After many bloody adventures,
King Arthur sends his knights, who have been pledged by the late magician
Merlin, to retrieve the
Holy Grail, which is believed to be hidden somewhere in
Brittany. The mission proves futile and the knights are decimated. Among those who return two years later is
Lancelot, the lover of Queen
Guinevere. He is haunted by the death of his comrades and torn between his duty and his love for Guinevere. He wishes to end their affair, but Guinevere refuses. She implies that instead of being slain by enemies, the knights sent for the Grail had turned on one another, Lancelot chief among them. To make matters worse, many knights of Camelot are wary of or despise Lancelot, who is seen as a favourite, even by members of the Round Table, save for a few, among them
Gawain and
Lionel, who are his greatest friends among the knights' ranks.
Mordred comes upon Lancelot and Guinevere's secret meeting spot and discovers her scarf there. Lancelot, obeying once more his love for Guinevere, wishes to forgo an upcoming
tournament and have a tryst with Guinevere. Gawain tries to convince him to compete, but fails. Mordred suspects Lancelot is missing the tourney to be able to meet with Guinevere. En route to the tournament, Mordred tries and fails to convince Arthur of the affair. Later on, during the tourney, a strange knight bearing a white shield appears and defeats one knight after another. Gawain and Arthur recognise the knight as Lancelot by his horse and the way he rides. Lancelot triumphs over the remaining knights, Mordred among them, before making his leave. After his departure, he staggers and falls in the forest, bleeding heavily. Gawain is informed by the jilted Guinevere that Lancelot has "disappeared" and the knight with the white shield could not be him. Lionel, who had wounded the knight of the white shield earlier, wishes to defend Lancelot's honour, but is stopped by Gawain, who sends riders in search for Lancelot, to no avail. It is then believed that Lancelot is dead. Gawain seeks out Guinevere at her secret meeting place, but Guinevere is resigned to her love with Lancelot and refuses to leave. Gawain departs, only to be met by Arthur accompanied by knights, including Mordred, who has informed Arthur of the affair. Arthur imprisons Guinevere in the same tower where she and Lancelot once had their meetings. Lancelot is shown to be hiding and recovering in
Escalot, cared for by an elderly woman. With the help of Lionel and knights loyal to Lancelot, he rescues Guinevere, killing two knights, one of them being
Agravain, Gawain's brother. Arthur starts a campaign against the castle where Lancelot and Guinevere are sheltering. The resulting battles result in many losses and casualties, among them Gawain. Despite his injuries and his brother's death, he does not begrudge his once-friend Lancelot, and says that though he and Arthur tried to save Guinevere, only Lancelot had succeeded. He dies of his wounds. Guinevere, guilt-ridden over the blood spilt for their love, tells Lancelot to return her to Arthur, and he complies. Lancelot learns that Mordred is leading an uprising against the king, and he chooses to ride against Mordred, on Arthur's side. The resulting
battle is a bloody conflict from which none survive, including Arthur and Mordred. Lancelot staggers across the battlefield and, whispering Guinevere's name, he collapses to die. The last thing he sees is a
carrion crow flying above the bloodbath. ==Cast==