Who is the Lady of Shalott?

This article is part of a series on “The Lady of Shalott,” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.  You can read the other articles by clicking on the links below.

• The Lady of Shalott, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (Part I & II)
• The Lady of Shalott, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (Part III & IV)

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“The Lady of Shalott,” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson stands in enticingly close, but mysteriously distant, connection with the rest of Arthurian legend.  While the Lady of Shalott is beloved by those of the Victorian era and Anne of Green Gables readers for her story of enchantment and unrequited love, she has left literary critics and scholars curious and wondering.  Who is the Lady of Shalott?  Is she Elaine of Astolat, the young maiden who loved Sir Lancelot and died because he did not return her love?  Is she a different, little-known character from the Arthurian corpus who was held under an enchantment?  Or did Tennyson create her himself and weave her into the greater Arthurian tapestry?  “The Lady of Shallot” bears resemblance to the story of Elaine of Astolat in its theme of a woman dying for love of Sir Lancelot and floating down to Camelot in a boat, but it differs significantly in the addition of the curse, mirror, and tapestry.  Two sources that highlight these origins and differences are the Italian romance Damigella di Scalot and Le Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory.

Damigella di Scalot is an Italian romance that dates to the thirteenth century,¹ but the location of the original is unknown and only a few brief references to it are scattered throughout the nineteenth century.  The fullest version available is a short tale in a volume of stories published in Milan in 1804.²  This version of the tale was graciously included in an article by L.S. Potwin of Adelbert College in 1902.  The story begins, “Here it is related how the Damsel of Shalot died for love of Lancelot du Lac.”³  What follows is a brief but detailed account of how the Damsel loved Sir Lancelot, but was refused by him on account of his love for Queen Guinevere.  “So much did she love Lancelot that she drew near to death.”⁴  Whereupon she gives instruction to have her body richly dressed and laid in a boat,⁵ along with a letter to the court of Camelot.  When her body arrives on the shores of Camelot, King Arthur has her letter read to the court.

To all the knights that are round-about, this Damsel of Shalot sends greeting, as to the best people of the world.  And if you would know wherefore I have come to my end, it is for the best knight in the world and for the most cruel, that is, Sir Lancelot du Lac, whom indeed I knew not to care enough for love to have pity on me.  And so, alas, I die for loving well, as you can see.⁶

These elements of rejected love, careful death arrangements, and journey down to Camelot, as well as her arrival and letter are present in nearly all subsequent tales of Elaine of Astolat.  How the Damigella di Scalot became Elaine is unclear.  What is certain is Tennyson used the original Italian “Scalot” for his poem instead of the more common “Elaine.”

In the fifteenth century, Thomas Malory greatly expanded the tale (or drew from other sources available to him) which became the reference for all later renditions.  By this time the Damigella di Scalot had become enmeshed with Elaine “the Lily Maid” of Astolat.  In Malory’s telling, Elaine interacts with Sir Lancelot on a few occasions and heals him from wounds before she openly discusses her love for him.  He refuses because of his love for Queen Guinevere, but says,

because, fair damosel, that ye love me as ye say ye do, I will for your good will and kindness show you some goodness, and that is this, that wheresomever ye will beset your heart upon some good knight that will wed you, I shall give you together a thousand pound yearly to you and to your heirs; thus much will I give you, fair madam, for your kindness, and always while I live to be your own knight.  Of all this, said the maiden, I will none.⁷

The consequences of his rejection are the same as the consequences in Damigella di Scalot.  Elaine dies after dictating a letter to Sir Lancelot and giving instructions for her body to be richly dressed and laid in a boat that will drift to Camelot.  Sir Lancelot shows some sorrow at her death, saying “she was both fair and beautiful and good, and I was much beholden unto her, but,” he concludes, “she loved me out of measure.”⁸  Apart from the vast expansion of detail the skeleton of the story is much the same.

“The Lady of Shalott” includes elements of the original Damigella di Scalot and her later equivalent Elaine, namely the Lady’s love for Sir Lancelot, her body floating down to Camelot, and her arrival at court.  However, the poem includes some notable differences that set it apart from Damigella di Scalot and Malory.  The Lady of Shalott lives alone in a tower, bound by a spell.  Her window looks down the river to Camelot, but she is only allowed to gaze at it through a mirror.  She weaves what she sees through the mirror on a tapestry until the appearance of Sir Lancelot riding by causes her to turn directly to the window.  At that moment the curse comes upon her, the mirror cracks, and she stumbles down to a boat where she dies as she floats down the river, finally arriving at Camelot.  The elements of the curse, the mirror, and the tapestry are neither mentioned, nor hinted in Damigella di Scalot or Malory’s telling.  Although Sir Lancelot causes the Lady’s death, it seems they do not know one another, as they do in earlier versions.  These are Tennyson’s additions, or else originate in some lost version of the tale that is no longer available.  They change the story significantly, not by saying more (as Malory does) but by saying less.  Tennyson does not give the reader any indication why the Lady is under a spell, or why the mirror and tapestry are significant.

Tennyson was certainly influenced by Damigella di Scalot and Malory in his general construction of “The Lady of Shalott,” but it is clear that he intended to create something slightly different.  The Lady of Shalott is definitely connected with Elaine of Astolat and not invented by Tennyson.  However, he inserted new details that change her story from one of unrequited love to one of fate and enchantment.  These differences set “The Lady of Shalott” apart from Elaine of Astolat, placing her in a unique position in the Arthurian legend.

Notes:

¹“Elaine of Astolat/The Lady of Shalott,” by Kristi Janelle Castleberry

²“The Source of Tennyson’s the Lady of Shalott,” by L.S. Potwin

³Damigella di Scalot, quoted in “The Source of Tennyson’s the Lady of Shalott,” by L.S. Potwin

⁴Ibid.

⁵“If I Die Young,” the song by The Band Perry which I referenced in The Lady of Shalott, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (Part III & IV), nods to this element of the Damigella di Scalot/Elaine of Astalot story in its chorus,

If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song

⁶Damigella di Scalot, quoted in “The Source of Tennyson’s the Lady of Shalott,” by L.S. Potwin

⁷Le Morte d’Arthur, Book XVIII, Chapter XIX

⁸Le Morte d’Arthur, Book XVIII, Chapter XX

All links accessed July 25, 2024