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89-585: The Avalon series retells the Matter of Britain from the point of view of the women behind the throne. Through a set of stories that spans several centuries, it tells of how the mystic isle of Avalon was created, its history, life in Britain under Roman authority , and how Avalon and its ancient traditions faded from the world because of a new religion, Christianity . All stories are told by women who were powerful during their lifetime, such as Eilan, High Priestess of

178-496: A matriarchal religious structure. The Avalon series is set in the same universe as Bradley's earlier novel, The Fall of Atlantis , originally published as the novellas Web of Light and Web of Darkness . The pagan religious order of priests and priestesses in this novel influences the later conception of Avalon. Several characters in the story, including the sisters Domaris and Deoris and their children Micail and Tiriki, are implied to have been reincarnated as later characters in

267-584: A recurring ' Hades -snatches-Persephone' theme, positing that Guinevere is similar to the Celtic Otherworld bride Étaín , whom Midir , king of the Underworld, carries off from her earthly life. According to Kenneth G. T. Webster , a scenario such as the one from Diu Crône may be an echo of a more ancient lore in which Guinevere is "a fairy queen ravished from her supernatural husband by Arthur of this world and therefore subject to raids which

356-476: A series of short stories, Lady of Avalon (1997) features several distinct episodes in the history of Avalon and the women who have served as its High Priestess. Among these are the stories of Caillean, the High Priestess who casts the spell that conceals Avalon in mist, Dierna, who arranges a marriage between a British princess and a Roman officer in an effort to secure peace, and Viviane, a character from

445-427: A struggle for power that reminds scholars of her prescient connections to the fertility and sovereignty of Britain. Arthur's company saves her, but Valerin kidnaps her again and places her in a magical sleep inside another castle surrounded by snakes, where only the powerful sorcerer Malduc can rescue her. In Heinrich's Diu Crône , Guinevere's captor is her own brother Gotegrim, intending to kill her for refusing to marry

534-527: A tower in which Mardoc is holding Winlogee , while on the other side Carrado (most likely Caradoc) fights Galvagin (Gawain) as the knights Galvariun and Che (Kay) approach. Isdernus is most certainly an incarnation of Yder ( Edern ap Nudd ), a Celtic hero whose name appears in Culhwch and Olwen . Yeder is actually Guinevere's lover in a nearly-forgotten tradition mentioned in Béroul 's 12th-century Tristan . This

623-500: A way that "many in the court spoke of it." Guinevere is charged with adultery on three occasions, including once when she is also accused of sorcery. Their now not-so secret affair is finally exposed by Guinevere's sworn enemy and Arthur's half-sister, the enchantress Morgan le Fay who had schemed against her on various occasions (sometimes being foiled in that by Lancelot, who had also defended Guinevere on many other occasions and performed assorted feats in her honour), and proven by two of

712-413: Is Culhwch and Olwen , in which she is mentioned as Arthur's wife Gwenhwyfar and listed among his most prized possessions, but little more is said about her. It can not be securely dated; one recent assessment of the language by linguist Simon Rodway places it in the second half of the 12th century. The works of Chrétien de Troyes were some of the first to elaborate on the character Guinevere beyond simply

801-462: Is Guiomar , an early lover of Arthur's half-sister Morgan in several French romances; other cousins of Guinevere include her confidante Elyzabel (Elibel) and Morgan's knight Carrant (or Garaunt, apparently Geraint ). In Perlesvaus , after the death of Guinevere, her relative King Madaglan(s) d'Oriande is a major villain who invades Arthur's lands, trying to force him to abandon Christianity and to marry his sister, Queen Jandree. In Perceforest ,

890-786: Is Jennifer , from Cornish . The name is given as Guennuuar ( Guennuvar ) in an early Latin text Vita Gildae . Geoffrey of Monmouth rendered it in a Latinized form as Guenhuuara ( Guenhuvara – but some manuscripts and thus modern editions also spell it with an M as in Guenhumara or Ganhumara , possibly stemming from scribal error confusing "uu/uv" for "um") in his Historia Regum Britanniae , further turned into Wenhauer ( Wenhaiuer ) by Layamon ( Gwenayfer in one manuscript) and into both Genoivre and Gahunmare in Wace 's Roman de Brut . Chronicler Gerald of Wales refers to her as Wenneuereia ( Wenneveria ) and

979-479: Is a central component of the Matter of Britain. Geoffrey drew on a number of ancient British texts, including the 9th-century Historia Brittonum . The Historia Brittonum is the earliest known source of the story of Brutus of Troy . Traditionally attributed to Nennius , its actual compiler is unknown; it exists in several recensions. This tale went on to achieve greater currency because its inventor linked Brutus to

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1068-607: Is a wicked queen who rules with the victorious Mordred until she is killed by Lancelot, here the last of the Knights of the Round Table ; her corpse is then entombed with the captured Mordred who eats it before starving to death. Layamon's Brut ( c.  1200 ) features a prophetic dream sequence in which Arthur himself hacks Guinevere to pieces after beheading Mordred. Historically, the bones of Guinevere were claimed to have been found buried alongside those of Arthur during

1157-748: Is also possible to read the Arthurian literature, particularly the Grail tradition, as an allegory of human development and spiritual growth, a theme explored by mythologist Joseph Campbell amongst others. Guinevere Guinevere ( / ˈ ɡ w ɪ n ɪ v ɪər / GWIN -iv-eer ; Welsh : Gwenhwyfar pronunciation ; Breton : Gwenivar , Cornish : Gwynnever ), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever , was, according to Arthurian legend , an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and

1246-410: Is buried beside Arthur. Medievalist Roger Sherman Loomis suggested that this recurring motif shows that Guinevere "had inherited the role of a Celtic Persephone " (a figure from Greek mythology ). All of these similar tales of abduction by another suitor – and this allegory includes Lancelot, who saves her when she is condemned by Arthur to burn at the stake for her adultery – are demonstrative of

1335-700: Is mentioned elsewhere (besides the Vulgate-inspired tradition). While later romances almost always named King Leodegrance as Guinevere's father, her mother was usually unmentioned, although she was sometimes said to be dead (this is the case in the Middle English romance The Adventures of Arthur , in which the ghost of Guinevere's mother appears to her and Gawain in Inglewood Forest ). Some works name cousins of note, though these too do not usually appear more than once. One of such cousins

1424-616: Is reflected in the later Romance of King Yder , where his lover is Queen Guenloie of Carvain (possibly Caerwent in Wales ). Chrétien de Troyes tells another version of Guinevere's abduction, this time by Meliagant ( Maleagant , derived from Melwas) in the 12th-century Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart . The abduction sequence is largely a reworking of that recorded in Caradoc's work, but here

1513-765: Is silent regarding Guinevere's feelings for Arthur but goes so far as to suggest she uses charms or enchantments to win Lancelot's love. Years later, following the Grail Quest , Malory tells his readers that the pair started behaving carelessly in public, stating that "Launcelot began to resort unto the Queene Guinevere again and forget the promise and the perfection that he made in the Quest... and so they loved together more hotter than they did beforehand." They indulged in "privy draughts together" and behaved in such

1602-485: Is taken to the isle of Avalon by Morgan. During the civil war, Guinevere is portrayed as a scapegoat for violence without developing her perspective or motivation. However, after Arthur's death, Guinevere retires to a convent in penitence for her infidelity. (Malory was familiar with the Fontevraud daughter house at Nuneaton, and given the royal connections of its sister house at Amesbury, he chose Amesbury Priory as

1691-656: Is the best-known part of the Matter of Britain. It has succeeded largely because it tells two interlocking stories that have intrigued many later authors. One concerns Camelot , usually envisioned as a doomed utopia of chivalric virtue, undone by the fatal flaws of the heroes like Arthur, Gawain and Lancelot . The other concerns the quests of the various knights to achieve the Holy Grail ; some succeed ( Galahad , Percival ), and others fail. The Arthurian tales have been changed throughout time, and other characters have been added to add backstory and expand on other Knights of

1780-476: The aithed in which a mysterious stranger kidnaps a married woman and takes her to his home; the husband of the woman then rescues her against insurmountable odds. A seemingly related account was carved into the archivolt of Modena Cathedral in Italy, which most likely predates that telling (as well as any other known written account of Guinevere in Arthurian legend). Here, Artus de Bretania and Isdernus approach

1869-736: The Middle German romances by Hartmann von Aue and Ulrich von Zatzikhoven but was written Jenover by Der Pleier , and the audience of Italian romances got to know her as Ginevra ( Zenevra , Zenibra ). In the 15th-century Britain, she was called Gwynnever in the Middle Cornish play Bewnans Ke , while the Middle English author Thomas Malory originally wrote her name as Gwenever or Gwenivere ( Guenever , Guenivere ) in his seminal compilation Le Morte d'Arthur . Some assorted other forms of her name in

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1958-452: The legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur . The 12th-century writer Geoffrey of Monmouth 's Historia Regum Britanniae ( History of the Kings of Britain) is a central component of the Matter of Britain. It was one of the three great Western story cycles recalled repeatedly in medieval literature, together with the Matter of France , which concerned

2047-415: The "Summer Country" ( Aestiva Regio , perhaps meaning Somerset ), and held prisoner at his stronghold at Glastonbury . The story states that Arthur (depicted there as a tyrannical ruler) spent a year searching for her and assembling an army to storm Melwas' fort when Gildas negotiates a peaceful resolution and reunites husband and wife. The episode seems to be related to an Old Irish abduction motif called

2136-491: The Alliterative Morte Arthure , Guinevere willingly becomes Mordred 's consort and bears him two sons, although the dying Arthur commands her and Mordred's infant children to be secretly killed and their bodies tossed into the sea (yet Guinevere, who unlike Mordred seems to show little care for the safety of their children, herself to be spared, as he forgives her). There are mentions of Arthur's sons in

2225-515: The Avalon series encompass several centuries of ancient British history but were not published in sequence. Each volume tells a story set in a different historical era. Part I Part II Part III Matter of Britain By century The Matter of Britain ( French : matière de Bretagne ) is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and

2314-609: The Avalon series. More overt connections are established by Diana L. Paxson, who continued the history of the surviving Atlanteans in Ancestors of Avalon and referenced their deities in Sword of Avalon . The original novel which inspired the series, The Mists of Avalon (1983) is set in Sub-Roman Britain . It focuses primarily on Morgaine , half-sister to King Arthur and priestess of Avalon. Morgaine's desire to preserve

2403-781: The English poems Alliterative Morte Arthure and The Awntyrs off Arthure , Genure ( Gaynor ) in the Stanzaic Morte Arthur , Guenloie in the Romanz du reis Yder , Guenore in Sir Gawayn and þe Grene Knyȝt , Gwenvere ( Guennevere , Guenera , Gwenner ) in the Polychronicon , and Gwendoloena ( Gwendolen ) in De Ortu Waluuanii . Her name is invariably Ginover ( Ginovere ) in

2492-603: The Forest House, Helena , mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, and Morgaine, High Priestess of Avalon (later remembered as the sorceress Morgan le Fay ). The series explores the King Arthur story and related legends through a feminist lens, as well as incorporating historical figures and events, elements of Celtic paganism , and modern paganism traditions. The ideological conflict of

2581-641: The Goddess in her fearsome warrior aspect. Set in the Bronze Age , Sword of Avalon (2009) focuses on the forging of Excalibur and its early history. Mikantor, the "Son of a Hundred Kings" and rightful ruler of the British tribes, is sold into slavery while the cruel warlord Galid usurps control of the land. Avalon's Lady, Anderle, opposes him. Mikantor has adventures in ancient Greece and throughout Europe before returning to claim his destiny. The books of

2670-532: The Middle Ages and Renaissance literature of various countries and languages have included Ganor , Ganora , Gainor , Gainovere , Geneura , Guanora , Gueneour , Guenevera , Gwenore , Gwinore , Ntzenebra , Vanour , Vanore ( Wanore ). In one of the Welsh Triads ( Trioedd Ynys Prydein , no. 56), the 13th-century series of texts based on the earlier oral tales of

2759-514: The Roman leader Lucius Tiberius . While her husband is absent, Guinevere is seduced by Modredus and marries him, and Modredus declares himself king and takes Arthur's throne. Consequently, Arthur returns to Britain and fights Modredus at the fatal Battle of Camlann. The Roman de Brut ( Geste des Bretons ) makes Mordred's love for Guinevere the very motive of his rebellion. Early texts tend to portray her inauspiciously or hardly at all. One of them

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2848-433: The Round Table . The medieval legend of Arthur and his knights is full of Christian themes; those themes involve the destruction of human plans for virtue by the moral failures of their characters, and the quest for an important Christian relic. Finally, the relationships between the characters invited treatment in the tradition of courtly love , such as Lancelot and Guinevere , or Tristan and Iseult . In more recent years,

2937-455: The Saxons") contains the lines: Ne sont que III matières à nul homme atandant: De France et de Bretaigne et de Rome la grant There are only three subject matters for any discerning man: That of France, that of Britain, and that of great Rome. The name distinguishes and relates the Matter of Britain from the mythological themes taken from classical antiquity , the " Matter of Rome ", and

3026-602: The Welsh Triads, though their exact parentage is not clear. Besides the issue of her biological children, or lack thereof, Guinevere also raises the illegitimate daughter of Sagramore and Senehaut in the Livre d'Artus . Other relations are equally obscure. A half-sister and a brother named Gotegin play the antagonistic roles in the Vulgate Cycle ( Lancelot–Grail ) and Diu Crône respectively, but neither character

3115-606: The bards of Wales, there are three Gwenhwyfars married to King Arthur . The first is the daughter of Cywryd of Gwent, the second of Gwythyr ap Greidawl , and the third of (G)ogrfan Gawr ("the Giant"). In a variant of another Welsh Triad ( Trioedd Ynys Prydein , no. 54), only the daughter of Gogfran Gawr is mentioned. There was once a popular folk rhyme known in Wales concerning Gwenhwyfar: " Gwenhwyfar ferch Ogrfan Gawr / Drwg yn fechan, gwaeth yn fawr (Gwenhwyfar, daughter of Ogrfan Gawr / Bad when little, worse when great)." An echo of

3204-456: The chronology of the Avalon series. All subsequent books of the series are by Paxson. Taking place prior to The Forest House , Ravens of Avalon (2007) adapts the story of the historical Celtic warrior-queen Boudica of the Iceni tribe, who resists the rule of Britain by the forces of Rome. Vowing vengeance for the invaders' violent rape of her daughters, Boudica raises an army and calls upon

3293-507: The death of Arthur and the downfall of the kingdom. This motif had originally appeared in nascent form in the poem Lancelot prior to its vast expansion in the prose cycle Lancelot-Grail , consequently forming much of the narrative core of Thomas Malory 's seminal English compilation Le Morte d'Arthur . Other themes found in Malory and other texts include Guinevere's usual barrenness, the scheme of Guinevere's evil twin to replace her, and

3382-851: The diaspora of heroes that followed the Trojan War . As such, this material could be used for patriotic myth-making just as Virgil linked the founding of Rome to the Trojan War in The Æneid . Geoffrey lists Coel Hen as a King of the Britons , whose daughter, Helena marries Constantius Chlorus and gives birth to a son who becomes the Emperor Constantine the Great , tracing the Roman imperial line to British ancestors. It has been suggested that Leir of Britain, who later became King Lear,

3471-615: The different daughters of Lyonnel of Glat (the greatest knight of the ancient Britain) and Queen Blanche of the Forest of Marvels (also known as Blanchete, daughter of the Maimed King and the Fairy Queen) are distant ancestors of both Guinevere and Lancelot , as well of as Tristan . In Geoffrey's Historia , Arthur leaves her as a regent in the care of his nephew Modredus (Mordred) when he crosses over to Europe to go to war with

3560-710: The early 13th-century France. However, their affair was soon afterwards directly condemned as sinful, especially in the Post-Vulgate Cycle retelling. Guinevere's role in their relationship in the Vulgate Lancelot is that of Lancelot's "female lord", just as the Lady of the Lake is his "female master". Regarding her characterisation by Malory, she has been described by modern critics as "jealous, unreasonable, possessive, and headstrong," at least through most of

3649-609: The early Arthurian and pseudo-historical sources of the Matter of Britain. The Scots , for instance, formulated a mythical history in the Pictish and the Dál Riata royal lines. While they do eventually become factual lines, unlike those of Geoffrey, their origins are vague and often incorporate both aspects of mythical British history and mythical Irish history. The story of Gabrán mac Domangairt especially incorporates elements of both those histories. The Arthurian literary cycle

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3738-429: The exhumation of their purported graves by the monks of Glastonbury Abbey in 1091. A major and long-running Arthurian story trope features Guinevere being kidnapped and then tells of her rescue by either her husband or her lover. Welsh cleric and author Caradoc of Llancarfan , who wrote his Life of Gildas sometime between 1130 and 1150, recounts her being taken and raped ( violatam et raptam ) by Melwas , king of

3827-580: The fairy knight Gasozein , who falsely claims to be her lover and rightful husband (and who also appears as the young Guinevere's human lover named Gosangos in the Livre d'Artus ), and her saviour is Gawain. In Durmart le Gallois , Guinevere is delivered from her peril by the eponymous hero. In the Livre d'Artus , she is briefly taken prisoner by King Urien during his rebellion against Arthur. The 14th-century Welsh poet Dafydd ap Gwilym alludes to Guinevere's abduction in two of his poems. Another version of

3916-474: The fathering of Galahad ) causes Lancelot to fall into his longest period of madness (which only Elaine is able to eventually cure with the power of the Holy Grail itself). The episode of Lancelot's exile and madness is also included in the Post-Vulgate Suite du Merlin , where it instead serves to accent the pathetic and humiliating nature of Lancelot's illicit relationship with the queen. Malory

4005-642: The figure of Morgan ). Guinevere herself wields magical powers in The Rise of Gawain, Nephew of Arthur . The Alliterative Morte Arthure has Guinevere commit the greatest treason by giving Arthur's sword kept in her possession to her lover Mordred in order to be used against her husband. Throughout most of Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur , a late-medieval compilation highly influential for a common perception of Guinevere and many other characters today, she figures as "a conventional lady of [chivalric] romance, imperious, jealous, and demanding, with an occasional trait such as

4094-402: The first century CE during Roman occupation of Britain, The Forest House (1993) focuses on the pagan religious order which predated the founding of Avalon. Based on the opera Norma , it tells of the romance between Eilan, a British priestess, and Gaius, a Roman soldier. The Forest House was co-written by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana L. Paxson, with the latter uncredited. Structured as

4183-430: The forceful advances of the sorceress Annowre for her sake, except as a victim of a spell in a variant of the "False Guinevere" case. On her side, Guinevere is often greatly jealous for Lancelot, especially in the case of Elaine of Corbenic , when her reaction to learning about their relationship (which, unknown to her, by this time has been limited only to him being raped-by-deceit by Elaine, including an earlier act of

4272-719: The giantess-Guinevere tradition appears in a local legend regarding the Queen's Crag boulder at Simonburn in England. The earliest datable mention of Guinevere (as Guenhuvara, with numerous spelling variations in the surviving manuscripts) is in Geoffrey's Historia , written c. 1136. It relates that Guinevere, described as one of the great beauties of Britain, was educated under Cador , Duke of Cornwall . The other chronicles typically have Cador as her guardian and sometimes relative. According to Wace, who calls Cador an earl , Guinevere

4361-462: The late King Lot 's sons, Agravain and Mordred. Revealed as a betrayer of his king and friend, Lancelot kills several of Arthur's knights and escapes. Incited to defend honour, Arthur reluctantly sentences his wife to be burnt at the stake. Knowing Lancelot and his family would try to stop the execution, the king sends many of his knights to defend the pyre, though Gawain refuses to participate. Lancelot arrives with his kinsmen and followers and rescues

4450-542: The latter appearing as Guinevere's evil twin in some later prose romances. German romance Diu Crône gives Guinevere two other sisters by their father, King Garlin of Gore: Gawain 's love interest Flori and Queen Lenomie of Alexandria . Guinevere is childless in most stories. The few exceptions to that include Arthur's son named Loholt or Ilinot in Perlesvaus and Parzival (first mentioned in Erec and Enide ). In

4539-564: The legendary island is notably different from other depictions, though it draws from and expands earlier legends. As in Geoffrey of Monmouth , Avalon is ruled by an order of women, explicitly identified by Bradley with the pre-Christian Brythonic religion. Drawing from legends that associate Avalon with the town of Glastonbury in Somerset , England, Bradley establishes her Avalon as a parallel universe of sorts to Glastonbury, co-existing in

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4628-475: The legends of Charlemagne and his companions , as well as the Matter of Rome , which included material derived from or inspired by classical mythology and classical history . Its pseudo- chronicle and chivalric romance works, written both in prose and verse, flourished from the 12th to the 16th century. The three "matters" were first described in the 12th century by French poet Jean Bodel , whose epic Chanson des Saisnes  [ fr ] ("Song of

4717-442: The lovers spend their first night together just as Arthur sleeps with the beautiful Saxon princess named Camille or Gamille (an evil enchantress whom he later continues to love even after she betrays and imprisons him, though it was suggested that he was enchanted ). Arthur is also further unfaithful during the episode of the " False Guinevere " (who had Arthur drink a love potion to betray Guinevere), her own twin half-sister (born on

4806-429: The matriarchal pagan religion of her people leads her to develop an enmity for Christianity, a newly rising power in Britain, and to come into conflict with her brother. In addition to Morgaine's story, the novel focuses on other Arthurian women, including Arthur's mother Igraine , Viviane, the High Priestess of Avalon, and Arthur's queen, Gwenhwyfar , whose Christian piety leads to further conflict with Morgaine. Set in

4895-647: The monastery to which Guinevere retires as "abbas and rular", to find her salvation in a life of penance. ) Her contrition is sincere and permanent; Lancelot is unable to sway her to come away with him. Guinevere meets Lancelot one last time, refusing to kiss him, then returns to the convent. She spends the remainder of her life as an abbess in joyless sorrow, contrasting with her earlier merry nature. Following her death, Lancelot buries her next to Arthur's (real or symbolic) grave. Modern adaptations of Arthurian legend vary greatly in their depiction of Guinevere, largely because certain aspects of her story must be fleshed out by

4984-592: The mysterious White Knight (Lancelot) arrives from the continent, Guinevere is instantly smitten. The teenage Lancelot first joins the Queen's Knights to serve Guinevere after having been knighted by her. Following Lancelot's early rescue of Guinevere from Maleagant (in Le Morte d'Arthur this episode only happens much later on) and his admission into the Round Table, and with the Lady of the Lake's and Galehaut 's assistance,

5073-576: The name is Gwenhwyfar (also Guenhuibhar , Gwenhwyvar ), which seems to be cognate with the Irish name Findabar (the name of the daughter of Queen Medb and Ailill mac Máta in the Ulster Cycle ); Gwenhwyfar can be translated as "The White Fay/Ghost", from Proto-Celtic *Windo- "white" + *sēbro "phantom" (cognate with Old Irish síabar "a spectre, phantom, supernatural being [usually in pejorative sense]"). Some have suggested that

5162-607: The name may derive from Gwenhwy-fawr , or "Gwenhwy the Great", as a contrast to Gwenhwy-fach , or "Gwenhwy the less". Gwenhwyfach (also spelled Gwenhwyach ) appears in Welsh literature as a sister of Gwenhwyfar, but Welsh scholars Melville Richards and Rachel Bromwich both dismiss this etymology (with Richards suggesting that Gwenhwyfach was a back-formation derived from an incorrect interpretation of Gwenwhy-far as Gwenhwy-fawr ). A cognate name in Modern English

5251-658: The narrative is associated in local folklore with Meigle in Scotland, known for its carved Pictish stones . One of the stones, now in the Meigle Sculptured Stone Museum , is said to depict Vanora , the local name for Guinevere. She is said to have been abducted by King Modred (Mordred). When she is eventually returned to Arthur, he has her condemned to death for infidelity and orders that she be torn to pieces by wild beasts, an event said to be shown on Meigle Stone 2 (Queen Venora's Stone). This stone

5340-517: The novels and original characters are added to the office's history. Bradley takes a similar approach to the character of Merlin , here cast as a series of Arch- Druids . The central figure of Avalon's religion is the Mother Goddess , a name Bradley associates with several Celtic deities . The author was influenced by traditions of neo-paganism (which Bradley herself once practiced) that conflate or associate similar pagan deities and emphasize

5429-468: The original novel. Paxson again shared co-writing duties but was uncredited. Set in the third century, Priestess of Avalon (2000) adapts a legend which ties the historical figure of Empress Helena to the island of Britain. It tells of Helena (or Eilan)'s romance with Roman officer Constantius and the birth of their son Constantine , who is destined to become Emperor. Priestess was begun by Bradley and completed by Paxson following Bradley's death. In

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5518-501: The other hand, in Marie de France 's probably late-12th-century Anglo-Norman poem Lanval (and Thomas Chestre 's later Middle English version, Sir Launfal ), Guinevere is a viciously vindictive adulteress and temptress who plots the titular protagonist's death after failing to seduce him. She ends up punished when she is magically blinded by his secret true love from Avalon , the fairy princess Lady Tryamour (identified by some as

5607-500: The other world would regard as rescues, but which to the Arthurian world appear as abductions." The following narrative is largely based on the Lancelot-Grail (Vulgate) prose cycle and, consequently, Le Morte d'Arthur as abridged by Thomas Malory with some of his changes. It tells the story of the forbidden romance of Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere, initially in accordance to the courtly love conventions still popular in

5696-469: The pagan and Christian characters, as well as the belief that there is wisdom to be found in both traditions, are frequent themes of the series. The novels are connected via Avalon itself and the implication (strongly hinted at, though rarely outright stated) that several characters throughout the series are the same souls reincarnated . First established in The Mists of Avalon , the series' version of

5785-427: The particular hostility displayed towards Guinevere by her sister-in-law Morgan . Guinevere has continued to be a popular character featured in numerous adaptations of the legend since the 19th-century Arthurian revival. Many modern authors, usually following or inspired by Malory's telling, typically still show Guinevere in her illicit relationship with Lancelot as defining her character. The original Welsh form of

5874-409: The popular romancer Chrétien de Troyes calls her Guenievre ( Guenièvre ). The latter form was retained by the authors of Chrétien-influenced French prose cycles, who would use also its variants such as Genievre ( Genièvre ) or Gueneure . Her many other various names appearing through the different periods and regions of medieval Europe include both Gaynour and Waynour ( Waynor[e] ) in

5963-515: The queen himself and take Arthur's throne. While in some versions of the legend (like the Alliterative Morte Arthure , which removed French romantic additions) Guinevere assents to Mordred's proposal, in the tales of Lancelot she hides in the Tower of London , where she withstands Mordred's siege, and later takes refuge in a nun convent . Hearing of the treachery, Arthur returns to Britain and slays Mordred at Camlann, but his wounds are so severe that he

6052-446: The queen's rescuer is not Arthur (or Yder) but Lancelot, whose adultery with the queen is dealt with for the first time in this poem. In Chrétien's love triangle of Arthur-Guinevere-Lancelot, Lancelot rescues her from the land of Gorre. It has been suggested that Chrétien invented their affair to supply Guinevere with a courtly extramarital lover (as requested by his patroness, Princess Marie ); Mordred could not be used as his reputation

6141-426: The queen's sister Gwenhwyfach and records the enmity between them. Two Triads ( Trioedd Ynys Prydein , no. 53, 84) mention Gwenhwyfar's contention with her sister, which was believed to be the cause of the disastrous Battle of Camlann . In the Welsh prose Culhwch and Olwen (possibly the first known text featuring Guinevere if indeed correctly dated c. 1100 ), Gwenhwyfach is also mentioned alongside Gwenhwyfar,

6230-434: The queen. Gawain's unarmed brothers Gaheris and Gareth are killed in the battle (among others, including fellow Knights of the Round Aglovale , Segwarides and Tor , and originally also Gawain's third brother Agravain), sending Gawain into a rage so great that he pressures Arthur into a direct confrontation with Lancelot. When Arthur goes after Lancelot to France, he leaves her in the care of Mordred, who plans to marry

6319-441: The same area but accessible only by summoning a magical mist. Avalon's ruler, the Lady of the Lake (a figure featured in several Arthurian stories), is identified as a High Priestess in the series. As multiple names are assigned to this character in legend, Bradley's Lady is a title passed from one generation to the next. All the Arthurian Ladies of the Lake (Viviane, Niniane, Nimue, etc.) are established as separate characters in

6408-696: The same day but from a different mother) whom Arthur takes as his second wife in a very unpopular bigamous move, even refusing to obey the Pope's order for him not to do it, as Guinevere escapes to live with Lancelot in Galehaut's kingdom of Sorelais. The French prose cyclical authors thus intended to justify Guinevere and Lancelot's adultery by blackening Arthur's reputation and thus making it acceptable and sympathetic for their medieval courtly French audience. Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur , however, portrays Arthur as absolutely faithful to Guinevere, even successfully resisting

6497-588: The sense of humor," until she acquires more depth and undergoes major changes to her character at the end of the book, arguably (in the words of Derek Brewer ), becoming "the most fascinating, exasperating, and human of all medieval heroines." Such varied tellings may be radically different in not just their depictions of Guinevere but also the manners of her demise. In the Italian 15th-century romance La Tavola Ritonda , Guinevere drops dead from grief upon learning of her husband's fate after Lancelot rescues her from

6586-431: The siege by Arthur's slayer Mordred. In Perlesvaus , it is Kay 's murder of her son Loholt that causes Guinevere to die of anguish; she is then buried in Avalon, together with her son's severed head. Alternatively, in what Arthurian scholars Geoffrey Ashe and Norris J. Lacy call one of "strange episodes" of Ly Myreur des Histors , a romanticized historical/legendary work by Belgian author Jean d'Outremeuse , Guinevere

6675-479: The story chronology the earliest book of the series, Ancestors of Avalon (2004) tells of a group of refugees from the lost continent of Atlantis who settle in Britain. They found the area known in later centuries as both Glastonbury and Avalon and are involved in the creation of Stonehenge . This was the first volume of the series written by Paxson alone, though it draws elements from Bradley's earlier novel, The Fall of Atlantis (1987), bringing it officially into

6764-440: The tale. The earliest datable appearance of Guinevere is in Geoffrey of Monmouth 's pseudo-historical British chronicle Historia Regum Britanniae , in which she is seduced by Mordred during his ill-fated rebellion against Arthur. In a later medieval Arthurian romance tradition from France, a prominent story arc is the queen's tragic love affair with her husband's chief knight and trusted friend, Lancelot , indirectly causing

6853-593: The tales of the Paladins of Charlemagne and their wars with the Moors and Saracens , which constituted the " Matter of France ". King Arthur is the chief subject of the Matter of Britain, along with stories related to the legendary kings of Britain , as well as lesser-known topics related to the history of Great Britain and Brittany , such as the stories of Brutus of Troy , Coel Hen , Leir of Britain (King Lear), and Gogmagog . The legendary history of Britain

6942-401: The trend has been to attempt to link the tales of King Arthur and his knights with Celtic mythology , usually in highly romanticized, 20th-century reconstructed versions. The work of Jessie Weston , in particular From Ritual to Romance , traced Arthurian imagery through Christianity to roots in early nature worship and vegetation rites, though this interpretation is no longer fashionable. It

7031-490: The two then begin an escalating romantic affair that in the end will inadvertently lead to Arthur's fall. Lancelot refuses the love of many other ladies, dedicates all his heroic deeds to Guinevere's honor, and sends her the redeemable knights he has defeated in battle and who must appeal to her for forgiveness. In the Vulgate Cycle, Lancelot's stepmother Ninianne, the Lady of the Lake, gifts them an identical pair of magic rings of protection against enchantements. In this version,

7120-401: The wife of King Arthur . First mentioned in popular literature in the early 12th century, nearly 700 years after the purported times of Arthur, Guinevere has since been portrayed as everything from a fatally flawed, villainous, and opportunistic traitor to a noble and virtuous lady. Many records of the legend also feature the variably recounted story of her abduction and rescue as a major part of

7209-492: The wife of Arthur. This was likely due to Chrétien's audience at the time, the court of Marie, Countess of Champagne , which was composed of courtly ladies who played highly social roles. Later authors use her good and bad qualities to construct a deeper character who plays a larger role in the stories. In Chrétien's Yvain, the Knight of the Lion , for instance, she is praised for her intelligence, friendliness, and gentility. On

7298-588: The work before the final book, and some of these traits may be related to her political qualities and actions. In the 13th-century French cyclical chivalric romances and the later works based on them, including Malory's, Guinevere is the daughter of King Leodegrance of Carmelide (Cameliard), who had served Arthur's father, Uther Pendragon , and was entrusted with the Round Table after Uther's death. The newly-crowned King Arthur defends Leodegrance by defeating King Rience , which leads to his first meeting with

7387-427: The young Guinevere. An arranged marriage of state soon commences, and Arthur receives the Round Table as Guinevere's dowry, having ignored Merlin 's prophetic advice warning him not to marry her. This version of her legend has her betrothed to Arthur early in his career, while he was garnering support and being pressured to produce an heir (which Guinevere, barren as in most other versions, will fail to deliver). When

7476-559: Was beyond saving, and Yder had been forgotten entirely. This version has become lastingly popular. Today it is most familiar from its expansion in the prose cycles , where Lancelot comes to her rescue on more than one occasion. There are furthermore several other variants of this motif in medieval literature. In Ulrich's Lanzelet , Valerin, the King of the Tangled Wood, claims the right to marry her and carries her off to his castle in

7565-434: Was created partly to form a body of patriotic myth for the country. Several agendas thus can be seen in this body of literature. According to John J. Davenport, the question of Britain's identity and significance in the world "was a theme of special importance for writers trying to find unity in the mixture of their land's Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Roman and Norse inheritance." Geoffrey of Monmouth 's Historia Regum Britanniae

7654-525: Was descended from a noble Roman family on her mother's side; Layamon too describes her as of Roman descent, as well as being related to Cador. Much later English chroniclers, Thomas Gray in Scalacronica and John Stow in The Chronicles of England , both identify Cador as her cousin and an unnamed King of Biscay (the historical Basque country) as her father. Welsh tradition remembers

7743-660: Was interested in the legendary history of Britain, and was familiar with some of its more obscure byways. Shakespeare's plays contain several tales relating to these legendary kings, such as King Lear and Cymbeline . It has been suggested that Shakespeare's Welsh schoolmaster Thomas Jenkins introduced him to this material. These tales also figure in Raphael Holinshed 's The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland , which also appears in Shakespeare's sources for Macbeth . Other early authors also drew from

7832-685: Was one of two that originally stood near a mound that is identified as Vanora's grave. Modern scholars interpret the Meigle Stone 2 as a depiction of the Biblical tale of Daniel in the lions' den . One Scotland-related story takes place in Hector Boece 's Historia Gentis Scotorum , where Guinevere is taken north by the Picts following Mordred's and Arthur's deaths at Camlann and spends the rest of her life in their captivity; after her death, she

7921-627: Was originally the Welsh sea-god Llŷr , related to the Irish Ler . Various Celtic deities have been identified with characters from Arthurian literature as well: for example Morgan le Fay was often thought to have originally been the Welsh goddess Modron or Irish the Morrígan . Many of these identifications come from the speculative comparative religion of the late 19th century and have been questioned in more recent years. William Shakespeare

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