Sir Lamorak and Queen Morgause

Sir Lamorak and Queen Morgause are joined in the romance by Lamorak’s avowed love and by the conflict that this preference provokes. When Sir Meliagaunce champions Queen Guenever’s beauty, Lamorak names Morgause as the fairest lady; he later explains that every knight considers his own lady fairest, making the judgment an expression of attachment as well as a cause for combat.

Lamorak’s declaration

In the dispute with Sir Meliagaunce, Lamorak rejects the claim that Queen Guenever is the most beautiful woman in the world and answers that Queen Morgause of Orkney is fairer. The disagreement is not presented as a detached comparison. Lamorak says that he praises the lady he loves most, and frames his praise of Morgause as his own perspective rather than a judgment that all must share.

Love, loyalty, and rivalry

Meliagaunce treats Lamorak’s preference as an offense against the queen, arguing that Lamorak should not disparage the princess to whom he owes obedience. Lamorak replies that each knight thinks his own lady fairest, and says that Morgause is fairest in his eyes. Their disagreement thus sets two forms of allegiance against one another: Meliagaunce’s defense of Queen Guenever and Lamorak’s devotion to Morgause. The episode makes courtly praise consequential; a claim about beauty becomes a challenge fought with weapons.

Consequences and significance

Lamorak is reluctant to fight Meliagaunce, whom he regards as a good and powerful knight, and says he is especially unwilling to fight him, excepting Sir Tristram. Their exchange nevertheless leads to combat, which Sir Launcelot interrupts. When Launcelot learns the cause, Sir Bleoberis argues that Lamorak has spoken reasonably and that a knight may praise his own lady without giving offense. Launcelot accepts this rebuke, asks Lamorak’s forgiveness, and the two part reconciled. Morgause does not appear in the confrontation; her importance in it is conveyed through Lamorak’s declaration and the loyalty that declaration expresses.