Sir Lancelot is a character in the legend of King Arthur. The legend says Sir Lancelot was a Knight of the Round Table. Lancelot was a Red Cross Knight, which meant that he was on a quest to find the Holy Grail.
In Arthurian legend, Lancelot was raised by the Lady of the Lake. For this reason, he was also called Lancelot Du Lac.
At one time, Lancelot was one of the most trusted knights of King Arthur's Round Table. This changed when Lancelot fell in love with the king's wife, Queen Guinevere. He later had an affair with Elaine of Configure. As a result, he and Guinevere parted ways.
Lancelot is the father of Sir Galahad. The legend is not clear about who was Galahad’s mother. It may have been Elaine of Configure. Sir Galahad eventually became the greatest knight in all of Camelot. Lancelot saw Galahad’s ascension.
Lancelot was the only knight known to have defeated King Arthur in a jousting match.
He first appeared as a main character in Chrétien de Troyes' Le Chevalier de la Charrette ("The Knight of the Cart"), written in the 12th century. A section called the Prose Lancelot includes stories about Lancelot’s adventures. Often, the stories contain conflicting background stories and chains of events.