Walter Scott

The Lady of the Lake Walter Scott

The Lady of the Lake by Walter Scott

The poem's account concerns the struggle between King James V and the powerful Douglas clan. The king banished the entire family from his kingdom, including James of Douglas, the Earl of Bothwell, who had been his protector during his youth. The Earl and his daughter Ellen take refuge with Roderick Dhu in his castle on an island in Loch Katrine. At the beginning of the poem, a mysterious knight calling himself James Fitz-James arrives at the castle and receives hospitality. During his brief stay, he falls in love with Ellen but finds rivals for his affections in Roderick himself and Malcolm Graeme, a young knight loyal to the king but moved by sympathy for the plight of Douglases. It is Malcolm that Ellen favors. Faced with the attack of the royal forces for having sheltered Douglas, Roderick gathers his clan. Douglas, however, is loath to bring disaster on his host and goes to the royal court in Stirling, determined to surrender. Fitz-James returns and offers to take Ellen to a safe place, but is told that she loves another. He nevertheless presses a ring on her which, he says, will obtain any favor from the king. While traveling to Stirling, Fitz-James meets and argues with Roderick. In the ensuing fight, Roderick is fatally injured and transported to Stirling as a captive. Ellen shows up at court and, showing the ring, pleads for her father's forgiveness. She discovers that Fitz-James is none other than the king himself. The king and Douglas reconcile thanks to his intervention, and Ellen and Malcolm marry.