The Fair Maid of Astolat

King Arthur announces a great tournament at Camelot, but Queen Guinevere claims illness and stays behind. Sir Lancelot also initially excuses himself, but the Queen privately tells Lancelot he should go, so he sets out for the tournament, stopping in Astolat and lodging with Sir Bernard, whose daughter Elaine immediately falls deeply in love with him. She desperately pleads with him to marry her, but he gently refuses, saying he will never take a wife, leaving her heartbroken. The primary moral of "The Fair Maid of Astolat" is the tragic consequence of unrequited love.