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Good evening and welcome to the sleepy bookshelf,

where we put down our worries from the day and pick up a good book.

I'm Elizabeth, your host.

I am so privileged to be here with you tonight.

This evening we will be reading the last pages of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

But before we do that, take a moment to check in with

yourself. How does your body feel right now? There's no need to change anything. Just notice.

Try to breathe into any of the areas where you feel tense and let yourself soften.

During the tournament, Solanzalot, though badly wounded, continued to fight, defeating

many knights, including his own kinsmen, though he spared their lives. In the end, he won

the prize, but refused honour and rode away.

Sir Laveen helped him reach a hermitage, where a knight turned hermit healed his wounds.

King Arthur later learned that the victorious knight had been grievously injured and sent Sir Garwain to search for him.

At Astellat, Sir Garwain discovered that the knight had been Sir Lancelot and that he had worn a token from

Elaine, the Baron's daughter. When Elaine heard that Lancelot was near death, she set out to find him

and cared for him devotedly at the hermitage, growing ever more in love with him. Sabors also found

Lancelot and repented for wounding him. Although Lancelot recovered,

he refused Elaine's love, knowing he could not marry her. He eventually left to return

to court, which caused Elaine deep sorrow. Unable to bear her unreturned love, Elaine refused to eat or drink or sleep.

Before her death, she arranged to be sent by barge to Camelot, with a letter declaring her love for Sir Lancelot.

When her body arrived, the court mourned her, and Lancelot sorrowfully explained that he could

...