Lancelot, the knight of the cart, is in love with Queen Guinevere, who constantly compromises his reputation by embarrassing him. Chrétien de Troyes writes that Lancelot in The Knight in the Cart is deeply in love, so much so that he constantly sacrifices his reputation for the queen. Classically, “the romantic hero evolved from an extravagant character to an ideal character” (Williams 275) in typical romance literature. Although romance literature has many variations, Lancelot depicts this transition from the extravagant and noble knight to an ideal character in the tale. Lancelot depicts what is ideal for what a woman would want, and this in turn ennobles her. Lancelot is ennobled by courtly love, but involuntarily. By placing himself above rumor and concern for his reputation, he appears like a modern knighted knight even if his love superficially generates embarrassing consequences. Chrétien begins The Knight of the Cart with the Queen, with whom Lancelot is in love, captured and taken away. . Lancelot is upset and has to go save her. What's quite embarrassing is that one of the first things Lancelot endures is having to ride in a cart usually intended for criminals to get relevant information about the Queen's whereabouts. “People were amazed at the knight who was carried in the dwarf's cart. They did not hide their feelings, but all, rich and poor, young and old, laughed loudly at him as he was carried through the streets; the knight heard at his expense many vile and contemptuous words” (de Troyes 212). Lancelot jumps into the cart and commits these very embarrassing acts because of his love for Guinevere. His willingness to compromise his reputation for love embarrasses him at first, but it ennobles him like the tale...... middle of paper ...... it's because he loves her, that does not take away his status as a noble knight, and he ennobles himself by putting what is important to him above his reputation. He follows all the rules regarding manners and behavior, his only downfalls occur when Guinevere acts to embarrass him, which is hardly his fault if he wants to be an ideal lover. Whatever the embarrassing consequences, Lancelot's love for Guinevere ennobles his character. Works Cited Cooper, Helen. Shakespeare and the medieval world. London: Arden Shakespeare, 2010. Print. de Charny, Geoffroi. Extract from the Book of Chivalry. Trans. Marguerite Ehrhart. of Troyes, Chrétien. Arthurian novels. New York: Penguin, 1991. Print.Hardin, Richard F. “The Performance of Nobility in Modern European Literature.” The Journal of the 16th century. 32.1 (2001): 171-172. Web. Williams, Raymond. Keywords. “Romantics”.