In Arthurian legend, Ban /ˈbæn/ is the King of Benwick or Benoic. He is the father of Sir Lancelot and Sir Hector de Maris, the brother of King Bors, and an early ally of King Arthur.
Ban's wife Elaine is the sister to King Bors' wife Evaine. Together they have Lancelot, but while travelling in Britain in support of Arthur, Ban sleeps with the Lady de Maris, who becomes pregnant with Hector, Lancelot's half-brother. Ban and Bors are eventually killed by their enemy, the Frankish king Claudas, and Lancelot is taken by the Lady of the Lake to her abode, where he is later joined by Bors the Elder's sons Lionel and Bors the Younger. When the children grow up and become Knights of the Round Table, they aid Arthur in finally defeating Claudas and reclaiming their fathers' land.
Famous quotes containing the words king and/or ban:
“The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!””
—Bible: New Testament, Luke 23:36,37.
“It is cruel for you to leave your daughter, so full of hope and resolve, to suffer the humiliations of disfranchisement she already feels so keenly, and which she will find more and more galling as she grows into the stronger and grander woman she is sure to be. If it were your son who for any cause was denied his right to have his opinion counted, you would compass sea and land to lift the ban from him.”
—Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906)