Morgan Le Fay Morgan Le Fay, a powerful female figure in the Arthur legends, represents control, sorcery, and manipulation. She uses underhanded, often manipulative methods to create her power. During King Arthur's reign, and in various romances and folk tales, Morgan shows up as a shape-shifter. She is a fairy, a queen, a mermaid, a beautiful young woman, a crone, a hag, an enchantress or a witch. In some accounts, Morgan has a bad reputation; she is evil, sexual, a temptress. Elsewhere, Morgan is a heroine. The inconsistency of the research material available makes it difficult to pinpoint who Morgan Le Fay actually was. But one thing is for certain: Morgan is a woman of mystery. Morgan is often said to be the half-sister of King Arthur, who had a child with him. Sometimes she is the mistress of Merlin, who taught her magic. Others say she learned her magical arts in a nunnery.

It is said that Morgan was the most intelligent and educated woman of her time: "At King Arthur's Court, prior to the year 542, only priests and priestesses were educated in reading, writing, astronomy, oratory, and philosophy. The princes were educated principally in warfare, etiquette, physical prowess, and oratory. Lancelot was able to read the names on tombstones. Arthur was not able to do that, but Perceval could read. Arthur's half-sister Morgan was known from early childhood to be the most intelligent, and the best educated of the priestesses, and she outlived Arthur, with whom she was never on good terms" (Goodrich 18). Traditionally, in most of the legends, Morgan and Arthur are not on good terms. It is never explained exactly why they don't get along, but some researchers have presented their own ideas. According to the Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft, "Morgan, invariably portrayed as evil, plotted against Arthur to steal his sword, Excalibur, or otherwise bring him down" (236).

According to Henry Pyle, author of The Story of King Arthur and His Knights, Morgan had a vendetta with Arthur: "After Queen Morgana Le Fay had come to the Island of Avalon as aforetold, she brooded a great deal over the afront which she deemed King Arthur had placed upon her house; and the more she brooded upon it the more big it became in her mind. Wherefore, at last it seemed to her that she could have no pleasure in life unless she could punish King Arthur for that which he had done. Yea, she would have been glad to see him down at her feet because of the great anger that she felt against him" (163). Morgan needs to be in control of people and situations. In some of the legends, Morgan is said to have been a mistress of Merlin. She uses and manipulates him by way of seduction in order to gain knowledge of his spells. Hence the name Morgaine may be read as an anagram, "Gain More." Morgan Le Fay manipulates situations in order to cause pain for people, especially Arthur.

For instance, in courtship of Guinevere and Lancelot, Morgan uses her powers to destroy the ties in the court of Arthur to ruin his reputation and pride: "The Kingdom now enjoyed a long, glorious, peace with Arthur maintaining justice and the knights helping those in distress. Lancelot was the bravest and most courageous. But he loved Arthur's wife, Guinevere, and he was her own favourite among the knights" (Ashe 35). The best way for Morgan to hurt Arthur and cause him the most pain is to manipulate this situation between Guinevere and Lancelot, both of whom have the highest part of Arthur's love and pride. Morgan "distressed Camelot with hints about Lancelot's motives, and the intrigue, now serious, between him and Guinevere" (Ashe 39). She slanders Lancelot and Guinevere's name in Camelot, and the rest of England, without any remorse or regret: "At Lancelot's knighting, Arthur forgets to gird on his sword; it is Guinevere who does this, thus creating a formal feudal bond between them which is soon reinforced by that of love.

And Lancelot and Guinevere become lovers on the night Arthur sleeps with the enchantress Camille. Arthur then repudiates Guinevere in favour of the false Guinevere, a magical creation of Morgan Le Fay, thus further weakening his claim to her loyalty" (Barber73). Morgan does quite a good job in the destroying King Arthur and his kingdom. All of this chaos is created by Morgan; her shape-shifting creation, Camille, sleeps with Arthur, causing his adultery. The name "Camille" may also be read as an anagram, "came ill" or "ill came," a most appropriate explanation for Morgan's doings. In some texts, however, Morgan shows up as a heroine. In the novel The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, she is a high priestess and queen. The entire novel is told from the perspective of the women of King Arthur's court, and their strength and loyalty is emphasized. The main character in the novel is the wondrous, pagan high queen, Morgan Le Fay. Too much emphasis is given to the negative view of Morgan and not enough on the positive. Morgan indeed has great power. Her name and character are vital to the Arthur story.

No one can pinpoint exactly who she really was and what her purpose in the Arthurian legend is. But maybe, someday, if the Isle of Avalon is finally revealed, she, and not Arthur as scholars have formerly believed, will be shown to be immortal, the "ONCE AND FUTURE" queen who will govern again, this time openly with power, grace and magnanimity. These are excerpts from a student paper by Laura Stagliano. Read it carefully and answer one of the following questions below: 1. Read the other entry on Morgan Le Fay; see button below. Then look at several primary sources in which Morgan or other female figures appear. (You may also wish to look at other bios in this program.) Using these sources, write your own opinion paper on the presentation of powerful women in the Arthur legends. 2. Choose three points raised by the student author and debate them, using specific examples from the texts to support your claims. 3. Create your own multimedia text on Morgan or other women in the Arthurian legend, using Linkway (or another accessible program discussed in class) and this program and the Internet as source materials. The Dark Queen is a registered trademark of TSR Inc.

Morgan Le Fay; the Arthurian Sorceress Facts & Information Morgan Le Fay Morgan Le Fay; the Arthurian Sorceress Morgan Le Fay: popularly known as Arthurian sorceress, benevolent fairy, priestess, dark magician, enchantress, witch, sea goddess, shape-changer, healer, and the sole personage of Avalon the Isle of Apples, not to mention daughter of Ygerna (Igraine) and Gorlois, half-sister to King Arthur, mother of Mordred, lady-in-waiting to Guinevere, wife of Uriens, lover of Sir Accolon, fancier of Sir Lancelot, and ‘as fair a lady as any might be’. Morgan Le Fay was first introduced into Arthurian legend by Geoffrey of Monmouth in the Vita Merlini (c. 1150) but her true origin, as with many Arthurian characters, leads back into Celtic mythology and inevitably develops with each new rendition of the tale. Morgan Le Fay’s character is interesting enough, but so is her name. The name ‘Morgan Le Fay’ In Celtic terms, Morgan (or Morcant) is a man’s name.

The feminine version is more correctly Morgain (or Morgue or Morgne). Also Morrigan equates with Morrigu of Irish mythology. According to Celtic tradition the Morrigan (a Triple Goddess of Celtic myth, thought of as the Goddess of Death) flew over battles, shrieking like ravens and claiming dead soldiers’ heads as trophies. Or the answer may lie in Uriens – in early Welsh literature Modron (a version of Matrona) was the daughter of Avallach, wife of Urien, and mother of Owein. The Welsh and Arthurian story lines were later merged, forming a link between Modron and King Arthur. Further, there was a sixth-century Cumbrian ruler called Urien Rheged who presided over a loose coalition of kings (according to some accounts there was also an Arthur, son of King Aedan of dal Riada). Urien had a loose ally: Morcant Bulc – a man – who eventually plotted to assassinate him, which could have been Sir Thomas Malory’s inspiration for the plot in Le Morte d’Arthur where Morgan Le Fay attempts to kill Arthur and Uriens.

‘Le Fay’ is an ancient word for a fairy and to this day, apparently, the Breton name for a water-nymph is a ‘Morgan’. The possible roots of the Arthurian character Morgan Le Fay therefore run deep into early British mythology and can be traced across several hundred years up to her final act as one of the three women who transported the fatally wounded King Arthur in a barge to the Isle of Avalon to be healed (outcome unrecorded). A speculative summary, based on Welsh and other Arthurian legend, suggest an identification with Modron and also with the river goddess Matrona, possibly derived from the Irish goddess Morrigan. Given the superstitious Christian attitude to supernatural women in the medieval era, the more she is humanised, the more the name Morgan Le Fay descends into an easy literary metaphor for devious, sometimes evil mischief. Nonetheless the much-maligned Morgan Le Fay never becomes purely evil. Her attractive qualities remain – a healer, she is associated with art and culture, she is sexy, and in the end is worthy of redemption.

Morgan Le Fay pre-Malory In Monmouth’s Vita Merlini, Morgan was the chief among her nine sisters: Moronoe, Mazoe, Gliten, Glitonea, Cliton, Tyronoe, and Thitis, and Morgause. She could change shape at will (and to be young or old, beautiful or ugly, or an animal or other object) and to fly with wings, hence – ‘Le Fay’, or Faerie. There was no suggestion of a blood relationship between Arthur and Morgan – she was simply his healer. In Chrétien de Troyes’ Erec and Enide, Morgan le Fay was a friend of Guingamar, Lord of Avalon and one of the guests at the wedding of Erec and Enide. Chrétien descibes her as a giver of healing ointments but she is more typically portrayed as a wicked enchantress who learned her crafts in a Christian nunnery, powers which were subsequently extended with the help of Merlin. She was referred to later as Arthur’s sister (and again as a healer), and in Le Chevalier au Lion her ointments cured Yvain’s madness.

Neither Geoffrey of Monmouth nor Chrétien de Troyes described her as the wife of Uriens. In the The Vulgate Cycle (1215 to 1235) Morgan Le Fay is however married to Uriens. She is also Queen Guinevere’s lady in waiting and fell in love with the King’s nephew, Giomar, but Guinevere put an end to the romance. Morgan responded by betraying the Queen’s affair with Lancelot to King Arthur. She had herself become infatuated with Sir Lancelot though he consistently refused her attentions, despite being imprisoned by her several times. The suspect nature of Morgan Le Fay’s character appears to have been fuelled by the Cistercian monks who wrote the stories of the Vulgate Cycle, prejudiced by the earlier concept of the Morrighan. They undoubtedly considered the idea of a non-religious female healer to be the mark of blasphemy. In another well-known work – the anonymous late 14th Century poem ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’ (the Green Knight was, like Morgan, a ‘shape-shifter’) – she was the instigator of the plot which began the story.

Here, the Virgin Mary (as the female archetype representing spiritual love, obedience, chastity, and life) is contrasted with Morgan Le Fay’s representation of courtly love, disobedience, lust and death. Morgan Le Fay in Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur In Le Morte d’Arthur Morgan Le Fay is fully established as wife of Uriens, sister of Arthur, but is not, truly, a major character. Her best-known part in the tale is as follows: When Uther Pendragon married Igraine (Book 1), Morgan was the youngest of her three daughters from her previous marriage to Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall, who had been slain by Uther’s army just before he raped her at Tintagel Castle (and begat Arthur). Morgan was then sent to a nunnery. According to Malory’s timescale, at the time of Uther’s death two years later, Morgan would have been between thirteen and sixteen and already married to Uriens. At any rate, when the young King Arthur waged war against the five kings Morgan had a grown son, Uwaine, who was close to knighthood.

King Arthur and Morgan Le Fay first came face to face when he sent for Igraine to verify his parentage. At that stage there are no indications of any feelings either way between Morgan and Arthur, but at the burial of Lot and the eleven kings (Book 2) Merlin told Arthur, “Sir, take care with the scabbard of Excalibur, for ye shall lose no blood while ye have it upon you, no matter how many wounds ye have.” Arthur passed the scabbard to Morgan Le Fay for safekeeping, but she loved another knight more than she did her husband (or King Arthur) so she secretly had made a replica of the scabbard and gave the real one to her lover, Sir Accolon of Gaul to protect him. Following the war with the five kings, Arthur, Uriens, and Accolon went on a hunt (Book 4). Their horses exhausted, they found themselves near nightfall by a great lake where they saw a silk-clad ship approach. Venturing on board, they were greeted by twelve damosels, banqueted, then shown separate chambers.

Once in a drug-induced sleep, each was magically transported away, Uriens back to Camelot (where he awoke beside Morgan), Arthur to the prison of the evil Sir Damas (minus his sword and scabbard), and Accolon to a well close to manor of the good Ontzlake, younger brother of Sir Damas. Morgan Le Fay’s wicked plan Despite being brothers, Sir Damas and Sir Ontzlake had become mortal enemies, the younger offering to resolve their differences in combat but the latter always refusing, preferring to elect another knight to fight for him. But Damas was too hated ever to find such a knight. At this point a damsel came to Arthur with an offer from Damas that he and his fellow-prisoners would be freed if he would take on the fight, to which Arthur agreed. The damsel was of course ‘false’, having been sent by Morgan Le Fay. At the same time a dwarf came to Sir Accolon by the well, sent by Morgan to remind him of his earlier (secret) promise to fight an unspecified knight whenever she chose the moment. Accolon would bring her the knight’s head and Morgan Le Fay would become Queen. And now was the moment.

The dwarf gave him Excalibur and the scabbard, sent by Morgan, and Accolon made himself ready for combat, on behalf, as it turned out, of Sir Ontzlake against his brother. As Arthur in turn readied himself another damsel came, once again sent by Morgan, and gave him a sword like Excalibur and its scabbard, from which he took reassurance not knowing they were nothing more than poor replicas. The whole monstrous ruse, evidently, had long been planned by Morgan Le Fay so that she could replace Guinevere as Queen. Nimue, the Lady of the Lake, saves King Arthur The duel, watched by Nimue, the Lady of the lake, was prolonged and bloody and Sir Accolon, boldened by Excalibur, almost won after Arthur’s useless sword snapped off at the handle. Nimue took pity and with the help of her enchantment Arthur was able to deal such a blow to his opponent that the real Excalibur fell to the ground and he leaped to it and took it in his hand.

About to kill Accolon, he asked his name and Accolon confessed all, and thus was spared but died from his wounds soon after, prompting Arthur to despatch his remains to his half-sister at Camelot as a warning. In the meantime Morgan would have slain her husband, confident of Accolon’s success with Excalibur and the scabbard, but Uriens was saved at the last moment by the intervention of Uwaine, his son, by whom Morgan would herself have been slain had she not agreed to leave Camelot forever. She rode to the nunnery where Arthur was recovering from his wounds and tried to steal back the real Excalibur and scabbard while he slept, but was only able to take the scabbard because the sword was in his hand. When Arthur awoke he set off with Sir Ontzlake in pursuit of Morgan, but she cast the scabbard into a deep lake. She then used her shape-changing powers to disguise herself and her entourage as standing stones to escape further pursuit. Morgan Le Fay then retreated to her domains (still Book 4).

En route she came across a knight leading another bound knight, Manassen (a cousin of Accolon) to be drowned in a fountain for adultery with his wife. For her lost love, and because Manassen swore his innocence, she released him and let him bind and drown his accuser. At this point Morgan fades somewhat from the mainstream of the story. She went to occupy her lands in Gore, and then to her Castle of Tauroc. To thwart any reprisal by Arthur she sent a damosel to give him a rich mantle embellished with precious stones (in atonement for her sins). But the mantle was laced with poison – Nimue intervened to save Arthur, who made its bearer put it on, who fell down and burnt to coals. Uwaine was later suspected by Arthur of being instrumental in Morgan’s earlier escape from Camelot, and was banished from the court. The Royal court appears to have thought Morgan Le Fay dead, until King Arthur came across her residence while out hunting one day, and the two were reconciled.

In later life she moved to the Isle of Avalon, where she and her allies, the Queen of Northgalis, and the Queen of the Wastelands (and also many damosels, including Nimue) took her dying half-brother to be “healed” after his last battle. See also Arthurian Legend homepage. Arthurian Legend Frequently Asked Questions about the Arthurian Legends | Robbins Library Digital Projects Robbins Library Digital Projects › Camelot Project › Frequently Asked Questions about the Arthurian Legends › Frequently Asked Questions about the Arthurian Legends Frequently Asked Questions about the Arthurian Legends by: Alan Lupack (Author) [The following are questions frequently asked of librarians who provide "chat" reference service in Rush Rhees Library at the University of Rochester. The answers have been provided by Alan Lupack (alupack@library.rochester.edu) .] Who was King Arthur and when/where did he live? Is there historical evidence of his existence? Traditionally called King Arthur, an early chronicler called Nennius refers to him as 'dux bellorum', a term designating a military leader rather than a king.

Nennius also names Arthur as the victor in a series of twelve battles against the Saxons, which culminate in a decisive victory at Mount Badon. The early Welsh tale Culhwch and Olwen depicts him as the leader of a group of semi-mythological warriors with super powers. Welsh saints's lives sometimes portray him as an enemy of the church, who commandeers its treasures to support his wars. How much, if any, historicity can be assigned to Arthur is a matter of debate. Some have suggested that a person who lived earlier than or contemporary with the time usually associated with Arthur (the late 5th or early 6th century) performed deeds that became attached to a fictional 'Arthur'. Geoffrey Ashe, for example, has called attention to a figure referred to as 'Riothamus', a title meaning 'high king', who led an army to the continent and who, Ashe speculates, may have been associated with Arthur by Geoffrey of Monmouth (the author of a "history" of the kings of Britain, a work which introduces into the tradition many fictional elements that are now seen as essential parts of the story of Arthur).

(Ashe puts forth this theory in The Discovery of King Arthur [1985].) Other scholars believe that the Arthurian legends are not based on any real person. If Arthur or someone who inspired the legends of Arthur did exist, he would have been a warrior of the late fifth and/or early sixth centuries and not the sort of person often depicted in literature, a king living in a castle with knights in shining armor serving him. Who was Guinevere? Did King Arthur have other lovers? Guinevere is Arthur's wife and queen; according to the Vulgate Cycle and Malory, she is the daughter of Leodegrance of Carmelide. Though one of the Welsh Triads (Triad 56) speaks of Arthur's three great queens (all named Gwenhwyfar), later romance generally gives him only one wife named Guinevere. Geoffrey of Monmouth introduces the notion of Guinevere's infidelity (with Modred) while Arthur is fighting on the continent. In Chrétien's Lancelot, Guinevere becomes Lancelot's lover after he rescues her from Meleagant.

Generally (though not always) in the romance tradition, Guinevere is portrayed as Lancelot's lover. In the Vulgate Cycle, the first meeting between Guinevere and Lancelot is arranged by Galehaut. She is later accused of not being the true Guinevere by the illegitimate daughter of her father Leodagan and the wife of his seneschal. When Arthur falls in love with the False Guinevere and accepts her as his queen, Guinevere is protected by Lancelot and Galehaut until the truth is revealed. Malory's Guinevere is jealous and demanding but also a true lover. Her jealousy and anger drive Lancelot mad and lead her to say she wishes he were dead. Nevertheless, she remains true to him. She is accused several times of crimes-infidelity and the murder of Mador's relative-and must be saved by Lancelot, as she is once again when their love is discovered and she is sentenced to be burned at the stake. When Mordred rebels against Arthur and attempts to marry her, she flees first to the Tower of London and then to the nunnery at Amesbury, where she becomes abbess.

Lancelot visits her there after the death of Arthur, but she asks him to leave and never to return and refuses even to give him a final kiss. She dies a holy death, of which Lancelot learns in a vision that instructs him to have her buried next to Arthur. While Malory is understanding of the true love of Guinevere, Tennyson makes her an example of an unfaithful wife. Arthur, before whom she grovels with guilt when he visits her in the nunnery, says that she has "spoilt the purpose of my life." Malory also writes that Arthur had an affair with Lyonors, the daughter of Earl Sanam. Lyonors bears him a son named Borre, who later becomes a knight of the Round Table. Who was Merlin and what is his significance to King Arthur? Merlin plays many roles in Arthurian literature, including bard, prophet, magician, advisor, and warrior. Though usually a figure who supports Arthur and his vision of Camelot, Merlin is, because of the stories in which he is said to be the son of a devil, sometimes presented as a villain.

Celtic tradition contains a number of related figures-the Welsh Myrddin, the Scottish Lailoken, and the Irish Suibhne-who have characteristics similar to those of Merlin. These characters all go mad and become wild men of the woods. Myrddin, who appears in the Welsh poems 'Yr Afallennau' ('The Apple Tree Stanzas') and 'Yr Oianau' ('The Little Pig Stanzas'), is driven mad because of the death of his lord Gwenddolau at the hands of Rhydderch in the Battle of Arfderydd (c. 575). After the battle, Merlin lives in exile in the forest, where he utters prophecies. Geoffrey of Monmouth combines this historical figure, who lived at a time later than that in which a historical Arthur might have lived, with the figure of the youth Ambrosius Aurelianus from Nennius (Geoffrey says that Merlin's second name was Ambrosius); in so doing, he virtually creates the now-traditional Merlin.

Geoffrey's Merlin, who is fathered by an incubus, explains why Vortigern's tower will not stand and utters a long series of prophecies. He then serves both Aurelius and Uther. After transporting the Giant's Dance from Ireland to Britain and setting it up as Stonehenge, he assists Uther in satisfying his lust for Ygerna. In Geoffrey's account, Merlin does not serve as an advisor to Arthur; but later writers expand his role to include helping Arthur become king and establish his authority. In the works of Robert de Boron and in the Vulgate Cycle, Merlin's birth is engineered by the devils in hell. They hope to bring into the world an anti-Christ who will undo the good (or, as they see it, the harm) done by Christ in redeeming mankind. Merlin's mother is impregnated by an incubus; but with the advice of her confessor Blaise she baptizes her son; and he becomes a force for good, not evil. Since he is the son of a devil, he is endowed with the knowledge of all things past, and God bestows on him the gift of knowing the future.

He is also instrumental in establishing Arthur's realm and the Round Table, and he serves as an adviser to Athur. Merlin's service to Arthur ends when he is infatuated with Niniane (also called Vivien and Nyneve) and allows her to seal him up with a charm that he himself has taught her. Perhaps the most influential modern recasting of Merlin is in T. H. White's The Once and Future King (1958). White's Merlin, who is both a comic and a philosophic figure, is a tutor who encourages Arthur to think for himself and who is gratified when Arthur arrives at the notion that might should be used for right. White's Merlin knows the future because he lives backwards in time. Who are Bedivere? Gawain? Mordred? What is their relationship to King Arthur? Bedivere: Bedivere and Kay (Bedwyr and Cai in Welsh sources) are among the warriors earliest associated with Arthur. The author of Culhwch and Olwen (ca. 1100) says of Bedwyr that he never shrank from any enterprise on which Cai was bound.

Wace says that Bedivere and Kay are Arthur's two most loyal subjects. In the late fourteenth-century Alliterative Morte Arthure and other works that tell the story of the Giant of St. Michael's Mount, Kay and Bedivere accompany Arthur as he sets out to confront the giant. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Arthur gives Bedevere the province of Normandy for his service in the war in Gaul; later, Bedevere is slain in Arthur's continental war against Lucius. In Malory's Morte d'Arthur, Bedivere survives the continental wars and is with Arthur at the end of his final battle. Arthur orders him to return Excalibur to the lake. Tennyson adds to Malory's account a depiction of Bedivere watching the barge bearing Arthur as it grows smaller and smaller and finally disappears. In Rosemary Sutcliff's Sword at Sunset and in Mary Stewart's The Wicked Day, Bedwyr takes on the role, usually assigned to Lancelot, of lover of Arthur's queen. Gawain: Gawain is Arthur's nephew, and in much Arthurian literature he is presented as the best of Arthur's knights.

In a number of sources, his strength is said to increase until noon, at which point it begins to wane. According to the French Mort Artu (Death of Arthur), his strength increases around noon because the priest who baptized him prayed that his strength would increase at noon, the hour he was baptized. Malory says that a holy man gave Gawain the gift of increasing strength from undern (9 a. m.) until noon every day of the year. In Geoffrey of Monmouth's history, Gawain is one of Arthur's most valorous knights in his continental wars, and he dies in the struggle against Modred when Arthur returns to Britain. The author of The Rise of Gawain (twelfth century) tells of Gawain's being brought to Rome by Viamundus, the fisherman who stole the boy from the merchants to whom Anna, his mother, had entrusted him because he was born before she was married to Loth (Lot). There, he is knighted by and serves the Emperor. Gawain is said by Chrétien in his Perceval (1180s) to be the most courteous knight in the world.

In this work, and in numerous others by various authors, Gawain is contrasted to Kay, whose boorishness is a foil to Gawain's courtliness. In several Dutch romances, Gawain is called the Father of Adventure, and he has great skill in healing as well as in fighting and diplomacy. In many of the French romances of the twelfth through the fourteenth centuries, Gawain is the most important hero; but Lancelot eventually replaces him in this role. In the thirteenth-century Vulgate Cycle, Gawain is presented as the second-best worldly knight after Lancelot. He refuses to join in Agravain's accusation against Lancelot and Guinevere; later, out of grief for his brothers-particularly his favorite Gaheriet (Gareth)-who are slain in the rescue of the queen, he insists on pursuing and fighting with Lancelot. Although Lancelot refuses to slay him when he has the opportunity, Gawain ultimately dies from a head wound received in their fight. Nevertheless, before his death Gawain realizes that Lancelot was the best and most generous knight, wishes he could ask his forgiveness before his death, and advises Arthur to ask him for help.

In Malory's Morte d'Arthur, Gawain is at times brave and noble and at times vengeful and treacherous. He keeps alive the feud between the house of Lot and the house of Pellinore by treacherously killing Pellinore and then Lamorak. He is also unforgiving when Lancelot accidentally kills Gareth, and he refuses to allow Arthur to make peace with him. He does, however, try to dissuade Mordred and Agravain from accusing Lancelot; and he finally realizes that Lancelot is noble and Mordred wicked. Mordred: The Annales Cambriae (Welsh Annals) mentions Medraut as a participant in the battle of Camlann but does not make clear whether he is an enemy or an ally of Arthur. Geoffrey of Monmouth introduces the notion of Mordred's usurpation of the throne and his adulterous relationship with Guinevere while Arthur is fighting his continental wars. Geoffrey names Mordred as one of two sons of Lot and Anna (the other being Gawain). Mordred in turn has two sons who survive him but are killed by Constantine, Arthur's successor.

In the thirteenth-century Vulgate Cycle, Mordred is the son of Arthur by his half-sister, who is Lot's wife. Although, in the Vulgate Mort Artu, it is Agravain who accuses Lancelot and Guinevere of adultery and leads the knights who trap them in the queen's chamber, Mordred betrays Arthur's trust when he is left in charge of the kingdom and the queen by forging a letter said to be from a dying Arthur declaring Mordred king and urging him to marry Guinevere. In the final battle of Salisbury Plain, Arthur kills Mordred but is fatally wounded by him. Mordred leaves behind two sons, the elder called Melehan and the younger unnamed. Bors kills Melehan, who has slain Lionel; and Lancelot kills the younger son. In Malory's Morte d'Arthur, Mordred is the illegitimate son of Arthur and Morgause. When Arthur, who is unaware that she is related to him when they sleep together, learns that he has had a child by his half-sister, he attempts to kill Mordred by condemning all the children born on May Day to be set adrift on the sea.

But his son survives when the ship he is in breaks up and he is cast up on the shore and found by a good man, who raises him until he is fourteen. Even before Mordred accuses Lancelot and Guinevere and plans to trap them, his villainy is clear. When Gawain and his brothers treacherously attack and slay Lamorak, it is Mordred who gives him a fatal wound in the back. While Arthur is besieging Lancelot's castle in France, Mordred forges letters saying that Arthur is dead, claims the throne, and intends to marry Guinevere. In the final battle, Arthur gives Mordred a fatal wound; but Mordred thrusts himself up the length of Arthur's spear so he can strike his father. What is the Round Table? The twelfth-century chronicler Wace first introduces the notion of the Round Table, which he says Arthur had made so that all of the noble barons whom he attracted to his court would be equally placed and served and none could boast that he had a higher position at the table than the others. Layamon expands on this notion, describing a riot at which many nobles vie for place and precedence at Arthur's table.

A skilled craftsman then offers to make Arthur a table that will seat more than sixteen hundred and at which high and low will be on an equal footing because the table is round. According to the prose rendition of Robert de Boron's Merlin and the thirteenth-century Vulgate Cycle, Uther Pendragon, instructed by Merlin, established the Round Table to symbolize the table of the Last Supper and the Grail Table established by Joseph of Arimathea at the command of the Holy Spirit. Uther gives the Round Table to Guinevere's father Leodegan, who in turn gives it to Arthur when he weds Guinevere. The number of seats at the Round Table varies in different sources, sometimes being said to seat twelve knights and the king, sometimes as many as 150. The Round Table has come to stand not only for the physical object at which Arthur and his knights sat but also for the order of knighthood and the code to which the knights committed themselves. The symbolic nature of the Round Table survives even into the youth groups of the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century.

The founders of one of those clubs, the Knights of King Arthur, saw the roundness of Arthur's table and the equality it implied as representing 'democracy under leadership' and thus an ideal structure for a club for boys. What do we know about the sword Excalibur? Geoffrey of Monmouth, Wace, and Layamon all observe that Arthur's sword Caliburn was forged on the Isle of Avalon. In Sir Thomas Malory's Morte d'Arthur, Excalibur is the name given to the sword Arthur receives from the Lady of the Lake and entrusts to Bedivere to return to the water after his final battle. Malory, following his French source, explains the name Excalibur as meaning 'Kutte [Cut] Steele'. (There is only one place in the Morte where the sword drawn from the stone is referred to as Excalibur: in his battle with the kings who will not accept him, Arthur pulls the sword from the stone, on Merlin's advice, only when he is losing the battle.

When he draws 'his swerd Excalibur', it gives the light of thirty torches and helps him to put his enemies to flight.) When this sword from the stone breaks in two as Arthur fights Pellinore, Merlin saves Arthur by casting an enchantment over Pellinore and then takes the king to receive another sword, Excalibur, from the Lady of the Lake. Merlin tells Arthur that Excalibur's scabbard is even more valuable than the sword itself because while he wears it he will not lose any blood or be severely wounded. Morgan le Fay, to whom Arthur has entrusted the care of Excalibur, gives the sword to her lover Accolon to use against Arthur. Provided with a counterfeit Excalibur, Arthur is saved by Nyneve (a character sometimes called Vivien, Niniane, or Nimue). Morgan then steals the scabbard and throws it into a lake so it can no longer protect Arthur. Excalibur must be returned to the water at the end of Arthur's life, a task assigned to Bedivere in Malory's account-but to others in different medieval versions of Arthur's story. What was the Holy Grail?

The Holy Grail is generally considered to be the cup from which Christ drank at the Last Supper and the vessel used by Joseph of Arimathea to catch his blood as he hung on the cross. This significance, however, was introduced into the Arthurian legends by Robert de Boron in his verse romance Joseph d'Arimathie (sometimes also called Le Roman de l'Estoire dou Graal), which was probably written in the last decade of the twelfth century or the first few years of the thirteenth. In earlier sources as well as in some later ones, the Grail is sometimes something quite different. The term 'grail' comes from the Latin gradale, which means a dish brought to the table during various stages (Latin 'gradus') or courses of a meal. In Chrétien de Troyes and other early writers, the term 'grail' suggests such a plate. Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival (first decade of the thirteenth century) presents the Grail as a stone which provides sustenance and prevents anyone who beholds it from dying within that week.

In medieval romance, the Grail was said to have been brought to Glastonbury in Britain by Joseph of Arimathea and his followers. In the time of Arthur, the quest for the Grail was the highest spiritual pursuit. For Chrétien, author of Perceval, and his continuators, Perceval is the knight who must achieve the Grail. For some other French authors, as for Malory, Galahad is the chief Grail knight, though others (Perceval and Bors in Malory's Morte d'Arthur) also achieve the quest. Where was Camelot? Camelot is an imaginary place and thus it is perhaps pointless to speak of its location. In literary sources, it is usually situated in the south of England. Some have speculated that if Arthur actually existed he would have needed a base of operations. John Leland identified Camelot with Cadbury Castle, a hill fort in Somerset.

Excavations carried out at the site in 1966-1970 confirmed that this large hill fort (with 1200 yards of perimeter surrounding an eighteen-acre enclosure and rising about 250 feet above the surrounding countryside) was refortified in the Arthurian era and was occupied by a powerful leader and his followers. In many medieval texts Arthur holds court at Caerleon or some other city. Camelot is first mentioned in the twelfth century in Chrétien de Troyes's Lancelot. In the thirteenth-century Vulgate Cycle, Camelot is said to have been converted by the son of Joseph of Arimathea, Josephus, who had built there the Church of St. Stephen, in which some texts say Arthur and Guinevere were married. Camelot becomes the principal city of Arthur's realm and remains so in many, though not all, later texts. In his Le Morte d'Arthur, Sir Thomas Malory identifies Camelot as Winchester. What modern allusions are there to Camelot?

The image most modern readers have of Camelot coincides with Tennyson's description of it in "The Lady of Shalott" as "many-tower'd Camelot." More recently, largely through the influence of T. H. White, Camelot has come to be associated with the values that Arthur and his realm are believed to have represented (White's 'Might for Right'). Because of John F. Kennedy's fondness for the play Camelot and an interest in the legends that originated with his childhood reading of a version of Malory, John F. Kennedy's his presidency has been referred to as 'Camelot'. Actually, the identification between Kennedy and Camelot first occurred soon after Kennedy's death, when Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy urged her friend, reporter and historian Theodore H. White, to label her late husband's historical myth in specifically Arthurian terms. Other historians also associated Kennedy's presidency, particularly some of its more idealistic programs, with the legend of Arthur. The moral overtones of Camelot are reflected in other areas as well, but sometimes 'Camelot' is used only to represent an ideal place.

share this page Genealogy: House of King Arthur House of King Arthur The genealogy of King Arthur and his family has changed from one generation to another, during the medieval period. The main difference between one source from another, is that of number of sister and half-sisters, or the number of nephews Arthur had. The spelling of names had also changed, depending on languages or regions. Below is four different family trees of King Arthur (not counting the Vortigern/Hengist tree). I had placed the Vortigern/Hengist family tree with Geoffrey's version of Arthur's genealogy, under the Early Tradition. Later Tradition For the Welsh version of Arthur's genealogy, see the House of Arthur and Culhwch . Also in Wolfram von Eschenbach's masterpiece, Parzival (c. 1210), Arthur and the heroes Parzival (Perceval) and Gawan (Gawain) shared a common ancestors, Mazadan. So you will find this family tree at the House of Parzival in the genealogy page of the Grail hero and Grail Keeper.

The family tree of the House of Constantine, come from three early sources:- Geoffrey of Monmouth ("Historia regum Britanniae", 1137), Wace ("Roman de Brut", 1155), and Layamon ("Brut", c. 1200). Geoffrey's Historia was written in Latin, but the names I had used are the popular English. The last two sources are adaptations of Geoffrey's Historia, where Wace wrote in French and Layamon in English. Note that the early tradition of Arthur, there was no Lancelot, Perceval, and many others found in later Arthurian tradition. Here, Arthur had a full sister name, Anna, which is different to most Arthurian literature. There is no Morgan le Fay, mentioned here. And also, Gawain and Mordred are brothers, and they are nephews of Arthur. Since, Vortigern and Hengist played important roles, before Arthur's time, I had constructed a family tree for the two protagonists. House of Vortigern and the Saxon House of Hengist The family tree shows the family of Vortigern, and that of the Saxon leaders.

The same sources were used from the previous family tree: Geoffrey, Wace and Layamon. Wolfram von Eschenbach's version (see Houses of the Grail Keeper and the Grail Hero) Family Tree of King Arthur (Chretien de Troyes' version) The family tree of King Arthur shown here, come from Chretien de Troyes' five Arthurian romances. Chretien was the first to introduce Lancelot and Perceval into the legend. He was also responsible for beginning the Grail legend. Chretien de Troyes was more interested in the adventure of the individual hero, where Arthur played only minor role, and there was no last battle, therefore, there was no Mordred. Of all the knights, only Gawain appeared in all Chretien's romances, yet his role is minor to the hero of each romance (eg. Erec, Cligés, Yvain, Lancelot, Perceval), except in Conte du Graal . But even in Conte du Graal, Gawain does appeared in the tale, until halfway through the poem, Perceval figured largely in the first half. Here, Morgan le Fay is Arthur's full sister.

He had another unnamed sister in Conte du Graal ("Story of the Grail" or "Perceval". But if we followed the First Grail Continuation, then her name was either Norcadet or Morgawse. Also, Chretien had listed three brothers to Gawain, but no Mordred. Another thing I should point out, is that in later literature, Morgan le Fay was the wife of King Urien and mother of the hero, Yvain. In Chretien's materials, there was no indication of Morgan's relationship with Urien or Yvain (compare it with Vulgate family tree or Malory's version ). Family Tree of King Arthur (Vulgate / Post-Vulgate version) The main sources here come from a number of 13th century romances of the Vulgate Cycle and the Post-Vulgate Cycle. Note that this is the revised (expanded) version of the previous tree of the Vulgate. It's almost identical to the next family tree, which used Sir Thomas Malory's work, called Le Morte d'Arthur, 1469. The difference is mainly in the spelling of Arthur's nephews and the number of his sisters.

Speaking of daughters of Igraine (Ygraine), there are some confusion over their number, particularly in the Vulgate Merlin (c. 1240), where it contradict itself. There are two main texts (manuscripts) that were used to translate Merlin: Micha and Sommer. In chapter 4, Micha text only mentioned Arthur having two half-sisters, the youngest being Morgan , while the eldest wasn't named, but traditionally the wife of King Lot was known as Morgause or Morgawse . But in the same chapter of the Sommer text, he introduced a third daughter of Igraine, who would become the wife of Neutres and mother of Galeschin . Later, in chapter 5, Igraine's daughters had increased to five – two from her (unnamed) husband and three from the Duke of Tintagel (who was later named as Duke Hoel in chapter 9, but other sources called Igraine's husband, Gorlois). That's mean Igraine had married 3 times. The eldest (Morgause) was married to Lot and mother of 5 sons.

The second married King Neutres of Garlot; she was named Blasine (Elaine) in chapter 9. The third was wife of Urien and mother of Yvain ; her name, Brimesent, which doesn't appeared until chapter 19. The 4th was unnamed, and she was wife of Caradoc and mother of King Aguisant of Scotland. The 5th was in school, and she was most likely to be Morgan le Fay, since chapter 4 mentioned her learning all sort of arts in the nunnery. Another confusion appeared because Morgan appeared as the wife of Urien and mother of Yvain, in the Post-Vulgate Suite du Merlin (Merlin Continuation). So Morgan replaced Brimesent (chapter 19 of Vulgate Merlin) in the Post-Vulgate and the tree concerning the family of Urien and Morgan would look like this: It is different from the previous family tree based on Chretien de Troyes' Arthurian romances, showing that Morgawse and Morgan le Fay as Arthur's half-sisters.

Family Tree of King Arthur (Sir Thomas Malory's version) I had used a popular Middle English work by Sir Thomas Malory, called Le Morte d'Arthur (1469), to draw up this family tree. It is almost identical to that of the French romances Vulgate Cycle and Post-Vulgate Cycle. The main difference is the names of some of Arthur's nephews were spelt different from the French romances and he had less half-sisters (only 3, in this work).

Question: In Arthurian legend, what is the name of the enchantress who is Arthur's half sister?
Answer: MORGAN le Fey.