Brocéliande
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Brocéliande, earlier known as Brécheliant and Brécilien, is a legendary
enchanted forest In folklore and fantasy, an enchanted forest is a forest under, or containing, enchantments. Such forests are described in the oldest folklore from regions where forests are common, and occur throughout the centuries to modern works of fantasy. ...
that had a reputation in the
medieval Europe In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
an imagination as a place of magic and mystery. Brocéliande is featured in several medieval texts, mostly related to the
Arthurian legend 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 ...
and the characters of
Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...
,
Morgan le Fay Morgan le Fay (, meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan , Morgain /e Morg e, Morgant Morge , and Morgue namong other names and spellings ( cy, Morgên y Dylwythen Deg, kw, Morgen an Spyrys), is a powerful ...
, 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 ...
, and some of the
Knights of the Round Table 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 ...
. It first appeared in literature in the ''
Roman de Rou ''Roman de Rou'' is a verse chronicle by Wace in Norman covering the history of the Dukes of Normandy from the time of Rollo of Normandy to the battle of Tinchebray in 1106. It is a national epic of Normandy. Following the success of his ''Ro ...
'' chronicle by
Wace Wace ( 1110 – after 1174), sometimes referred to as Robert Wace, was a Medieval Norman poet, who was born in Jersey and brought up in mainland Normandy (he tells us in the ''Roman de Rou'' that he was taken as a child to Caen), ending his car ...
in 1160 and today is most commonly identified as
Paimpont forest Paimpont Forest (french: Forêt de Paimpont, br, Koad Pempont), also known as Brocéliande Forest (french: Forêt de Brocéliande), is a temperate forest located around the village of Paimpont in the department of Ille-et-Vilaine in Brittany, ...
in
Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
, France. Brocéliande is a place of legend due to its uncertain location, unusual weather, and its ties with Arthurian mythology, most notably the tomb of the legendary figure of Merlin.Lupack, Alan. ''The Oxford guide to Arthurian Literature and Legend'', (New York, NY: Oxford University Press USA, 2007), page 437. According to these accounts, the forest sheltered Morgan's magical Vale of No Return, the
faery A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, o ...
fountain of Barenton, and the place of Merlin's retirement, imprisonment, or death.


Etymology

The etymology is uncertain. The oldest known form, ''Brecheliant'', could be based on the
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...
(hill), followed by a man's name. The later form of ''Brocéliande'' could be derived from (meaning country in
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 ...
, Cornish and
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 ...
), but it is necessary to wait for Chrétien de Troyes to find this variant. A popular etymology from
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 intelligib ...
derives the term ultimately from "" for "forest" and "" for "
heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...
".


Medieval historical accounts

First known mention of Brocéliande is found in ''
Roman de Rou ''Roman de Rou'' is a verse chronicle by Wace in Norman covering the history of the Dukes of Normandy from the time of Rollo of Normandy to the battle of Tinchebray in 1106. It is a national epic of Normandy. Following the success of his ''Ro ...
'', a c. 1160 chronicle
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 ...
poet
Wace Wace ( 1110 – after 1174), sometimes referred to as Robert Wace, was a Medieval Norman poet, who was born in Jersey and brought up in mainland Normandy (he tells us in the ''Roman de Rou'' that he was taken as a child to Caen), ending his car ...
, which covers the history of the
Dukes of Normandy In the Middle Ages, the duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in north-western France. The duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French king Charles III in 911. In 924 and again in 933, Normandy ...
from the time of
Rollo of Normandy Rollo ( nrf, Rou, ''Rolloun''; non, Hrólfr; french: Rollon; died between 928 and 933) was a Viking who became the first ruler of Normandy, today a region in northern France. He emerged as the outstanding warrior among the Norsemen who had se ...
to the
battle of Tinchebray The Battle of Tinchebray (alternative spellings: Tinchebrai or Tenchebrai) took place on 28 September 1106, in Tinchebray (today in the Orne ''département'' of France), Normandy, between an invading force led by King Henry I of England, and th ...
. Wace numbers the
Bretons The Bretons (; br, Bretoned or ''Vretoned,'' ) are a Celts, Celtic ethnic group native to Brittany. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Common Brittonic, Brittonic speakers who emigrated from Dumnonia, southwestern Great Britain, par ...
from Brocéliande (Brecheliant), about whom there are many legends ("''ceux de Brecheliant dont les Bretons disent maintes légendes...''"), along with the Breton knights. Wace gives the name of the fountain of Barenton ("''La fontaine de Berenton/sort d'une part lez le perron...''") and describes how hunters scoop water from it and wet a stone in order to summon rain; he also mentions rumors of fairies and magic. Wace travelled to
Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
in search of these wonders, but found nothing notable and left disappointed: "I saw the forest and the land and looked for marvels, but found none. I came back as a fool and went as a fool. I went as a fool and came back as a fool. I sought foolishness and considered myself a fool." Brocéliande is briefly mentioned in one historical text in Bertran de Born's 1183 poem dedicated to
Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany Geoffrey II ( br, Jafrez; , xno, Geoffroy; 23 September 1158 – 19 August 1186) was Duke of Brittany and 3rd Earl of Richmond between 1181 and 1186, through his marriage to Constance, Duchess of Brittany. Geoffrey was the fourth of five sons ...
– the duke to whom Brocéliande belonged. Its unusual weather alone is noted in a handful of texts:
Giraldus Cambrensis 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 ...
's c. 1185 expeditionary account, ''Topographia Hibernica'', Alexandre Neckham's c. 1195 work on nautical science, ''De naturis rerum'', and
William the Breton William the Breton (c. 1165c. 1225), French chronicler and poet, was a contemporary and dependent of French king Philip Augustus for whom he served in diplomatic missions and for whom he wrote a Latin prose chronicle and a Latin epic poem. Willia ...
's c. 1215 poem, ''Philippide''.


Arthurian legend

In the 1170s, Chrétien de Troyes mentions the forest of Brocéliande in his Arthurian romance, '' Le Chevalier au lion''. While in Brocéliande,
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 ...
pours water from a spring into a stone, causing a violent storm to erupt. This in turn summons the knight
Esclados Red Knight ( cy, Marchog Coch, kw, Marghek Rudh, br, Marc'heg Ruz) is a title borne by several characters in Arthurian legend. In legends Tales of Perceval The Red Knight prominently appears in the tales of the hero Perceval (Percival) as his ...
le Ros who defends the forest. In the late 12th or early 13th century,
Robert de Boron Robert de Boron (also spelled in the manuscripts "Roberz", "Borron", "Bouron", "Beron") was a French poet of the late 12th and early 13th centuries, notable as the reputed author of the poems and ''Merlin''. Although little is known of him apart f ...
first associates the figure of
Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...
with Brocéliande in his poem ''
Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...
''. It is also featured in several episodes of the prose adaptations and continuations of the poem, 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 ...
(Lancelot-Grail), notably in the stories of
Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...
and Viviane. Later,
Morgan le Fay Morgan le Fay (, meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan , Morgain /e Morg e, Morgant Morge , and Morgue namong other names and spellings ( cy, Morgên y Dylwythen Deg, kw, Morgen an Spyrys), is a powerful ...
traps many unfaithful knights in her Vale of No Return within Brocéliande until they are freed by
Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...
. In ''
Jaufré ''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 ...
'', the Arthurian romance of unknown authorship composed in
Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
, the forest of Brocéliande is near
King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...
's palace and the site of a mill where Arthur battles a strange bull-like animal, really a shapeshifting mage knight. The dating of ''Jaufré'' is debated and may have been written as early as 1183 or as late as 1225–1228. Later, Brocéliande also appears in context of Arthurian knights in
Huon de Méry Huon de Méry ('' fl.'' 1200–1250) was the author of (modern , "The Tournament of the Antichrist"), a 3,546-line Old French poem written in octosyllables.William W. Kibler, ''Medieval France: An Encyclopedia'' (Garland, 1995), p. 467. Life Huo ...
's
allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...
poem ''Tournoiement Antecrist'' as well as in other texts such as ''Claris et Laris'', where it is the site of Morgan's fairy castle, and ''Brun de la Montagne.''


Localisations

Early source works provide unclear or conflicting information on the exact location of Brocéliande; different hypotheses exist to place Brocéliande on the map. According to Wace, Brocéliande is in Brittany. Since the 15th century (Jean Cabaret d'Orville), Brocéliande has been linked by some to the forest of Lorge near
Quintin Quintin (; br, Kintin) is a commune in the Cotes-d'Armor department (Brittany region) in the northwest of France from Saint-Brieuc, the department capital. History The area around Quintin has been occupied since the Neolithic. Early Quintin ...
in Brittany. Since around 1400 (''
Ponthus et Sidoine ''Pontus and Sidonia'' (French: ''Ponthus et la belle Sidonie'' or just ''Ponthus et Sidoine'') is a medieval prose romance, originally composed in French in ca. 1400, possibly by Geoffroy IV de la Tour Landry (d. 1391) or by another member of ...
'', where the forest is named Berthelien) and commonly in modern times, Brocéliande is considered to be
Paimpont forest Paimpont Forest (french: Forêt de Paimpont, br, Koad Pempont), also known as Brocéliande Forest (french: Forêt de Brocéliande), is a temperate forest located around the village of Paimpont in the department of Ille-et-Vilaine in Brittany, ...
in Brittany. Some scholars think that Brocéliande is a mythological place and has never existed.
Jean Markale Jean Markale (May 23, 1928 in Paris – November 23, 2008) was the pen name of Jean Bertrand, a French writer, poet, radio show host, lecturer and high school French teacher who lived in Brittany. As a former specialist in Celtic studies at the So ...
notes that while the forest itself is legendary, it is part of the "remainder of the immense forest that covered the entire center of Brittany until the
High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...
." He goes on to point out that the notion of a magical forest in France has its roots in the writings of
Lucan Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November 39 AD – 30 April 65 AD), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba (modern-day Córdoba), in Hispania Baetica. He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial ...
who describes a numinous, magical forest full of ominous happenings in
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 ...
.Markale, Jean ''Merlin: Priest of Nature'', (Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions International, 1995), pages 120-121.


Modern fiction


Arthurian

Brocéliande has continued to appear throughout the modern Arthuriana, in works such as the 19th-century poem ''
Idylls of the King ''Idylls of the King'', published between 1859 and 1885, is a Literature cycle, cycle of twelve narrative poems by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892; Poet Laureate from 1850) which retells the legend of King Arthur, his knig ...
'' by
Alfred, Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...
, and in later works such as
Edwin Arlington Robinson Edwin Arlington Robinson (December 22, 1869 – April 6, 1935) was an American poet and playwright. Robinson won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry on three occasions and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature four times. Early life Robins ...
's 1917 poem ''Merlin'' and
Alan Seeger Alan Seeger (22 June 1888 – 4 July 1916) was an American war poet who fought and died in World War I during the Battle of the Somme, serving in the French Foreign Legion. Seeger was the brother of Charles Seeger, a noted American pacifist ...
's 1916 poem ''Brocéliande''. *
Jean Lorrain Jean Lorrain (9 August 1855 in Fécamp, Seine-Maritime – 30 June 1906), born Paul Alexandre Martin Duval, was a French poet and novelist of the Symbolist school. Lorrain was a dedicated disciple of dandyism and spent much of his time amongs ...
wrote the play ''Brocéliande'' (1898), about Myrddhin (Merlin) and Viviane (Nimue/Elaine); as in many of the earlier Arthurian works, Brocéliande is the location where Viviane entraps Merlin inside an oak tree. * In
Bernard Cornwell Bernard Cornwell (born 23 February 1944) is an English-American author of historical novels and a history of the Waterloo Campaign. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe. He has also written ''The Saxon ...
's Arthurian trilogy ''
The Warlord Chronicles ''The Warlord Chronicles'' or ''The Warlord Trilogy'' is a series of three novels about Arthurian Sub-Roman Britain, Britain written by Bernard Cornwell. The story is written as a mixture of historical fiction and Arthurian legend. The books were ...
'', Broceliande is one of two British (Celtic) kingdoms that form modern-day Brittany, the other being
Armorica Armorica or Aremorica (Gaulish: ; br, Arvorig, ) is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic Coast ...
. * Brocéliande serves as the location of
Robert Holdstock Robert Paul Holdstock (2 August 1948 – 29 November 2009) was an English novelist and author best known for his works of Celts, Celtic, Nordic countries, Nordic, Goths, Gothic and Picts, Pictish fantasy literature, predominantly in the fanta ...
's fantasy novel '' Merlin's Wood''. * The television series ''
Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in the ...
'' features Brocéliande in the season 5 episode "
Siege Perilous In Arthurian legend, the Siege Perilous ( cy, Gwarchae Peryglus, also known as The Perilous Seat, cy, Sedd Peryglus) is a vacant seat at the Round Table reserved by Merlin for the knight who would one day be successful in the quest for the Holy ...
" as the location of a magical toadstool needed for a potion to free the sorcerer Merlin from his imprisonment in a tree.


Other

* Brocéliande is mentioned repeatedly in
Andre Norton Andre Alice Norton (born Alice Mary Norton, February 17, 1912 – March 17, 2005) was an American writer of science fiction and fantasy, who also wrote works of historical and contemporary fiction. She wrote primarily under the pen name ...
's ''Here Abide Monsters'' using the formula 'Avalon, Tara, Brocéliande, Carnac'. * The name was an inspiration for
J.R.R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...
's fictional realm of
Beleriand In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his work ''The Silmarillion'', which tells the story of the early ages of Middle ...
in
Middle-earth Middle-earth is the fictional setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the ''Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf''. Middle-earth is t ...
. The name ''Broseliand'' was used in the early sketches of ''
The Silmarillion ''The Silmarillion'' () is a collection of myths and stories in varying styles by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, assisted by the fantasy author Guy Gavriel ...
'' (1926 to 1930). It is also the setting of Tolkien's poem ''The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun''.Tolkien, JRR. ''as his horse bore him o'er the land to the green boughs of Broceliande'' (Welsh Review, 1945). * Several short stories in Sylvia Townsend Warner's collection ''
Kingdoms of Elfin ''Kingdoms of Elfin'' is a short story collection by English writer Sylvia Townsend Warner, published by the Viking Press in 1977, a year before her death. Many of the stories appeared originally in ''The New Yorker'' during the 1970s. The stori ...
'' (many of which appeared in ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' in the 1970s) are set in Brocéliande or mention it, among several other enchanted forests where Townsend's Elfin folk live. * It appears in the 2010 film ''
Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...
'' as the place where Robert Loxley is ambushed by the French. * In
Michael Swanwick Michael Swanwick (born 18 November 1950) is an American fantasy and science fiction author who began publishing in the early 1980s. Writing career Swanwick's fiction writing began with short stories, starting in 1980 when he published "Ginungagap ...
's ''
The Dragons of Babel ''The Dragons of Babel'' is a 2008 science fantasy novel by American author Michael Swanwick, set in the same world as his earlier work ''The Iron Dragon's Daughter'' (1993). It follows the plight of a young man named Will Le Fey after a crippl ...
'', Broceliande is a train station where a bomb was dropped in a war between two kingdoms. * Vanni Santoni's novel ''Terra Ignota - il Risveglio'' features a magic forest named Brocéliande. *
Sarah Singleton Sarah Singleton is a British journalist and author of adult and young adult fiction. She received the Booktrust Teenage Prize for her novel ''Century'' in 2005. Biography Singleton was born in Thornbury in 1966, and was educated at the Univers ...
's book ''The Poison Garden'' features a magic garden called Broceliande. *
Cassandra Clare Judith Lewis (née Rumelt; born July 27, 1973), better known by her pen name Cassandra Clare, is an American author of young adult fiction, best known for her bestselling series The Mortal Instruments (series), ''The Mortal Instruments''.'' Per ...
's series ''
The Mortal Instruments ''The Mortal Instruments'' is a series of six young adult fantasy novels written by American author Cassandra Clare, the last of which was published on May 27, 2014. ''The Mortal Instruments'' is chronologically the third series of a planned fi ...
'' features a forest named Brocelind in the fictional Shadowhunter nation of Idris. * Broceliande is the name of a forest in
Joan Aiken Joan Delano Aiken (4 September 1924 – 4 January 2004) was an English writer specialising in supernatural fiction and children's alternative history novels. In 1999 she was awarded an MBE for her services to children's literature. For ''The ...
's young adult novel ''
The Stolen Lake ''The Stolen Lake'' is a children's novel by Joan Aiken Joan Delano Aiken (4 September 1924 – 4 January 2004) was an English writer specialising in supernatural fiction and children's alternative history novels. In 1999 she was awarded ...
'', which, despite taking place in a fictionalized version of South America, has a strong Arthurian theme. * ''
The Witcher ''The Witcher'' ( pl, Wiedźmin ) is a series of six fantasy novels and 15 short stories written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The series revolves around the eponymous "witcher", Geralt of Rivia. In Sapkowski's works, "witchers" are be ...
'' novel series by
Andrzej Sapkowski Andrzej Sapkowski (; born 21 June 1948) is a Polish fantasy writer, essayist, translator and a trained economist. He is best known for his six-volume series of books '' The Witcher'', which revolves around the eponymous "witcher," a monster-hun ...
features an ancient forest inhabited by magical beings known as Brokilon to humans and Brokiloén in the Elven language. * It is also referenced in ''
Destiny 2 ''Destiny 2'' is a free-to-play Online game, online-only multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie. It was originally released as a pay to play game in 2017 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows. It became free-to-play, ...
s DLC Black Armory. Niobe's Torment puzzle defeated the entire community of ''Destiny ''gamers for nearly 24 hours using this word. * A forest called the Brecilian Forest is inhabited by elves and filled with magical ruins in the video game '' Dragon Age: Origins''. * In
C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...
's ''
That Hideous Strength ''That Hideous Strength: A Modern Fairy-Tale for Grown-Ups'' is a 1945 novel by C. S. Lewis, the final book in Lewis's theological science fiction Space Trilogy. The events of this novel follow those of ''Out of the Silent Planet'' and '' Perel ...
'', the tomb of Merlin is located in the fictitious Bragdon Forest. * The forest is tied to the elves in Judith Tarr's historical fantasy The Hound and the Falcon and Alamut series. * Brocéliande is invoked in the short story "Main Street: 1953" in
Joanna Russ Joanna Russ (February 22, 1937 – April 29, 2011) was an American writer, academic and feminist. She is the author of a number of works of science fiction, fantasy and feminist literary criticism such as ''How to Suppress Women's Writing'', as w ...
' ''
The Hidden Side of the Moon ''The Hidden Side of the Moon'' is a feminist science fiction collection of short stories by Joanna Russ, first published in 1987 by St. Martin's Press. The collection covers stories published from 1959 ("Nor Custom Stale," Russ' first publishe ...
''. * The name was an inspiration for the fictional city of Brecilien in the Sandbox MMORPG Albion Online, a magical city located in the Mists.


See also

*
Locations associated with Arthurian legend The following is a list and assessment of sites and places associated with King Arthur and the Arthurian legend in general. Given the lack of concrete historical knowledge about one of the most potent figures in British mythology, it is unlikely ...


Notes and references


Sources

* Eckhardt, Caroline D. (May 2009). "Reading Jaufré: Comedy and Interpretation in a Medieval Cliff-Hanger". '' The Comparatist'' 33: 40–62. * *


External links


Broceliande , The Camelot ProjectEncyclopédie de Brocéliande
{{DEFAULTSORT:Broceliande Fictional elements introduced in the 12th century Locations associated with Arthurian legend Mythological forests