Who was the Lady of Shalott?
Elaine of Astolat is a figure in Arthurian legend who dies of her unrequited love for 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 Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur and Alfred 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 Scallota, which served as the source material for Tennyson’s The Lady of Shalott. 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 Lancelot was not originally planning to attend, he is convinced otherwise and visits Bernard
