Note 29 — Chapter II

In the prose Lancelot the hero is always addressed as 'king's son.' Cf. in this connection Professor Ker's review of my Legend of Sir Gawain, Folk-lore, vol. ix. p. 266. I incline to think that the question of a hero's possessing from the first a name and a well-marked story depends upon whether he has or has not an existence in myth. If of mythical origin he probably would have both, if an actor in folk-tale very likely neither; thus while I should reject Professor Ker's correction as regards Gawain, I would certainly hold it true of Lancelot. In the case of this latter hero, I think his name may well have been determined by his title du Lac. The tendency of early verse is towards alliteration, probably mere chance determined the Lancelot, the one essential was that it should begin with an L. It should, I think, also be noted that while in the Lanzelet the hero's ignorance of his name and birth are genuine, in the prose Lancelot he knows who he is, and the wrong done to his father and uncle by Claudas. The pseudonyms 'Filz du Roi,' 'Beau Varlet' are here unnecessary; a meaningless survival from the original tale.