Launfal, << LAWN fuhl >>, Sir, was a knight of King Arthur’s Round Table in British legend. He was the hero of several literary works. The earliest-known one, Lai de Lanval, was written in the late 1100’s by the French poet Marie de France. In this story, Launfal falls in love with a beautiful fairy. She gives him wealth and happiness but makes him promise not to reveal their source.
The American poet James Russell Lowell wrote the best-known modern story of Launfal, The Vision of Sir Launfal (1848). In this tale, Launfal dreams of searching for the Holy Grail, sometimes identified as the cup or dish that Jesus Christ used at the Last Supper. Launfal does not find the Grail, but he learns its meaning when he helps a starving leper. The leper teaches him that the Grail symbolizes charity and mercy.
