Five Trees Featured in Celtic Lore

Oak tree image by RegalShave from Pixabay

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This article was first published on 21st January 2021 on #FolkloreThursday.com under the title Top 5 Trees in Celtic Mythology, Legend and Folklore by zteve t evans. This has been revised and edited 26 February 2024, and some of the images may have differ from the original.

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Animism

The ancient Celtic people, as animists, believed that all objects, including trees, had consciousness to some degree. Furthermore, they considered each tree species to possess different properties, which might be medicinal, spiritual or symbolic. Wood was used for everyday needs, including fuel, shelter, tools, and weapons like spears, arrows, and many other items, and provided nuts and berries for food for themselves and their animals. Some species of tree are featured in stories from their myths, legends and folklore, and here we present five trees that played an essential role in these tales and lore.

Oak Trees

The oak was the king of the forest, having many associations throughout the Celtic world with religion, ritual, and myth, and had many practical uses. For the Druids – the Celtic priesthood – it was an integral part of their rituals and was also used as a meeting place. According to the 1st-century geographer Strabo, Druids in Galatia, Asia Minor, met in a sacred grove of oak trees they named Drunemeton to perform rituals and conduct other Druidic business. In 1 AD, Pliny the Elder, writing in Historia Naturalis, documented how a Druidic fertility rite on the sixth day of the moon involved a Druid cutting mistletoe from the branches of an oak and the ritual sacrifice of two white bulls.

Oaks also played essential parts in Welsh mythology. In the Math fab Mathonwy, the last of The Four Branches of the Mabinogi, the sorcerers Gwydion and Math create a maiden they named Blodeuwedd or flower-faced from the blossoms of the oak, the broom and meadowsweet. She was made to be the bride of their nephew, Lleu Llaw Gyffes, who could not marry a human woman due to a curse placed on him by Arianrhod, his mother. He married Blodeuwedd, who had never learned the social conventions, never having experienced the learning process of growing up. She had an affair with Gronw Pebyrv, and together, they plotted to kill Lleu. Gronw badly wounded him but, turning into an eagle, flew into an oak tree to escape being murdered. The oak appeared to be a refuge between the living world and the world of death, and he remained there until Gwydion found and cured him.

Ash Trees

Ash trees image by binael from Pixabay

The ash tree was the queen of the forest. Ash trees have significance in both Irish and Scottish mythology and folklore. It was believed to have been used in the rites of Beltane and formed part of the sacred trinity of trees with the oak and the thorn. Ashwood was thought to protect against fairies, and their seed pods were used for divination. The Gaels of Scotland used it for medicine and to protect against witchcraft. Its wood was considered especially good for making spears, staffs and wands and was believed to protect against evil. A Druid’s wand made from ash was found on the Welsh island of Anglesey and is thought to date from the early 1st century CE.
In Celtic Ireland, five magical trees protected the land, three of which were ash. The remaining two were an oak and a yew. The Bile Tortan, or the Tree of Tortu, grew in County Meath at Ard Breccan near Navan. This tree reputedly sheltered all the men of Tortu and was thought to have come down in AD 600. The Caeb Daithi, or the Branching Tree of Daithe, grew in County Westmeath at Farbill. The third sacred ash tree was the Craeb Uisnig, which grew on the hill of Uisneach and is considered the centre point of the island of Ireland.

Apple Trees

Apples image by Hans from Pixabay

The apple tree and its fruit had numerous functions in Celtic myth, legend and folklore. Unsurprisingly, apples symbolised fruitfulness and a means to obtain immortality. In Welsh and Arthurian tradition, the Island of Avalon was King Arthur’s final resting place and the home of Morgan le Fay and her sisters. It was also known as the Insula Pomorum or Isle of Apples. In Irish tradition, the magical island of Emain Ablach was also known as the Isle of Apples. A story from the Ulster Cycle, Aided Chon Roí, or the Violent Death of Cú Roí, tells how the soul of Cú Roí was held in an apple that lay in the stomach of a salmon that only ever appeared once every seven years.

Hazel Trees

Hazel nuts image by TBIT from Pixabay

Hazel trees were significant in Celtic traditions, providing wood and edible nuts. Tara, the religious centre and royal seat in ancient Ireland, was once known as Fordruim and described as a hazel wood. In the Ogham alphabet of ancient Ireland, the letter “C” was represented by the hazel tree. According to Robert Graves, it represented the ninth month of the Old Irish calendar. The Fianna, an elite group of Irish warriors and poets, were expected to defend themselves using only a hazel stick and a shield. In many stories, the hazel without its leaves was considered evil and believed to ooze poison.

In Wales and Ireland, the hazel was considered a fairy tree. Its wood was sacred to poets and deemed inappropriate to use as fuel for fires. Hazel wands were used as badges of office by messengers and couriers. Witches also made their wands from hazel, which were and still are used as divining rods to find underground water sources. In Irish mythology, the poet Finn Eces, also known as Finegas, caught the Salmon of Knowledge. Later, the mythical Irish hero Fionn mac Cumhaill ate the salmon. The salmon had gained all the knowledge of the world after it had eaten hazelnuts that had dropped into the pool from nine hazel trees that surrounded it. This knowledge was passed on to Fionn after he ate the salmon.

Yew Trees

Ancient yew tree image by imordaf from Pixabay

Yew trees are renowned for their longevity. Scientists use a scientific method called dendrochronology, which examines growth rings to date trees. Dating Yew trees is problematic because their annual growth rings decay in the centre, making it difficult to accurately determine their age by counting tree rings. New techniques have been worked out which may give greater accuracy, though these are sometimes contested. Even so, some people believe there are yews alive today that were growing in Celtic times and maybe earlier.

According to the Woodland Trust, the Fortingall Yew in Perthshire is believed to be between 2,000 and 3,000 years old. Possibly an older tree is the ancient yew in the churchyard of St Cynog’s church in Defynnog, which may be up to 5,000 years old. Another yew of similar age grows in the churchyard of St. Digain’s Church in Llangernyw village, known as the Llangernyw Yew. According to legend, every Halloween, a voice from the tree names every one of the local people who will die in the following year. One man named Siôn Ap Rhobert refused to believe this. One Halloween, he waited under the yew to hear whose names would be called out. His name was called, and he died within the year.

The Druids were believed to have regarded yews as sacred and would have been aware of their longevity and regenerative qualities. The drooping branches of old yews, when in prolonged contact with the ground, can take root and form trunks which support the main tree, whose core may be rotting. The needles of the yew were poisonous and could cause death, but its longevity and renewal caused it to become associated with resurrection, consequently becoming associated with death and renewal.

A Threefold Reminder

The trees mentioned here are just a few species the Celts knew and admired. Like many other human cultures, they developed the idea of a Tree of Life, Tree of Knowledge or the World or Cosmic Tree. This unique tree connected the other, or underworld, to the heavens, passing through the earthly world. It was a powerful symbol of the existence of the three worlds and the connections between them. This threefold reminder emphasised the respect and reverence the Celts had for their trees, and many people in the modern world are inclined to believe that we could learn a thing or two from the ancients.

© zteve t evans

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References, Attributions and Further Reading

Copyright zteve t evans

• Celtic sacred trees
• Oak To Quintessence (Celtic mythology and folklore)
• The Ash Tree | Ash Tree Books
• The Mabinogion – Sacred Texts
• Ancient yew trees: the UK’s oldest yews – Woodland Trust
• Celtic Dictionary – Article: Hazel – Lyberty

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Giant Tales: The Making of the Wrekin

The Wrekin, Shropshire – Public Domain

The Wrekin 

In Shropshire, England, is a large hill called the Wrekin. It is about 407 metres (1,335 feet) high situated about five miles west of Telford. It is an impressive landmark visible from miles around, including  Cleeve Hill, Gloucestershire, Staffordshire and the Black Country and even Beetham Tower, Manchester, and Winter Hill, Lancashire.  Probably because of its prominence a number of myths, legends and folklore traditions are associated with it.  Here we look at two different folktales that tell how it was by giants and there are several versions some may differ in detail.  The first concerns a Welsh giant who sought revenge against the people of the town of Shrewsbury.  The second tells how the hill and nearby River Severn were created by two exiled giants working to build themselves a new home.  

 Gwendol Wrekin ap Shenkin ap Mynyddmawr 

Long ago in the land of Wales there lived a giant by the name of Gwendol Wrekin ap Shenkin ap Mynyddmawr.  For many years he had demanded tribute from the town of Shrewsbury which was paid in the form of young maidens which he ate.  On one occasion one of the maidens managed to escape and return home to Shrewsbury and told the people of the fate of the maidens they sent the giant.  The people were outraged and refused to send anymore.

In revenge the giant decided he would drown them all by blocking the flow of the River Severn which ran through the town.  To achieve this he took his giant spade and pushed it into the ground collecting a great wad of earth which he intended to drop into the river to block its flow and flood Shrewsbury.  

It so happened that he was not the brightest of giants and did not have a  clear idea of the location of the river and town.   Nevertheless, he set off carrying his spade holding the wad of earth intending to carry out his plan.  He seemed to have lost his way and somehow missed Shrewsbury.  Eventually he grew very tired and as he approached the town of Wellington he met a cobbler returning to his home after visiting Shrewsbury market for trade.  The cobbler was carrying a large sack of assorted footwear that people had commissioned him to repair.  The giant asked the cobbler the way to Shrewsbury revealing his plan to block the river with the earth on his spade and drown the town and its people.   The cobbler was aghast at the idea but feared upsetting the giant so he quickly came up with a clever ruse telling him, 

“Well, actually Shrewsbury is miles and miles away as is the River Severn.  See this sack, it is full of shoes that I have worn out walking from Shrewsbury to this very spot and it has taken days and days to get here.”

The giant looked at the sack and saw how full it was and he was greatly  dismayed at the thought of walking such a great distance.  Feeling tired and disillusioned he dumped the great spadeful of earth on the ground there and then and in later years it became known as the Wrekin.  Scraping the mud off his boots with his spade he created a smaller heap of earth which became known as Ercall Hill and wearily made his way home.   What became of him after that this tale does not tell.

The Quarreling Giants

The second myth of origin tells how the Wrekin was formed by two giants who had been exiled from their own land and needed somewhere to live.  They decided to build a huge hill big enough for them both to live in.  To begin with they worked hard and quickly created a huge mound of earth.  They dug out a long and winding ditch which filled with water and became the River Severn.  The earth from the ditch they piled up high to create a huge mound which became known as the Wrekin.

However, the giants began to quarrel with one another possibly over the use of their only spade. One picked it up and struck the other who fought back with his bare hands.  As they were fighting a raven flew by and taking the side of the unarmed giant attacked the one who wielded the spade pecking at his eyes. This caused the armed giant’s eyes to water.  A tear fell into a small cleft in the rock which became known as the Raven’s Bowl, or the Cuckoo’s Cup.   It is said to hold water even in the hottest weather.

With the help of the raven the unarmed giant won the fight and imprisoned the other in a nearby hill he built for the purpose which is called Ercall Hill today.  The prisoner is said to be still there today and can be heard at times groaning in the night.

Folklore and Tradition

Another tradition tells how the victor hurled a blow spade at his enemy, missing him but hitting a rock making a narrow split which became known as the Needle’s Eye.  All true Salopians – that is someone born in Shropshire – are said to have climbed through the needle.  Girls who do this are advised to never look back because they will never marry if they do.

© 21/10/2020 zteve t evans

Reference, Attributions and Further Reading

Copyright October 21st, 2020 zteve t evans 

• The Wrekin – Wikipedia
• Shropshire Myths & Legends The Wrekin Giant – From Shropshire and my Shins are Sharp – Shropshire Myths & Legends The Wrekin Giant   
• British Lore and Legend, The Wrekin Giant, Shropshire
• The Wrekin Stories – Discovering Shropshire’s History
• Legendary Origins
• Shropshire – places – The Wrekin Giant – BBC
• File:Rhekin by Wrodian.jpg from Wikimedia Commons – The Wrekin, Shropshire by Rhodian – Public Domain

Giant Tales: Goram and Vincent and the Origin of the Avon Gorge

Public Domain – Source

Myths of Origin

All around the British Isles there are myths and legends that tell how giants and giantesses have shaped the landscape, often forming significant landmarks.   Here we look at two who are credited with forming the Avon Gorge and other parts of the landscape around the Bristol area in South West England.

The Giant Brothers 

 In the most well known version of the story there were two giants named Goram and Vincent who were brothers.  In some older tales Goram’s brother is named Ghyston and not Vincent.  There is a tradition that the change came because Bristol was an important port in the Middle Ages and had commercial connections with the Iberian wine business.  As well as wine this led to the importing of the cult of Saint Vincent who was the patron of São Vicente, Lisbon; Diocese of Algarve; Valencia; Vicenza, Italy, vinegar-makers, wine-makers; Order of Deacons of the Catholic Diocese of Bergamo (Italy) (1).

The cliff face of the Avon Gorge was once known as Ghyston Rocks or sometimes just Ghyston in earlier times and there was a cave known as either Ghyston’s Cave or the Giant’s Hole. Situated at th narrowest part of the Avon Gorge was an ancient hermitage and chapel dedicated to St. Vincent.  The cave became known as St Vincent’s cave and it seems the “Ghyston” became “Vincent” and that is the name he will be referred to this work.

Avona, the Giantess

Both brothers fell in love with a giantess from Wiltshire named Avona who the River Avon takes its name from. She was the female personification of the river and  possibly a distant memory of an ancient goddess or spirit. Avona could not decide who she preferred between Vincent and Goram so she set them a task that would display their talents.  According to this myth there was once a lake situated between Bristol and Bradford-upon-Avon in the neighboring county of Wiltshire.  She proposed that the one who managed to drain the lake first would win the right to marry her. After giving much thought to the problem the giants came up with different ideas on how to achieve the task.  Vincent chose to dig a channel on the south side of Clifton while Goram chose to dig a different channel that went through Henbury.

Both giants set to work and while Vincent toiled at a steady pace Goram worked furiously determined to be the winner.  He worked so hard that eventually he became hot and sweaty and in need of a drink.  He was a long way in front of Vincent and he thought he could afford to take a break and quench his thirst.  So he sat down in his favorite chair and quaffed a  large tankard of ale.  It tasted so good and cooled him down so much he drank another, and another and another.  He drank so much he fell asleep.   

Meanwhile Vincent, who had paced himself better, finished his channel and drained the lake.  From this story comes an explanation of how the narrow gorge the Hazel Brook flows through in Henbury and the Avon gorge which the River Avon passes through and other features of the landscape.

Goram’s Footprint

On the nearby Blaise Estate,   In woods above Henbury Gorge is a formation supposedly created when Goram stamped his foot when he found out he had lost Avona to Vincent.  He was so distraught he drowned himself in the River Severn estuary creating two islands, one called Steep Holm and the other called Flat Holm which are said to be his head and shoulder.  There are also two other features attributed to him in Henbury gorge.  The first is a short pillar topped with earth called the Soap-Dish and the second is a pool.

The Giant’s Footprint, Blaise Castle Estate – by
Mojo0306 – CC BY-SA 4.0

Another Version

In another version the characters of the two brother giants are as different as chalk and cheese.  Vincent was presented as being energetic and productive whereas Goram was considered to be a greedy idler.  One day Goram had the idea that they should do something so that people in the future would remember them. He suggested they build a massive monument to themselves out of rocks that were to be supplied by Vincent and the bones that were leftovers from his gorging of himself with food.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Vincent declined but instead suggested they work together and build a most beautiful channel for the river to run through.  This seemed a bit like too much hard work for Goram who watched as his brother set about the task working steadily and energetically towards his goal.  As Goram watched his brother progress he realized that Vincent’s name would live on forever through the fruits of his labor and grew jealous.  Therefore, so that his own name would not be forgotten he began building his own channel some three miles distant from Vincent’s.

The Death of Goram

Having  no pick-axe of his own he borrowed his  brother’s and being a lazy fellow the first thing he did was use it to cut a chair in the rock so that he could sit and rest from toil.  The brothers took it in turns to use the pick-axe.  They would shout a warning and hurl it through the air the three miles or so one to the other.  One day Goram fell asleep in his chair and never heard his brother shout a warning and the pick-axe hit him on the head, breaking his skull, killing him.

Death of Vincent

Vincent was distraught at his brother’s death, entirely blaming himself.  From then on he put all of his energy into his work making the beautiful gully we know as the Avon gorge which the River Avon flows through today.  Despite his achievement and his hard labour he still felt guilty about his brother’s unfortunate death and to use up his pent up energy built a stone circle at Stonehenge and another at Stanton Drew.  Even these labors had not used  up all his energy so he swam over to Ireland and built the Giant’s Causeway which finally tired him out.  He was exhausted by his labors and still feeling guilt and grief for the death of his brother whom he missed greatly.  In despair he returned home to spend the last hours of his life sitting upon the rocks looking out over the beautiful gorge he had dug that the River Avon flowed through.

These are just two versions of the legends of how the Avon gorge and parts of the surrounding landscape were formed.  There are many other versions and many other legends from the rest of the British Isles crediting giants with making  features  of the landscape.

© 30/09/2020 zteve t evans

References, Attributions and Further Reading

Copyright September 30th, 2020 zteve t evans

• Bristol History 
• Vincent of Saragossa – Wikipedia
• Somerset Giants – Anthony Adolph
• Goram and Vincent – Wikipedia
• File:Avon gorge and cave arp.jpg from Wikimedia Commons Image by r Arpingstone – Public Domain
• File:Giant’s Footprint.jpg from Wikimedia Commons – Image by Mojo0306 – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

Bee Folklore and Superstition: Telling the Bees

Image by Sven Lachmann from Pixabay

Bee Lore

Bees are a familiar sight around the world being native to al continents except Antarctica.  There are 16,000 known species and the most common is the western honey bee, also known as the European honey bee.  It is this species that this work mostly refers to.  Since early times humans have watched bees go about their everyday business and marveled at their sheer industry while being intrigued by the mystery of their societies.  This has led to the evolution of a rich body of folklore and tradition and many superstitions and customs.  Present here are a few small samples of this bee lore mingled with a few facts.

Bee Products

Bees provide us with many different useful products including honey, royal jelly, pollen propolis, wax and even bee venom. However, there are many other less obvious products of bees we depend on that are more important and more widely used.  Bees help pollinate many different fruits, vegetables and plants of all kinds which we make into many different products such as jam, dried fruit, even alcoholic beverages such as mead and much more.   They are not just useful to humans but also other animals and plants and are an essential part of local ecosystems which integrate into the global system.  An army of bees and other insects help pollinate these products and many other vegetables and plants used by humans. Without bees this army would be sorely depleted.  Our ancestors may not have realised the full extent of their usefulness but knew enough to want to develop an intimate relationship with them.  

Telling The Bees

It was seen as important for a beekeeper to keep his bees updated on any important information as news came in.  This was because bees could become upset and stop producing honey, abandon the hive or even die if not kept informed.  Therefore, it was seen as important that news that might affect them was broken gently but not withheld.  The origin of this custom is not known but there is an idea it may have evolved because people in many countries in ancient times thought  bees had the ability to bridge the living world with the afterlife. 

Deaths

There is a longstanding custom of telling the bees important events such as births, deaths and marriages that happen in the life of a beekeeper.  This tradition is found in the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Switzerland and other European countries as well as North America.

When someone in the household passed away it was deemed essential that the bees should be informed so that they could mourn properly.  Furthermore, it was essential that the bees were informed of any death in the family otherwise some tragedy would afflict the keeper’s family or perhaps jinx the hive.

Image by Charles Napier Hemy – Public Domain

An English custom required the wife of the house, or housekeeper, to drape something black over the hive while humming a sad tune.  In Nottinghamshire the words to one such tune were,

“The master’s dead, but don’t you go; 

Your mistress will be a good mistress to you.” (1)

Whereas in Germany the song was, 

 “Little bee, our lord is dead;

 Leave me not in my distress.” (2)

In some places the head of the household was required to knock on each hive until he thought he had the attention of the bees.  Next, in a sombre and serious voice he explained a certain person had died revealing the name of that person.  Sometimes the key to the family home was used to tap upon the hives.

Funerals

Where it was the case that the beekeeper had passed away food and drink from the funeral was left near the hives for the bees.  Sometimes the hive would be lifted and then put down at the same time as the funeral. It was draped in a mourning cloth and rotated to face the funeral procession.

In parts of the Pyrenees they buried an old piece of clothing belonging to someone who had died under the hive.  Many people believed the bees and hives should never be given away, sold or swapped after their keeper had died as it brought bad luck.

In the USA in parts of New England and Appalachia it was important to tell the bees when a family member died.  Whoever was the family beekeeper would ensure the bees were properly informed of the death so that the news could be passed around.

Weddings

In some regions it was believed bees liked to be told about weddings  and happy events  as well as funerals.  A tradition from Westphalia, Germany says to ensure good fortune in their married life, when moving into their new home, newlyweds must first introduce themselves to the bees.  A Scottish  newspaper, the Dundee Courier reported on the tradition in the 1950s, stating that the hive should be decorated and a slice of wedding cake left for the bees near the hive.  A custom from Brittany involved decorating the hive with scarlet cloth which would allow the bees to join in with the celebrations.

Messengers of the Gods

There was a belief in ancient Greece and Rome that bees were the messengers and servants of the gods. Romans avoided a flying swarm of bees but not for fear of being stung.  Instead they thought they were swarming at the command of the gods and bearing their messages and did not want to impede them in their work for the divinities.

Ancient Egyptians believed honey bees had been generated from the tears of Ra, their sun god, that had fallen to earth becoming his messengers between him and humanity.  Between 3000 b.c.e. and 350 b.c.e., the honeybee was used as a symbol by the  pharaohs of ancient Egypt.  Similar to the Egyptian and Roman view, the ancient Celtic people saw the honey bee as a messenger between heaven and earth. 

Importance of Bees

Bees continue to play an important role in the ecosystems and their importance to humans is undiminished, if anything, as we learn more about the world around us it increases. 

© 19/08/2020 zteve t evans

Reference, Attributions and Further Reading

Copyright August 19th, 2020 zteve t evans

• (1), (2),  W. Kite, “Telling the Bees,” The Magazine of American History with Notes and Queries 21 (A. S. Barnes & Company, 1889) – Telling the bees – Wikipedia
• Legends of the Bees – Moray Bee Dinosaurs
• Why Are Bees Considered Such Good Luck In Folklore? – Icy Sedgwick
• Bee – Wikipedia
• Sacred Texts – THE ORIGINS OF POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS AND CUSTOMS – BY T. SHARPER KNOWLSON
• Edwardes, Tickner. The lore of the honey-bee . London, Methuen. Kindle Edition
• Bee Image by Sven Lachmann from Pixabay
• File:The Widow by Charles Napier Hemy.jpg from Wikimedia Commons – The Widow by Charles Napier – Public Domain

Scottish Folklore: The Battle of the Sea Mither and Teran

Image by Наталья Коллегова from Pixabay

The Northern Isles

The Northern Isles of Scotland generally refers to the two archipelagos of Orkney and Shetland.  The islands have been inhabited since very early times and have many ancient archaeological sites with human activity going back to the Mesolithic Age.  There are still many Pictish and Norse influences which have combined to create a rich tradition of mythology and folklore on the islands.

Folklore and Tradition

One such tradition tells of an annual battle between the forces of summer and winter for supremacy.  This battle is expressed in folklore with summer being represented by a mythical female spirit called the Sea Mither, or Mither of the Sea.  Her opponent is called Teran, a mythical spirit of the winter who sends the wild waves, storms and high winds at sea and the death of vegetation on land.  Both spirits are invisible to humans directly but their force is experienced in the weather and seasons around the islands that play an integral part of island life.

The Sea Mither

The Sea Mither brings growth, renewal, rebirth and harvest.  The  word “Mither” is the Orcadian way of saying  “mother” so she is the mother of the sea in the sense she gives birth to all living creatures in the sea.

It is the power of the Sea Mither that reawakens the world after the harsh, barren wilderness days of winter, driving out darkness and bringing warmth and light.  She brings growth and fertility to the sea and land giving life to all living things and calms the stormy seas.  

Teran

Her enemy, Teran, brings the cold and dark and causes the winter gales and winds.  It is he who causes the waves to rise wildly and dash against the rugged coastline of the islands and it is his voice who rises above the wind in anger that the islanders hear in the winter gales.

 Vore Tully – the Spring Struggle

Around the time of the vernal equinox, about mid-March, there begins a titanic struggle for supremacy between the Teran and the Sea Mither when she returns to challenge him.  For weeks the seas all around become a frothing, churning cauldron as the battle between the two foes ensues.  Finally Teran is overcome and the Sea Mither confines him to the ocean’s depths.  Every so often he attempts to break free which manifest as spring and summer storms.  

During this period the power of the Sea Mither quells the storms and seas allowing growth and renewal to take place all around.  The continued stress of keeping Teran confined and  maintaining the summer seas and weather  begins to wear down the Sea Mither.  

 Gore Vellye – The Autumn Tumult 

Around the time of the autumn equinox when the Sea Mither is at her weakest and Teran has regained his strength the conflict is renewed.  He breaks free from his prison and challenges the Sea Mither to regain supremacy and gain control of the weather and seas.  The Sea Mither having used up her strength in renewal, calming the seas and keeping her foe in check is defeated and Teran rules the seas and the weather.  

The Cycle

However, as was the case with Teran, defeat is temporary.  Come the vernal equinox she will be ready to take up the fight again and win back the sea and land and spring and summer will come again.

It is in the battle of the Sea Mither and Teran that the local people made sense of the forces that brought the changing seas and weather.  To personify these unseen forces makes them easier to understand and to come to terms with.  It is a tactic that is used all around the world by many different human cultures in an attempt to explain the invisible forces that bring such dramatic and crucial changes to their environment.

Balance and Harmony

This cycle was seen as important because although it is natural to want continuous and permanent summer that is not how nature works.  Neither does it work by providing continuous and permanent winter.  Each has its time of precedence and decline which comes in cycles and is necessary to provide balance and harmony to the earth.  In their own way one is essential as the other to the well-being of the Earth and life on the planet.   Although  lacking modern science and technology, the ancients knew this making sense of it and giving it due respect in their own way.

© 17/06/2020 zteve t evans

References, Attributions and Further Reading

Copyright June 17th, 2020 zteve t evans

• Sea Mither – Wikipedia
• Northern Isles – Wikipedia
• The Mither o’ the Sea – the benign Orkney spirit of the Summer

Folklore, Superstitions and Customs around Hertfordshire Puddingstone

Image by Chris Reynolds – CC BY-SA 2.0

Puddingstone Folklore

Hertfordfordshire puddingstone is mostly found in areas of England in the county of Hertfordshire and  Plumstead Common in the Royal Borough of Greenwich in south-east London. It is a conglomerate silicrete composed of pebbles embedded in a mass of silica making it very hard and enduring.   There are different types made of different materials from different regions. Here we look at the folklore, traditions and superstitions that have become associated with Hertfordshire Puddingstone.  

Supernatural Qualities

In folklore and tradition Hertfordshire puddingstone was believed to possess certain supernatural qualities and local people long believed it protected against witchcraft.  According to the parish records of the village of Aldenham in 1662 a local witch had a piece of puddingstone placed upon her coffin lid before it was covered over to prevent her from returning from the dead (1). Because of the supernatural connotations it was also given various names reflecting this. For example it was also known as Witch stone, Hag stone, or Woe stone.

However, there was a less sinister side to puddingstone, though arguably more bizarre.  Although geologists are not in exact agreement how puddingstone was formed local people believed it grew from the ground and gave birth to new stones which also grew and gave birth. Proof of this was seen when it was split open revealing many smaller pebbles and stones stuck together inside and was called the Breeding stone.  Because it appears out of the ground and said to grow it was called the Growing stone. A piece of puddingstone was given to the happy couple at weddings possibly to promote their fertility and bring luck.

This tendency for it to appear from the ground made it troublesome for arable farmers who can damage their ploughs upon it but its association with breeding makes it a good luck charm for dairy farmers  and it was believed to increase milk production. Pieces of it were kept in the milking shed for this purpose.

Uses for Puddingstone

Puddingstone was used in construction of the Church of St John the Baptist. (2), During Roman times it was used as a millstone for grinding corn.  It was later built into the walls of a number of Hertfordshire churches such as the tower of the church of St. Nicholas in Harpenden.  Nevertheless, it was not widely used for building because although it was a good material it was scarce. 

Puddingstone was used for grave markers and coffin stones and it was placed on top of the coffin to protect the deceased from evil spirits.  It was also used in this way to ensure witches could not come back from the dead. In the churchyard of Great Gaddesden there are still large pieces of puddingstone marking the graves.

 Despite having an unattractive  surface similar to concrete when it was sliced and polished it became something very attractive and desirable.  After it had been sliced and highly polished the sliced surface displayed a variety of multicolored pebbles turning it into a very attractive and beautiful material.  In Victorian times it was made into ornaments, jewellery and small table tops (3).

Lucky Charms

There are many superstitions centered on puddingstone and local people often used pieces of it for a good luck charm.  Because of its associations with good fortune it was also placed in doorways and gate posts. People also carried a small piece in their pockets for luck.

Names of Puddingstone

As well as those already mentioned, Puddingstone has many alternative names that reflect the use it was put to.  For example, to ward against witches it was called Witchstone or Hagstone. For good luck and positive purposes it was called Angel stone. It was also known as Plum puddingstone because it looks like a plum or Christmas pudding when sliced.

© 08/4/2020 zteve t evans

References, Attributions and Further Reading

Copyright April 8th, 2020 zteve t evans

• (1) Hertfordshire puddingstone – Wikipedia
• (2) CHURCH HISTORY – St John the Baptist church, Aldenham …
• (3) Almost unique to our area | Hertfordshire Puddingstone
• File:Polished Section of Hertfordshire Puddingstone, Hertford Museum (geograph 3874623).jpg – From Wikimedia Commons – Source geograph.org.uk – Chris Reynolds – CC BY-SA 2.0

English Folk Heroines: Maid Marian

Olivia de Havilland in The Adventures of Robin Hood, 1938 Warner Bros. [Public domain]

Maid Marian  

Maid Marian, famous as the legendary girlfriend of Robin Hood, took on many roles and personas over the centuries, changing greatly with the times.  Although she is absent from the earliest known ballads of Robin Hood she later appear in many plays, ballads and stories. Her character and role varied greatly, sometimes appearing as a noblewoman at other times as a commoner or shepherdess.  From her early beginnings which can be found in folklore she evolves through literature from a simple medieval shepherdess and May Day Queen, to the girlfriend of the famous Robin Hood.

Folklore is dynamic and changes with the ages reflecting changes in attitude and circumstances by society. This can be seen in action with Maid Marian and how she became a folk heroine.  Over time she becomes a deeper, more complex character and much more than just the love interest of the famous Robin Hood and more than just an important character in someone else’s adventure.  It is in comparison to her and her character and traits that much of the morality of these stories comes out, making her an important ingredient to the overall plot, exposition and denouement of the story through the ages.  The overall impression is of a strong, independent lady in a relatively equal relationship with Robin. Her qualities of loyalty and compassion mixed with boldness make her a popular figure in the Robin Hood canon of literature providing a strong folkloric tradition.  There is also more than a hint of her dangerous side when she is found in a role of noble woman covertly undermining the patriarchal and ruling order by passing information on to Robin. The fact that she has male suitors in high society and chooses Robin rather than them underlines her independence of mind and action.

Marion and Robin in France

In the  pastourelle songs of France, Marian became Marion and she and Robin are found together but not in the way that we are familiar with.  In these songs Marion is a shepherdess who rejects the romantic attention of a knight to stay faithful to Robin who is a shepherd.  From this, Marion and Robin appeared in Jeu de Robin et Marion, a French play by Adam de la Halle in the later part of the 13th century. 

Later they became connected to spring festivals and traditions in both France and England to celebrate the passing of winter and welcome the new growth of spring.  These were often outside events enjoyed by the community with lots of feasting, singing, dancing, games and all sorts of fun activities and entertainment.

Marian as the May Queen

Maid Marian also has associations with the rustic figures of the May Queen and Lady May the personifications of May Day, springtime and summer connecting her with renewal, new growth, fertility and abundance.  With the figure of Robin Hood becoming increasingly popular appearing in plays, games and ballads especially during Whitsun, Robin and Marian eventually became integrated into new roles as the King and Queen of the May Day.  

The Virgin Mary

It was not Marian in the early works that was Robin’s important female interest but the Virgin Mary.  However, society changed and England became more protestant. With Marian’s strong associations to nature and fertility she complemented the forest environment and was a good partner for the outlaw of Sherwoos, eventually taking on the role of his lover.  However social attitudes modified her behaviour making her become much more modest, ladylike and virtuous rather than the lusty, rustic figure of fertility, vitality and renewal. 

As Marian  became more integrated in the Robin Hood stories her character, social status and circumstance change and evolve considerable.  She is not just a damsel in distress in need of rescue by some bold heroic male, she evolves into a much more complex character. Some of the tales portray her as a robust woman of action, her fighting expertise matching, or even surpassing male counterparts and even that of Robin in some stories.

At times when she is found within the stately and highly patriarchal confines of Norman society within Nottingham Castle she is the  secret rebel passing on information to Robin in Sherwood Forest. She can move between the two worlds of Norman and outlaw society while remaining true to her own values and personal beliefs and her love for Robin.

Nineteenth Century Marion

In the nineteenth century Marion loses much of her power becoming a highborn, chaste and delicate noblewoman of high birth and very much an archetype of the Victorian lady.  Her love story with Robin becomes central but she is now a supporting character to her lover rather than one in her own right. Perhaps to please Victorian audiences she and Robin are married by King Richard the Lionheart in St Mary’s Church in Edwinstowe making the story of Robin Hood and Maid Marion more romantic  and sanitized.

Modern Marian

From the early days to the present we can see how the changes in society and attitudes to women have evolved and expressed at different times through the ages. Her character and her role are reflections of those times and the attitudes that prevailed towards the male and female role models.  We have seen her evolve from the rustic mysticism of the May Queen to the archetypical lady of high society with a secret lover, to a more competent, confident and assertive female whose history in many ways reflects the lot of women through the ages. Marian stands out as one of the strongest female characters in folklore and literature and there is ample potential for further interesting developments in the modern age.   The potential for further development for her is also seen in modern times with the greater freeing of women from their traditional archetypes.

© 07/01/2020 zteve t evans

References, Attributions and Further Reading

Copyright January 7th, 2020 zteve t evans

• LeftLion – The Dilettante Society: Maid Marian
• Maid Marian | Robbins Library Digital Projects
• Robin Hood and Maid Marian | Robbins Library Digital Projects
• Maid Marion
• Maid Marian – Wikipedia
• Maid Marian – A Beginner’s Guide to Robin Hood
• The Enduring Appeal of Robin Hood
• File:Olivia de Havilland in The Adventures of Robin Hood trailer 2 …Wikimedia Commons

Dark Beira: The Winter Queen and Maker of the Scottish Landscape

Image by Martina Bulková from Pixabay

Dark Beira

In Scottish mythology, Beira, also known as Dark Beira, was the great mother of the gods and goddesses.  She was also known as the Cailleach,  or the Cailleach Bheur in the Gaelic traditions of Ireland and the Isle of Man.   According to Donald Alexander Mackenzie, she was usually described as being very  tall and very old and could be terribly fierce when provoked. Her anger could be as strong and bitter as the cold north wind and as wild and unforgiving as the storm laden sea. Every winter Beira reigned undisputed on Earth but as spring approached her subjects grew restless and rebellious against her stern, harsh rule.  They looked forward to the pending return of Angus of the White Steed who was the Summer King and Bride his beautiful consort and Queen.

The King and Queen of Summer

Angus and Bride were loved by all for their arrival brought an end to the dark cold days of winter heralding the return of spring and warmer and lighter days of abundance and happiness. The weakening of her power and the inevitable arrival of the King and Queen of Summer enraged Beira greatly. Although she did what she could to prolong winter by raising spring storms and sending blights of frost eventually  winter had to give way to spring and summer as her power weakened.

The Green Island and the Well of Youth

Image by photosforyou from Pixabay

Beira was ancient having lived for thousand of years. She kept herself alive by drinking from the Well of Youth  that has its wellspring on the Green Island of the West. The Green Island was a floating island and a place where there was only summer.  The trees were always laden with blossoms and fruit and the days were sunny and clear.   The island floated freely in the North Atlantic Ocean and the seas around the west coasts of Ireland, sometimes drawing close to the Hebrides.  

Although many bold sailors have tried to find the island few if any have ever succeeded as it is hidden by mists.  It is possible, even on the calmest and brightest of days to sail past it thinking it was just a bank of sea mist in the distance without  realising that the magical Green Island is concealed within. It can sometimes be glimpsed from shore but it will vanish when being gazed upon.  Sometimes it will sink below the waves to conceal it’s forbidden sights from human eyes. Nevertheless, Beira was not human and she knew how to reach the forbidden island when the time came. She knew that the waters of the Well of Youth were at their most potent  after the winter solstice. Therefore she would always visit the Green Island to drink the waters of the Well of Youth the night before the first lengthening day which was the last night of her reign as Queen of Winter.

It was important to drink the water at precisely the right time so she would arrive early and sit in darkness waiting for the very first glimmer of light in the east.  This was the signal for her to drink from pure water of the Well of Youth as it bubbled forth from a crevice in a rock. It was essential that she should drink of the waters in silence and alone, before any bird or animal.  If she should fail in this she would die, shrivel and crumbling to dust.

As soon as the water passed her lips she would begin to grow young.  She would leave the island and return to Scotland where she would fall into a long, magical sleep.  Eventually she would awake as a beautiful girl with long blond hair, blue eyes and rosy cheeks to find herself in sunshine. Having rejuvenated herself she was now, with the exception of Bride the Summer Queen, the fairest goddess in the land.  She would wander through the land dressed in a robe of green and crowned with different colored flowers.

The Aging of Beira

Image by Couleur from Pixabay

However, as the months passed by so the year aged and Beira aged with it.  She would reach full womanhood at midsummer and when autumn came the first wrinkles began to appear on her brow and her beauty could be seen to be slowly fading. With the return of winter she was transformed fully into the old withered hag and become Queen of Winter.  She was often heard on stormy nights as she wandered alone through the bitter wind singing a strange and sorrowful song, 

 O life that ebbs like the sea!

  I am weary and old, I am weary and old–

Oh! how can I happy be

  All alone in the dark and the cold.

I’m the old Beira again,

  My mantle no longer is green,

I think of my beauty with pain

  And the days when another was queen.

My arms are withered and thin,

  My hair once golden is grey;

’Tis winter–my reign doth begin–

  Youth’s summer has faded away.

Youth’s summer and autumn have fled–

  I am weary and old, I am weary and old.

Every flower must fade and fall dead

  When the winds blow cold, when the winds blow cold.  (1)

Although the young rejuvenated Beira of the summer was a joy to look upon the aging and bitter Beira of the winter turned into something horrific.   She only had one large eye but her vision was sharp and clear while her complexion was of dark blue giving her a dull and dank appearance.  She had rust colored teeth and long, lank, white hair that covered her shoulders like a bright frost. Her clothes were grey and she carried wrapped around her shoulders a dun coloured shawl which she pulled tightly around herself.  Sometimes she was often heard singing sad songs to herself. 

Days Gone By

It was said that Beira was so old she could remember how changes had come to the land.  She could remember that in some places where there was water there had once been land. Furthermore, she remembered how places that were now land had once been covered by water.  She was once asked by a wizard how old she was and replied, 

“I no longer count time in years.  I will tell you that where the rock of Skerryvore that is the haunt of seals lies in the sea I remember as a mountain that was surrounded by fields.  I remember how people worked in them, plowed them and cultivated them and I remember how the barley grew tall and thick and laden with sunshine. I remember the loch over yonder that but a small tricking spring.  In those days I was young and blithe but now I am old, weak, dark and in misery!” 

Creating Loch Awe

The stories tell how Beira freed many rivers and made many lochs.  She made all the mountains and glens and all of the hills Scotland.  One legend tells how there had once been a well on Ben Cruachan in Argyle which Beira habitually used daily.   Every morning as the sun rose she would lift it’s lid off and in the evening when the sun went down she would replace it.  One evening she forgot to replace it at sunset and this disturbed the natural order of the world.  

With the sinking of the sun water gradually began to bubble forth from the well. The lower the sun sank the more water burst from the well.  Soon a great flood was rolling pouring from the well and streaming and roaring down the mountain into the valley below. The next morning when the sun rose Beira found the valley to be completely flooded in water and in later days this place became known as Loch Awe.

Creating Loch Ness

Beira had another well which also had to be kept from sunset until sunrise. One of her maids, whose name was Nessa, had charge of the well. One evening Nessa was late in returning to recover the well and as she drew near she saw great torrents of water flowing down so strong that she was forced to turn and run for her life.  Beira, who was watching from her home on top of Ben Nevis was furious and cried,

‘You have failed in my trust in you and neglected your task, therefore now you must run forever and remain in the water!”

Immediately Nessa was changed into a river which became known as the river Ness and the loch that was formed from it Loch Ness.   There is a tradition that once a year on the anniversary of the evening of her transformation Nessa appears from the loch as a maiden to sing a sad sweet song in a voice that is clearer and more melodious than any bird. She is accompanied by the beautiful music of golden harps and pipes more melodious than that of fairyland.

Making Mountains

Image by A Owen from Pixabay

In the early days of the world the rivers began to break free and formed lochs and this is when Beira began making the mountains of Scotland.  She carried a great basket strapped to her back filled with earth and rocks. Sometimes she would need to step over the valleys, rivers and lochs but this sometimes caused her basket to tilt to one side causing rocks and earth to fall out.  These would form into hills and cause lochs to form with islands.  

To help her in her task she had eight hags who each had a basket strapped to their backs which was filled with earth and rocks.  One after the other they emptied it in one place so that each basketful built into a huge pile forming a mountain that reached up through the clouds.

The Sons of Dark Beira

According to folklore there were two reasons why Beira made the mountains.  The first was to provide stepping stones for herself as she traversed the country.  The second was because she had many sons who tended to be quarrelsome and would fight one against the other for dozens of years at a time.  Therefore, to punish those who disobeyed her by fighting she would separate them and make them live in different mountain houses. However, this did not stop them fighting because they would climb to the tops of the mountains every morning and throw massive boulders across the landscape at each other.  This is the reason why today we see many great boulders and rocks are strewn on the sides of the mountains or lie in the valleys below.

Beira had other gigantic sons who lived in deep caves in the earth.  Others were horned like deer and others had more than one head. Her son’s were so strong they could easily lift cattle off the ground and placing them over their shoulders carry them away and roast them for dinner.  Each of her gigantic sons were known as a Fooar.

The Origin of Ben Wyvis

One of the hardest tasks Beira had was the building of Ben Wyvis.  She had given her hag servants tasks at other places and because she did not want to hinder their progress she was forced to work alone.  After one particularly arduous and tiring day she stumbled and all the contents of her basket fell in a heap on the ground and it was this that became the mountain known as Little Wyvis.

Magic Hammer

Beira had a magic hammer that she used to help her shape the Scottish landscape.  To make the ground as hard as a rock she struck it lightly with her hammer. To create a valley she struck the ground hard. After she had formed a mountain she would then use her hammer to sculpt  it into a unique form so that she knew one from the other and could use them as landmarks to find her way around. After they were created she would take great joy in roaming the valleys beneath and between them and wandering over the mountain passes.

Animals and Beira

Beira was beloved by all wild animals especially in her younger form.  Foxes would bark out a welcome and wolves would howl greetings from the mountains, while eagles soaring above shrieked in delight at her presence.  She gave her protection to the fleet-footed deer and wide horned shaggy cattle, the black pigs and other creatures that roamed the earth in those days.

She kept goats and cattle on the mountains so that they could graze the sweet mountain grass and these she milked. As soon as the wind began to blow milky froth from the milking pails she knew it was time to lead them down to the shelter of the valleys below.  The froth from the pails covered the hills and lay glimmering in the sunshine. When the rain hit the mountains in torrents and ran down the sides in streams people would look up and say,

“See, Beira is milking her today see how the buckets overflow with milk and run down the mountainside.”

The Whirlpool of Corryvreckan

Beira wore a great shaggy shawl which she sometimes needed to wash but the only place big enough was the sea in the Gulf of Corryvreckan which lies between the Western isles of Jura and Scarba.  She washed her shawl so vigorously she caused a whirlpool in the sea called the Whirlpool of Corryvreckan and was known as her wash pot. There is a legend that a Scottish prince named Breckan was drowned by the whirlpool when his boat became caught in its pull or upset by the waves Beira was making as she washed her shawl.  It took her hag  servants three days to prepare the water to wash her shawl.  When it was ready the noise of the Corry or sea could be heard roaring for twenty miles all around and Beira would commence washing her shawl.  

On the fourth day she would throw her shawl in the whirlpool and trample it with her feet.   She washed her shawl until it was as white as snow and then she draped it over the mountains to dry which was the sign that her reign as Queen of Winter had begun. 

The Creation of the Scottish Landscape

The myth and story of Beira is the story of how the ancient Scottish people expalined the creation of the magnificent landscape they lived and the forces that created it. It provides an explanation for the cycle of the seasons in a way that people understood and could relate to. Although unscientific and perhaps raw and mischievous at times it does have a certain charm and truth that science cannot answer for.

© 19/12/2019 zteve t evans

References, Attributions and Further Reading

Copyright December 12th, 2019 zteve t evans

• Beira, Queen of Winter – From Wonder Tales from Scottish Myth and Legend By Donald Alexander Mackenzie [1917] at Sacred Texts
• Scottish Myths, Legends and Folklore – Discover Highlands
• Cailleach – Wikipedia

The Arthurian Realm: Morgan le Fay – Healer, Witch and the Woman Question.

Voyage of King Arthur and Morgan le Fay to the Isle of Avalon – Frank William Warwick Topham, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

This article was first published on #FolkloreThursday.com on November 29, 2018, titled “British Legends: Morgan le Fay – Magical Healer or Renegade Witch?” written by zteve t evans, edited and revised 3rd May 2024 by zteve t evans, images may vary from original.

The Enigma of Morgan le Fay

In Arthurian tradition, the elusive sorceress Morgan le Fay becomes one of King Arthur’s most dangerous foes, breaking traditional family bonds and working to undermine and bring down the strict patriarchal system and chivalric order of the Arthurian world. The enigma of Morgan is that despite attempting to kill King Arthur and usurp his kingdom, she is the one who takes him into her care after being severely wounded by Mordred in the Battle of Camlann, bringing an end to his kingdom.   

This work draws from Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Vita Merlini, Historia regum Britanniae (The History of the Kings of Britain), and Sir Thomas Mallory’s  Le Morte D’Arthur and is influenced by other texts. It examines how Morgan’s character changes from benevolent to malignant and swings back to benevolent after the disaster of Camlann. To do this, we look at her early life and how she used Arthur’s famous sword, Excalibur, against him and stole its scabbard and then discuss the disaster it would cause. Next comes a discussion on two important topics that had a considerable influence on medieval society: the Querelle des Femmes, or the Woman Question and witchcraft, and it concludes with her return to Avalon.

As Ruler of Avalon

Geoffrey of Monmouth introduces her into Arthurian literature in Vita Merlini as Morgen, presenting her as the leader of nine benevolent sisters who rule the island of Avalon. She is the most beautiful, the most knowledgeable, and the most powerful of the sisters.  In addition to being a skilled healer, she can fly or transport herself at will from place to place and has shape-shifting abilities. It is uncertain whether these “sisters” are family or members of a religious or mystical cult.

In the work of some later writers, Morgan becomes King Arthur’s step-sister or full elder sister, but her character undergoes a radical change. As Arthur’s elder sister, she breaks the traditional bond of love between brother and sister and the nurturing role so often associated with the elder sister towards their younger brother. Furthermore, instead of the wise and benevolent sorceress, she evolves into a malign, sexual predator hating her brother and his wife, Queen Guinevere. Forsaking her place at the centre of the Arthurian establishment, she moves to its periphery, becoming a renegade attacking the established order. She targets the Knights of the Round Table, especially Sir Lancelot, weaving dark spells and plots to trap them. Eventually, she becomes nothing less than an enemy of the state and arguably its most dangerous adversary until Mordred emerges to usurp the crown, resulting in the Battle of Camlann. 

Morgan’s Early Life

In Historia Regum Britanniae, Geoffrey of Monmouth makes Morgan the youngest daughter of Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall and his wife Igraine.  When the King of the Britons, Uther Pendragon, first set eyes on Igraine, he became wildly infatuated with her. Unable to contain his lust, he attacked Cornwall to take Igraine for himself. 

Gorlois sent his wife to his safest stronghold, Tintagel, while he confronted Uther’s troops in battle. While the military confrontation took place, Merlin, using his skills of disguise, transformed Uther into the likeness of Gorlois to allow him access to Igraine at Tintagel. The guards, believing it was Gorlois, let him enter the stronghold, and Igraine, thinking he was her husband, lay with him, and that night, Arthur was conceived.  

While this was taking place, Gorlois was killed battling Uther’s army.  After satisfying his lust, Uther returned to his troops. On learning of the duke’s death he took Igraine to be his wife.  He married her eldest daughter, Morgause, to King Lot of Lothian and the next eldest, Elaine, to King Nentres of Garlot.  Morgan was the youngest, and he sent her to a nunnery. (2)

Morgan hated Uther because she knew what had happened the night her father died and deeply resented Arthur as the product of his lust.  At the nunnery, she was introduced to astrology, the dark arts of necromancy, and healing skills, which she became highly adept at. As her skill and knowledge grew, people began to call her Morgan le Fay in acknowledgement of her abilities.  Eventually, she joined Arthur’s court and became one of Queen Guinevere’s Ladies-in-Waiting. But that was not to last.     

Morgan and Guiomar

Morgan was a beautiful young woman. She was a good singer and musician, marvellously skilled with her hands, knowledgeable and well-spoken. For the most part, she was considerate and courteous, but when angered, she became vindictive, spiteful, and obstinate. She was alleged to be the lewdest and most lustful woman in Britain, taking many lovers. 

One day, Guinevere’s nephew, Guiomar, found her at work in a bedroom spinning golden thread, and the two fell in love at first sight. The lovers tried to keep their affair secret, but eventually, Guinevere found out and banished him from the court. This incident caused Morgan to develop a burning resentment towards her. It increased her animosity towards Arthur, which she had kept hidden. She left the court and further studied the arts of sorcery, greatly enhancing her magical abilities. 

Eventually, she returned to Camelot, and Arthur married her to King Urien of Rheged to create a strategic political alliance, deepening her resentment towards him. With Urien, she had a son named Owain and began secretly plotting the downfall of her husband and brother, King Arthur.

The Lady of the Lake and Excalibur

One of the most famous symbols of the Arthurian legend is Excalibur, the sword he obtained after breaking the sword he had pulled from a stone to become King. Needing a replacement, Merlin took him to the shores of a lake. From the shore, gazing towards the lake’s centre, he saw an arm holding a bright sword aloft out of the water. 

The moving serenely in a boat over the water the Lady of the Lake approached Arthur, and he asked if she would give him the sword in exchange for anything she desired. She told him to take the boat on the shore out to the arm, and he would be given the blade and a scabbard. When the time came, she would ask him to fulfil his part of the bargain. The boat took Arthur and Merlin across the lake to where the arm held the sword out of the water. Arthur followed her instructions and received the sword and scabbard. They returned to the shore, where he examined the sword exquisitely crafted with the finest workmanship.

“Which do you like best, the sword or the scabbard?” asked Merlin. “I prefer the sword!” replied Arthur. “Then you are a fool! The scabbard is worth ten of the sword, because while you wear it no matter how you are wounded you will not lose blood.  Always keep the scabbard safe by you at all times,” advised Merlin.

The Scabbard of Excalibur

Time passed, and during a battle, Arthur was wounded, and the wound produced no blood. Merlin reminded him that this was because of the scabbard of Excalibur and again warned him to keep it safe, reiterating that anyone who wore it would not lose blood if wounded.

At this time, Arthur still loved and trusted his sister, Morgan, even more than his wife, Guinevere. Therefore, he took the scabbard and Excalibur to her and asked her to keep both safe. However, Morgan secretly hated her brother and saw this as an opportunity to bring him down. Morgan created a fake sword holder and sword and gave the real sword and its enchanted holder to her lover Accolon for him kill King Arthur in a duel. She would then, with Accolon, take the throne. To make this happen, Morgan le Fay cast a complicated spell that transported them to a remote location where they could fight without interference from anyone in Camelot.

She sent Arthur the counterfeit Excalibur and its fake scabbard to use in the duel, while Accolon used the genuine items. In the following fight, Arthur was almost overwhelmed and bleeding from many wounds dealt by Accolon wielding Excalibur. In contrast, Accolon, despite receiving numerous blows from Arthur, remained unbloodied and uninjured. Weakened by blood loss, Arthur realised that his opponent was wielding the Excalibur and wearing the scabbard. 

As Accolon raised Excalibur to strike the death blow, the Lady of the Lake intervened, casting a spell that made him drop the sword. Arthur seized his chance, grabbed the blade, and, tearing the scabbard from Accolon, hurled it away. Now wielding Excalibur, Arthur defeated his opponent, badly wounding him and, without the protection of the genuine scabbard, causing blood to flow.

Morgan and Excalibur – Dora Curtis, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

With Accolon at his mercy, Arthur demanded an explanation of how he got Excalibur and its scabbard. Accolon told him of Morgan’s plot and how she hated and despised him. On hearing this, Arthur was genuinely emotionally hurt and shocked. He had entirely loved and trusted his elder sister and learning that she hated him hurt deeply. Nevertheless, for all that, Arthur would have spared Accolon, who died four days later from his wounds. As an act of compassion, Arthur sent his body to Morgan for her to mourn appropriately, but this further increased her hatred towards him.   Still weak from blood loss, Arthur decided to rest at a nearby nunnery to recuperate.

While Accolon and Arthur had been locked in mortal combat, Morgan at Camelot had been busy. As her husband, King Urien, lay sleeping, she had crept up to him wielding a knife intending his murder. Her son, Owain, arrived by chance in time to stop her from carrying out the fatal blow.  Owain would have killed his mother, but she claimed a sudden madness had afflicted her and believing her, he spared her life. 

The Theft of the Scabbard

Morgan had truly loved Accolon and was devastated by his death and the failure of her plot, and sought vengeance.  On receiving his body, she went to Guinevere, who at this stage was unaware of the fight between Arthur and Accolon, to request leave from the court, claiming she had received urgent news and needed to travel home to deal with it.  

Guinevere reluctantly gave consent, and at dawn the following day, Morgan left on horseback with a retinue of her knights.  After riding hard all day and night, they reached the Abbey where Arthur was recuperating.  She was met by the nuns, who took her to his room and offered to wake him. “Nay, let him be,” she said, “I will wake him later when he is rested.  Now, leave me with him!”  The nuns were terrified of Morgan and obeyed her without question.

Arthur was lying fast asleep on a bed in the room, and in his right hand, he tightly gripped Excalibur. Morgan thought about trying to steal the sword, but she knew if he should wake, he would surely kill her now. She decided she would not take the chance, and seeing the empty scabbard close by, she silently hid it under her cloak and quietly left him, riding off with her entourage following.

When Arthur awoke, he immediately discovered the scabbard was missing. Calling the nuns to him, he questioned them about what had happened while he slept. They told him about his sister’s visit and how she had ordered them out of the room, leaving her alone with him. On hearing this, Arthur ordered Sir Ontzlake to prepare their horses, and they set off after her.

Riding hard and fast, they eventually saw her and her knights in the distance. Looking back, Morgan saw it was Arthur and realised she could not escape. Despite having a company of knights, she knew they could not defeat Arthur and Sir Ontzlake. Nevertheless, she was determined he would not get the scabbard back. Riding to a nearby lake, she threw it far into the water, where the weight of the gold and jewels that embellished it quickly took it to the bottom.  

Looking to escape Arthur and followed by her knights, she galloped into a valley whose sides were littered with great stone blocks.  She turned herself and her knights into stone blocks with her magic arts. Just as she had done this, into the valley rode King Arthur and Sir Ontzlake, who looked around the valley but could only see blocks of stone.  Unable to find a trace of her, Arthur searched for the scabbard, hoping she had dropped it for them to find to end the chase.  Finding no trace, he returned to the Abbey.

As soon as he had gone, Morgan turned her knights and herself back into human form and rode back to her home country. Fearing her brother may seek revenge for her part in his attempted assassination and stealing the magical sword sheath, she strengthened her castles and town walls. For now, she was an enemy of the Arthurian state.

Arthur rode back to Camelot, where Queen Guinevere and the Knights of the Round Table warmly welcomed him home. They were outraged when they heard his story of the fight with Accolon, Morgan’s plot to take the crown, and how she had stolen the scabbard of Excalibur. They accused her of treason and demanded that she be burnt at the stake.

The Deadly Cloak

Despite the failure of her murderous plot, Morgan’s hatred for her brother had not diminished, and she came up with another plan to assassinate him. She sent one of her girl servants to Camelot, bearing him a most handsome cloak as a peace gift, begging his forgiveness. It was studded with precious gems and embroidered with threads of gold and silver, and Arthur was incredibly impressed. As he was about to try it on, the Lady of the Lake intervened, saying, “Sire, do not try the cloak yourself or let any of your knights try it until she who has brought this gift to you has worn it herself!”

“Perhaps you are right, I will follow your counsel,” he told her thoughtfully and called the girl to him. “Place this cloak over your shoulders that I may see how it looks worn,” he told her. “Sire, it is not my station to wear the clothes of a King!” she protested. “First, you must wear it before my knights try it on!” He spoke firmly, gesturing for the cloak to be draped over the girl’s shoulders. As soon as the cloak was placed upon her, it burst into flames, reducing her to ashes. Arthur was furious at the treachery of his sister. At the same time, he was hurt and bewildered that she had planned such an awful death for him.

Morgan’s Magic

Morgan Le Fay (cropped) – by Frederick Sandys – Public Domain

Having been thwarted in her plot and with the death of her lover, Morgan feared her brother’s vengeance. She removed herself to live in the margins of his kingdom in the forests and wild places, building her realm on the edge of Arthur’s. She delved deeper into the study of sorcery, mastering it to such an extent that she was revered as a goddess. At every opportunity, she sought to capture and imprison any of the Knights of the Round Table who came her way, especially Lancelot, whom she captured several times.  She had an unrequited love for him, but her overriding motive in capturing him was to hurt Guinevere and Arthur.

The Murals of Lancelot

During one period of confinement, Lancelot painted a mural depicting his life on the walls of his prison, which included his love affair with Guinevere. Years after he had been released, King Arthur and some of his knights came across Morgan’s castle. Arthur had heard nothing of Morgan for years and believed his sister to be dead. Seemingly forgetting and forgiving past wrongs, he was overjoyed to discover she was still alive and invited her to return to Camelot with him, but she told him, “Do not ask this of me, for I will never return to court. When I finally leave this place, I will go to the Isle of Avalon where the women live who know all the magic in the world,”   

Guiding him around her castle, she took great pains to show him the murals Lancelot had painted. As soon as he saw them, he finally realised Guinevere and Lancelot had been having a long love affair and was deeply upset. Morgan seized upon this, encouraging him to take vengeance on the betrayal of his trust by the two people closest to him.

The Importance of Excalibur’s Scabbard

Along with this betrayal, other events would eventually lead Arthur reluctantly to go to war with Lancelot, who would retreat to his castle in France with Guinevere. Arthur left Mordred as steward of his kingdom and went to war with Lancelot, but he was to betray him and usurp the crown. Arthur was forced to return for the final confrontation at the apocalyptic Battle of Camlann, where he killed Mordred but, bereft of the scabbard of Excalibur, was also mortally wounded.

If Morgan had not stolen and disposed of Excalibur’s original scabbard, Arthur would have been protected from harm had he worn it at Camlann. Thus, Morgan may have been indirectly responsible for the seriousness of his injury. Yet, it was she, despite her hatred, who took him or received him for healing in Avalon.

Querelle des Femmes, or the Woman Question

In much of Arthurian literature, the “Woman Question” and the witchcraft threat are presented through Morgan, mirroring the challenges and threats these topics were seen to pose to the established patriarchal order in medieval times. The “Querelle des Femmes” appeared during the 15th century as a literary debate discussing the role of women in medieval society and areas they were excluded from, including politics, religion, and other fields. There were arguments for and against greater female involvement. The debate began in France around Le Roman de la Rose, begun by Guillaume de Lorris, to be concluded by Jean de Meun, and spread around Europe, dividing the literary world. The thesis of the book centred on Meun’s misogynistic and stereotyped ideas on female status and those who challenged and rejected them.  In Morgan, these arguments are seen through her behaviour, the behaviour of other male and female characters, their roles in society and their relationships.

Witchcraft

The belief in magic goes back to the earliest times of humanity. Sorcery, enchantment, and other forms of magic are essential to the Arthurian world. They were also widely accepted as part of medieval life, coexisting with Christianity as it does in Arthurian texts. Eventually, it became unacceptable to the Christian Church as a severe threat, particularly from women, who too often unfairly suffered the consequences.

The Lady of the Lake saves Arthur from Morgan’s plots to kill him. She is seen in social terms as the model female upholding and defending the patriarchal order. At the same time, Morgan is the wayward lady, the renegade, who does not behave as she should, deliberately seeking to undermine patriarchy. Unable to fight directly in combat because of her gender, she uses the chivalric order to attack the strictly patriarchal Arthurian state.  She used Accolon to battle with Arthur, turning the chivalric rules against him, and even his sword, Excalibur, was used against him. 

She is not a passive participant in events like Guinevere, who gets abducted several times. Instead, Morgan is an active agent, and she abducts Arthur’s knights. An independent, strong-willed, active, intelligent woman armed with sorcery is seen as a danger to patriarchy and medieval society. To counter this, she is given a reputation of sexual predation and treachery to the family – the cornerstone of medieval culture and her magic becomes witchcraft. Her role is presented to the reader as an example of everything a high-status woman in medieval society should not be, hence the need to alienate her. This staining of her character is the consequence of her magic, independence, and intelligence. 

Return to Avalon

After the Battle of Camlann, Morgan had Arthur completely helpless, in her power and at her mercy. Yet her character now appears to have gone full circle. With him at her mercy, instead of killing him, she becomes the loving sister and the benevolent sorceress, taking up the traditional passive, healing, nurturing role often associated with good women in medieval society. Despite the fall of the renowned Arthurian order, patriarchy is not dead, and there seems to be no place in what remains for her. She foretells she will be found on,

“… the Isle of Avalon where the women live who know all the magic in the world.”

Like Morgan le Fay, Arthurian tales can be intriguing, healing, dangerous, appealing, tricksy, and open to interpretation. Through their sorcery using the power of words, the reader creates their own magical, meaningful experience. The Arthurian realm remains popular for creative, imaginative readers to explore and discover engaging and intriguing characters like Morgan le Fay, roaming amidst a magical and fantastical landscape that is very much a creation of the reader as the writer.

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© zteve t evans

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References, Attributions and Further Reading

Copyright zteve t evans

• (1) Vita Merlini – Geoffrey of Monmouth
• (2) Le Morte D’Arthur, Volume I (of II), by Thomas Malory
  [PDF]the Role of Morgan le Fay in Thomas Malory´s Morte Darthur
• Le Morte d’Arthur: Volume 2 by Sir Thomas Malory
• British Legends: The Lust of Uther Pendragon, Merlin’s Prophecy and the Making of a King
• Roman de la Rose – Wikipedia
• Five Legendary Islands from Folklore   
• [PDF]Goddess Dethroned: The Evolution of Morgan le Fay – ScholarWorks
• Dalecky, Elke (2008). Different Faces of Morgan le Fay: The Changing Image of the Sorceress in Arthurian Literature (PDF). University of Vienna.
• PDF] the Role of Morgan le Fay in Thomas Malory´s Morte Darthur
• Morgan le Fay: Magic, Mysticism, and Misogyny
• Images
• File:Frank William Warwick Topham Voyage of King Arthur and Morgan Le Fay to the Isle of Avalon 1888.jpg – Wikimedia Commons
• File:CRANE King Arthur asks the lady of the lake for the sword Excalibur.jpg – Wikimedia Commons
• File:Dora Curtis – Morgan le Fay with Excalibur, 1905.jpg – Wikimedia Commons
• File:Morganlfay.jpg – Wikipedia – Morgan Le Fay (cropped) – by Frederick Sandys – Public Domain

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The Arthurian Realm: The Abductions of Guinevere

Guinever Goes A-Maying – (Cropped) – by John Collier [Public domain]

Coveting Guinevere

The theme of the abduction of Queen Guinevere runs throughout Arthurian tradition and is taken up by numerous medieval writers.  Caradoc of Llancarfan mentions it in his version of the Life of Gildas, as does Geoffrey of Monmouth, in Historia Regum Brittaniae, (History of the Kings of Britain).  The theme is also taken up by medieval French poets Chrétien de Troyes and Robert de Boron, and in the work of Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d’Arthur.   Here we look in brief at various versions of the abduction and then discuss ideas about how they may have been influenced by pagan elements and may be distant echoes of the dramas of ancient gods and goddesses before the arrival of Christianity.

Caradoc of Llancarfan

Probably one of the earliest examples of the abduction of Guinevere comes from The Life of Gildas, By Caradoc of Llancarfan (c.1130-1150).  Guinevere’s abductor is the evil King Melwas of the Summer Country, or Somerset. He may have been an early prototype for Chrétien de Troyes Méléagant, and Malory’s Meliagrance.   In this story Guinevere is abducted and violated and Arthur, who is referred to as a tyrant, spends an entire year seeking her out.  Finally learning she was being in held by King Melwas in Glastonia, or Glastonbury. He raises a vast army intending to free his wife but as the two sides were about to clash, the cleric, Gildas and the clergy step between them. Gildas persuaded the two kings to parley and negotiated that Guinevere be returned to Arthur in peace and goodwill preventing a bloody battle to free her.

Geoffrey of Monmouth

Geoffrey of Monmouth names Mordred, Arthur’s nephew and illegitimate son, as the villain who attempts to covet  Guinevere. Arthur had left Britain in Mordred’s stewardship while he went off fighting the Procurator of Rome, Lucius Hiberius, leaving Guinevere at home.   While he was out of the country with most of his army, Mordred seduced Guinevere and claimed the crown from Arthur forcing him to return to Britain and fight.  This culminated in the catastrophic Battle of Camlann where Mordred was killed and the badly wounded Arthur taken across the sea to Avalon to recover and the end of the Arthurian realm.

Chrétien de Troyes

In Lancelot, Le Chevalier de la Charrette, also known as Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, by Chrétien de Troyes, Lancelot is the hero of the story who saves Guinevere from the Méléagant, the evil son of King Bagdemagus.  In this story he races to the rescue of Guinevere having a series of adventures along the way. These include having to suffer the indignity, for a knight, of riding in a horse and cart driven by a dwarf that was carrying criminals to their execution.  He then had to scramble over a sword bridge whose edge was turned upright and razor sharp. Although sustaining serious wounds crossing the bridge he was still ready to combat Méléagant, but Guinevere at the request of King Bagdemagus stopped the fight.

Later he was forced to fight Méléagant after the  badly wounded Sir Kay was accused of raping Guinevere while she slept.  Sir Kay was too bad wounded and had no strength available for such exertions and had been wrongly accused.  Blood had been found on her sheets and because he was laid recuperating in the same room as her, he was blamed.  In fact the blood was from Lancelot who had kept an illicit tryst with the queen and slept with her. Lancelot, knowing, but not admitting the truth, stepped in to fight and clear Sir Kay who was too weak to defend himself.

Malory’s, Le Morte d’Arthur

In Malory’s, Le Morte d’Arthur,  wehn the month of May came, Guinevere decided she would participate in the age old tradition of a-Maying in the woods and fields of Westminster.  Therefore, she set off with a party of ladies-in-waiting, along with servants and ten lightly armed Knights, who she insists wear all wear green. Sir Meliagrance, a name probably derived from the Méléagant in Chrétien de Troyes work,  had long lusted after the queen and with 160 men-at-arms attacked the small company. Although her knights fight valiantly they are lightly armed and hopelessly outnumbered. To prevent their slaying she agreed to surrender provided they are spared and remain by her side.  Meliagrance agrees but she manages to send a messenger boy to Lancelot telling of her abduction and requesting his aid.

On hearing the news Lancelot immediately set off in pursuit.  Meliagrance, realising he would follow, set a trap for him and archers killed his horse.  Lancelot was forced to hijack a horse and cart carrying wood for the fires of Meliagrance’s castle.  From this he was given the name, Knight of the Cart. On arrival at the castle gates he shout for Meliagrance demanding he come down and face him.  On learning Lancelot is at his gates Meliagrance begs Guinevere her forgiveness for his behaviour and begs that she protect him from the enraged knight.  She agrees and persuades Lancelot to put his sword away. Lancelot agrees and she leads him to the chamber where the ten knights are kept.

They are both so glad to see each other they agree on a secret midnight tryst. Lancelot appears at her window at midnight and Guinevere tells him she would prefer it if he was inside with her.  Although the window is barred Lancelot pulls the bars out cutting himself in the process and climbs in through the window. The two slept together that night and Lancelot stole away before Sunrise, replacing the bars of the window as he left.

The next morning Meliagrance seeing blood on the sheets of Guinevere’s bed accuses her of sleeping with one, or more, of her wounded knights.  Lancelot, without revealing the truth, challenges Meliagrance to a fight to clear the queen’s name. Meliagrance brings a charge of treason against Guinevere believing she had slept with one or more of the knights.  Although innocent of this accusation, Guinevere had slept with Lancelot which is not revealed to him, but he was not one of the individuals accused. The case is brought before King Arthur and he reluctantly agrees she must be burnt at the stake unless Lancelot proves her innocence by defeating Meliagrance. In the resulting duel Lancelot slays Meliagrance proving her innocence of the charges brought against her and freeing her.

Mordred’s Attempted Abduction

In Le Morte d’Arthur, Mordred, Arthur’s illegitimate son and nephew by his sister Morgause, covets Guinevere, but does not quite manage to abduct her.  Mordred lied to Guinevere telling her4 Arthur had been killed by Lancelot and claimed the throne for himself intending to marry her. Guinevere persuaded Mordred to  allow her to go to London so she could procure all the things a wedding needed but instead locked herself in the Tower of London with her entourage.  Although Mordred tried to persuade her to come out his efforts were cut short by the news that Arthur had arrived back in Britain with his army.  Consequently, he was forced to leave Guinevere and confront Arthur, resulting in his own death and Arthur being severely wounded and taken to Avalon.

Gods of the Round Table

Some scholars of Arthurian legend and romance see many of the stories of King Arthur and his knights, in legend and medieval romance, as being dramatizations of the adventures of Celtic gods and important natural events. They believe there was a special relationship between the king and the gods and the king and the land and to ensure the fertility of the land the king was wedded to the goddess of the land.

David Dom, in his book King Arthur and the Gods of the Round Table proposes that Arthur, Guinevere and the main companions of the Round Table to be a the distant and distorted memories of the old Celtic gods and Arthur is seen as representing a Solar God.  To complicate matters, these stories were overwritten, or influenced by various culture over time, including Roman, English, French and European medieval Christianity and modern thinking. It centers around the idea that Arthurian legends and stories originally were dramatizations of the deeds and adventures of ancient pagan gods with the King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table making up the pantheon, being a part of it.

Pagan Origins

There is an intriguing idea that the stories of the abduction of Guinevere are echoes of earlier pagan traditions centered around the annual cycle of the seasons in Northern Europe. One of the ways this annual cycle may have been dramatized was in that the seasonal changes were due to the activities and adventures of the gods. In both Malory’s version and that  of Chrétien de Troyes, Guinevere is abducted in the spring, and in Malory’s it is while she is celebrating May Day, or Beltane, the time of the renewal of vegetation. Many scholars see this as evidence that the kidnapping was originally a season myth with Guinevere being a goddess and her abductor a god. In the original versions by Chrétien de Troyes , after being abducted Guinevere was take across water – an indication that she was leaving the Earthly world for the Otherworld – and her rescuers had to cross the water to reach her in that world.  After her rescue Guinevere and Lancelot became lovers which also happened in the spring, around Beltane.

This comes after the bleak barren days of winter and is seen to represent the marriage of the god and goddess heralding the end of the dark, bleak period of winter and the greatly looked forward to renewal of vegetation and fertility to the Earth.  In the Chrétien de Troyes version the entire episode takes place over one year, tying it further to the annual seasonal cycle. The abduction stories while only hinting at pagan influence on the surface have been heavily overwritten with Christian influences which tend to cover up the inherent pagan elements of the loves and romances of the gods.  To pursue this further it is worth taking a look at the annual cycle of seasons for Northern Europe and what follows is a very simplified version of one of the many versions

Winter

In winter the days are cold, dark and short.  Vegetation dies and crops do not grow and food becomes in short supply.   In some pagan northern European societies winter was thought of as the imprisonment of the eternally young, Earth goddess in the depths of the Earth by the aging winter solar god.  As winter progressed the power of the Sun god waned as the Sun rode low in the sky. As his power waned he became more like a malignant god of the underworld and feared the arrival of a young, potent Sun god who would steal the Earth goddess from him.  Desperate to preserve his own power and survive, he imprisoned the Earth goddess in the underworld to prevent anyone from stealing her. The imprisonment of the Earth Goddess resulted in a loss of fertility and renewal being withdrawn from the Earth, causing dramatic and disastrous consequences for humanity.

Spring

In spring the young Sun god arrives and takes a higher path across the sky providing longer days, more daylight and warmer weather.  His youth, strength and virility defeats and supplants the aging Sun god and frees the Earth goddess from imprisonment.  With a  more agreeable climate and the freeing of the goddess the Earth returns to life and seeds germinate, plants bud and grow and animals breed. The young Sun god takes the eternally young Earth goddess for his bride around the time of the festival of Beltane, commonly held on the 1st of May, or halfway between the March, or vernal equinox and the summer solstice, or midsummer,  when the Sun’s power is at its height.

Summer

As the  days grew longer and warmer, with the marriage of the Sun god and the Earth goddess the Earth is fertilized, plants grow and thrive and harvest time arrives which is the product of this marriage.  The young Sun god has reached the heights of his power at midsummer and the coming days will see his power decline.

Autumn

With the decline of power of the now aging Sun god there is a steadily decrease in sunlight and warmth, the days grow steadily shorter, vegetation begins to shrivel and die.  The cycle of the previous years repeats and slowly and inevitable the aging Sun god loses his strength, vigor and virility just as his predecessors had and just as those who come after him will.

Winter Returns

As his strength and potency diminish he appears lower in the sky, days become shorter and darker as winter sets in.  In a desperate attempt to keep his beautiful and eternally young wife he imprisons her in the underground. The Sun god reaches his lowest and weakest point at midwinter, or the Winter Solstice and is defeated by the young Sun god who frees and marries the Earth goddess.  This cycle must continue eternally to bring fertility, renewal and growth to the Earth.

In the version of the abduction of Guinevere by Chrétien de Troyes the drama was played out over one year with Meleagant, Guinevere’s abductor representing the doomed and aging Sun god and Lancelot the virile and potent, young Sun god.

Goddess of Sovereignty

There is also an idea that Guinevere was either an ancient Goddess of Sovereignty, or a representative of one.  A Goddess of Sovereignty was an aspect or servant of the Earth goddess, also known as the Earth Mother or Mother Earth and Goddess of the Land, in some cultures.

Those who follow this idea point to the fact that the story begins in May which is around the festival of Beltane.  It is at this time of year the everywhere is green and fertile and in celebration Malory tells how Queen Guinevere decides she will go a-Maying.  Those who see Arthurian characters as divinities, see Guinevere as representing a Goddess of Sovereignty that bestows the sovereignty of the land onto the King, who in this case is Arthur. As such his role is taking care of the land and inhabitants ensuring it remains fertile.  To do this she needs a strong, virile king but in these stories Arthur is usually portrayed as aging and losing power. Lancelot being the younger and more potent of the two may be seen by a Goddess of Sovereignty as an ideal replacement, but despite his love for Guinevere he remains loyal to Arthur not wanting the crown.

It may also be the case that simply being in possession of a representative of the goddess would be enough to give authority to the claim of kingship. This would make Guinevere a valuable prize for anyone who would be king and helps explain her numerous abductions, especially Mordred’s interest in her.  It also explain why, for the most, part Arthur appears reluctant to acknowledge, or deal with the situation of her affair with Lancelot until he is forced into it.

The affair with Lancelot may not have been about Guinevere’s alleged sexual promiscuity but more about her fulfilling her role as representing a Goddess of Sovereignty. Furthermore her abductions may not necessarily have been about love, lust or desire for her as a woman, but more about possessing the representative of the goddess. For all of that these are just ideas and theories and it is up to each person to decide what it means to them.

© 20/11/2018 zteve t evans

References, Attributions and Further Reading

Copyright November 20th, 2018 zteve t evans

• British Legends: The Divine Tragedy of Guinevere – #FolkloreThursday.com
• Le Morte D’Arthur, Volume II (of II), by Thomas Malory
• Four Arthurian Romances by active 12th century de Troyes Chrétien
• [Doc] Guinevere: The Sovereignty Goddess of Arthurian Literature?
• Queen Guinevere – Arthurian Legend
• Guinever Goes A-Maying – (Cropped) – by John Collier [Public domain]