The Abduction of Guinevere

So it befell in the month of May, Queen Guenever called unto her knights of the Table Round; and she gave them warning that early upon the morrow she would ride a-Maying into woods and fields beside Westminster. And I warn you that there be none of you but that he be well horsed, and that ye all be clothed in green.

Few people are unfamiliar with the tales of King Arthur presented as a knight in shining armour,  tales of Grail quests, courtly love and chivalry, the product of the medieval continental romancers. Featured throughout Arthurian Romance is Guinevere, legendary consort of the King, portrayed as the archetypal feminine figure of the medieval court, a multifaceted character, the epitome of carnal desire and spiritual aspirations.

However, throughout Arthurian Romance  Guinevere is commonly portrayed with two weaknesses; the medieval tales consistently reveal that Guinevere had a love affair with Arthur's best knight, and she was very susceptible to being abducted. More often than not her rescuer is her lover, but this is not always so.

Along with the quest for the Holy Grail, the love affair of Guinevere and Lancelot, regarded as the first and greatest of King Arthur's legendary knights, dominates Arthurian Romance. The betrayal ultimately leads to the King's death and downfall of the kingdom. The account generally accepted as being introduced by Chrétien de Troyes in the 12th century, Lancelot as Guinevere's lover appears as a common motif in numerous Arthurian cyclical literature through to Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur in the 15th century.