Elaine le Blank

Elaine le Blank is the woman also known as Elaine of Astolat whose story ends in devotion to Sir Launcelot, death, and a letter removed from her dead hand. The book’s index records these final facts rather than narrating the full course of her story: it names her search for Launcelot, says that she dies for him and is put in a barge, and notes that the letter is taken from her hand. Those brief entries make the letter the surviving trace of a relationship whose details are not supplied here.

Identity and Record

The index lists Elaine le Blank by name and separately associates her with the description “Elaine of Astolat.” It gives three linked notices: she seeks Sir Launcelot; she dies for him and is placed in a barge; and a letter is taken from her dead hand. Together they outline a compact sequence of pursuit, death, and posthumous disclosure, without identifying where or when each step occurs.

Search for Launcelot

Elaine’s recorded objective is to seek Sir Launcelot. The evidence establishes that her story is oriented toward him, but does not explain how she comes to seek him, whether she finds him, or what passes between them. The index’s plain wording leaves those circumstances unstated; it supports the fact of her pursuit, not a fuller account of its cause or outcome.

Death, Barge, and Letter

The index says Elaine dies for Sir Launcelot and is put in a barge. It does not specify the circumstances of her death or describe the vessel’s journey. Its final notice shifts attention from Elaine’s living pursuit to what remains after her death: the letter is taken from her dead hand. The physical removal of the letter is the last recorded action associated with her, preserving a written message as the surviving link between her fate and Launcelot.

Narrative Significance and Limits

The sequence gives Elaine a tragic narrative shape through a few sharply ordered details: she seeks Launcelot, dies for him, and leaves a letter that is recovered after her death. Her devotion is explicit in the index’s account of her death, while the letter’s contents and the response it prompts are not provided in this evidence. Accordingly, her entry is defined less by a fully documented biography than by the enduring connection to Launcelot and the message that outlives her.