The Cursed House of Astolot
Was the death of the "Lady of Shalott" just the beginning?
Lady of Shalott is a famous poem chronicling the life and death of Elaine, fair maid of Astolat. Less known is the story of her brother, and his children, Jack and Jill.
The Water Carriers is more commonly known to us as the version of the nursery rhyme,
Jack and Jill went up a hill to fetch a pail of water; Jack fell down and broke his crown, and Jill came tumbling after.
It is the story of the Lady of Shalott's brothers, the great Knights Torre and Lavaine. Torre is the elder, Lavaine the younger. They hail from the ruling house of Astolat. A semi-royal family of no small reputation in Surrey, England.
It begins in the heat of King Arthur's last battle, and Sir Lavaine takes a terrible blow for Arthur where he collapses and his brother, Torre, comes to his rescue carrying the unconcious knight to safety. He promises himself that if he lives through the battle he will return for his injured brother. Torre also seems to realize that one of them must live, as their father Bernard, and sister Elaine, are all dead now. These two men remain alone to carry on the noble name.
Torre appoints a squire to care for Lavaine until his return. Sadly the squire deserts the incoherant Lavaine. Both the Squire and Sir Torre are killed in combat. This leave Sir Lavaine only of his family still alive. He is taken in by a hermit. Inconsolable, it takes many months before his body heals, but what takes longer is his broken mind.
Finally the old hermit points the way to Cornwall, and Lavaine knows it is time to rejoin the world and make peace with his lot and life. He ultimately settles in Cornwall and marries. Life returns to normal, and joy slowly creeps back into his life.
Lavaine's two children are the joy of his life. One is a boy named Jack and the other a girl by the name of Gillian. At eight years old they find their dear father sick, and loving their father as much as he loves them, the poem quotes, "Gillian pityingly came and said with tears, Sure I am that one thing would cure this deadly fever..."
Gillian reminds her father of a well that has been rumoured to have restorative powers. Tristram and Iseult drank from this well, she argues, as well as Sir Percival in his quest for the Holy Grail, Pelleas the boy knight, good Sir Bors, the false Gawain, and the pure Sir Galahad.
Finally, Lavaine relents and gives his permission for she and her brother to go up the hill, to the gloomy tower, and the old well, for his sake. Who knew but what he would be healed?
Carrying the silver vessel between them, they laughingly hike to the tall tower. Filling the silver vessel with water, they skip down the steep hill, with Gillian singing the words, "O light, if death be near him, let me die..."
Jack who seems to be a little scatter-brained at times, can't carry water if Gillian is singing, and he slips on some shale. He begins to tumble taking Gillian with him. So laments Oscar Fay Adams, "All of a horror of loose stones and dust and flying limbs and broken bones and crowns, far down the steep side of that rocky hill. So perished those two of the fated house of Astolat."
Sir Lavaine waited in vain for their return all that day and into the next night. With the morning's light he finally slipped away to his final judgment, and I'm sure to his joy, a reunion with Jack and Jill. So ends the bloodline of the House of Astolat.
