Elaine is a name shared by several female characters inArthurian legend, where they can also appear under different names depending on the source. They includeElaine of Astolat andElaine of Corbenic among others.
LadyElaine of Astolat (a common mistake misspelling of "Ascolat"[1]) orElaine the Fair is a maiden daughter of the lord ofAstolat (Ascolat,Escalot). She falls in unrequited love with SirLancelot, leading to her death of sorrow. In modern times, she is also often known as "The Lady of Shalott" after the eponymous poem.
QueenElaine of Benoic (Old French:Élaine de Bénoïc; alternative forms includingElainne,Elene,Helaine,Helainne,Helayne andHelene; also known asProvida orPerevida) is wife ofKing Ban and birth mother ofLancelot. TheVulgate Cycle's ProseLancelot traces her descent to the holy bloodline of the biblical Israeli kingDavid.[2] Following the conquest of their kingdom of Benoic (known as Benwick in English) by KingClaudas, the death of her husband, and the taking of the infant Lancelot by theLady of the Lake, Elaine becomes known as the Queen of Great Sorrows, living as a nun along with her sister Evaine, the widowed wife ofKing Bors and mother ofSir Lionel andSir Bors.[3] In an alternate version from the Italian rewriteTavola Ritonda, the queen is namedGostanza and she dies of distress just few days after Ban's death and Lancelot'spremature birth. An early and even more distinctive Lancelot romance, the GermanLanzelet, calls its eponymous hero's motherClarine and makes her a sister ofArthur. Emmanuèle Baumgartner connected the figure of Elaine withSaint Helena.[4]
PrincessElaine of Corbenic (also known asAmite, and alternatively writtenHelaine,Heliaebel orHelizabel) is daughter ofKing Pelles ofCorbenic, descended from a relative ofJoseph of Arimathea.[5] She is identified as "The Grail Maiden" or "Grail Bearer" due to her connection to theHoly Grail. In the Vulgate Cycle, Lady Elaine becomes mother of SirGalahad after raping Sir Lancelot and later lives with Lancelot as his wife for several years.
QueenElaine of Garlot (Garloth) orElaine of Tintagel, originally known asBlasine (Blaasine,Basyne) in the VulgateMerlin, is one of the daughters ofGorlois andIgraine. She is a sister toMorgan andMorgause and a half-sister to Arthur.[6] Elaine marries KingNentres of Garlot[7] and has a son namedGaleschin, who becomes aKnight of the Round Table, and a daughter also named Elaine. The form Elaine (Elayne) was invented byLe Morte d'Arthur authorThomas Malory and without an identifying moniker "of Galot[h]" which he only used for her husband. All texts mention her only very briefly and there is a confusion regarding the sisters within the Vulgate Cycle, with either Belisent (Morgause) or Morgain (Morgan) replacing her as the wife of Nentres in the variants of the VulgateMerlin Continuation.
LadyElaine the Peerless (Elaine sans Pere,Helaine the Peerless,Helayn Withouten Pere,Heleine sans Pair,Heliene sans Per,Heliene without Equal) is niece of the Lord of the Fens and wife of Persidés the Red of Corbenic. She is introduced in the VulgateLancelot wherein she is freed from her captivity in her husband's castle byHector de Maris.