Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart

Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart (French: Lancelot, le Chevalier de la charrette) is a 12th-century Old French chivalric romance poem by Chrétien de Troyes, although it is believed that Chrétien worked on a story given to him by Marie of France and he did not complete the text himself. It is the earliest known text to feature Lancelot as a prominent character, and the first to feature the love affair between him and King Arthur's wife Queen Guinevere.

The story centers on Lancelot's rescue of Guinevere after she has been abducted by Meleagant, the malevolent son of King Bademagu, the ruler of the otherworldly Kingdom of Gorre. It deals with Lancelot's trials during the rescue, and his struggle to balance his duties as a warrior and as a lover bound by societal conventions.

Chrétien's work impacted Arthurian legend, establishing Lancelot's subsequent prominence in Arthurian literature. He was the first writer to deal with the themes of the lineage of Lancelot, his relationship to Guinevere, their secret love and infidelity, and the idea of courtly love. In the 13th century, the story was incorporated in a greatly expanded form in the Vulgate Cycle.