King Claudas, the death of her husband, and the taking of the infant Lancelot by the Lady of the Lake, Elaine becomes known as the Queen of Great Sorrows, living as a nun along with her sister Evaine, the widowed wife of King Bors and mother of Sir Lionel and Sir Bors. In an alternate version from the Italian rewrite Tavola Ritonda, the queen is named Gostanza and she dies of distress just few days after Ban's death and Lancelot's premature birth. The early and even more distinctive German book Lanzelet calls its eponymous hero's mother Clarine and makes her a sister of Arthur.
Elaine of Corbenic
Main article: Elaine of CorbenicPrincess Elaine of Corbenic (also known as Amite, Heliaebel, Helaine, Perevida or Helizabel; identified as "The Grail Maiden" or "Grail Bearer" due to her connection to the Holy Grail) is daughter of King Pelles of Corbenic, descended from Joseph of Arimathea. In the Vulgate Cycle, Lady Elaine becomes mother of Sir Galahad after raping Sir Lancelot and later lives with Lancelot for several years.
Elaine of Garlot
Queen Elaine of Garlot (Garloth) or Elaine of Tintagel, originally known as Blasine (Blaasine, Basyne) in the Vulgate Merlin, is one of the daughters of Gorlois and Igraine. She is a sister of Morgan le Fay and Morgause and a half-sister of Arthur. Elaine marries King Nentres of Garlot and has a son named Galeschin, who becomes a Knight of the Round Table, and a daughter also named Elaine. The form Elaine (Elayne) was invented by the Le Morte d'Arthur author Thomas Malory.
Elaine the Peerless
Lady Elaine the Peerless (Elaine sans Pere, Helaine the Peerless, Helayn Withouten Pere, Heleine sans Pair, Heliene sans Per) is niece of the Lord of the Fens and wife of Persides the Red. She is introduced in the Vulgate Lancelot wherein she is freed from her captivity in her husband's castle by Hector de Maris.
Others
- Princess Elaine, daughter of King Nentres and Queen Elaine (Didot-Perceval casts her as a child of King Lot). She is a niece of King Arthur who falls in love with Perceval.
- Princess Elaine (Eleine), daughter of King Pellinore. She kills herself after the death of her lover Sir Miles of the Laundes. Some modern works such as The Mists of Avalon combine or conflate her with Elaine of Corbenic, due to their shared name and the similarity of their fathers' names.
- Princess Elaine (Claire), daughter of King Brandegore and mother of Sir Elyan.
- Lady Elaine (Elayne, Elyne, Helaine, Helen, Helena), a niece or cousin of King Hoel and the maiden kidnapped, raped and murdered by the Giant of Mont-Saint-Michel.
See also
References
- Leitch, Megan G.; Rushton, Cory James (2 January 2019). "A New Companion to Malory". Boydell & Brewer – via Google Books.
- Bruce, Christopher W. (1999). The Arthurian Name Dictionary. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-8153-2865-0.
- "Elaine | British legendary figure". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
- ^ Wilson, Robert H. (1943). "Malory's Naming of Minor Characters". The Journal of English and Germanic Philology. 42 (3): 364–385. ISSN 0363-6941. JSTOR 27705008.
- Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham (2 January 1881). "The Reader's Handbook of Allusions, References, Plots and Stories: With Two Appendices". J. B. Lippincott – via Google Books.
