Elaine is a name shared by several different female characters in Arthurian legend.

Elaine of Astolat

Lady Elaine of Astolat, also known as Elaine the Fair or the Fair Maid of Astolat (and as

The Lady of Shalott "The Lady of Shalott" is a lyrical ballad by the 19th-century English poet Alfred Tennyson and one of his best-known works. Inspired by the 13th-century Italian short prose text '' Donna di Scalotta'', the poem tells the tragic story of Elain ...

in the eponymous poem), is a maiden daughter of the lord of

Astolat Astolat (; French: Escalot) is a legendary castle and town of Great Britain named in Arthurian legends. It is the home of Elaine, "the lily maid of Astolat", as well of her father Sir Bernard and her brothers Lavaine and Tirre. It is known as Sha ...

. She falls in unrequited love with Sir

Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...

, leading to her death of sorrow.

Elaine of Benoic

Queen Elaine of Benoic (Old French: ''Élaine de Bénoïc''; also written Elainne, Elene, Helaine, Helainne, Helayne, or Helene) is wife of

King Ban Ban is the King of Benwick or Benoic in Arthurian legend. First appearing by this name in the ''Lancelot propre'' part of the Vulgate Cycle, he is the father of Sir Lancelot and Sir Hector de Maris, and is the brother of King Bors. Ban largely cor ...

and birth mother of

. The Vulgate Cycle traces her descent to the holy bloodline of the biblical Israeli king

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

. Following the conquest of their kingdom of Benoic (Benwick) by King Claudas, the death of her husband, and the taking of the infant Lancelot by the Lady of the Lake, Elaine becomes known as the Queen of Great Sorrows, living as a nun along with her sister Evaine, the widowed wife of

King Bors Bors (; french: link=no, Bohort) is the name of two knights in Arthurian legend, an elder and a younger. The two first appear in the 13th-century Lancelot-Grail romance prose cycle. Bors the Elder is the King of Gaunnes (Gannes/Gaunes/Ganis) du ...

and mother of Sir Lionel and Sir Bors. In an alternate version from the Italian rewrite ''

Tavola Ritonda ''La Tavola Ritonda'' (''The Round Table'') is a 15th-century Italian Arthurian romance written in the medieval Tuscan language. It is preserved in a 1446 manuscript at the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale in Florence (''Codex Palatinus 556''). It wa ...

'', the queen is named Gostanza and she dies of distress just few days after Ban's death and Lancelot's

premature birth Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 weeks, very early preterm birth is between 2 ...

. The early and even more distinctive German book '' Lanzelet'' calls its eponymous hero's mother Clarine and makes her a sister of Arthur.

Elaine of Corbenic

Princess Elaine of Corbenic (also known as Amite, Heliaebel, Helaine, Perevida or Helizabel; identified as "The Grail Maiden" or "Grail Bearer" due to her connection to the

Holy Grail The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracul ...

) is daughter of

King Pelles The Fisher King is a figure in Arthurian legend, the last in a long line of British kings tasked with guarding the Holy Grail. The Fisher King is both the protector and physical embodiment of his lands, but a wound renders him incapable and hi ...

Corbenic Corbenic (Carbone ''c''k, Corbin) is the name of the Grail castle, the edifice housing the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend. It is a magical domain of the Grail keeper, often known as the Fisher King. The castle's descriptions vary greatly in diffe ...

, descended from Joseph of Arimathea. In the Vulgate Cycle, Lady Elaine becomes mother of Sir Galahad after raping Sir Lancelot and later lives with Lancelot for several years.

Elaine of Garlot

Queen Elaine of Garlot (Garloth) or Elaine of Tintagel, originally known as Blasine (Blaasine, Basyne) in the Vulgate ''Merlin'', is one of the daughters of

Gorlois In Arthurian legend, Gorlois ( cy, Gwrlais) of Tintagel, Duke of Cornwall, is the first husband of Igraine, whose second husband is Uther Pendragon. Gorlois's name first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' (). A vas ...

and

Igraine In the Matter of Britain, Igraine () is the mother of King Arthur. Igraine is also known in Latin as Igerna, in Welsh as Eigr (Middle Welsh Eigyr), in French as Ygraine (Old French Ygerne or Igerne), in ''Le Morte d'Arthur'' as Ygrayne—often ...

. She is a sister of

Morgan le Fay Morgan le Fay (, meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan , Morgain /e Morg e, Morgant Morge , and Morgue namong other names and spellings ( cy, Morgên y Dylwythen Deg, kw, Morgen an Spyrys), is a powerful ...

and

Morgause The Queen of Orkney, today best known as Morgause and also known as Morgawse and other spellings and names, is a character in later Arthurian traditions. In some versions of the legend, including the seminal text ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', she is ...

and a half-sister of Arthur. Elaine marries King Nentres of Garlot and has a son named Galeschin, who becomes a Knight of the Round Table, and a daughter also named Elaine. The name Elaine (Elayne) was invented by the writer Thomas Malory.

Elaine the Peerless

Lady Elaine the Peerless (Elaine sans Pere, Helaine the Peerless, Helayn Withouten Pere, Heleine sans Pair, Heliene sans Per) is niece of the Lord of the Fens and wife of Persides the Red. She is introduced in the Vulgate ''Lancelot'' wherein she is freed from her captivity in her husband's castle by Hector de Maris.

Others

*Princess Elaine, daughter of King Nentres and Queen Elaine (''Didot-Perceval'' casts her as a child of

King Lot King Lot , also spelled Loth or Lott (Lleu or Llew in Welsh), is a British monarch in Arthurian legend. He was introduced in Geoffrey of Monmouth's influential chronicle ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' that portrayed him as King Arthur's brother- ...

). She is a niece of King Arthur who falls in love with Perceval. *Princess Elaine (Eleine), daughter of King

Pellinore King Pellinore (alternatively ''Pellinor'', ''Pellynore'' and other variants) is the king of Listenoise (possibly the Lake District) or of "the Isles" (possibly Anglesey, or perhaps the medieval kingdom of the same name) in Arthurian legend. In ...

. She kills herself after the death of her lover Sir Miles of the Laundes. Some modern works such as ''

The Mists of Avalon ''The Mists of Avalon'' is a 1983 historical fantasy novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, in which the author relates the Arthurian legends from the perspective of the female characters. The book follows the trajectory of Morgaine (Mo ...

'' combine or conflate her with Elaine of Corbenic, due to their shared name and the similarity of their fathers' names. *Princess Elaine (Claire), daughter of King Brandegore and mother of Sir Elyan.https://books.google.com/books?id=JMpBAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA289 *Lady Elaine (Elayne, Elyne, Helaine, Helen, Helena), a niece or cousin of King Hoel and the maiden kidnapped, raped and murdered by the Giant of

Mont-Saint-Michel Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France. The island lies approximately off the country's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is ...

References

Sources

University of Idaho, 1997. Web. 04/1999. “The Elaines.”
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elaine (Legend) Arthurian characters King Arthur's family