Something I've found deeply fascinating with Lancelot lately is his association with leopards. It's primarily within the Vulgate, but there's nods to it in Malory as well;
Because why leopards in particular, out of all animals? It was specific enough that I was curious if I was missing some symbolism there. So, I went over to Medieval Bestiary as a starting point;
So, as it turns out, leopards have been traditionally associated with adultery. With the help of @wandrenowlereacts, I discovered that the association between adultery and leopards extends very far back indeed.
These are from De proprietatibus rerum ("On the Properties of Things") by Bartholomaeus Anglicus and Isidore of Seville’s Etymologiae. Both, in turn, refer to Pliny the Elder, who wrote the Naturalis historia (“Natural History”).
The Pliny segment in particular made me geek out a bit, because of the passage describing leopards and lions. It potentially reads as a reflection of the ending of the Arthurian romances! Why do I say there’s potential Arthurian foreshadowing in Pliny?
The lion’s fury obviously represents King Arthur, while the lioness washing herself can be associated to Queen Guinevere.
Particularly, the lioness washing herself could be taken as Queen Guinevere taking holy orders in order to be purified and redeemed from her past. This would be consistent within the deeply religious context of medieval times.
Now in the Vulgate, this is more of a practical decision on her part. But noticing this, and combining it with her associations with serpents and their symbolism, makes me wonder if it was an intentional nod.
Circling back to Sir Lancelot, it makes Galehaut’s comments a bit of a double-edged sword. The leopard is lauded, but is also an association of adultery that follows Lancelot throughout both the Vulgate (more explicitly) and Malory. The audiences would be aware of this. This also applies to the other animal associations presented (King Arthur as the lion, Queen Guinevere as the Crowned Serpent, etc). It adds an interesting level of context to these comparisons and, in particular, this dialogue.
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