Lancelot, the chariot knight, is in love with Queen Guinevere, who constantly compromises his reputation by embarrassing him. Chrétien de Troyes writes that Lancelot in The Knight of the Chariot is deeply in love, so much so that he constantly sacrifices his reputation for the queen. Classically, “the romantic hero developed from an extravagant character to an ideal character” (Williams 275) in typical romance literature. Although romance literature has many variations, Lancelot portrays this transition from extravagant, noble knight to ideal character in the tale. Lancelot describes what is ideal for what a woman would want, and this in turn ennobles him. Lancelot is ennobled by courtly love, but unintentionally. By placing himself above rumors and concerns about his reputation, he emerges as an ennobled modern knight even as his love superficially generates embarrassing consequences. Chretien begins the Knight of the Chariot with the queen, with whom Lancelot is in love, who is captured and taken away. . Lancelot is upset about this and has to go and save her. Embarrassingly enough, one of the first things Lancelot endures is having to ride in a chariot typically meant for criminals to get pertinent information about the queen's whereabouts. “The people marveled at the knight who was carried in the dwarf's chariot. They did not hide their feelings, but everyone, rich and poor, young and old, mocked him loudly as he was carried through the streets; the knight heard many vile and contemptuous words at his expense” (de Troyes 212). Lancelot jumps onto the chariot and commits very embarrassing acts because of his love for Guinevere. Her willingness to compromise his reputation for love initially embarrasses him, but ennobles him as the story... halfway... is because he loves her, this does not negate his status as a noble knight, and yes he ennobles by placing what is important to him above his reputation. He follows all the rules about manners and behavior, his only faults occur when Ginevra acts to embarrass him, which is certainly not his fault if he wants to be an ideal lover. Despite 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. From the Book of Chivalry. Trans. Margaret Ehrhart. de Troyes, Chrétien. Arthurian novels. New York: Penguin, 1991. Print.Hardin, Richard F. “The Performance of Nobility in Early Modern European Literature.” The diary of the sixteenth century. 32.1 (2001): 171-172. Web.Williams, Raymond. Keywords. “Romantics”.