by Terra L. Collver
The Legend of King Arthur and his court at Camelot has been one of the most enduring tales in western literature. Stories of his personal life, his knights, and the glory of his battles have been passed down for generations. Although King Arthur dreamed of peace and order, his life was marked with tragedy and ended in chaos. King Arthur's wife did not love him; his best friend betrayed him; and his own son killed him. The tale is so fascinating that each generation of writers returns to the popular imagery of the Legend.
The earliest stories of King Arthur center on the achievements of the King and his knights in battle. Women were minor characters, if they were included at all. They were not mentioned except at the end of a battle, when the men needed to be treated for their injuries. As the legend evolved, so did the role of women.
Guinevere, for example, is mentioned by name in a few early Celtic texts, but her importance is minimal. Arthur does not gain or lose his kingdom because of her. Critics agree that although Guinevere is not developed as a character, she is important to Arthur at least as a prized possession (Brewer, 95-96).
The French were the first to emphasize women characters in the Legend. This was largely due to the patronage of powerful women. Later renditions of the story continued to put more emphasis on women, until, in the twentieth century, women were often its primary focus as in certain feminist versions of the legend.
The Origins of the Arthurian Legend
The earliest references to King Arthur are found in the Welsh bardic tradition. The bard Aneirin composed the elegy, Y Gododdin for the kings of Britain around 600 AD. Aneirin represented Arthur as the model king and warrior. At the time when Y Gododdin was composed, the British isles were being invaded by the Saxons. The early English suffered from these invasions and were defeated badly. By singing of great kings and warriors, and by cherishing their ancestors' victories, the bards hoped to restore the morale of their nation.
The earliest written record citing King Arthur was Historia Brittonum (The History of the Brittons), composed by Nennius between 918 AD and 939 AD. In the Historia, Arthur was described as the victor of twelve battles, the most famous being the Battle of Badon. Arthur is victorious, killing more men than anyone else. This is one quality that makes him such a great king.
The Annales Cambraie (The Annals of Wales), written a century later, describes Arthur's actions in the Battle of Badon in greater detail. This battle is one of the first times that Arthur is described as a Christian King. To win this battle "Arthur carried the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ for three days and three nights (Annales Cambraie)." Arthur here is a valiant Christian warrior and king, who fights for his faith and country.
One of the most famous of the early records of King Arthur was Historia Regum Brittanniae (History of the Kings of Britain), by Geoffrey of Monmouth, written in 1138. This book was a compilation of many tales about the history of Britain. It began with the settlement of exiled Trojans, led by Brutus, ending with the fall of Britain to the Saxon invaders. The History told the story of the different kings who ruled over Britain-- all related through direct bloodlines. Over one-fifth of this book is about King Arthur.
Historia was presented as the true history of Britain. Geoffrey gives Arthur a legitimate claim to the throne through his father Uther Pendragon. He is, also, endowed with an arsenal of supernatural weapons and an army of unsurpassed champions. This portrayal of Arthur was so successful that it was translated and circulated to France, Spain, Italy, Poland, and even Byzantium. Geoffrey's history gained credibility by linking specific sites in Britain with specific events. Glastonbury, which was named as the site of Arthur's death, was an ancient monastery. The monks, years later, provided the evidence of Arthur's bones as proof of Geoffrey's history.
For Britain, the legend was mainly political. The story centered around wars, battles, and the heroic men. In other countries, the legend took on different aspects. In France, the legend became more romantic. New parts of the legend were composed to be circulated at court. The new romances attracted a new following-- women. As the legend evolved, it began to emphasize the importance of courtly love over the feats on the battlefield. Arthur began to recede into the background, while previously minor characters began to take on more importance. Arthur's character did not translate well to a more romantic story line because he was known for his battle feats, while some of the minor characters began to illustrate the new romantic approach. They were ideal knights, both strong and brave, as well as incredible lovers and prefect gentlemen. The ethos of courtly love and chivalry became an important factor in the progression of the legend.
The introduction of chivalry and courtly love were largely due to the influence of women. Many women, most notably Eleanor of Aquitaine and her daughter Marie de Champaigne, became patrons of the romances. Chrétien de Troyes became a leading writer of the new romances as a retainer of Marie de Champaigne's court. These stories were meant for private, individual reading. In response to this development, many courts commissioned artists to portray the legend in paintings, tapestries, and even elegant furniture.
Sir Thomas Malory and the Arthurian Legend
The need for a plausible sequence to the Legend was realized by Sir Thomas Malory. While imprisoned, Malory collected several sources, in order to write the story of King Arthur.
His book is a compilation from at least nine principle sources, and since several of them were very bulky and expensive it is unlikely that they were his own property. It has been plausibly suggested that the prisoner in Newgate availed himself of the large library which Whittington, the famous Mayor of London, had established in the Grey Friars' precincts so close by; but, in a period when books were so precious they were chained, they would hardly be released to an inmate of a jail" (Loomis, Development, 169).
As a nobleman, it would have been possible for Malory to have bought his way out of jail for days to study at a library. It has also been suggested that Malory might have had an assistant to do the research for him.
Malory selected at least nine sources from which to draw his compilation. The sources may have been chosen for specific reasons or because they were the only versions available. Malory used original sources, translating them into English. Since Malory was imprisoned for a ten year period, he had a large amount of time to piece together the various versions that he had read.
As Malory pieced these various sources together, his editing was very consistent. In many of the French romances, the emphasis centered around theological doctrines. For reasons unknown, Malory cut out many of the theological references, centering on the story only. An example of this occurs in the Queste del Saint Graal, which centered around the doctrine of Grace. "He consistently cut out the long disquisition's which to the author mattered at least as much as the story itself" (Loomis, Origin, 455). Malory cut out the doctrinal exposition so that the reader could decide the point of the story without the extensive commentary from the author.
Although Malory cut out many of the doctrinal interpretations, he still used many Christian metaphors. Malory set Arthur first as a knight, and then as a king. Malory views the role of the king like the role of the knight (Kennedy, 21-24). Both do justice, but the king is the vassal of God. Arthur showed that he is a good Christian king on his first day in that office; he immediately settled the disputes among his knights and subjects. As king, Arthur had to first assert his right to be King and then battle against the lords who did not support his claim.
And yet, Arthur is portrayed as a sinner. Arthur, young and full of confidence defeats the lords and demands their allegiance. After the battle, Arthur shows that although he is the vassal of God, he is still a sinner.
So in the meanwhile there came a damosel that was an earl's daughter: his name was Sanam, and her name was Lionors, a passing fair damosel; and so she came thither for to do homage as other lords did after the great battle. And King Arthur set his love greatly upon her, and so did she upon him, and the king had ado with her, and gat on her a child(Malory, page 42).
Later, Arthur leaves her, never returning to take care of the child. Arthur treats the woman as a prize, what was due to him as the victor of battle. He is after all the king, and it was very normal and acceptable for him to claim the woman for a night. Her father, the defeated earl, could not deny the king his daughter. If he did, it would be seen as denying Arthur his allegiance.
As Arthur travels throughout the kingdom, he stayed with King Leodengrance, and met Guinevere. Arthur thought of her as beautiful and desired her. They were married and left for Arthur's lands. These two incidents with the women occur one page apart. A few pages later, Arthur again takes a woman. While visiting King Lot, Arthur meets Morgause, the mother of Lots four sons: Gawaine, Gaheris, Agravain, and Gareth. Although she was married and the wife of his host Arthur desired her.
For she was a passing fair lady, wherefore the king cast a great love unto her, and desired to lie by her. So they were agreed, and he begat upon her Mordred (Malory page 45).
Although Arthur was married, he saw Morgawse as an object of his desire. Arthur committed adultery with her, ignoring all the Christian laws that forbid such an act. Later, Arthur finds out that he has had a child by Morgawse and that she was also his half-sister. He sent men, as did the biblical King Herod, to go and kill all of the newborn boys on May Day. Arthur realized that his actions were sinful, and quickly amended his ways; there are no other accounts of Arthur sleeping with another woman besides Guinevere.
Malory uses several different views of women in Le Morte D'Arthur. Morgan Le Fay plays a very important role in the politics of Malory's work. She was a very powerful woman, and used it to manipulate the men around her. Morgan Le Fay, filled with visions of grandeur, planed to kill Arthur and take over the kingdom. She used Accolon as her weapon to destroy Arthur, while she tried to kill her husband, King Uriens.
Accolon confesses to Arthur about Morgan Le Fay's treason after he realizes that his wounds were mortal.
Now, sir, said Accolon, I will tell you; this sword hath been in my keeping the most part of this twelvemonth; and Morgan Le Fay, King Uriens' wife, sent it me yesterday by a dwarf, to this intent, that I should slay King Arthur, her brother. For ye shall understand King Arthur is the man in the world that she most hateth, because he is most of worship and of prowess of any of her blood…and if she might bring about to slay King Arthur by her crafts, she would slay her husband King Uriens lightly, and then she had me devised to be king in this land, and so to reign, and she to be my queen(Malory, 118-119).
Morgan Le Fay was very thorough in her plans to take over the kingdom. She was willing to kill anyone who got in her way. She was more ruthless than Arthur expected, and he says, "I will be sore avenged upon her an I live, that all Christendom shall speak of it; God knows that I have honored her worshipped her more than all my kin" (Malory, 119).
When Morgan Le Fay head that her attempt to kill the king had failed, she did not give up. Next, she gave him a mantle under the guise of a peace offering. The Lady of the Lake intervened, telling Arthur of Morgan's treachery. Morgan Le Fay continued to try and kill Arthur, but only succeeded in killing those she manipulated into assisting her. Morgan was powerful, yet completely evil. She used witchcraft, a claimed that she was born of the devil.
Later in his telling of the legend, Malory used the biblical ideas of man's fall into sin to build a climax. Both Arthur and Lancelot commit sins of adultery early in the story. Malory sets the story up so that the reader waits for the consequences of their sins. Their transgressions go unpunished in the beginning, yet later it is their sins which ultimately destroy them.
As in the Bible, it is the woman who originally sins, but it is the man's sin that is punished and ultimately brings about destruction. It is not the woman's adultery that brings about the destruction of Camelot: it is the man's. When King Arthur slept with Morgawse, he was married and thus committed adultery. The fruit of that adultery was the child Mordred. When Arthur heard of his birth, he tried to kill him. Arthur realized that he was wrong, and he tried to hide it. He was unsuccessful, and Mordred lived. This act set up the destruction of the peace that Arthur had achieved through the round table. Although Guinevere also committed adultery, only her marriage is destroyed.
The Code Of Knighthood had been compromised by the King himself. The noble knight, which Arthur represented, was to uphold the chivalric code of honor. Yet, Arthur completely ignored the very standards that he had set up. After his adultery with Morgawse, there are no other incidents of breaking the code of honor. By Arthur's change, he shows that he is aware that there are consequences, and he is trying to prevent them. For the Round Table to remain stable, the King himself has to live by the Code of Chivalry.
When Mordred reaches maturity, he seeks Arthur and desires recognition. Mordred sees the deteriorating Code of Chivalry. He realized that he could make Arthur live by the Code he himself had set up, and thereby destroy him. Mordred exposed Lancelot and Guinevere's love affair, forcing Arthur to deal with it. Arthur did not want to have anything to do with exposing the affair; it was his worst fear.
The king was full loath thereto, that any noise should be upon Sir Lancelot and his queen; for the king had a deeming, but he would not hear of it, for Sir Lancelot had done so much for him and the queen so many times, that wit ye well the king loved him passingly well(435).
Since Mordred had brought the charges against Lancelot, Arthur had to let him expose Lancelot and Guinevere.
Lancelot's affair with Guinevere was not only adultery: it was also treason. They were both charged with treason because Lancelot could have impregnated Guinevere and taken over the kingdom by a son being born. Arthur wanted to forgive Guinevere, but his own laws force him to punish Guinevere by burning her at the stake, and then deal with the other transgressor, Lancelot. When Lancelot realize that Guinevere was going to be killed, he rescued her. Lancelot defied King Arthur and took Guinevere to live with him.
In the book Sir Thomas Malory and the Cultural Crisis of the Late Middle Ages, Robert Merrill suggests that Lancelot's rescue of Guinevere was rationalized through the now meaningless Code of Knighthood. Rescuing a damsel in distress was the knights job after all. "Taking the Queen 'knyghtly away,' as Sir Bors advises can be legitimated on purely ideological grounds, the only grounds upon which Lancelot will ever think" (Merrill, 97). Lancelot does not rescue Guinevere out of his duty as a knight. When Lancelot realizes that he has been discovered by Mordred, he promises Guinevere that he will rescue her if Arthur has her put to death. Guinevere says, "And if ye see that to-morn they will put me to death, the ye may rescue me as ye think best. I will well, said Sir Lancelot, for have ye no doubt, while I am living I shall rescue you" (440). After Lancelot departs, he then consults Sir Bors and the other knights to devise a plan to rescue Guinevere, not to decide whether he should save her as Merrill suggests. Lancelot has no doubts about rescuing Guinevere; he loves her and will risk his life to save her. Lancelot does have one dilemma: he does not want to go against his King and his best friend, which is Arthur.
Arthur is equally distraught over the exposed love-affair. He punishes Guinevere because:
the law was such in those days that whatsoever they were, of what estate or degree, if they were found guilty of treason, there should be none other remedy but death….These proofs and experiences caused King Arthur to command the queen to the fire there to be brent. (446)
Arthur seems to be forced into executing Guinevere because of the law. He is not just a law enforcer, but he is also an outraged husband. Gawaine tried to get Arthur to be lenient, but Arthur does not relent. He insists that Guinevere be put to death and that Lancelot be found so that he could "have a shameful death" (446) as well.
Although Arthur planned to put Guinevere to death, his real sorrow came from the death of his knights and the fellowship that the affair had destroyed. Arthur had worked hard to achieve peace and now there would be a war between his knights and those of Lancelots. Arthur was saddened because too many good knights had already been killed, and more would die in battle. He told Gawaine of his sorrow:
And Therefore, said the king, wit you well my heart was never so heavy as it is now, and much more I am sorrier for my good knights' loss than for the loss of my fair queen; for queens I might have enow, but such a fellowship of good knights shall never be together in no company. (450)
Although Arthur is simultaneously the king and an outraged husband, his low opinion of Guinevere is consistent with his overall treatment of women. In the beginning of the story, Arthur treated women very lightly, sleeping with whomever he desired. Arthur realized that he could have many queens, but only one fellowship like the knights of the round table.
In Le Morte D'Arthur, Sir Thomas Malory was reflecting his personal view of women. Part of the crimes that Malory had been convicted of was rape (Lawlor, viii). He had very little respect for women, and visited the prostitutes whenever he wanted. Women were for Malory to be taken at will; whereas the fellowship of men was more important.
After Guinevere was rescued by Lancelot, she sought refuge in a convent, to repent of her sin and to start over. Guinevere chose the life of the convent so she could live out her days repenting for the sins that she has committed. After Arthur dies, she felt immense sorrow for her affair with Lancelot.
Uses of the Arthurian Legend, from Malory to Tennyson
Malory wrote The Morte D'Arthur during the time of peak interest in the Legend of King Arthur. English society loved the story. Even the nobility picked up on the story line and shaped their family lines to include the great King Arthur. Malory's version shaped the values of king, nobleman, and subject. British monarchs began to trace their ancestry back to King Arthur as a way of showing their right to the throne. In 1485, Henry of Richmond defeated Richard III and claimed the throne. As Henry VII, he validated his right to the throne by showing his ancestry to King Arthur. Henry VII was so enthralled with his kinship with King Arthur, that he named his first son after him. At the end of Le Morte D'Arthur, Malory said that upon the tomb of Arthur was written: "Hic facet Arthurs, Rex quondam, Rexque Futurus (Here lies King Arthur, the once and future King" (494). Henry had hopes that his son Arthur would succeed him and establish a new Camelot, fulfilling the prophecy of coming back. Unfortunately, Arthur died in childhood which resulted in Henry VIII taking the throne.
Henry VIII continued his father's interest in the Arthurian legend. He took on Pendragon pendants depicting Arthur as a world conqueror, in a battle against France. He also had a "Round Table" at his palace in Winchester Hall. His interest in the legend was even documented in a popular play. "He, too, claimed descent from Arthur, and in the Masque at Lord Hay's Marriage (1606-07), Thomas Campion declared that Henry was the Once and Future King incarnate" (Mancoff, 20). To complete the royal connection to King Arthur, "Henry's daughter Elizabeth I inspired the figure of Gloriana in Edmund Spenser's Fairie Queen. Arthur demoted to 'prince' from king, was portrayed as her ideal consort" (Mancoff, 19-20).
Queen Elizabeth, like Arthur, did not leave an heir. The kingdom passed peaceably from the Tudors, to the Stuarts when Elizabeth named James as the heir to the throne. As King, James I continued the mythical connection with King Arthur. The connection with Arthur was important to the monarchy because the English people were beginning to question the Divine Right of Kings to be the ruler. The connection with Arthur was popular because Malory's book had such wide circulation. As the lands of the kingdom grew, the people grew more convinced that the strength of their country came through Arthur, the patriarch of the monarchy.
One interesting thing to note is that William Shakespeare never wrote about the legend in his plays. The only reference that he made, was to take the glorious name of Lancelot and use it for his character, Lancelot Gobo, a ridiculous clown.
The strong support of the monarchy ended with King Charles I and the Enlightenment. The enlightenment put the medieval nature of the legend in disfavor with the public. King Charles chose to associate his rule with more classical ideas. When Charles was over-thrown by Cromwell's Common-wealth, the legend became very unpopular.
Many writers began to discard the legend as a mythological story. The story of a powerful king, such as Arthur, angered the people. John Milton, who had aspired to rewrite the legend in his youth, "dismissed it as 'too fantastic.' In his British History (1655), he discouraged reliance on Geoffrey's Historia, claiming that it could be used as a source only 'when all others are silent'" (Mancoff, 20).
After King Charles I, the legend declined rapidly, changing from a once glorious war story of triumph and strategy, to a laughable child's tale to poke fun at. In the early eighteenth century, Henry Fielding wrote The Tragedy of Tragedies, or The Life and Death of Tom Thumb the Great. In this story, the hero, Tom Thumb, a tiny man, who is also the most famous knight is King Arthur's court. Arthur is a timid man, ruled by his drunken wife. His wife has eyes only for Tom Thumb, while Tom is in love with Arthur's daughter. The story ends with Arthur committing suicide on account of his frustration. The story shows that not only had the legend lost importance and influence, but it had fallen to be mocked and laughed at (Lacy, ).
By the middle of the eighteenth century, writers began to take the legend more seriously. When the Gothic revival began, artists and writers looked back to the legend of King Arthur for inspiration. The "gothic" look soon became vogue and the nobility sought to recapture the lost medieval look. Money was poured into building and restoring gothic castles. Murals were commissioned portraying medieval scenes and medieval gardens were created. This new look at the medieval period was enthusiastic and romanticized.
The last printing of Le Morte D'Arthur had been done by William Stansby in1634. The editor, Jacob Blome, had modernized this new edition, cutting out many sections that he didn't like(Parins, 145). In the nineteenth century, many new editions of Le Morte D'Arthur were published. "Two inexpensive editions of 1816, both poorly edited, used Stansby's text" (Parins, 145). The new versions were received well by the public. This new enthusiasm looked upon Arthur as a romantic relic of the past, to be appreciated as the style of the heroic times in the past. Even if Arthur was not a real person, he represented how the nobility and monarchy lived. Therefore, studying the legend had some anthropological value.
Victorians and the rise of the legend
In the nineteenth century, the Gothic Revival inspired many British Nobility to think of themselves as the modern counterparts of medieval knights. The ideals of chivalry were embraced and celebrated throughout Britain. The nobility sought to restore crumbling castles or to imitate the style in order to live as the knights once did. "Embracing a code of ethics based on hierarchy and obedience, privilege and responsibility, generosity and fair play, modern men created their own order of chivalry" (Mancoff, 29). The noblemen took this to such an extent that they began holding tournaments, where they would dress in medieval costumes and armor, imitating the life the knights and ladies must have lived.
Earl Eglington went so far as to host a tournament, featuring jousting and other medieval sports the knights enjoyed. The London press followed the "Eglinton Tournament," which took place in the summer of 1839. This tournament was highly publicized, and attracted a lot of attention. Although the tournament was well attended, it was called "dull and silly" by the London Times (qtd in Mancoff, 34). On the day of the tournament, it began to rain. The sight of men dressed in armor, carrying umbrellas was more than the press could handle. The games were rescheduled for the next day. However, the crowd had thinned dramatically, and the Earl who had sponsored the tournament hid in his room. Afterwards, the tournament became the popular subject for satire.
The idyllic Kingdom of Camelot seemed to most Victorians a perfect metaphor for their own times. With a peaceful and expanding empire, many of the nobility thought that they could offer King Arthur the kingdom he deserved.
During this time, Britain was not ruled by a Queen, not a King. Queen Victoria was received warmly by the British when her father died. The first thing that Victoria did as Queen, was to search for a suitable husband so that she could provide an heir. She did not want to die with out an heir. She wanted to avoid future problems of succession so she immediately married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, a cousin from her mother's side of the family. The British public did not approve of Prince Albert. He did not participate in the sports enjoyed by nobility. Instead, he was more intellectual, preferring to read and discuss various books and art. He was also a musician and artist who had studied at the University of Bonn.
The public had expected a great consort for the Queen, one resembling King Arthur. The monarchy attempted to change Albert's image by painting him in armor. After Prince Albert achieved influence in the monarchy, he took on the project of redecorating the Lord's Chambers. His experience with art led him to select William Dyce to paint a series of five frescos in the Queen's robing room portraying a scene from the Arthurian Legend. These frescos portrayed the ideal monarchy, "as seen in the acts of devotion, mercy, generosity, courtesy, and hospitality of Arthur and his knights"(Manicoff,47). This series of frescos inspired many artists and poets alike to retell the legend, reflecting their own values.
Queen Victoria inspired a reverence for women among the Victorians. The Queen always appeared to be the perfect wife and mother. She preferred to have her picture painted with her youngest child, resembling the Madonna. The Queen was always seen as the happy mother and reverent wife. These virtues were the virtues of womanhood celebrated by many writers and artists.
A good woman was born loving and giving. Her nature was to nurse and nourish; she cared for and saw to the comforts of others. She was by inclination, chaste and faithful. The true feminine nature was not plagued by the battle of sense with the soul. Unlike her masculine counterpart, she was ruled by morality-not passion.(Mancoff, 72).
The British adored their Queen because she fulfilled the qualities of a good woman.
The Victorians believed that if a woman had all of these qualities, she would inspire a man to be noble and brave. These qualities defined the expectations of the role of women for the Victorian mind. Many books were written to encourage women to uphold their position in society. One popular book was The Women of England, Their Social Duties and Domestic Habits by Mrs. Ellis. The theme of this book is the sacrifice that women must make. It confirmed the idea that women were inferior to men in intelligence and strength, but they were superior in morality. Women were thought of as a Christ-like figures. They must sacrifice themselves for the good of the society.
According to Mrs. Ellis, a Victorian middle-class girl or unmarried woman-evidently an unmarried woman had a status not greatly different from that of a girl until well into middle age, unless she was an heiress-obeyed her parents, learned to sew, play the piano or sing or draw, learned o cook if her family was relatively poor and visited the very poor if her family was relatively rich. A married woman obeyed her husband, bore children, managed a household as economically as possible given her husband's social standing and its demands and visited friends whom her husband approved.(Johnson, 25-26)
Books like Mrs. Ellis's helped define the proper place for women within Victorian society. Queen Victoria appeared to fulfill this role, showing all women that it was not difficult or unreasonable for women to live according to the set standards.
Although these expectations may surprise the modern reader, the Victorians praised women who fulfilled this role. The term "woman worship" was used to explain the praise of women. In many portrayals, women were seen as more divine than human. Self-sacrificing and industrial, women were viewed like angels or Madonna-like. The high praise of women was the perfect material for many writers. The Arthurian Legend supplied many good and bad women, making it the perfect subject for the Victorians to write about.
Tennyson and the Arthurian Romance
Tennyson used the Arthurian Romances to show the differences between good and bad women. His first poem involving the Arthurian Romance was called Enid and Nimue, or the True and the False. He printed this book at his own expense. It was well received. As a result, he began to expand it to include other characters as well. Tennyson stuck to the pattern of "true and false" by sensitizing the reader to the experience of one woman. Her experience was shaped by the men around her. She was proven to be a "true or false" woman by her own action, as judged from a man's perspective.
One of the poems in the true or false series was Elaine. The Victorian readers saw Elaine as having a perfect girlhood. She was the only girl in a household of men. She willingly served her brothers and father, thus showing the proper role for a girl. She never left the premises of her father's house, enjoying a cloistered atmosphere. Her mother had died at an early age and she took over the responsibilities of running her father's house happily. This prepared her for the day she would serve a husband. Elaine is described by Tennyson as:
Elaine the fair, Elaine the lovable,
Elaine the lily maid of Astolat
("Lancelot and Elaine", 1-2).
She was like a pure lily, untouched by the harshness of the world.
When Lancelot visits Astolat, Elaine has her first experience with a stranger. She had been surrounded by familiar people her whole life, never meeting anyone, especially a man, she didn't know. When Lancelot enters, Elaine is overcome by his courtly manner. Since she is inexperienced in the ways of courtly behavior, she does not recognize his words as sociable, but interpreted them as the words of love.
He spoke and ceased; the lily maid Elaine,
Won by the mellow voice before she look'd,
Lifted her eyes and read his linaments.....
However marr'd, of more than twice her years,
Seam'd with an ancient sword-cut on the cheek,
And bruised and bronzed, she lifted up her eyes
And loved him, with that love which was her doom.("Lancelot and Elaine", 241-243, 255-259)
Elaine, seeing the mighty Lancelot, falls in love with him on sight. As hostess, Elaine showers him with attention, which he rewards with smiles and kind words. She continued to mistake his manners for love.
Lancelot wanted to have a fair fight at the tournament, so he pretends to be an unknown knight. When Lancelot prepared to go , he left his shield in order to hide his identity. Lancelot gave his shield to Elaine to keep for him until he returned. She poured all of her energy into protecting the shield. Elaine had led a completely sheltered life. Her only outlet for her sexual energy is a fantasy world (Goldfarb, 56). All of this repressed desire now has an outlet-- the shield of Lancelot. " Then to her tower she climb'd, and took the shield,/there kept it, and so lived in fantasy"(395-396). After she took the shield up into her tower, she sewed a covering for the it. Tennyson does not say what Elaine fantasized about, that is left up to the reader's imagination.
The Victorians viewed Elaine with differing opinions. Women saw her as a girl, who had to face the confusing change into womanhood alone. They saw that she lacked a mother figure, to guide her through her surging emotions. The men saw Elaine as needing protection(Mancoff, 80). In her innocence, Elaine vows that she will have "Him or death"(899).
When Lancelot is hurt, Elaine sees it as her duty to help him recover. She makes him well again and he offers her a prize of her asking for her effort in curing him. She does not respond for of the answer he might give her. "If I be loved, these are my festal robes,/If not the victims flowers before he fall"(904-905). Lancelot asked Elaine several times to name her prize, yet she refused to name it. Finally, he said that she needed to tell him because he was leaving. Faced with his departure and the realization that he would not love her, she confided in him the truth: "I have gone mad. I love you; let me die"(925). When Lancelot told Elaine that he would never wed, she told him that marriage was not necessary, she only desired to be with him. Elaine abandoned what was proper for a woman, and offered to be his mistress. Lancelot assumed that Elaine had a girlish crush on him. He told Elaine that what she was experiencing is:
This is not love; but loves first flash is youth
Most common: yea, I know it of mine own self:
And you yourself will smile at your own self
Hereafter, When you yield your flower of life
To one more fitly yours, not thrice your age. (944-948)
Lancelot refused Elaine's offer and left. Elaine went back to her tower where she saw the empty covering for Lancelot's shield. The covering was empty and useless, just like she felt she was.
Elaine, who once had the ideal childhood, turned away from her vocation of obeying her father in order to love Lancelot. It was her duty to wait for her father to chose a husband for her. Falling in love was not something she should have done.
Elaine's father, realized how wrong Elaine's fantasies were and begged Lancelot to cure her of her obsession by being discourteous. Lancelot granted his request and left Elaine without a word. After Lancelot's departure, Elaine completed her final act of defiance by willing herself to die. On her deathbed, Elaine convinced her father and brothers to arrange a funeral for her. She told them to put her lifeless body in a barge to float into Camelot. She asked her brother Lavaine to write a letter and put it in her hands, to telling the court who she was and why she died. Elaine's defiance of her place in her father's house sent a stern warning out to Victorian girls.
Another poem in the "true and false" series, attempts to show another false woman--the woman who is adulterous. In "Guinevere", Tennyson finds another character who puts desire over duty. In his portrayal of Guinevere, she is shown to be very susceptible to praise. Since she was an only child, she had been the center of her father's life. Arthur, as the high King, could not afford to make her the center of his life when he took her as his wife. Guinevere felt hurt and jealous that Arthur had other interests. Lancelot provided Guinevere with the attention that she needed. When the attention changed from words to actions, Guinevere became afraid of being discovered by Arthur. When she realized that her fears were disrupting her peace, pleasure, and sleep, she asked Lancelot to return to his own land so that they do not fall into adultery again. When Lancelot and Guinevere are exposed by Mordred, they flee the kingdom to save their lives. Arthur left to fight Lancelot, and Mordred usurped the kingdom, bringing about the end to Camelot.
Guinevere was a false woman from the start, because her thoughts were centered on herself. She did not practice the self-sacrifice that was according to the Victorians, to be the basic virtue of women.
Guinevere is the direct antithesis of Queen Victoria. The Queen upheld the
Victorian virtues; she was a good wife, a nurturing mother, and knew her place. Guinevere
was an unnatural woman. She sought to be the center of Arthur's life, controlling his
actions. When Arthur could not provide this for her, she sought it in another man's arms.
Because of her sins, she was denied motherhood, destroyed her marriage, and ruined
everything that Arthur had built. Her punishment was the consequences that her behavior
brought upon her. When Guinevere takes sanctuary in the convent, a novice reminds her of
her sins and the consequences.
'Will the child kill me with her innocent talk?'
But openly she answer'd, 'Must not I,
If this false traitor have displaced his lord,
Grieve with the common grief of all the realm?'
'Yea,' said the maid, 'this is all woman's grief,
That she is woman, whose disloyal life
Hath wrought confusion in the Table Round
Which good King Arthur founded, years ago.(211-219)
At the end of the poem, she is redeemed by the trials caused by the
falsehood. Guinevere realizes that she has been false and learns to be true. She openly
repents for the sins that she had committed. She tries to change her life, to be a true
woman, instead of the false woman she had been. The conclusion of the poem shows the
reader that Guinevere did redeem herself.
They took her to themselves; and she
Still hoping, fearing "Is it too late?"
Dwelt with them, till in time their abbess died.
Then she, for her good deeds and her pure life,
And for the power of ministration in her,
And likewise for the high rank she had borne,
Was chosen abbess, there, an abbess, lived
For three brief years, and there, past
To where beyond these voices there is peace.
(684-692)
Guinevere spent the rest of her life learning to be a true woman. Her position in the abbey gave her opportunity to do penance for the sins she had committed. Later, the nuns later make her the abbess, because she had lived such a pure life while in the abbey, illustrating that Guinevere had truly changed.
Tennyson uses the stories of Elaine and Guinevere to show the reader how a woman can change from being true to false and from false to true. Elaine started off as a true woman, but she became side tracked by her passion. Her passion caused her to become a false woman. Elaine was willing to break all of the rules to be with Lancelot, but Lancelot refused her. Guinevere is the opposite of Elaine. Guinevere breaks all of the rules in the beginning. Guinevere starts off as the false woman. Because of her sin, Guinevere destroys everyone around her. Through extreme tragedy, Guinevere learns that she has been false. When she takes refuge in the abbey, she weeps for the life that she has lived and the consequences of her falseness. By admitting her sins, Guinevere turns her life around and begins to be a true woman. She no longer denies her place, but accepts her responsibilities, eventually becoming the abbess of the abbey. Elaine died a false woman; Guinevere died a true woman.
In the twentieth century, many novels have been written about the Arthurian Legend. The legend is often used as a vehicle for social or political views. T. H. White uses his novel The Once and Future King to explore ideas about the legitimate and illegitimate use of power and violence (Ross, 310). In White's telling of the story, Arthur's career consists of a series of failed attempts to control the violence in the hearts of his knights. In the end of the story, Arthur creates a civil law, in an effort to clarify what is the "right" use of power. With a civil law, Arthur hopes to eliminate the need for using violence to force people to do what is right. In the end, Arthur is trapped by his own laws that force him to condemn Lancelot and Guinevere.
In the twentieth century, T. H. White stands out as a major interpreter of the Arthurian Legend. His writings shaped the way that we view the legend which has been popularized by Hollywood, which has produced everything from cartoons like Disney's Sword in the Stone to movies like King Arthur. The imagery in White's books even caught the attention of J.F. Kennedy, who took up the image of Camelot as the image for his own presidency.
While T. H. White was at Cambridge, he was trained in the classical languages. While he was reading Le Morte D'Arthur, he wrote about his impressions in a notebook, which was later published in the introduction to The Book of Merlin.
The whole Arthurian story is a regular Greek doom [sic], comparable to that of Orestes.... Arthur had to pay for his father's initial transgression, but to make it fairer, the fates ordained that he himself should also make a transgression (against the Cornwalls) in order to bind him more closely in identification with the doom... The sin was incest, the punishment Guinevere, and the instrument of punishment Mordred, the fruit of the sin. (Warner, xi)
White clearly sees the legend as a Greek tragedy. In this passage, White also shows his opinion of Guinevere. He writes that she is the punishment, which he later writes about in his books.
White's education in the classical languages influenced his writing about the legend. In an unpublished memo, he wrote in a manuscript, he remind himself to follow Aristotelian principles. "Remember Aristotle. The plot must be inevitable and develop from character" (from Ross, 309). The plot is shaped around Arthur's unfortunate incest with Morgawse.
Although White admires Sir Thomas Malory, he did not intend to just rewrite what had already been written. White wanted to reshape the legend to modern conceptions of reality. The Once and Future King is much different than Le Morte D'Arthur
In the Once and Future King, White does not portray Guinevere as a powerful and conniving woman. Instead, Guinevere is shown to have many sides, some powerful and conniving, others loving and nurturing. Guinevere is first shown as a young woman, who was forced into a marriage without her consent. Arthur is nearly ten years older than Guinevere, and Lancelot is her own age. White shows that the attraction between Guinevere and Lancelot was natural. They become lovers, and Arthur is helpless to do anything about it. He is aware of their adultery, almost from the beginning.
Lancelot is shown to be the unfortunate victim of women's schemes. Elaine loves Lancelot, but knows of his hopeless love for Guinevere. She slips him a love potion in his wine and then tricks him into sleeping with her. Lancelot is outraged when he wakes up the next day, finding Elaine in his bed. "It was trechery! You betrayed me" (White, 392). Lancelot is completely outraged at he behavior. Although he berates her for taking away his virtue, he forgets that it would have been taken any way if Guinevere had really summoned him.
When Lancelot leaves Elaine, he goes straight to Camelot and sleeps with Guinevere. "Straight from Elaine, straight from her robbery, Lancelot came like an arrow to the heart of love. He had slept with Guinevere already in deceit" (White, 398). Lancelot and Guinevere begin their illicit love affair, ignoring the rules of the society. Arthur, unwittingly leaves Lancelot behind to protect the queen when he leaves to fight in a battle. Arthur is gone for a year, leaving Lancelot and Guinevere to enjoy their affair.
When Arthur returned, he brought news of Elaine's newborn son, Galahad. When Guinevere heard of it, she got angry at Lancelot. Guinevere wanted Lancelot completely to herself. Elaine makes a journey to Camelot to capture Lancelot. Both of the women are trying to determine Lancelot's fate; he is only a pawn. Arthur, completely aware of the tension and its cause, is described as unfit to deal with it. "He was sadley unfitted for hating his best friend or for torturing his wife" (White 406). Arthur is just as bothered by the events as the others, but he cannot bring himself to find out if his suspicions are true; He does not want to loose either Guinevere or Lancelot.
White's portrayal of women, especially Guinevere, could be viewed as negative due to her attempt to manipulate Arthur and Lancelot. Later in the book, White analyzes Guinevere, showing that her inconsistent behavior is explainable.
You could pretend that Guinevere was a sort of man-eating lioncelle herself, or that she was one of those selfish women who insist on ruling everywhere. In fact, this is what she did seem to be, to a superficial inspection. She was beautiful, sanguine, hot-tempered, demanding, impulsive, acquisitive, charming-she had all the proper qualities for a man-eater. But the rock on which these easy explanations founder, is that she was not promiscuous...
One explanation of Guinevere, for what it is worth, is that she was what they used to call, a "real" person...
Guinevere's real tragedy is that she was childless...It is what turned her into a raving woman, though at that time was still in the future. It may be one of the explanations of her double love-perhaps she loved Arthur as a father, and Lancelot because of the son she could not have. (White, 497-98)
White asks for an understanding of Guinevere. She lived in a world where her only acceptable outlet was child-raising or religion. She was not cut out for religion" (White, 498), therefore her only outlet was to have a child, and this was denied to her. Being a woman in the medieval days was a challenge, and Guinevere did try her best. White clearly does not want Guinevere condemned, rather an understanding of her circumstances and her personality.
Another twentieth century writer, Marion Zimmer Bradley, uses the legend to promote a feminist view of the legend in her book, The Mists of Avalon. Bradley, like T. H. White and Tennyson, relies on Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur as her source of the legend. In her version, she changes the legend from a story of male fellowship and the Christian quest for the Holy Grail, to the story of the suppressed matriarchal Celtic culture and it's pagan worship of the mother goddess (Thompson, 138).
The main conflict in her book involves the pagan culture against the Christian culture. This conflict is materialized in the love-hate relationship between Guinevere and Morgaine, Arthur's sister. Morgaine represents pagan, matriarchal goddess worship, while Guinevere represents the patriarchal Christian worship. The conflict between these two women stems from their differing views on religion, as well their blindness of the others virtues.
Although Guinevere represents the patriarchal Christian religion, Bradley shows that even women who support it only have a secondary status.
I think that perhaps God cares nothing for women-all his priests are men, and again and again the Scriptures tell us that women are the temptress and evil-it may be that is why he does not hear me. (442)
Guinevere's religious views show a clear view that women are oppressed by the Christian church, in Bradley's opinion. Guinevere is jealous of the freedom that Morgaine has with her pagan religion. Guinevere is tempted throughout the novel to embrace the worship of the goddess. She struggled to find her place in an oppressive, male dominated world, while Morgaine lived a much freer life without the constraints of a patriarchal world. Guinevere recognized her secondary status and reflects that she is only Arthur's "prize of war" and a "broodmare for the High Kings std service" (267-268). Guinevere lived a confusing life, hating her secondary status, yet at the same time renouncing the alternative goddess worship.
Guinevere tried to destroy the pagan worship, while Morgaine tried to destroy the Christian religion. Arthur became an object in the battle between the two women. They both tried to manipulate him to achieve their goal of destroying the other religion. Arthur is first persuaded to take up the worship of the goddess worship. Before becoming the High King, Arthur takes part in the pagan fertility rite. When Arthur realized that he had been tricked into sleeping with his sister, he calls out "Ah, God, Mary Virgin, what have we done?" (181). Arthur was caught between the two religions, unsure whom to call on.
After Arthur is made King in the pagan ritual, he took part in the Christian ritual. After the ceremony Arthur is seen with the Bishop and Merlin at his side advising him. King Lot comments, "Damned clever, that, to set the Merlin and the Bishop side by side, in token that he'll be advised by both!" (214). Lot recognized that it would be impossible for Arthur to keep both religions happy; they are diametrically opposed to each other.
Not only did Arthur try to keep the two religions at peace, but he tried to keep Morgaine and Guinevere at peace too. The two women try to manipulate Arthur into preserving their religion. Morgaine used Arthur's oath to force him into preserving the pagan rituals. Morgaine saw the goddess worship as only one religion out of many. She saw room for tolerance, whereas Guinevere sees Christianity as the only true religion. Guinevere used her own conniving to make Arthur destroy the pagan religion.
Once Arthur had promised her that when she gave him a son she might ask for whatever gift was in his power to give, and she had it in mind that on that day she would ask him to put aside the pagan banner of the Pendragon and raise Christ's cross. That would make all this land under the High King a Christian land, and Arthur's legion a holy army under the protection of Mary the Virgin. (383)
Guinevere dreams of the day when she will convince Arthur to give up his pagan ideas. Later on, Guinevere prevails and Arthur carries the cross into battle, sowing his decision to be a Christian King.
Morgaine reprimands Arthur for breaking his oath to protect Avalon. Morgaine realizes that Arthur did this because of Guinevere. Morgaine and Guinevere began an indirect battle against each other. Morgaine tricked Lancelot into a marriage with Elaine. She did this in order to protect Arthur from the adultery between Lancelot and Guinevere.
[Morgaine says to Elaine,] "What we are doing is dishonest, Elaine, but there's good to it too. Arthur's kingdom cannot long stand if the King is known a cuckold. (535-36)
After Morgaine used magic to trick Lancelot, Guinevere was angry. She knew that it was Morgaine's doing, and hated her for it. "But from that day, Guinevere hated me" (543).
Guinevere fought back and had Arthur put Morgaine into a marriage to old King Uriens, who lives is a far-off barren kingdom.
Guinevere was struck by sudden inspiration. This would be the perfect solution-Arthur himself had said that if it became known at court Morgaine could be scorned or shamed. She reached out and touched Arthur's sleeve. She said in a low voice, "Arthur, King Uriens is a valuable ally. You have told me that the mines of Wales are valuable as they were to the Romans, for iron and lead…and you have a kinswoman [Morgaine] whose marriage is in your keeping."(564)
Guinevere succeeded in getting Morgaine married to the old king. Although Guinevere meant the marriage to be a punishment, Morgaine makes the best of it and renews her vows as a priestess of Avalon.
In Bradley's version of the Arthurian Legend, it is not the betrayal of the brotherhood by Arthur and Lancelot, or Gwydion's (Mordred's) betrayal of his father that is emphasized. Instead, it is the betrayal of Arthur's oath to Avalon, Morgaine's betrayal of her vows of priesthood, and the betrayal of the sisterhood between Morgaine and Guinevere, which is the larger betrayal of the values of Avalon. When Morgaine and Guinevere battle against each other, they are doing it representing the two religions. Morgaine begins to see Guinevere's Christianity as a threat to her worship of the goddess. She begins to scheme to wipe out Christianity, as much as Guinevere tries to wipe out paganism. Guinevere is not compromising her beliefs when she tries to wipe out the pagan religion. Morgaine on the other hand, betrays the plurality of her own beliefs. For most of the story, she forgets the teachings she received in Avalon that "all the Gods are one God…. And all the Goddesses are on Goddess… And to every man his own truth, and the God within" (x-xi). Morgaine's schemes deny that all of the gods are interconnected. By battling the Christian God, she is battling her own God.
Bradley's novel emphasizes the loss of the sisterhood and the plurality of religions. The downfall of Arthur and Camelot is shown to be a religious issue, not a political one. The destruction of Camelot comes about because of the religious issues. The women are portrayed with more power than in the previous renditions on the legend. The power that the women have is directly related to the religion each represents.
The role of women has changed dramatically in the fourteen hundred years of the Arthurian Legend. Women were not present in the early stories because they centered on battle feats, and heroic men. The women were present only to assist the men in healing capacities. Later, the women gained influence and began to enter the story line more often. The Legend, which began as a story about heroic battles, and the fellowship of men in war, changed as the needs of each society change.
When the turbulent wars in Britain subsided, the need for violence and warriors passed. The legend changed to reflect this by using the new invention of courtly love. A good knight did not need to confine his activities to those of war. He could leave his violent nature behind and concentrate on courtly love. Through courtly love, the knight could express himself, and still complete with other knights. The knights who were great warriors, became great lovers. Women became very important as courtly love was written about. As knights were described as strong and heroic, the ladies were equally beautiful and graceful. Not all of the warrior knights made this transition well. Arthur, who was more heroic than any other, fell to the background, while less heroic knights became the great lovers.
The role of women grew due to the patronage of a few powerful women. These women wanted stories that concerned things other than war. They supported writers who wrote stories about good knights and ladies. The role of women became very important in the story. The story would not exist without the presence of women. Who else would the knights admire and love?
By the fourteenth century, there were hundreds of stories about different knights in King Arthur's court. The court of King Arthur became a framework that writers used to tell new romances about courtly love. Sir Thomas Malory took upon himself the great task of compiling these various legends into one coherent story. The sequencing that Malory gave to the legend has been used by almost every writer since.
In the eighteenth century, after a long lapse in interest in the legend, Tennyson used the legend to reflect the Victorian view of women. Writing about women was popular during his time, due to the popularity of Queen Victoria. In his True and False series, he showed the different aspects of women. The women are shown to mirror the Queens own good virtues. Tennyson shows that the good virtues are desired over the false virtues.
The twentieth century shows a variety of differing views on women. T.H. White shows the hardships that women underwent in the Medieval time. He acknowledges Guinevere's sins, but he does not condemn them entirely. Instead he asks for understanding. The role of women was very hard in Medieval times, and Guinevere was denied the acceptable role of motherhood, which was the only outlet for her, since religion was not something she was interested in.
In Marion Zimmer Bradley's book, The Mists of Avalon, women are shown to be the central figures in the legend, pointing out feminist views on religion. The legend, which had centered on the fellowship of men, is changed to show the fellowship (or lack of fellowship) of women. It is not the betrayal of the men that brings the destruction of Arthur and Camelot, but it is the betrayal of the women and their religion. Bradley shows that the intolerance of Christianity and the patriarchy inherent within it as the cause for the downfall of Camelot. The women cannot get along with each other, but Bradley implies that if they had only understood each other, things would have been different.
The Arthurian Legend is used by each generation to reflect its changing views on how the world works. Each author expresses the role that women play in the legend according to the view they see of women in life. The Legend has changed along with the role of women. When the Legend was first written about, men were the center of society, therefore the men were the center of the story. In the twentieth century, women have more power and influence, and writers like Marion Zimmer Bradley attempt to show that. The Legend changes and grows as each society grows and changes.