Who were the Women in the Legend of King Arthur?
The stirring tales of King Arthur are legendary. His achievements of courage and endeavour are exciting stories passed down through generations, and songs are still sung of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.
But when the feats are recounted and the stories retold, what do we say of the women in this story?
There are several women who play a role in the undying legend of King Arthur.
The most well known is Guenevere, Arthur's Queen, who is said to have caused the downfall of Camelot. Another is Morgan le Fay, his half sister.
His mother, the often-overlooked Ygraine, appears briefly at the beginning, her only part is to give birth to Arthur. There are also mystical women, such as the Lady of the Lake.
These were strong women, who challenged the chivalric order and wove a powerful magic.
We also meet ordinary women in Arthur, women who are not Queens or great women of magic. Love seems to always bring them tragedy, like Isolde of Ireland, or Elaine the Fair, whom Tennyson immortalised as the Lady of Shalott.
Ygraine
Mother of Arthur
When he sees Ygraine, Uther falls immediately in love. Gorlois, angry with the flirtatious attention directed at his wife, storms off and hides her away at the fortress of Tintagel.
Merlin casts a spell which makes Uther look like Gorlois and the King is then able to enter Tintagel and deceive Ygraine into believing he is her husband. That night, two events occur which effect the future of all of Britain.
Gorlois dies in battle outside of the castle of Dimilioc and Arthur is conceived in Tintagel.
Tintagel Castle, Cornwall : Buy at AllPosters.com
The Young Ygraine on DVD
The Last Legion
Sword-and-sandal epic offering a mix of Imperial Rome and Arthurian England. Excellent casting with Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley and the gloriously beautiful Aishwarya Rai.
Amazon Price: $11.99 (as of 12/03/2008) 
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Guinevere
Wife of Arthur
Guinevere : Buy at AllPosters.com
The medieval romances depict Guinevere as the daughter of Leodegrance of Cameliard, previous owner of the Round Table, which she brings as part of her dowry to Arthur. These later stories would have us believe that, when she marries Arthur, she has a love affair with Lancelot which causes the downfall of Camelot.
Whatever the truth may be, she is surpassingly beautiful and desirable and her forced, or chosen, affair with Lancelot condemns her, according to law.
Whatever Guinevere was or was not, she has been a useful tool in the hands of the romancers throughout the centuries and has greatly enhanced the legends of Arthur.
Guenevere trilogy from Rosalind Miles
Guinevere on Amazon
The Idylls of the Queen: A Tale of Queen Guenevere
In The Idylls of the Queen, Phyllis Ann Karr takes an incident (the murder of Sir Patrise) from Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur and creates an intelligent, complex, and fascinating mystery novel perfect for fans of historical mysteries, of British legends, and of fantasy.
Amazon Price: $15.00 (as of 12/03/2008)
Morgan le Fay
Sister of Arthur
Almost always portrayed as an adversary of Arthur's, Morgan le Fay is his half sister, daughter of their mother Ygraine and Gorlois, the Duke of Cornwall.Despite the motif of Morgan's enmity towards Arthur and Guinevere, she is also presented as one of the women who takes Arthur in a barge to Avalon to be healed.
This view of Morgan as a Healer has its roots in Celtic mythology.
Not much is heard of Morgan after the 12th century, but 800 years later there is a renewed interest in her literary character. Marion Zimmer Bradley gives Morgan these words ..
And now, when the world has changed and Arthur- my brother, my lover, king who was and king who shall be- lies dead (the common folk say sleeping) in the Holy Isle of Avalon, the tale should be told as it was before the priests of the White Christ come to cover it all with their saints and legends.
And so Arthur lay at last, with his head in my lap, seeing in me neither sister, nor lover nor foe, but only wise woman, priestess, Lady of the Lake, and so rested upon the breast of the Great Mother from whom he came to birth and to whom at last, as all men, he must go....
Morgan le Fay in Modern Fiction
Book One : Wise Woman's Telling.
Book Two : Nun's Telling
Book Three : Blacksmith's Telling
Book Four : Taleisins' Telling :
Book Five : Herself .....
"'I am Morgan the Fay. The wicked witch, the embodiment of evil. And yet. I am the queen who takes Arthur in my arms for healing. Some editing of the story will clearly be necessary.'".
Elaine
Buy at AllPosters.comElaine the fair, Elaine the loveable,
Elaine, the lily maid of Astolat,
High in her chamber up a tower to the east
Guarded the sacred shield of Lancelot;
Elaine the Fair of Astolat is a maiden who dies of grief when Lancelot can not love her.
In some accounts, she is the mother of Galahad, and some also say she was the mother of King Ban (another of Lancelot's sons).
Regardless of who she mothered, the tragedy of Elaine is the same. She loved Lancelot with all of her heart and soul, a love which Lancelot did not deserve and, when Elaine was made aware of the affair between Guenevere and Lancelot, she died of a broken heart.
The best-known retelling is Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott", which inspired dozens of images of the maiden weaving in her bower, or setting out heart-broken on the barge that will bear her dead body to Camelot.
The Lady of Shalott
Based on The Lady of Shalott by Alfred Lord Tennyson.
It starts off innocently
Elaine's father organises a jousting tournament, attended by King Arthur and his knights. Elaine falls in love with Lancelot and begs him to wear her token at the coming tournament. Explaining that Guenevere would be at the tournament, he consents to wear the token but says that he will have to fight in disguise so as not to be recognised.
Elaine is Insulted
Lancelot goes on to win the tournament but receives a serious injury. Elaine then urges her father to let her bring the wounded Lancelot to her chambers, where she nurses him.
When Lancelot is well, he makes ready to leave, and offers to pay Elaine for her services. He attempts to pay her!
Insulted, Elaine brings him his shield, which she had been guarding, and a wary Lancelot leaves the castle, never to return but now aware of her feelings for him.
Ten days later, Elaine dies of heartbreak.
Her body is placed in a small barge, clutching a lily in one hand, and her final letter in the other. She then floats down the Thames to Camelot, where she is discovered by King Arthur's court.
But Lancelot mused a little space
He said, "She has a lovely face;
God in his mercy lend her grace,
The Lady of Shalott."
Isolde
Tristan, the heroic nephew of King Mark of Cornwall, is sent to Ireland to escort the Irish king's daughter, the beautiful Isolde, to Cornwall to become his uncle's bride. During the return voyage the young couple accidentally consume a love potion (meant to ensure Isolde's happiness with Mark) together, and fall in love.
Because her betrothal to Mark cannot be broken, Isolde marries the king despite her love for Tristan, and the two lovers spend the rest of their lives attempting to satisfy their desire for each other without revealing that desire to the Cornish court.
When Mark finds out, Tristan leaves the court, marries Isolde of Brittany and subsequently neglects her, as he feels that his marriage is a betrayal of Isolde of Ireland.
Tristan and Isolde : Buy at AllPosters.com Another Ill-Fated Woman
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Amazon Error: Could not open remote connection
Sorry, there are no results available from Amazon.The Lady of the Lake
The Lady of the Lake was known by many names. Most often she is Nimue.It was she who gave the sword Excalibur to Arthur and regained it when he died.
in Malory's Morte d'Arthur, Nimue is responsible for the downfall of Merlin.
Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful.
She gave the King his huge cross-hilted sword,
Whereby to drive the heathen out. A mist
Of incense curl'd about her, and her face
Well nigh was hidden in the minster gloom;
Mists of Avalon on DVD
The Mists of Avalon
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The Arthurian Collection
- All About Arthur
- The 'All About Arthur' group features the Matter of Britain and all Lenses on the Legend.
Feedback for the Women of Arthur
BigGirlBlue wrote...
The Mists of Avalon is one of my favorite books. I love stories from this period. Lovely lens. Great topic.
Posted September 13, 2008
Stazjia wrote...
I've always rather admired Morgan le Fay because she is a strong, powerful woman - a big contrast to soppy Guinevere - in some of the portrayals I've wanted to give her a good slap.
Posted August 28, 2008
Thanks for dropping by ..
Thanks very much for dropping by this lens. You're more than welcome to leave a note in the guest book above and, if you're a member of Squidoo, you can also rate this lens :)It's all much appreciated, Susanna
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