Morgan le Fay (, meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan
''n''a, Morgain
''a/e Morg
''a''ne, Morgant
''e Morge
''i''n, and Morgue
''inamong other names and spellings ( cy, Morgên y Dylwythen Deg, kw, Morgen an Spyrys), is a powerful and ambiguous
enchantress from the legend of
King Arthur, in which most often she and he are siblings. Early appearances of Morgan in Arthurian literature do not elaborate her character beyond her role as a goddess, a
fay, a
witch
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...
, or a sorceress, generally benevolent and connected to Arthur as his magical saviour and protector. Her prominence increased as legends developed over time, as did her moral ambivalence, and in some texts there is an evolutionary transformation of her to an
antagonist, particularly as portrayed in cyclical prose such as the ''
Lancelot-Grail
The ''Lancelot-Grail'', also known as the Vulgate Cycle or the Pseudo-Map Cycle, is an early 13th-century French Arthurian literary cycle consisting of interconnected prose episodes of chivalric romance in Old French. The cycle of unknown author ...
'' and the
Post-Vulgate Cycle
The ''Post-Vulgate Cycle'', also known as the Post-Vulgate Arthuriad, the Post-Vulgate ''Roman du Graal'' (''Romance of the Grail'') or the Pseudo-Robert de Boron Cycle, is one of the major Old French prose cycles of Arthurian literature from th ...
. A significant aspect in many of Morgan's
medieval and later iterations is the unpredictable duality of her nature, with potential for both good and evil.
Her character may have originated from
Welsh mythology
Welsh mythology (Welsh: ''Mytholeg Cymru'') consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of the predominantly oral societies Celti ...
as well as from other ancient myths and historical figures. The earliest documented account, by
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth ( la, Galfridus Monemutensis, Galfridus Arturus, cy, Gruffudd ap Arthur, Sieffre o Fynwy; 1095 – 1155) was a British cleric from Monmouth, Wales and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography ...
in ''
Vita Merlini
''Vita Merlini'', or ''The Life of Merlin'', is a Latin poem in 1,529 hexameter lines written around the year 1150. Though doubts have in the past been raised about its authorship it is now widely believed to be by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It tel ...
'' (written ) refers to Morgan in conjunction with the Isle of Apples (
Avalon
Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...
), to which Arthur was carried after having been fatally wounded at the
Battle of Camlann, as the leader of the nine magical sisters unrelated to Arthur. Therein, and in the early
chivalric romance
As a literary genre, the chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the noble courts of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a chivalri ...
s by
Chrétien de Troyes and others, Morgan's chief role is that of a great healer. Several of numerous and often unnamed fairy-mistress and maiden-temptress characters found through the Arthurian romance genre may also be considered as appearances of Morgan in her different aspects.
Romance authors of the late 12th century establish her as Arthur's supernatural elder sister. In the early 13th-century,
Robert de Boron-derived Arthurian prose cycles – and the later works based on them in turn, including among them
Thomas Malory
Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', the classic English-language chronicle of the Arthurian legend, compiled and in most cases translated from French sources. The most popular version of ''Le Morte d'Ar ...
's influential ''
Le Morte d'Arthur'' – Morgan is usually described as the youngest daughter of Arthur's mother,
Igraine, and of her first husband,
Gorlois
In Arthurian legend, Gorlois ( cy, Gwrlais) of Tintagel, Duke of Cornwall, is the first husband of Igraine, whose second husband is Uther Pendragon. Gorlois's name first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' (). A v ...
. Arthur, son of Igraine and
Uther
Uther Pendragon ( Brittonic) (; cy, Ythyr Ben Dragwn, Uthyr Pendragon, Uthyr Bendragon), also known as King Uther, was a legendary King of the Britons in sub-Roman Britain (c. 6th century). Uther was also the father of King Arthur.
A few m ...
, is thus Morgan's half-brother;
the Queen of Orkney is one of Morgan's sisters and
Mordred's mother. Morgan unhappily marries
Urien
Urien (; ), often referred to as Urien Rheged or Uriens, was a late 6th-century king of Rheged, an early British kingdom of the Hen Ogledd (today's northern England and southern Scotland) of the House of Rheged. His power and his victories, ...
, with whom she has a son,
Yvain
Sir Ywain , also known as Yvain and Owain among other spellings (''Ewaine'', ''Ivain'', ''Ivan'', ''Iwain'', ''Iwein'', ''Uwain'', ''Uwaine'', etc.), is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend, wherein he is often the son of King Urien ...
. She becomes an apprentice of
Merlin, and a capricious and vindictive adversary of some knights of the
Round Table, all the while harbouring a special hatred for Arthur's wife
Guinevere. In this tradition, she is also sexually active and even predatory, taking numerous lovers that may include Merlin and
Accolon
Accolon is a character in Arthurian legends where he is a lover of Morgan le Fay who is killed by King Arthur in a duel during the plot involving the sword Excalibur. He appears in Arthurian prose romances since the Post-Vulgate Cycle, includin ...
, with an unrequited love for
Lancelot. In some variants, including in the popular retelling by Malory, Morgan is the greatest enemy of Arthur, scheming to usurp his throne and indirectly becoming an instrument of his death; however, she eventually reconciles with Arthur, retaining her original role of taking him on his final journey to Avalon.
Many other medieval and
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
works feature continuations of her evolutionary tale from the aftermath of Camlann as she becomes the immortal queen of Avalon in both Arthurian and non-Arthurian stories, sometimes alongside Arthur. After a period of being largely absent from contemporary culture, Morgan's character again rose to prominence in the 20th and 21st centuries,
appearing in a wide variety of roles and portrayals. Notably, her modern character is frequently being conflated with her sister's as mother of Arthur's son and nemesis Mordred, the status that Morgan herself has never had in medieval legend.
Etymology and origins
![Fata morgana, Statua presso la Fonte, Giambologna, 1574 ca](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Fata_morgana%2C_Statua_presso_la_Fonte%2C_Giambologna%2C_1574_ca.png)
The earliest spelling of the name (found in
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth ( la, Galfridus Monemutensis, Galfridus Arturus, cy, Gruffudd ap Arthur, Sieffre o Fynwy; 1095 – 1155) was a British cleric from Monmouth, Wales and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography ...
's ''
Vita Merlini
''Vita Merlini'', or ''The Life of Merlin'', is a Latin poem in 1,529 hexameter lines written around the year 1150. Though doubts have in the past been raised about its authorship it is now widely believed to be by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It tel ...
'', written c. 1150) is ''Morgen'', which is likely derived from
Old Welsh or
Old Breton ''Morgen'', meaning 'sea-born' (from
Common Brittonic ''*Mori-genā'', the masculine form of which, ''*Mori-genos'', survived in
Middle Welsh
Middle Welsh ( cy, Cymraeg Canol, wlm, Kymraec) is the label attached to the Welsh language of the 12th to 15th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This form of Welsh developed directly from Old Welsh ( cy, Hen G ...
as ''Moryen'' or ''Morien''; a cognate form in
Old Irish
Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...
is ''
Muirgen'', the name of a
Celtic Christian shapeshifting female saint who was associated with the sea). The name is not to be confused with the unrelated
Modern Welsh
The history of the Welsh language (Welsh: ''Hanes yr iaith Gymraeg'') spans over 1400 years, encompassing the stages of the language known as Primitive Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh.
Origins
Welsh evolved from British, the C ...
masculine name
Morgan (spelled ''Morcant'' in the Old Welsh period). As her epithet "le Fay" (invented in the 15th century by
Thomas Malory
Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', the classic English-language chronicle of the Arthurian legend, compiled and in most cases translated from French sources. The most popular version of ''Le Morte d'Ar ...
from the earlier French ''la fée'' 'the
fairy'; Malory would also use the form "le Fey" alternatively with "le Fay"
) and some traits indicate, the figure of Morgan appears to have been a remnant of
supernatural females from
Celtic mythology, and her main name could be connected to the myths of
Morgens Morgens, morgans, or mari-morgans are Welsh and Breton water spirits that drown men.
Etymology
The name may derive from Mori-genos or Mori-gena, meaning "sea-born. The name has also been rendered as Muri-gena or Murigen.
The name may also be co ...
(also known as Mari-Morgans or just Morgans),
the Welsh and Breton fairy
water spirits
Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a s ...
related to the legend of Princess
Dahut
Dahut, also called Ahes, is a princess in Breton legend and literature, associated with the legend of the drowned city of Ys.
Etymology
Amy Varin suggests that Dahut was given the name Ahes due to confusion with "alc'huez" (key).
Legend of ...
(Ahes). While many later works make Morgan specifically human, she retains her magical powers, and sometimes, also her
otherworld
The concept of an otherworld in historical Indo-European religion is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' (Latin for "other Earth/world"), a term used by Lucan in his description of the Celtic Otherwor ...
ly if not divine attributes.
In fact, she is often referred to as either a
Fairy Queen
In folklore and literature, the Fairy Queen or Queen of the Fairies is a female ruler of the fairies, sometimes but not always paired with a king. Depending on the work, she may be named or unnamed; Titania and Mab are two frequently used name ...
or outright a
goddess (''dea'', ''déesse'', ''gotinne'') by authors.
Geoffrey's description of Morgen and her sisters in the ''Vita Merlini'' closely resembles the story of the nine
Gaulish
Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switze ...
priestesses of the isle of Sena (now
Île de Sein
The Île de Sein is a Breton island in the Atlantic Ocean, off Finistère, eight kilometres from the Pointe du Raz (''raz'' meaning "water current"), from which it is separated by the Raz de Sein. Its Breton name is ''Enez-Sun''. The island, ...
) called ''Gallisenae'' (or ''Gallizenae''), as described by the geographer
Pomponius Mela
Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest Roman geographer. He was born in Tingentera (now Algeciras) and died AD 45.
His short work (''De situ orbis libri III.'') remained in use nearly to the year 1500. It occupies less ...
during the first century, strongly suggesting that Pomponius' ''Description of the World'' (''De situ orbis'') was one of Geoffrey's prime sources. Further inspiration for her character likely came from
Welsh folklore Welsh folklore is the collective term for the folklore of the Welsh people. It encompasses topics related to Welsh mythology, but also include the nation's folk tales, customs, and oral tradition.
Welsh folklore is related to Irish folklore and Sc ...
and
medieval Irish literature
Early Irish literature is one of the oldest vernacular literatures in Western Europe, though inscriptions utilising Irish and Latin are found on Ogham stones dating from the 4th century, indicating simultaneous usage of both languages by this per ...
and
hagiography. Speculatively, beginning with Lucy Allen Paton in 1904,
Morgan has been connected with the Irish shapeshifting and multifaced goddess of strife known as
the Morrígan
The Morrígan or Mórrígan, also known as Morrígu, is a figure from Irish mythology. The name is Mór-Ríoghain in Modern Irish, and it has been translated as "great queen" or "phantom queen".
The Morrígan is mainly associated with war and ...
('Great Queen'). Proponents of this have included
Roger Sherman Loomis
Roger Sherman Loomis (1887–1966) was an American scholar and one of the foremost authorities on medieval and Arthurian literature. Loomis is perhaps best known for showing the roots of Arthurian legend, in particular the Holy Grail, in native ...
, who doubted the Muirgen connection.
Possible influence by elements of the classical
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...
sorceresses or goddesses such as
Circe
Circe (; grc, , ) is an enchantress and a minor goddess in ancient Greek mythology and religion. She is either a daughter of the Titan Helios and the Oceanid nymph Perse or the goddess Hecate and Aeëtes. Circe was renowned for her vas ...
and especially
Medea
In Greek mythology, Medea (; grc, Μήδεια, ''Mēdeia'', perhaps implying "planner / schemer") is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, a niece of Circe and the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. Medea figures in the myth of Jason an ...
(who, similar to Morgan, are often alternately benevolent and malicious),
and other magical women from the
Irish mythology
Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by Ch ...
such as the mother of hero
Fráech
Fráech (Fróech, Fraích, Fraoch) is a Connacht hero (and half-divine as the son of goddess Bébinn) in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He is the nephew of Boann, goddess of the river Boyne, and son of Idath of the men of Connaught and ...
,
as well as historical figure of
Empress Matilda,
have been also suggested. A chiefly Greek construction is a relatively new origin theory by Carolyne Larrington.
One of the proposed candidates for the
historical Arthur,
Artuir mac Áedán, was recorded as having a sister named Maithgen (daughter of king
Áedán mac Gabráin
Áedán mac Gabráin (pronounced in Old Irish; ga, Aodhán mac Gabhráin, lang), also written as Aedan, was a king of Dál Riata from 574 until c. 609 AD. The kingdom of Dál Riata was situated in modern Argyll and Bute, Scotland, and par ...
, a 6th-century king of
Dál Riata
Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaelic kingdom that encompassed the western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel. At its height in the 6th and 7th centuries, it covered what is n ...
), whose name also appears as that of a prophetic
druid in the Irish legend of Saint
Brigid of Kildare
Saint Brigid of Kildare or Brigid of Ireland ( ga, Naomh Bríd; la, Brigida; 525) is the patroness saint (or 'mother saint') of Ireland, and one of its three national saints along with Patrick and Columba. According to medieval Irish hagiogr ...
.
Morgan has also been often linked with the supernatural mother
Modron
Modron ("mother") is a figure in Welsh tradition, known as the mother of the hero Mabon ap Modron. Both characters may have derived from earlier divine figures, in her case the Gaulish goddess Matrona. She may have been a prototype for Morgan le ...
,
[Charlotte Spivack, Roberta Lynne Staples. "Morgan le Fay: Goddess or Witch?". ]
The Company of Camelot: Arthurian Characters in Romance and Fantasy
'' (Greenwood Press, 2000), pp. 32–45. derived from the continental
mother goddess figure of
Dea Matrona
In Celtic mythology, Dea Matrona ("divine mother goddess") was the goddess who gives her name to the river Marne (ancient ''Matrŏna'') in Gaul.
The Gaulish theonym ''Mātr-on-ā'' signifies "great mother" and the goddess of the Marne has been i ...
and featured in
medieval Welsh literature
Medieval Welsh literature is the literature written in the Welsh language during the Middle Ages. This includes material starting from the 5th century AD, when Welsh was in the process of becoming distinct from Common Brittonic, and continuing to ...
. Modron appears in
Welsh Triad 70 ("Three Blessed Womb-Burdens of the Island of Britain") – in which her children by
Urien
Urien (; ), often referred to as Urien Rheged or Uriens, was a late 6th-century king of Rheged, an early British kingdom of the Hen Ogledd (today's northern England and southern Scotland) of the House of Rheged. His power and his victories, ...
are named
Owain mab Urien
Owain mab Urien (Middle Welsh Owein) (died c. 595) was the son of Urien, king of Rheged c. 590, and fought with his father against the Angles of Bernicia. The historical figure of Owain became incorporated into the Arthurian cycle of legends wh ...
(son) and
Morfydd (daughter) – and a later folktale have recorded more fully in the manuscript Peniarth 147. A fictionalised version of the historical king Urien is usually Morgan le Fay's husband in the variations of Arthurian legend informed by continental
romances, wherein their son is named
Yvain
Sir Ywain , also known as Yvain and Owain among other spellings (''Ewaine'', ''Ivain'', ''Ivan'', ''Iwain'', ''Iwein'', ''Uwain'', ''Uwaine'', etc.), is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend, wherein he is often the son of King Urien ...
. Furthermore, the historical Urien had a treacherous ally named
Morcant Bulc
Morcant Bulc was a Britons (historical), Brythonic prince, probably a king, from Northern Sub-Roman Britain, Britain, during the period between the end of the Roman Empire and the establishment of an English people, English state during the early ...
who plotted to assassinate him, much as Morgan attempts to kill Urien. Additionally, Modron is called "daughter of
Afallach", a Welsh ancestor figure also known as Avallach or Avalloc, whose name can also be interpreted as a noun meaning 'a place of apples'; in the tale of Owain and Morfydd's conception in Peniarth 147, Modron is called the "daughter of the King of
Annwn
Annwn, Annwfn, or Annwfyn (in Middle Welsh, ''Annwvn'', ''Annwyn'', ''Annwyfn'', ''Annwvyn'', or ''Annwfyn'') is the Otherworld in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn (or, in Arthurian literature, by Gwyn ap Nudd), it was essentially a world of de ...
", a
Celtic Otherworld
In Celtic mythology, the Otherworld is the realm of the deities and possibly also the dead. In Gaelic and Brittonic myth it is usually a supernatural realm of everlasting youth, beauty, health, abundance and joy.Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture ...
. This evokes
Avalon
Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...
, the marvelous "Isle of Apples" with which Morgan has been associated since her earliest appearances, and the Irish legend of the otherworldly woman
Niamh including the motif of apple in connection to Avalon-like Otherworld isle of
Tír na nÓg
In Irish mythology Tír na nÓg (; "Land of the Young") or Tír na hÓige ("Land of Youth") is one of the names for the Celtic Otherworld, or perhaps for a part of it. Tír na nÓg is best known from the tale of Oisín and Niamh.
Other Old Ir ...
("Land of Youth").
According to
Gerald of Wales
Gerald of Wales ( la, Giraldus Cambrensis; cy, Gerallt Gymro; french: Gerald de Barri; ) was a Cambro-Norman priest and historian. As a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and wrote extensively. He studied and taugh ...
in ''
De instructione principis'', a noblewoman and close relative of
King Arthur named Morganis carried the dead Arthur to her island of Avalon (identified by him as
Glastonbury
Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...
), where he was buried. Writing in the early 13th century in ''Speculum ecclesiae'', Gerald also claimed that "as a result, the fanciful
Britons
British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mod ...
and their
bards invented the legend that some kind of a fantastic goddess (''dea quaedam phantastica'')
had removed Arthur's body to the Isle of Avalon, so that she might cure his wounds there," for the purpose of enabling the possibility of
King Arthur's messianic return
King Arthur's messianic return is a mythological motif in the legend of King Arthur, which claims that he will one day return in the role of a messiah to save his people. It is an example of the king asleep in mountain motif. King Arthur was a ...
. In his encyclopaedic work, ''
Otia Imperialia
''Otia Imperialia'' ("Recreation for an Emperor") is an early 13th-century encyclopedic work, the best known work of Gervase of Tilbury. It is an example of speculum literature. Also known as the "Book of Marvels", it primarily concerns the three ...
'', written around the same time and with similar derision for this belief,
Gervase of Tilbury
Gervase of Tilbury ( la, Gervasius Tilberiensis; 1150–1220) was an English canon lawyer, statesman and cleric. He enjoyed the favour of Henry II of England and later of Henry's grandson, Emperor Otto IV, for whom he wrote his best known work, ...
calls that mythical enchantress Morganda Fatata (Morganda the Fairy).
Morgan retains this role as Arthur's otherworldly healer in much of later tradition.
Medieval and Renaissance literature
Geoffrey, Chrétien and other early authors
![Morgan le Fay by Edward Burne-Jones](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Morgan_le_Fay_by_Edward_Burne-Jones.jpg)
Morgan first appears by name in ''
Vita Merlini
''Vita Merlini'', or ''The Life of Merlin'', is a Latin poem in 1,529 hexameter lines written around the year 1150. Though doubts have in the past been raised about its authorship it is now widely believed to be by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It tel ...
'', written by Norman-Welsh cleric
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth ( la, Galfridus Monemutensis, Galfridus Arturus, cy, Gruffudd ap Arthur, Sieffre o Fynwy; 1095 – 1155) was a British cleric from Monmouth, Wales and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography ...
. Purportedly an account of the life of
Merlin, it elaborates some episodes from Geoffrey's more famous earlier work, ''
Historia Regum Britanniae
''Historia regum Britanniae'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called ''De gestis Britonum'' (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. I ...
'' (1136). In ''Historia'', Geoffrey relates how King Arthur, gravely wounded by
Mordred at the
Battle of Camlann, is taken off to the blessed Isle of Apple Trees (Latin ''Insula Pomorum''),
Avalon
Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...
, to be healed; Avalon (''Ynys Afallach'' in the Welsh versions of ''Historia'') is also mentioned as the place where Arthur's sword
Excalibur
Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in th ...
was forged. (Geoffrey's Arthur does have a sister, whose name is Anna, but the possibility of her being a predecessor to Morgan is unknown.
) In ''Vita Merlini'', Geoffrey describes this island in more detail and names ''Morgen'' as the chief of the
nine magical queen sisters who dwell there, ruling in their own right. Morgen agrees to take Arthur, delivered to her by
Taliesin
Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the '' Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to have sung at the courts ...
to have him revived. She and her sisters are capable of
shapeshifting and flying, and (at least seemingly
) use their powers only for good. Morgen is also said to be a learned mathematician
and to have taught it and
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...
to her fellow
nymph
A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label= Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ...
(''nymphae'')
sisters, whose names are listed as Moronoe, Mazoe, Gliten, Glitonea, Gliton, Tyronoe, Thiten and Thiton.
In the making of this arguably
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
-type
character and her sisters, Geoffrey might have been influenced by the first-century Roman cartographer
Pomponius Mela
Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest Roman geographer. He was born in Tingentera (now Algeciras) and died AD 45.
His short work (''De situ orbis libri III.'') remained in use nearly to the year 1500. It occupies less ...
, who has described an oracle at the
Île de Sein
The Île de Sein is a Breton island in the Atlantic Ocean, off Finistère, eight kilometres from the Pointe du Raz (''raz'' meaning "water current"), from which it is separated by the Raz de Sein. Its Breton name is ''Enez-Sun''. The island, ...
off the coast of
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
and its nine virgin priestesses believed by the continental Celtic
Gauls
The Gauls ( la, Galli; grc, Γαλάται, ''Galátai'') were a group of Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age and the Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). They s ...
to have the power to cure disease and perform various other awesome magic, such as controlling the sea through incantations, foretelling the future, and changing themselves into any animal.
According to a theory postulated by
R. S. Loomis, Geoffrey was not the original inventor of Morgan's character, which had already existed in Breton folklore in the hypothetical unrecorded oral stories that featured her as Arthur's fairy saviour, or even also his
fairy godmother
In fairy tales, a fairy godmother () is a fairy with magical powers who acts as a mentor or parent to someone, in the role that an actual godparent was expected to play in many societies. In Perrault's ''Cinderella'', he concludes the tale wit ...
(her earliest shared supernatural ability being able to traverse on or under water). Such stories being told by wandering storytellers (as credited by Gerald of Wales) would then influence various authors writing independently from each other, especially since ''Vita Merlini'' was a relatively little-known text.
Geoffrey's description of Morgan is notably very similar to that in
Benoît de Sainte-Maure
Benoît de Sainte-Maure (; died 1173) was a 12th-century French poet, most probably from Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine near Tours, France. The Plantagenets' administrative center was located in Chinon, west of Tours.
''Le Roman de Troie''
His 40,000 ...
's epic poem ''
Roman de Troie
(''The Romance of Troy'') by Benoît de Sainte-Maure, probably written between 1155 and 1160,Roberto Antonelli "The Birth of Criseyde - An Exemplary Triangle: 'Classical' Troilus and the Question of Love at the Anglo-Norman Court" in Boitani, P. ...
'' (c. 1155–1160), a story of the ancient
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and ...
in which Morgan herself makes an unexplained appearance in this second known text featuring her.
As Orvan the Fairy (''Orva la fée'', likely a corruption of a spelling such as ''*Morgua'' in the original-text),
[Schöning, Udo, ''Thebenroman - Eneasroman - Trojaroman: Studien zur Rezeption der Antike in der französischen Literatur des 12. Jahrhunderts'', Walter de Gruyter, 1991, p. 209.] there she first lustfully
loves the Trojan hero
Hector
In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...
and gifts him a wonderful horse, but then pursues him with hate after he rejects her. The abrupt way in which she is used suggests Benoît did expect his aristocratic audience to have been already familiar with her character.
Of note, another such ancient-times appearance can be found in the much later ''
Perceforest
''Perceforest'' or ''Le Roman de Perceforest'' is an anonymous prose chivalric romance, written in French around 1340, with lyrical interludes of poetry, that describes a fictional origin of Great Britain and provides an original genesis of the Kin ...
'' (1330s), within the fourth book which is set in Britain during
Julius Caesar's invasions, where the fairy Morgane lives in the isle of Zeeland and has learned her magic from
Zephir. Here, she has a daughter named Morganette and an adoptive son named Passelion, who in turn have a son named Morgan, described as an ancestor of the
Lady of the Lake
The Lady of the Lake (french: Dame du Lac, Demoiselle du Lac, cy, Arglwyddes y Llyn, kw, Arloedhes an Lynn, br, Itron al Lenn, it, Dama del Lago) is a name or a title used by several either fairy or fairy-like but human enchantresses in the ...
.
![Johann Heinrich Füssli 058](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Johann_Heinrich_F%C3%BCssli_058.jpg)
In ''
Jaufre
''Jaufre'' (also called ''Jaufré'' or ''Jaufri'') is the only surviving Arthurian romance written in Occitan. A verse romance approximately 11,000 lines long, its main character is equivalent to Sir Griflet son of Do, a Knight of the Round Tabl ...
'', an early
Occitan language
Occitan (; oc, occitan, link=no ), also known as ''lenga d'òc'' (; french: langue d'oc) by its native speakers, and sometimes also referred to as ''Provençal'', is a Romance language spoken in Southern France, Monaco, Italy's Occitan Vall ...
Arthurian romance dated c. 1180, Morgan seems to appear, without being named other than introducing herself as the "Fairy of Gibel", Gibel is the Arabic name of
Mount Etna in Sicily (''fada de Gibel'', the mount Gibel being a version of the Avalon motif
as in later works), as the ruler of an underground kingdom who takes the protagonist knight Jaufre (
Griflet
The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in lit ...
) through a fountain to gift him her
magic ring
A magic ring is a mythical, folkloric or fictional piece of jewelry, usually a finger ring, that is purported to have supernatural properties or powers. It appears frequently in fantasy and fairy tales. Magic rings are found in the folklore of ...
of protection.
In the romance poem ''
Lanzelet
''Lanzelet'' is a medieval romance written by Ulrich von Zatzikhoven after 1194. It is the first treatment of the Lancelot tradition in German, and contains the earliest known account of the hero's childhood with the Lady of the Lake-like fig ...
'', written by the end of the 12th century by
Ulrich von Zatzikhoven
Ulrich von Zatzikhoven was the author of the Middle High German Arthurian romance ''Lanzelet''.
Ulrich's name and his place of origin (''Zezikon'' in Switzerland) are only known definitively from the work itself. However, it is generally accepted ...
, the infant
Lancelot is spirited away by a water fairy (''merfeine'' in
Old High German
Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050.
There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...
) and raised in her paradise island country of Meidelant ('
Land of Maidens'). Ulrich's unnamed
fairy queen
In folklore and literature, the Fairy Queen or Queen of the Fairies is a female ruler of the fairies, sometimes but not always paired with a king. Depending on the work, she may be named or unnamed; Titania and Mab are two frequently used name ...
character might be also related to Geoffrey's Morgen,
as well as to the early Breton oral tradition of Morgan's figure, especially as her son there is named Mabuz, similar to the name of Modron's son
Mabon ap Modron
Mabon ap Modron is a prominent figure from Welsh literature and mythology, the son of Modron and a member of Arthur's war band. Both he and his mother were likely deities in origin, descending from a divine mother–son pair. He is often equated ...
. In
Layamon
Layamon or Laghamon (, ; ) – spelled Laȝamon or Laȝamonn in his time, occasionally written Lawman – was an English poet of the late 12th/early 13th century and author of the ''Brut'', a notable work that was the first to present the legend ...
's
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...
poem
''The Chronicle of Britain'' (c. 1215), Arthur was taken to Avalon by two women to be healed there by its most beautiful
elf
An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...
en () queen named Argante or Argane;
it is possible her name had been originally ''Margan(te)'' before it was changed in manuscript transmission.
![Frank William Warwick Topham Voyage of King Arthur and Morgan Le Fay to the Isle of Avalon 1888](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Frank_William_Warwick_Topham_Voyage_of_King_Arthur_and_Morgan_Le_Fay_to_the_Isle_of_Avalon_1888.jpg)
The 12th-century French poet
Chrétien de Troyes already mentions her in his first romance, ''
Erec and Enide
, original_title_lang = fro
, translator =
, written = c. 1170
, country =
, language = Old French
, subject = Arthurian legend
, genre = Chivalric romance
, form ...
'', completed around 1170. In it, a love of Morgan (Morgue) is
Guigomar (Guingomar, Guinguemar), the Lord of the Isle of Avalon and a nephew of King Arthur, a character derivative of
Guigemar "Guigemar" is a Breton lai, a type of narrative poem, written by Marie de France during the 12th century. The poem belongs to the collection known as ''The Lais of Marie de France''. Like the other lais in the collection, ''Guigemar'' is written in ...
from the
Breton lai
A Breton lai, also known as a narrative lay or simply a lay, is a form of medieval French and English romance literature. Lais are short (typically 600–1000 lines), rhymed tales of love and chivalry, often involving supernatural and fairy-w ...
''
Guigemar "Guigemar" is a Breton lai, a type of narrative poem, written by Marie de France during the 12th century. The poem belongs to the collection known as ''The Lais of Marie de France''. Like the other lais in the collection, ''Guigemar'' is written in ...
''.
[Pérez, ''The Myth of Morgan la Fey'', p. 95.] Guingamor's own lai by
Marie de France
Marie de France (fl. 1160 to 1215) was a poet, possibly born in what is now France, who lived in England during the late 12th century. She lived and wrote at an unknown court, but she and her work were almost certainly known at the royal court o ...
links him to the beautiful magical entity known only as the "fairy mistress", who was later identified by
Thomas Chestre's ''
Sir Launfal
''Sir Launfal'' is a 1045-line Middle English romance or Breton lay written by Thomas Chestre dating from the late 14th century. It is based primarily on the 538-line Middle English poem ''Sir Landevale'', which in turn was based on Marie de Franc ...
'' as ''Dame Tryamour'', the daughter of the King of the
Celtic Otherworld
In Celtic mythology, the Otherworld is the realm of the deities and possibly also the dead. In Gaelic and Brittonic myth it is usually a supernatural realm of everlasting youth, beauty, health, abundance and joy.Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture ...
who shares many characteristics with Chrétien's Morgan. It was noted that even Chrétien' earliest mention of Morgan already shows an enmity between her and Queen
Guinevere, and although Morgan is represented only in a benign role by Chrétien, she resides in a mysterious place known as the
Vale Perilous (which some later authors would say she has created as a place of punishment for unfaithful knights).
She is later mentioned in the same poem when Arthur provides the wounded hero
Erec
The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in lit ...
with a healing balm made by his sister Morgan. This episode affirms her early role as a healer, in addition to being one of the first instances of Morgan presented as Arthur's sister; healing is Morgan's chief ability, but Chrétien also hints at her potential to harm.
Chrétien again refers to Morgan as a great healer in his later romance ''
Yvain, the Knight of the Lion
, original_title_lang = fro
, translator =
, written = between 1178 and 1181
, country =
, language = Old French
, subject = Arthurian legend
, genre = Chivalric romance
, fo ...
'', in an episode in which the Lady of Norison restores the maddened hero
Yvain
Sir Ywain , also known as Yvain and Owain among other spellings (''Ewaine'', ''Ivain'', ''Ivan'', ''Iwain'', ''Iwein'', ''Uwain'', ''Uwaine'', etc.), is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend, wherein he is often the son of King Urien ...
to his senses with a magical potion provided by Morgan the Wise (''Morgue la sage'').
Morgan the Wise is female in Chrétien's original, as well as in the Norse version ''
Ivens saga'', but male in the English ''
Ywain and Gawain
''Ywain and Gawain'' is an early-14th century Middle English Arthurian verse romance based quite closely upon the late-12th-century Old French romance '' The Knight of the Lion'' by Chrétien de Troyes.
Plot
Ywain, one of King Arthur's Knights of ...
''. While the fairy Modron is mother of
Owain mab Urien
Owain mab Urien (Middle Welsh Owein) (died c. 595) was the son of Urien, king of Rheged c. 590, and fought with his father against the Angles of Bernicia. The historical figure of Owain became incorporated into the Arthurian cycle of legends wh ...
in the Welsh myth, and Morgan would be assigned this role in the later literature, this first continental association between Yvain (the romances' version of Owain) and Morgan does not imply they are son and mother. The earliest mention of Morgan as Yvain's mother is found in ''
Tyolet'', an early 13th-century Breton lai.
![Morgan Le Fay by Spencer Stanhope](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Morgan_Le_Fay_by_Spencer_Stanhope.jpg)
The
Middle Welsh
Middle Welsh ( cy, Cymraeg Canol, wlm, Kymraec) is the label attached to the Welsh language of the 12th to 15th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This form of Welsh developed directly from Old Welsh ( cy, Hen G ...
Arthurian tale ''
Geraint son of Erbin
''Geraint son of Erbin'' (Middle Welsh ''Geraint uab Erbin'') is a medieval Welsh poem celebrating the hero Geraint and his deeds at the Battle of Llongborth. The poem consists of three-line ''englyn'' stanzas and exists in several versions all i ...
'', either based on Chrétien's ''Erec and Enide'' or derived from a common source, mentions King Arthur's chief physician named Morgan Tud. It is believed that this character, though considered a male in ''Gereint'', may be derived from Morgan le Fay, though this has been a matter of debate among Arthurian scholars since the 19th century (the epithet Tud may be a
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
or
Breton
Breton most often refers to:
*anything associated with Brittany, and generally
** Breton people
** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany
** Breton (horse), a breed
**Ga ...
cognate or borrowing of
Old Irish
Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...
''tuath'', 'north, left', 'sinister, wicked', also 'fairy (fay), elf'). There, Morgan is called to treat
Edern ap Nudd
Edern ap Nudd ( la, Hiderus; Old french: Yder or ') was a knight of the Round Table in Arthur's court in early Arthurian tradition. As the son of Nudd (the ''Nu'', ''Nut'' or ''Nuc'' of Old French, Arthurian romance
), he is the brother of Gwyn ...
, Knight of the Sparrowhawk, following the latter's defeat at the hands of his adversary
Geraint
Geraint () is a character from Welsh folklore and Arthurian legend, a valiant warrior possibly related to the historical Geraint, an early 8th-century king of Dumnonia. It is also the name of a 6th-century Dumnonian saint king from Briton hag ...
, and is later called on by Arthur to treat Geraint himself. In
the German version of ''Erec'', the 12th-century knight and poet
Hartmann von Aue
Hartmann von Aue, also known as Hartmann von Ouwe, (born ''c.'' 1160–70, died ''c.'' 1210–20) was a German knight and poet. With his works including ''Erec'', ''Iwein'', '' Gregorius'', and ''Der arme Heinrich'', he introduced the Arthuria ...
has Erec healed by Guinevere with a special plaster that was given to Arthur by the king's sister, the goddess (''gotinne'')
Feimurgân (''Fâmurgân'', Fairy Murgan):
In writing that, Hartmann might have not been influenced by Chrétien, but rather by an earlier oral tradition from the stories of Breton bards.
Hartmann also separated Arthur's sister (that is Feimurgân) from the fairy mistress of the lord of Avalon (Chrétien's Guigomar), who in his version is named Marguel. In the anonymous First Continuation of Chrétien's ''
Perceval, the Story of the Grail
''Perceval, the Story of the Grail'' (french: Perceval ou le Conte du Graal) is the unfinished fifth verse romance by Chrétien de Troyes, written by him in Old French in the late 12th century. Later authors added 54,000 more lines in what are kn ...
'', the fairy lover of its variant of Guigomar (here as Guingamuer) is named Brangepart, and the two have a son Brangemuer who became the king of an otherworldly isle "where no mortal lived". In the 13th-century romance ''
Parzival
''Parzival'' is a medieval romance by the knight-poet Wolfram von Eschenbach in Middle High German. The poem, commonly dated to the first quarter of the 13th century, centers on the Arthurian hero Parzival (Percival in English) and his long ...
'', another German knight-poet
Wolfram von Eschenbach
Wolfram von Eschenbach (; – ) was a German knight, poet and composer, regarded as one of the greatest epic poets of medieval German literature. As a Minnesinger, he also wrote lyric poetry.
Life
Little is known of Wolfram's life. There ar ...
inverted Hartmann's Fâmurgân's name to create that of Arthur's fairy ancestor named Terdelaschoye de Feimurgân, the wife of Mazadân, where the part "Terdelaschoye" comes from ''Terre de la Joie'', or Land of Joy; the text also mentions the mountain of Fâmorgân.
Jean Markale further identified a Morganian figure in Wolfram's ambiguous character of Cundrie the Sorceress (
later better known as Kundry) through her plot function as mistress of illusions in an enchanted fairy garden.
Speculatively, Loomis and
John Matthews further identified other perceived avatars of Morgan as the "Besieged Lady" archetype in various early works associated with the
Castle of Maidens motif, often appearing as (usually unnamed) wife of
King Lot and mother of
Gawain
Gawain (), also known in many other forms and spellings, is a character in Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned under the name Gwalchmei in the earliest ...
. These characters include the Queen of Meidenlant in ''
Diu Crône
''Diu Crône'' ( en, The Crown) is a Middle High German poem of about 30,000 lines treating of King Arthur and the Matter of Britain, dating from around the 1220s and attributed to the epic poet Heinrich von dem Türlin. Little is known of the ...
'', the lady of Castellum Puellarum in ''
De Ortu Waluuanii
''De Ortu Waluuanii Nepotis Arturi'' ( en, The Rise of Gawain, Nephew of Arthur) is an anonymous Medieval Latin chivalric romance dating to the 12th or 13th century. It describes the birth, boyhood deeds, and early adventures of King Arthur's neph ...
'', and the nameless heroine of the Breton lai ''
Doon'', among others, including some in later works (such as with Lady Lufamore of Maydenlande in ''
Sir Perceval of Galles
''Sir Perceval of Galles'' is a Middle English Arthurian verse romance whose protagonist, Sir Perceval (Percival), first appeared in medieval literature in Chrétien de Troyes' final poem, the 12th-century Old French '' Conte del Graal'', well ov ...
''). Loomis also linked her to the eponymous seductress evil queen from ''
The Queen of Scotland'', a 19th-century ballad "containing Arthurian material dating back to the year 1200."
A recently discovered moralistic manuscript written in
Anglo-Norman French
Anglo-Norman, also known as Anglo-Norman French ( nrf, Anglo-Normaund) (French: ), was a dialect of Old Norman French that was used in England and, to a lesser extent, elsewhere in Great Britain and Ireland during the Anglo-Norman period.
When ...
is the only known instance of medieval Arthurian literature presented as being composed by Morgan herself. This late 12th-century text is purportedly addressed to her court official and tells of the story of a knight called Piers the Fierce; it is likely that the author's motive was to draw a satirical moral from the downfall of the English knight
Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall. Morgayne is titled in it as "empress of the wilderness, queen of the damsels, lady of the isles, and governor of the waves of the great sea."
Morgan (''Morganis'') is also mentioned in the ''
Draco Normannicus'', a 12th-century (c. 1167–1169) Latin chronicle by
Étienne de Rouen, which contains a fictitious letter addressed by King Arthur to
Henry II of England
Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...
, written for political propaganda purpose of having 'Arthur' criticise King Henry for invading the
Duchy of Brittany
The Duchy of Brittany ( br, Dugelezh Breizh, ; french: Duché de Bretagne) was a medieval feudal state that existed between approximately 939 and 1547. Its territory covered the northwestern peninsula of Europe, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean t ...
.
Notably, it is one of the first known texts that made her a sister to Arthur, as she is in the works of Chrétien and many others after him.
As described by Étienne,
French prose cycles
![Morgan surprising lovers in the Val without return](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Morgan_surprising_lovers_in_the_Val_without_return.png)
Morgan's role was greatly expanded by the unknown authors of the early-13th-century
Old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intellig ...
romances of the
Vulgate Cycle
The ''Lancelot-Grail'', also known as the Vulgate Cycle or the Pseudo-Map Cycle, is an early 13th-century French Arthurian literary cycle consisting of interconnected prose episodes of chivalric romance in Old French. The cycle of unknown author ...
(also known as the
Lancelot-Grail
The ''Lancelot-Grail'', also known as the Vulgate Cycle or the Pseudo-Map Cycle, is an early 13th-century French Arthurian literary cycle consisting of interconnected prose episodes of chivalric romance in Old French. The cycle of unknown author ...
cycle) and especially its subsequent rewrite, the
Prose ''Tristan''-influenced
Post-Vulgate Cycle
The ''Post-Vulgate Cycle'', also known as the Post-Vulgate Arthuriad, the Post-Vulgate ''Roman du Graal'' (''Romance of the Grail'') or the Pseudo-Robert de Boron Cycle, is one of the major Old French prose cycles of Arthurian literature from th ...
. These works are believed to be at least influenced by the
Cistercian religious order, which might explain the texts' demonisation of pagan motifs and increasingly anti-sex attitude.
Integrating her fully into the Arthurian world, they also portray Morgan's ways and deeds as being much more sinister and aggressive than they are in Geoffrey or Chrétien, showing her undergoing a series of transformations in the process of becoming a chaotic counter-heroine.
Beginning as an erratic ally of Arthur and a notorious temptress opposed to his wife and some of his knights (especially Lancelot) in the original stories of the Vulgate Cycle, Morgan's figure eventually often turns into an ambitious and depraved nemesis of King Arthur himself in the Post-Vulgate. Her common image is now a malicious and cruel sorceress, the source of many intrigues at the royal court of Arthur and elsewhere. In some of the later works, she is also subversively working to take over Arthur's throne through her mostly harmful magic and scheming, including manipulating men.
Most of the time, Morgan's magic arts correspond with these of Merlin's and the Lady of the Lake's, featuring shapeshifting, illusion, and sleeping spells (
Richard Kieckhefer
Richard Kieckhefer (born 1946) is an American medievalist, religious historian, scholar of church architecture, and author. He is Professor of History and John Evans Professor of Religious Studies at Northwestern University.
Education
After an un ...
connected it with
Norse magic). Although she is usually depicted in medieval romances as beautiful and seductive, the medieval archetype of the
loathly lady
The loathly lady ( cy, dynes gas, Motif D732 in Stith Thompson's motif index), is a tale type commonly used in medieval literature, most famously in Geoffrey Chaucer's '' The Wife of Bath's Tale''. The motif is that of a woman who appears unatt ...
is used frequently, as Morgan can be in a contradictory fashion described as both beautiful and ugly even within the same narration.
Family and upbringing
This version of Morgan (usually named ''Morgane'' or ''Morgain'') first appears in the few surviving verses of the Old French poem ''
Merlin'', which later served as the original source for the Vulgate Cycle and consequently also the Post-Vulgate Cycle. It was written c. 1200 by the French knight-poet
Robert de Boron, who described her as an illegitimate daughter of Lady
Igraine with an initially unnamed Duke of
Tintagel
Tintagel () or Trevena ( kw, Tre war Venydh, meaning ''Village on a Mountain'') is a civil parish and village situated on the Atlantic coast of Cornwall, England. The village and nearby Tintagel Castle are associated with the legends surroundin ...
, after whose death she is adopted by King
Neutres of Garlot.
[Larrington, ''King Arthur's Enchantresses'', p. 41.] ''Merlin'' is the first known work linking Morgan to Igraine and mentioning her learning sorcery after having been sent away for an education. The reader is informed that Morgan was given her moniker 'la fée' (the fairy) due to her great knowledge. A 14th-century massive prequel to the Arthurian legend, ''Perceforest'', also implies that Arthur's sister was later named after its ''fée'' character Morgane from several centuries earlier.
![She was known to have studied magic while she was being brought up in the nunnery](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/She_was_known_to_have_studied_magic_while_she_was_being_brought_up_in_the_nunnery.png)
In a popular tradition from later evolution of this narrative, Morgan is the youngest of the daughters of Igraine and
Gorlois
In Arthurian legend, Gorlois ( cy, Gwrlais) of Tintagel, Duke of Cornwall, is the first husband of Igraine, whose second husband is Uther Pendragon. Gorlois's name first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' (). A v ...
, the
Duke of Cornwall. In the poem's prose version and its continuations, she has at least two elder sisters (various manuscripts list up to five daughters and some do not mention Morgan being a bastard child
):
Elaine of Garlot and the Queen of
Orkney sometimes known as
Morgause
The Queen of Orkney, today best known as Morgause and also known as Morgawse and other spellings and names, is a character in later Arthurian traditions. In some versions of the legend, including the seminal text ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', she is ...
, the latter of whom is the mother of Arthur's knights Gawain,
Agravain
Sir Agravain () is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend, whose first known appearance is in the works of Chrétien de Troyes. He is the second eldest son of King Lot of Orkney with one of King Arthur's sisters known as Anna or Mor ...
,
Gaheris
Gaheris (Old French: ''Gaheriet'', ''Gaheriés'', ''Guerrehes'') is a knight of the Round Table in the chivalric romance tradition of Arthurian legend. A nephew of King Arthur, Gaheris is the third son of Arthur's sister or half-sister Morgau ...
and
Gareth by King Lot, and the traitor Mordred by Arthur (in some romances the wife of King Lot is called Morcades, a name that R. S. Loomis argued was another name of Morgan). At a young age, Morgan is sent to a
convent
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...
after Arthur's father
Uther Pendragon
Uther Pendragon (Brittonic) (; cy, Ythyr Ben Dragwn, Uthyr Pendragon, Uthyr Bendragon), also known as King Uther, was a legendary King of the Britons in sub-Roman Britain (c. 6th century). Uther was also the father of King Arthur.
A few ...
, aided by the half-demon Merlin, kills Gorlois and rapes and marries her mother, who later gives him a son, Arthur (which makes him Morgan's younger half-brother). There, Morgan masters
the seven arts
''The Seven Arts'', an early example of the Little Magazine, was edited by James Oppenheim, Waldo Frank, and Van Wyck Brooks; it appeared monthly from November 1916 through October 1917. Jointly envisaged by Oppenheim and Frank, ''The Seven Arts'' ...
and begins her study of magic, going on to specialise in ''astronomie'' (astronomy and
astrology
Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...
) and healing;
the Prose ''Merlin'' describes her as "wonderfully adept" and "working hard all the time."
The Vulgate ''Suite du Merlin'' narration describes Morgan's unmatched beauty and her various skills and qualities of character:
Queen Morgan and King Arthur
![Dora Curtis - Queen Morgan le Fay, 1905](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Dora_Curtis_-_Queen_Morgan_le_Fay%2C_1905.png)
Uther (or Arthur himself in the Post-Vulgate
) betroths her to his ally, King
Urien
Urien (; ), often referred to as Urien Rheged or Uriens, was a late 6th-century king of Rheged, an early British kingdom of the Hen Ogledd (today's northern England and southern Scotland) of the House of Rheged. His power and his victories, ...
of Gor(r)e, the land described as an Otherworldly northern British kingdom, possibly the historical
Rheged
Rheged () was one of the kingdoms of the ''Hen Ogledd'' ("Old North"), the Brittonic-speaking region of what is now Northern England and southern Scotland, during the post-Roman era and Early Middle Ages. It is recorded in several poetic and b ...
(early versions have alternatively named Morgan's husband as
Nentres of Garlot
The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in lit ...
, who later was recast as the husband of her sister Elaine). Now a queen but unhappy with her husband, Morgan serves as a
lady-in-waiting for the high queen, Arthur's newly married young wife Guinevere. At first, Morgan and the also young Guinevere are close friends, even wearing shared near-identical rings. However, everything changes when Morgan is caught in an affair with her lover
Guiomar (derived from Chrétien's Guigomar) by Guinevere, who intervenes to break their relationship to prevent the loss of honour (and possibly because of Guinevere's perception of Morgan, with her kinship and close relationship with Arthur, as a rival in political power
). This incident, introduced in the Prose ''Merlin'' and expanded in the Vulgate ''Lancelot'' and the Post-Vulgate ''Suite du Merlin'' (the Huth ''Merlin''),
begins a lifelong feud between Guinevere and Morgan, who leaves the court of
Camelot
Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as th ...
with all her wealth to seek out Merlin and greater powers. The pregnant Morgan later gives birth to Guiomar's son, who is not named in the story but is said to grow up to become a great knight.
[Hebert, ''Shapeshifter'', p. 71.] Morgan then either undertakes or continues her studies of dark magic under Merlin, enamored for her, the details of which vary widely depending on the telling.
In the Prose ''Merlin'', for instance, it is Morgan who finds Merlin, whom she "loves passionately".
In the ''Livre d'Artus'', where Morgan's first lover is named Bertolais, it is rather Merlin who goes to live with Morgan and her two ladies for a long time following the betrayal of him by Niniane (the Lady of the Lake) with her other lover, just as Morgan wished for him to do.
In the Post-Vulgate ''Suite'', Morgan had been tutored by Merlin even before her relationship with Guiomar, and later she returns to learn more.
They meet at Lot's funeral, during the time when Morgan is pregnant with Yvain; after Merlin teaches her so much she becomes "the wisest woman in the world", Morgan scorns and drives Merlin away by threatening to torture and kill him if he would not leave her alone, which causes him great sorrow out of his "foolish love" (''fol amor'') for her.
In the Vulgate ''Lancelot'', Morgan learns all her magic only from Merlin (and not in the nunnery). She then takes an unnamed knight as her new companion, until she discovers his affair with another woman, which leads to the creation of her magical domain known as the
Val sans Retour (the Vale of No Return), serving as an enchanted prison for false lovers.
In any case, having finished her studies under Merlin, Morgan begins scheming her vengeance as she tries to undermine virtue and achieve Guinevere's downfall whenever she can.
![HJ Ford - Morgan Casts Away Excalibur's Scabbard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/HJ_Ford_-_Morgan_Casts_Away_Excalibur%27s_Scabbard.png)
In the Post-Vulgate, where Morgan's explicitly evil nature is stated and accented, she also works to destroy Arthur's rule and end his life, but the reasons for her initial hatred of him are never fully explained other than just an extreme antipathy towards the perfect goodness which he symbolises.
The most famous and important of these machinations is introduced in the Post-Vulgate ''Suite'', where she arranges for her devoted lover
Accolon
Accolon is a character in Arthurian legends where he is a lover of Morgan le Fay who is killed by King Arthur in a duel during the plot involving the sword Excalibur. He appears in Arthurian prose romances since the Post-Vulgate Cycle, includin ...
to obtain the enchanted sword Excalibur as well as its protective
scabbard
A scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword, knife, or other large blade. As well, rifles may be stored in a scabbard by horse riders. Military cavalry and cowboys had scabbards for their saddle ring carbine rifles and lever-action rifles on the ...
, which has been previously confided to Morgan by Arthur himself as he had trusted her even more than his wife, replacing the real ones with fakes. In a conspiracy with the villainous lord Damas, Morgan plans for Accolon to use Arthur's own magic items against him in single combat, so she and her beloved Accolon would become the rulers. As part of her convoluted plan, both Arthur and Accolon are spirited away from their hunt with Urien by a magical boat of twelve damsels. Confident of her coming victory, Morgan also attempts to murder her sleeping husband Urien with his own sword, but in this act she is stopped by their son Yvain (Uwayne), who pardons her when she protests she has been under the devil's power and promises to abandon her wicked ways.
After Arthur nevertheless mortally defeats Accolon in a duel arranged by Morgan, her former mentor Merlin, still having feelings for her, saves her from Arthur's wrath by enabling her to escape.
To avenge Accolon's death, which caused her great sorrow, Morgan again steals the scabbard from the sleeping king. Pursued by Arthur for her betrayal, Morgan throws the scabbard into a lake, before temporarily turning herself and her entourage to stone, the sight of which makes Arthur think they have been already punished by God. That action of Morgan ultimately causes the death of Arthur, who would otherwise be protected by the scabbard's magic in his final battle. On her way out, Morgan saves Arthur's knight named Manassen (Manessen, Manasses) from certain death and enables him to kill his captor when she learns Accolon was Manessen's cousin. Now banished from Camelot, Morgan retires to her lands in Gore and then to her castle near the stronghold of Tauroc (possibly in
North Wales
North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia N ...
). However, her treacherous attempts to bring about Arthur's demise in the ''Suite'' are repeatedly frustrated by the king's new sorceress advisor Ninianne (the Lady of the Lake). Such is the case when Morgan sends Arthur a supposed offering of peace in the form of a rich
mantle cloak; Morgan's messenger maiden is made put on the cursed gift and it burns her to cinders. It is possible that this motif was inspired by classical stories like that how Medea killed her rival for
Jason
Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He ...
's affection or how
Deianira sent a poisoned tunic to
Hercules
Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
The Romans adapted the ...
. In one of her castles, Tugan in Garlot, Morgan has hidden a magic book given to her by Merlin, which actually prophesied the deaths of Arthur and Gawain and who would kill them, but no one can read this passage without dying instantly.
[Larrington, ''King Arthur's Enchantresses'', p. 33.]
![Queen Morgana Appears unto Sir Launcelot](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Queen_Morgana_Appears_unto_Sir_Launcelot.png)
Morgan also uses her skills in dealing with various of Arthur's
Knights of the Round Table, especially the greatest of them all, Lancelot, whom she alternately tries to seduce and to expose as Guinevere's adulterous lover. Her magic aside, Lancelot is always disempowered in his dealings with Morgan as he could never hurt a woman or fight a kin of his king, which allows the writers to make her a perfect
foil
Foil may refer to:
Materials
* Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine
* Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal
* Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food
* Tin foil, metal foil ...
for Lancelot as "the woman he most feared in the world."
Morgan is emphasised as promiscuous, even more than her sister Morgause, as she is "so lustful and wanton that a looser
oble
Oble is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Jadów, within Wołomin County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies approximately north-east of Wołomin and north-east of Warsaw.
References
Oble
Oble is a vil ...
oman could not have been found."
Her many paramours include Huneson the Bald (Hemison in Malory's version), who is mortally wounded when he attacks
Tristan
Tristan (Latin/ Brythonic: ''Drustanus''; cy, Trystan), also known as Tristram or Tristain and similar names, is the hero of the legend of Tristan and Iseult. In the legend, he is tasked with escorting the Irish princess Iseult to we ...
out of his jealously for Morgan's attention; he soon dies after returning to her, and the anguished Morgan buries him in a grand tomb. In one variation, she then takes possession of the lance that was used to kill Huneson, enchants it, and sends it to King
Mark of Cornwall
Mark of Cornwall ( la, Marcus, kw, Margh, cy, March, br, Marc'h) was a sixth-century King of Kernow (Cornwall), possibly identical with King Conomor. He is best known for his appearance in Arthurian legend as the uncle of Tristan and the husb ...
, her possible lover,
[Larrington, ''King Arthur's Enchantresses'', p. 83.] who years later uses it to slay Tristan.
In the Prose ''Tristan'', wherein Morgan presents herself as Arthur's full sister,
she delivers by
Lamorak
Sir Lamorak (or Lamerak, Lamorac(k), Lamorat, Lamerocke, and other spellings) is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend. Introduced in the Prose ''Tristan'', Lamorak reappears in later works including the ''Post-Vulgate Cycle'' and T ...
to Arthur's court a magical drinking horn from which no unfaithful lady can drink without spilling, hoping to disgrace Guinevere by revealing her infidelity, but it is
Iseult whose adultery is disclosed instead. Lancelot is Morgan's prime object of sexual desire but he consistently refuses her obsessive advances due to his great love of Guinevere, even as Morgan repeatedly courts, drugs, enchants or imprisons the knight. Their one-sided relationship (as well as interactions between her and Arthur
) may evoke that of the goddess
Morrígan and the Celtic hero
Cú Chulainn
Cú Chulainn ( ), called the Hound of Ulster ( Irish: ''Cú Uladh''), is a warrior hero and demigod in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore. He is believed to be an incarnation of the Irish god L ...
. One of such occasions has Lancelot captured in Cart Castle (Charyot) by Morgan and two other lascivious enchantresses, Queen
Sebile
Sebile, alternatively written as Sedile, Sebille, Sibilla, Sibyl, Sybilla, and other similar names, is a mythical medieval queen or princess who is frequently portrayed as a fairy or an enchantress in the Arthurian legends and Italian folklore. ...
(Sedile) and the unnamed Queen of Sorestan, each of whom wants to make him her lover, but he refuses to choose and escapes with the help of one of their maidservants, Rocedon.
The three enchantresses "knew so much about magic, they enjoyed one another's company and always rode together and ate and drank together." Sebile and Morgan are particularly close companions, working their magic together, but they tend to fall into petty squabbles due to their rivalries and bad tempers, including a conflict between them when they both seduce Lancelot's brother
Hector de Maris
The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in lit ...
in the late 13th-century ''Prophéties de Merlin''. Their friendship is further tested when a quarrel over a handsome widower named Berengier (captured by Sebile after Morgan kidnapped his child) ends in a violent attack by Sebile that leaves Morgan half-dead; Morgan swears revenge, but their relationship is later restored.
After Merlin's entombment by the Lady of the Lake, Morgan and her three enchantresses also try to find and rescue him but they fail in that task.
Morgan's other allies in the ''Prophéties'' include the opponents of
chivalry such as Mark and
Claudas
King Claudas is a fictional king who is an opponent to King Arthur, Lancelot, and Bors in Arthurian literature. His kingdom is situated in the Berry and is named "Terre Deserte", or "Land Laid Waste", so called because of the destruction Uther ...
, and she enlists the help of the latter in her failed attempt to eliminate the Lady of the Lake.
In one of her schemes, she even sends
Lucifer
Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passa ...
himself (in the guise of a dragon) against Segurant the Brown (Segurant le Brun).
![How Morgan le Fay Cave a Shield to Sir Tristram](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/How_Morgan_le_Fay_Cave_a_Shield_to_Sir_Tristram.jpg)
Besides Lancelot, Morgan's fancied good knights include Tristan, but her interest in him turns into burning hatred of him and his true love
Isolde after he kills her lover as introduced in the Prose ''Tristan'' (Morgan does not become their enemy in the Italian versions). Another is the rescued-but-abducted young Alexander the Orphan (Alisaunder le Orphelin), a cousin of Tristan and Mark's enemy from a later addition in the Prose ''Tristan'' as well as the ''Prophéties de Merlin'', whom she promises to heal but he vows to castrate himself rather than to pleasure her. Nevertheless, Alexander promises to defend her castle of Fair Guard (''Belle Garde''), where he has been held, for a year and a day, and then dutifully continues to guard it even after the castle gets burned down;
this eventually leads to his death.
In the Val sans Retour, Lancelot frees the 250 unfaithful knights entrapped by Morgan, including Morgan's own son Yvain and her former lover Guiomar whom she has turned to stone for his infidelity.
(Of note, Guiomar, appearing there as Gaimar, is also Guinevere's early lover instead of her cousin in the German version ''Lancelot und Ginevra''.) Morgan then captures Lancelot himself under her spell using a magic ring and keeps him prisoner in the hope Guinevere would then go mad or die of sorrow. She also otherwise torments Guinevere, causing her great distress and making her miserable until the Lady of the Lake gives her a ring that protects her from Morgan's power.
On one occasion, she lets the captive Lancelot go to rescue Gawain when he promises to come back (but also keeping him the company of "the most beautiful of her maidens" to do "whatever she could to entice him"), and he keeps his word and does return; she eventually releases him altogether after over a year, when his health falters and he is near death. It is said that Morgan concentrates on witchcraft to such degree that she goes to live in seclusion in the exile of far-away forests. She learns more spells than any other woman, gains an ability to transform herself into any animal, and people begin to call her Morgan the Goddess (''Morgain-la-déesse'', ''Morgue la dieuesse'').
[Larrington, ''King Arthur's Enchantresses'', p. 13.] In the Post-Vulgate version of ''Queste del Saint Graal'', Lancelot has a vision of Hell where Morgan still will be able to control demons even in afterlife as they torture Guinevere. Later, after she hosts her nephews Gawain, Mordred and Gaheriet to heal them, Mordred spots the images of Lancelot's passionate love for Guinevere that Lancelot painted on her castle's walls while he was imprisoned there; Morgan shows them to Gawain and his brothers, encouraging them to take action in the name of loyalty to their king, but they do not do this. With same intent, when Tristan was to be Morgan's
champion
A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...
at a
jousting
Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two horse riders wielding lances with blunted tips, often as part of a tournament. The primary aim was to replicate a clash of heavy cavalry, with each participant trying to strike the opponen ...
tournament, she also gives him an enchanted shield depicting Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot to deliver to Camelot (in the Prose ''Tristan'').
[Larrington, ''King Arthur's Enchantresses'', pp. 42–43.]
![Detail of The Death of King Arthur by James Archer (1860)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Detail_of_The_Death_of_King_Arthur_by_James_Archer_%281860%29.png)
In the Vulgate ''La Mort le Roi Artu'' (''The Death of King Arthur'', also known as just the ''Mort Artu''), Morgan ceases troubling Arthur and vanishes for a long time, and Arthur assumes her to be dead. But one day, he wanders into Morgan's remote castle while on a hunting trip, and they meet and instantly reconcile with each other. Morgan welcomes him warmly and the king, overjoyed with their reunion, allows her to return to Camelot, but she refuses and declares her plan to move to the Isle of Avalon, "where the women live who know all the world's magic," to live there with other sorceresses. However, disaster strikes when the sight of Lancelot's frescoes and Morgan's confession finally convinces Arthur about the truth to the rumours of the two's secret love affair (about which he has been already warned by his nephew Agravain). This leads to a great conflict between Arthur and Lancelot, which brings down the fellowship of the
Round Table. At the end of the ''Mort Artu'', Morgan is the only one who is recognised among the black-hooded ladies who take the dying Arthur to his final rest and possible revival in Avalon. Depending on the manuscript, she is either the leading lady (usually, being recognised by Griflet as the one holding Arthur's hand as he enters the boat), a subordinate to another who is unnamed, or neither of them are superior. The latter part of the Post-Vulgate versions of ''Queste'' and ''Mort'' both revert to Morgan's friendly and helpful attitude toward Arthur from the Vulgate Cycle, even as she makes no mention of Avalon or her intentions when taking him away. Arthur steps into her boat after Camlann but assures he is not going to return. His supposed grave is later said to be found mysteriously empty but for his helmet.
(The Spanish poem ''La Faula'' has Morgan explain that by saying the tomb's purpose was to prevent a search for Arthur.)
Malory and other medieval English authors
![She raised her oblong lute and smote some chords](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/She_raised_her_oblong_lute_and_smote_some_chords.png)
Middle English writer
Thomas Malory
Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', the classic English-language chronicle of the Arthurian legend, compiled and in most cases translated from French sources. The most popular version of ''Le Morte d'Ar ...
follows the portrayals of Morgan from the Old French prose cycles in his late-15th-century seminal work of the selective compilation book ''
Le Morte d'Arthur'' (''The Death of Arthur''), though he reduces her in role and detail of characterisation, in particular either removing or limiting her traditions of healing and prophecy, and making her more consistently and inherently evil just as he makes Merlin more good.
He also diminishes Morgan's conflict with Guinevere, as there is no motif of Guiomar and Accolon is her first named lover (appearing as Accolon of
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
in a much abbreviated version of his story
), but does not clarify Morgan's motivations for her antagonistic behaviour against Arthur.
Malory scholar Elizabeth Sklar described Morgan's character here as "an essentially sociopathic personality, respecting no boundaries and acknowledging no rules save those dictated by her own ambitions, envy, and lust." Up until the war between Arthur and Lancelot and the rebellion of Mordred, it is Morgan who remains the main and constant source of direct and indirect threat to the realm.
According to Corinne Saunders, Malory's "Morgan is also characterized as following the pattern of the otherworldly ruler who wishes both to destroy and to possess bodies" of knights through sex and manipulation.
As noted by Mary Lynn Saul: "Curiously, in spite of all her powers, Morgan is rarely successful in any of her plots. Nevertheless, she remains a medieval symbol of the potential danger of uncontrolled female power."
Some modern researchers attribute Malory's "personal misogyny" to his portrayal of Morgan as well as women in general.
![The Passing of Arthur](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/The_Passing_of_Arthur.png)
In Malory's backstory, Morgan has studied astrology as well as ''nigremancie'' (which might actually mean
black magic
Black magic, also known as dark magic, has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes, specifically the seven magical arts prohibited by canon law, as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 14 ...
in general rather than "
necromancy
Necromancy () is the practice of magic or black magic involving communication with the dead by summoning their spirits as apparitions or visions, or by resurrection for the purpose of divination; imparting the means to foretell future even ...
") in the nunnery where she was raised, before being married to Urien (Uriens) as a young teenager; in this narrative she did not study with Merlin.
Unlike Malory's
Nimue
The Lady of the Lake (french: Dame du Lac, Demoiselle du Lac, cy, Arglwyddes y Llyn, kw, Arloedhes an Lynn, br, Itron al Lenn, it, Dama del Lago) is a name or a title used by several either fairy or fairy-like but human enchantresses in the ...
, Morgan deals mostly in "black" rather than
"white" magic, employed usually through enchantments and potions.
Her powers, however, seem to be inspired by fairy magic of Celtic folklore rather than by medieval
Christian demonology
Christian demonology is the study of demons from a Christian point of view. It is primarily based on the Bible (Old and New Testaments), the interpretation of these scriptures, the writings of early Christianity philosophers, hermits and t ...
.
Malory mentions Arthur's attempts to conquer at least one of her castles, which originally had been his own gift to her, and which he could not retake (apparently due to magical defences
). She also plots an elaborate ambush in "The Book of Sir Tristram de Lyons", after learning of the death of one of her favourites in a tournament, but Tristan ends up killing or routing thirty of her knights when the ambush ends in a disaster. Morgan is widely feared and hated, so much that "many knights wished her burnt." She is now the leader of the four (not three) witch queens who capture Lancelot (the others being the Queen of the Northgales, the Queen of Eastland, and the Queen of the Outer Isles). In an episode that had been first introduced by the anonymous writer of the earlier Prose ''Lancelot'', Lancelot rescues
Elaine of Corbenic
Elaine (''Helaine'', ''Oisine'') or Elizabeth (''Eliabel'', ''Elizabel'', ''Elizabet'', ''Heliabel'', ''Helizabel''), also known as Amite (''Amide'', ''Amides'', ''Anite'', ''Aude'', ''Enite''), and identified as the "Grail Maiden" or the "Grail ...
from being trapped in an enchanted boiling bath by Morgan and the Queen of the Northgales, both envious of Elaine's great beauty (echoing
Circe
Circe (; grc, , ) is an enchantress and a minor goddess in ancient Greek mythology and religion. She is either a daughter of the Titan Helios and the Oceanid nymph Perse or the goddess Hecate and Aeëtes. Circe was renowned for her vas ...
's treatment of
Scylla). However, despite all of their prior hostility towards each other and her numerous designs directed against Arthur personally (and his own promise to get a terrible revenge on her as long as he lives
), Malory's Morgan is still redeemed and is one of the four grieving enchantress queens (the others being Nimue, marking the end of conflict between her and Morgan, and two of Morgan's allies, the Queen of the Northgales and the Queen of the
Wasteland
Wasteland or waste land may refer to:
* Desert or barren area
* an uncultivated area of land, whether wooded or not, whether common land or not
Art, entertainment, and media Comics
* ''Wasteland'' (DC Comics), 1987–1989 anthology-style horror/ ...
) who arrive in a black boat to transport the wounded king to Avalon in the end. Unlike in the French and earlier stories on which ''Le Morte d'Arthur'' is based, and where Morgan and Arthur would either have first made peace or have just never fought to begin with, here her change of attitude towards him is sudden and unexplained.
Arthur is last seen in Morgan's lap, with her lament of sorrow referring to him as her "dear brother" (''dere brothir''), as they disappear from the work's narrative together.
![Morte D'Arthur by Daniel Maclise](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Morte_D%27Arthur_by_Daniel_Maclise.png)
In the English poem
Alliterative ''Morte Arthure'', Morgan appears in Arthur's dream as Lady Fortune (that is, the goddess
Fortuna
Fortuna ( la, Fortūna, equivalent to the Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular through the Middle Ages until at ...
) with the
Wheel of Fortune to warn Arthur prior to his fatal final battle, foretelling his death. She also appears in some other English texts, such as the early-13th-century
Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to:
*Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066
* Anglo-Norman language
**Anglo-Norman literature
* Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 10 ...
''Roman de Waldef'' where she is only "name-dropped" as a minor character. Middle English romance ''
Arthour and Merlin'', written around 1270, casts a villainous Morgan in the role of the Lady of the Lake and gives her a brother named Morganor as an illegitimate son of King Urien; her wondrous castle Palaus is built mostly of crystal and glass.
Conversely, a 14th-century Middle English version of the Vulgate ''Mort Artu'' known as the
Stanzaic ''Morte Arthur'' makes Morgan an unquestionably good sister of Arthur, concerned only about his honour in regard to the affair of Lancelot and Guinevere. Entering her boat (she is not named in the scene, but addresses him as her brother), Arthur believes he is going to be healed, yet his tomb is later discovered by
Bedivere
Bedivere ( or ; cy, Bedwyr; la, Beduerus; french: link=no, Bédoier, also Bedevere and other spellings) is one of the earliest characters to be featured in the legend of King Arthur, originally described in several Welsh texts as the one-hand ...
.
At the end of the 14th-century Middle English romance ''
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' is a late 14th-century chivalric romance in Middle English. The author is unknown; the title was given centuries later. It is one of the best-known Arthurian stories, with its plot combining two types of ...
'', one of the best-known Arthurian tales, it is revealed that the entire
Green Knight
The Green Knight ( cy, Marchog Gwyrdd, kw, Marghek Gwyrdh, br, Marc'heg Gwer) is a character from the 14th-century Arthurian poem ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' and the related medieval work ''The Greene Knight''. His true name is revea ...
plot has been instigated by Gawain's aunt, the goddess Morgan le Fay (''Morgue la Faye'', ''Morgne þe goddes''
), whose prior mentorship by Merlin is mentioned. Here, she is an ambiguous
trickster
In mythology and the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a character in a story ( god, goddess, spirit, human or anthropomorphisation) who exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks or otherwi ...
who takes an appearance of an elderly woman (contrasting from the beautiful
Lady Bertilak
Lady Bertilak (or Lady Hautdesert) are names given by some modern critics to a character in the medieval poem ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' (14th century), though the poem itself only ever calls her "the lady". She is ordered by her husband, ...
in a role evoking the loathly lady tradition), as a test for Arthur and his knights and to frighten Guinevere to death. Morgan's importance to this particular narrative has been disputed and called a ''
deus ex machina
''Deus ex machina'' ( , ; plural: ''dei ex machina''; English "god out of the machine") is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence. Its function ...
''
[Albert B. Friedman, "Morgan le Fay in ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight''" in ''Speculum'', volume 35, pp. 260–274.] and simply an artistic device to further connect Gawain's episode to the Arthurian legend, but some regard her as a central character and the driving force of the plot.
Opinions are also divided regarding Morgan's intentions and whether she succeeds or fails, and how the story's shapeshifting and enigmatic Morgan might be, or might be not, also Lady Bertilak herself.
Other later portrayals in various countries
![Arthur-Pyle Queen Morgana le Fey](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Arthur-Pyle_Queen_Morgana_le_Fey.JPG)
Morgan further turns up frequently throughout the Western European literature of the
High and
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...
, as well as of the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
. She appears in a variety of roles, generally appearing in works related to the cycles of Arthur (the
Matter of Britain
The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Wester ...
) or
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...
(the
Matter of France). Such texts often feature Morgan as a lover and benefactor of various heroes, and yet she can also be their opponent, especially when abducting those who turned down her amorous offers and working to separate true lovers. They may also introduce her additional offspring or alternate siblings, or connect her closer with the figure of the Lady of the Lake. For instance, the Old French anonymous ''Li Romans de Claris et Laris'' better known as just ''Claris and Laris'' (c. 1270), has its Morgane la Faye (Morgana in the modern English translation) as a fully supernatural being, a former sister of Arthur as well as a former pupil of the Lady of Lake, Viviane (Viviana). Still ever lascivious and sexual, Morgan now lives in a splendid enchanted castle in the wilderness (identified as
Brocéliande
Brocéliande, earlier known as Brécheliant and Brécilien, is a legendary enchanted forest that had a reputation in the medieval European imagination as a place of magic and mystery. Brocéliande is featured in several medieval texts, mostly r ...
in a later manuscript) with twelve other beautiful fairy ladies including the sorceress Madoine (Madoina). There, they lure and ensnare many hundreds of young and attractive knights, who then spend the rest of their lives in the palace.
Morgan is named Dioneta in the 14th-century Welsh fragment known as ''The Birth of Arthur'', where she is a sister of both Gwyar (Morgause) and Gwalchmei (Gawain), as well as of the other sisters Gracia and Graeria, and is sent off by Uther to Avallach (Avalon). In
Thomas III of Saluzzo Thomas III of Saluzzo ( it, Tommaso III di Saluzzo) (1356–1416) was Marquess of Saluzzo from 1396 until his death.
He was born in Saluzzo in north-western Italy to Frederick II del Vasto and Beatrice of Geneva. His maternal grandfather was Hug ...
's ''Le Chevalier Errant'', the fairy Morgan (''la fée Morgane'') holds the eponymous Wandering Knight captive inside a magnificent castle in her forest realm Païenie ('Pagania'), until messengers from her brother Arthur arrive with a request to lift her enchantment and let him go, to which she agrees. The fairy queen Lady Morgan (''Dame Morgue'', ''Morgue li fee'') shows up in
Adam de la Halle
Adam de la Halle (1245–50 – 1285–8/after 1306) was a French poet-composer '' trouvère''. Among the few medieval composers to write both monophonic and polyphonic music, in this respect he has been considered both a conservative and progr ...
's late-13th-century French story ''Jeu de la feuillée'', in which she visits a contemporary
Arras. Spanish public edicts dating from the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th century tell of the belief in Morgane continuing to enchant and imprison people at Tintagel and in "the Valley of False Trickery".
![Fairies by H](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Fairies_by_H.J._Ford.jpg)
In the legends of Charlemagne, she is associated with the Danish legendary hero and one of the Paladins,
Ogier the Dane
Ogier the Dane (french: ; da, ) is a legendary paladin of Charlemagne who appears in many Old French '' chansons de geste''. In particular, he features as the protagonist in ''La Chevalerie Ogier'' (ca. 1220), which belongs to the ''Geste de D ...
: following his initial epics, when he is 100 years old, the fairy queen Morgan restores him to his youthful form but removes his memory, then takes him to her mystical island palace in Avalon (where Arthur and Gawain are also still alive) to be her lover for 200 years. She later protects him during his adventures in the mortal world as he defends France from Muslim invasion, before his eventual return to Avalon. In some accounts, Ogier begets her two sons, including Marlyn (Meurvin);
in the 14th-century pseudo-chronivle ''Ly Myreur des Histors'' written by the French-Belgian author
Jean d'Outremeuse
Jean d'Outremeuse or ''Jean des Preis'' (1338 in Liège – 1400) was a writer and historian who wrote two romanticised historical works and a lapidary.
''La Geste de Liége'' is an account of the mythical history of his native city, Liège, writt ...
, one of their sons is a giant
and they live in a palace made of jewels.
In the 13th-century ''
chanson de geste
The ''chanson de geste'' (, from Latin 'deeds, actions accomplished') is a medieval narrative, a type of epic poem that appears at the dawn of French literature. The earliest known poems of this genre date from the late 11th and early 12th c ...
'' story of another Paladin,
Huon of Bordeaux
Huon of Bordeaux is the title character of a 13th-century French epic poem with romance elements.
''Huon of Bordeaux''
The poem tells of Huon, a knight who unwittingly kills Charlot, the son of Emperor Charlemagne. He is given a reprieve from d ...
, Morgan is a protector of the eponymous hero and the mother of the fairy king
Oberon
Oberon () is a king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania, Queen of the Fairi ...
by none other than
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...
. In the 14th-century ''Ogier le Danois'', a prose redaction of the epic poem ''Roman d'Ogier'', she (''Morgue la Fée'') lives in her palace in Avalon together with Arthur and Oberon, who both seem to be her brothers.
Variants of Ogier's and Huon's stories typically involve Morgan, Arthur, and Oberon (Auberon) all living in a fairyland where time passes much slower than in human world. Such works include the 14th century's French ''Tristan de Nanteuil'' and the ''Chanson de Lion de Bourges'', the 15th-century French ''Mabrien'',
and
John Bourchier's 16th-century English ''The Boke of Duke Huon of Burdeux'' in which Arthur's sister Morgan is mother of not Oberon but Merlin. In another French ''chanson de geste'', the early-13th-century ''La Bataille Loquifer'', the fays
Morgan (Morgue) and her sister Marsion (Marrion) bring the
Saracen
upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens
Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...
hero Renoart (Renouart, Rainouart) to Avalon, where Arthur is the king; Renoart's falls in love with Morgan and impregnates her with his illegitimate son named Corbon (Corbans), "a live devil who did nothing but evil."
When Renoart jilts her and escapes to rescue his other son Maileffer, Morgan sends her demonic monster servant Kapalu (derived from the Welsh legends'
Cath Palug
(also , , , literally 'Palug's cat') was a monstrous cat in Welsh legend, given birth in by the pig Henwen of Cornwall; the cat was later to haunt the Isle of Anglesey, and was said to have killed 180 warriors when Sir Kay went to the island t ...
) after him; the shipwrecked Renoart ends up luckily rescued by a mermaid.
![Dora Curtis - Morgan le Fay with Excalibur, 1905](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Dora_Curtis_-_Morgan_le_Fay_with_Excalibur%2C_1905.jpg)
The island of Avalon is often described as an otherworldly place ruled by Morgan in other later texts from all over Western Europe, especially these written in
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
. In the 14th-century French Crusadic fantasy ''Le Bâtard de Bouillon'', the island kingdom of Arthur and his fairy sister Morgan the Beautiful is hidden by a cloud in the
Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...
, where it is visited by King Bauduins (
Baldwin II of Jerusalem
Baldwin II, also known as Baldwin of Bourcq or Bourg (; – 21August 1131), was Count of Edessa from 1100 to 1118, and King of Jerusalem from 1118 until his death. He accompanied his cousins Godfrey of Bouillon and Baldwin of Boulogne to th ...
). In his 14th-century
Catalan
Catalan may refer to:
Catalonia
From, or related to Catalonia:
* Catalan language, a Romance language
* Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia
Places
* 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
poem ''La faula'',
Guillem de Torroella
Guillem de Torroella (also written Torroelha) was a Majorcan poet whose family came from Empordà. He was born in 1348. He wrote the ''Faula'' in Occitan (and a small part in French) around 1370. It was edited in 2007 in the ''Library of Majorcan ...
claims to have himself having visited the Enchanted Isle and met Arthur who has been brought back to life by the fay Morgan (''Morgan la feya'', ''Morguan la fea'')
and they both are now forever young due to the power of the
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracu ...
. In the 15th-century
Valencian
Valencian () or Valencian language () is the official, historical and traditional name used in the Valencian Community (Spain), and unofficially in the El Carche comarca in Murcia (Spain), to refer to the Romance language also known as Catal ...
romance ''
Tirant lo Blanc
''Tirant lo Blanch'' ( ; modern spelling: ''Tirant lo Blanc'') is a chivalric romance written by the Valencian knight Joanot Martorell, finished posthumously by his friend Martí Joan de Galba and published in the city of Valencia in 1490 as an ...
'', the noble Queen Morgan searches the world for her missing brother; finally finding him entranced in
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
, Morgan brings Arthur back to his senses by removing Excalibur from his hands, after which they leave to Avalon. The
Castilian ''Arderique'' begins where the ''Mort Artu'' ends, that is with the departure and disappearance of Arthur and his sister Morgaina, described there as a fairy and a
necromancer
Necromancy () is the practice of magic or black magic involving communication with the dead by summoning their spirits as apparitions or visions, or by resurrection for the purpose of divination; imparting the means to foretell future events ...
, after the battle with Mordred (''Mordered''). Another Spanish work,
Francisco de Enciso Zárate's ''Florambel de Lucea'' (1532), features a later appearance of Arthur together with his sister Morgaina, "better known as Morgana the fairy" (''fada Morgana''), who explains how she saved her brother and gifts Excalibur (''Escaliber'') to the eponymous hero Florambel. In ''Tristán de Leonis'', Morgana offers her love to Tristan. In the ''rondalla'' ('folk tale' in
Catalan
Catalan may refer to:
Catalonia
From, or related to Catalonia:
* Catalan language, a Romance language
* Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia
Places
* 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
) ''
La fada Morgana'', the protagonist Joana ends up marrying the fairy queen Morgana's son named Beuteusell after passing his mother's test with his help.
The 14th-century Italian romance titled ''La Pulzella Gaia'' (''The Merry Maiden'') features the titular beautiful young daughter of Morgana (Italian version of Morgan's name, here too also a sister of the Lady of the Lake) with Hemison. In her own tale, Morgana's daughter defeats Gawain (Galvano) in her giant serpent form before becoming his lover; she and her fairy army then save Gawain from the jealous Guinevere, who wants Gawain dead after having been spurned by him. She then herself is imprisoned in a magical torment in her mother's glass-and-diamond magical castle Pela-Orso, because of how Morgana wanted to force her to marry Tristan. Eventually, Gawain storms the castle after three years of siege and frees her from a cursed dungeon, also capturing her tyrannical mother for the same punishment. The 15th-century Italian compilation of Arthur and Tristan legends, ''
La Tavola Ritonda ''La Tavola Ritonda'' (''The Round Table'') is a 15th-century Italian Arthurian romance written in the medieval Tuscan language. It is preserved in a 1446 manuscript at the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale in Florence (''Codex Palatinus 556''). It wa ...
'' (''The Round Table''), too makes Morgan a sister to the Lady of the Lake as well as to Arthur (about the fate of whom it says Morgan "brought him away to a little island in the sea; and there he died of his wounds, and the fairy buried him on that island"). It is based on the French prose romances, but here Morgan is a prophetic figure whose main role is to ensure the fulfilment of
fate
Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual.
Fate
Although often ...
.
Her daughter also appears, as Gaia Donzella, in the ''Tavola Ritonda'', where she is kidnapped by the knight Burletta of the Desert (''Burletta della Diserta'') who wants to rape her but she is rescued by Lancelot. The Italian Morgana appears in a number of ''cantari'' poems of the 14th to 15th century. Some of these are original new episodes, such as the ''Cantari di Tristano'' group's ''Cantare di Astore e Morgana'', in which Morgana heals Hector de Maris (Astore) and gives an armour made in Hell as well as a magical ship, and the ''Cantari del Falso Scudo'' that features her fairy son, the Knight with the Enchanted Shield; the ''Ponzela Gaia'' is another telling of the familiar story of Morgana's fairy daughter. Evangelista Fossa combined and retold some of them in his ''Innamoramento di Galvano'' (''Gawain Falling in Love'', c. 1494).
![John M Swan - Fata Morgana Nude Study](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/John_M_Swan_-_Fata_Morgana_Nude_Study.jpg)
Morgan le Fay, or Fata Morgana in Italian, has been in particular associated with
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
as a location of her enchanted realm in the mythological landscape of medieval Europe (at least since the
Norman conquest of southern Italy
The Norman conquest of southern Italy lasted from 999 to 1139, involving many battles and independent conquerors.
In 1130, the territories in southern Italy united as the Kingdom of Sicily, which included the island of Sicily, the southern ...
),
and local folklore describes her as living in a magical castle located at or floating over
Mount Etna.
As such she gave her name to the form of
mirage common off the shores of Sicily, the
Fata Morgana, since the 14th century.
References linking Avalon to Sicily can be found in ''
Otia Imperialia
''Otia Imperialia'' ("Recreation for an Emperor") is an early 13th-century encyclopedic work, the best known work of Gervase of Tilbury. It is an example of speculum literature. Also known as the "Book of Marvels", it primarily concerns the three ...
'' (c. 1211) and ''La faula'', as well as in Breton and
Provençal literature, for example in the aforementioned ''Jaufre'' and ''La Bataille Loquifer''. The 13th-century Chrétien-inspired romance ''Floriant et Florete'' places Morgan's secret mountain castle of Mongibel (Montgibel or Montegibel, derived from the
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
name for Etna), where, in the role of a fairy godmother, Morgan (Morgane) and two other fays
spirit away and raises Floriant, a son of a murdered Sicilian king and the hero of the story. Floriant, with the help of her magic ship, eventually reunites with Morgan at her castle when he returns there with his wife Florete.
The 15th-century French romance ''La Chevalier du Papegau'' (''The Knight of the Parrot'') gives Morgaine the Fairy of Montgibel (''Morgaine, la fée de Montgibel'', as she is also known in ''Floriant et Florete'') a sister known as the Lady Without Pride (''la Dame sans Orgueil''), whom Arthur saves from the evil Knight of the Wasteland (similar to the story in the ''Tavola Ritonda''). Meanwhile, the ''
Fastnachtspiel'' (''Ain Hupsches Vasnacht Spill von Künig Artus''), a German retelling of the enchanted horn episode, moved Morgan's Mediterranean Sea island domain to the east of Sicily, referring to her only as the Queen of
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...
.
![George Frederic Watts - Fata Morgana, 1865](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/George_Frederic_Watts_-_Fata_Morgana%2C_1865.jpg)
During the
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...
, Morgan has been primarily featured in relation to the cycle of epic poems of Orlando (based on
Roland of the historical Charlemagne). In
Matteo Maria Boiardo
Matteo Maria Boiardo (, ; 144019/20 December 1494) was an Italian Renaissance poet, best known for his epic poem ''Orlando innamorato''.
Early life
Boiardo was born in 1440, 's late-15th-century ''
Orlando Innamorato
''Orlando Innamorato'' (; known in English as "''Orlando in Love''"; in Italian titled "''Orlando innamorato''" as the " I" is never capitalized) is an epic poem written by the Italian Renaissance author Matteo Maria Boiardo. The poem is a rom ...
'', fata Morgana (initially as lady Fortune) is beautiful but wicked fairy enchantress, a sister of King Arthur and a pupil of Merlin. Morgana lives in her paradise-like garden in a crystal cavern under a lake, plotting to eventually destroy the entire world. There, she abducts her favourites until she is thwarted by Orlando who defeats, chases and captures Morgana, destroying her underwater prison and letting her keep only one of her forced lovers, a knight named Ziliante. In
Ludovico Ariosto's continuation of this tale, ''
Orlando Furioso'' (1532), Morgana (also identified as Morgan Le Fay) is revealed as a twin sister of two other sorceresses, the good Logistilla and the evil Alcina; the latter appears after Orlando again defeats Morgana, rescuing Ziliante who has been turned into a dragon, and forces Morgana to swear by her lord
Demogorgon
Demogorgon is a deity or demon
associated with the underworld. Although often ascribed to Greek mythology, the name probably arises from an unknown copyist's misreading of a commentary by a fourth-century scholar, Lactantius Placidus. The conc ...
to abandon her plots. It also features the medieval motif where uses a magic horn to convince Arthur of the infidelity of his queen (Geneura), here successfully.
Bernardo Tasso
Bernardo Tasso (11 November 14935 September 1569), born in the Republic of Venice, was an Italian courtier and poet.
Biography
He was, for many years, secretary in the service of the prince of Salerno, and his wife Porzia de Rossi was closely c ...
's ''L'Amadigi'' (1560) further introduces Morgana's three daughters: Carvilia, Morganetta, and Nivetta, themselves temptresses of knights.
Morgan's other 16th-century appearances include these of Morgue la fée in
François Rabelais' French satirical fantasy novel ''
Les grandes chroniques du grand et énorme géant Gargantua et il publie Pantagruel'' (1532) and of the good Morgana in Erasmo di Valvasone's Italian didactic poem ''La caccia'' (1591). In
Edmund Spenser's English epic poem ''
The Faerie Queene
''The Faerie Queene'' is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. Books IIII were first published in 1590, then republished in 1596 together with books IVVI. ''The Faerie Queene'' is notable for its form: at over 36,000 lines and over 4,000 sta ...
'' (1590), Argante (Layamon's name for Morgan) is lustful giantess queen of the "secret Ile", evoking the Post-Vulgate story of Morgan's kidnapping of Sir Alexander. It also features three other counterpart characters: Acrasia, Duessa, and Malecasta, all representing different themes from Malory's description of Morgan. Morgan might have also inspired the characters of the healer Loosepaine and the fay Oriande in the Scots language, Scots poem ''Greysteil''
(possibly originally written in 15th-century England).
Modern culture
The character Morgan le Fay has become ubiquitous in Arthurian works of the modern era, spanning fantasy, historical fiction and other genres across various mediums, especially since the mid-20th century.
["Thoroughly Modern Morgan: Morgan le Fey in Twentieth-Century Popular Arthuriana". Sklar, Elizabeth S., in ''Popular Arthurian Traditions'' pp. 24–32. .]
See also
* King Arthur's family
* Medieval female sexuality
Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Morgan le Fayat The Camelot Project
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan Le Fay
Arthurian characters
Fairy royalty
Female characters in literature
Female literary villains
Fictional astronomers
Fictional characters introduced in the 12th century
Fictional characters who use magic
Fictional characters with immortality
Fictional Christian nuns
Fictional giants
Fictional goddesses
Fictional kidnappers
Fictional mathematicians
Fictional prophets
Fictional shapeshifters
Fictional Welsh people
Fictional witches
King Arthur's family
Literary archetypes by name
Matter of France
Merlin
Mythological princesses
Mythological queens
People whose existence is disputed
Supernatural legends
Witchcraft in folklore and mythology