Elaine of Astolat

Elaine of Astolat (/ˈæstlæt, -ɑːt/) is a figure in Arthurian legend who dies of her unrequited love for Sir Lancelot. Also referred to as Elaine the White and Elaine the Fair, she is the daughter of Bernard of Astolat. Versions of her story appear in Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur and Alfred Lord Tennyson's Idylls of the King. Elaine's story is also the inspiration for Tennyson's poem "The Lady of Shalott".

A version of the story appeared in the early 13th-century Mort Artu, in which the Demoiselle d’Escalot dies of unrequited love for Lancelot and drifts down a river to Camelot in a boat. Another version is told in the 13th-century Italian novella La Donna di Scalotta, (No. LXXXII in the collection Cento Novelle Antiche). Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poems, both titled "The Lady of Shalott", (1832 and 1842) were based on the story. The earlier version was likely referenced as the primary source material, and inspiration for the poetry, rather than the latter. Tennyson focused on the Lady's isolation in the tower and her decision to participate in the living world, two subjects not mentioned in Donna di Scalotta.

In Malory's 15th-century Le Morte d'Arthur, Elaine's story begins when her father Bernard of Astolat organizes a jousting tournament, attended by King Arthur and his knights. While Sir Lancelot was not originally planning to attend, he is convinced otherwise and visits Bernard and his two sons before the tournament. While Lancelot is in her family's household, Elaine becomes enamoured of him and begs him to wear her token at the coming tournament. Explaining that Guinevere would be at the tournament, he consents to wear the token but says that he will have to fight in disguise so as not to be recognized. He asks Bernard if he can leave his recognizable shield with him and borrow another. Bernard agrees and lends him the plain-white shield of Sir Torre, Elaine's brother.

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