EXPRESSING THE BASIC VALUES OF WEST EUROPEAN CULTURE BY THE FIGURE OF A HERO: LANCELOT
The article justifies the choice of the figure of Lancelot as an ideal spokesman of West European culture. The author mentions its fabulousness, large-scale adoption in different epochs, integrity. The figure of Lancelot is opposed to the image of Galahad as an indicator of the existence of culture of adaptation in Europe rejecting the ideals of culture of service introduced from the Near East. By contrast to Arthur and other knights of the Round Table the paper shows Lancelot’s individualism and his rejection of the ontological nature of social hierarchy.