- And now we get a bit of a flash-forward: Lancelot will end up being the bestest and greatest knight Arthur ever had.
- Tristram and Lamorak will be close seconds.
- So, jousting is kind of like cricket. We get an explanation of how the two games are scored and the different techniques the players use.
- Right now, though, Lancelot is hanging out in the Armoury, which is where he spends most of his time. It's kind of like a medieval version of Gold's Gym.
- He's super serious about training himself well enough to be worthy for Arthur.
- Uncle Dap oversees the Armoury, and is responsible for his training. He even beats Lancelot when the boy is stupid. You have to remember: medieval parents didn't have such enlightened notions about how to deal with children.
- Lancelot spends three years in the Armoury, not counting when he eats and sleeps. Dang.
- Knights-in-training like Lance have to go through a whole program, where they fight statues, and then work their way up to fighting a real human being—like a cousin or a younger brother.
- They also have to learn to trust others, because who can even get into all that armor on their own? Not even Lancelot, as great of a knight as he will be.
- So, three years of super-hard training, and Lancelot is much more serious about it than all the other boys.
- Aside from physical training, pre-knights also have to think about philosophical problems relating to chivalry.
- Lancelot puts up with all of this, because Arthur.
- And he has his own Big Dream that keeps him going: he wants to be able to perform some kind of miracle, like healing someone or something.