Gwendolen () is a feminine

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

, in general use only since the 19th century. It has come to be the standard English form of

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

'' Guendoloena'', which was first used by

Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth (; ; ) was a Catholic cleric from Monmouth, Wales, and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur. He is best known for his chronicle '' The History of ...

as the name of a legendary British queen in his ''

History of the Kings of Britain (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a fictitious account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the kings of the Britons ove ...

'' (). He reused the name in his '' Life of Merlin'' (c. 1150) for a different character, the wife of the titular magician " Merlinus", a counsellor to

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

; the metre shows that Geoffrey pronounced it as a pentasyllable, ''Guĕndŏlŏēnă'', with the "gu" pronounced . Dr. Arthur Hutson suggests that "Guendoloena" arose from a misreading of the

old Welsh Old Welsh () is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic around 550, ha ...

masculine name '' Guendoleu''; Geoffrey may have mistaken the final ''U'' for an ''N'', then Latinized *''Guendolen'' as a feminine name to arrive at Guendoloena. In the ''Vita Merlini'', however, Geoffrey Latinizes the masculine name of

Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio (died c. 573) or Gwenddolau was a Brythonic king who ruled in Arfderydd (now Arthuret). This is in what is now south-west Scotland and north-west England in the area around Hadrian's Wall and Carlisle during the sub-Roman ...

as ''Guennolous''. Spelled ''

Gwendoloena Guinevere ( ; ; , ), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First mentioned in literature in the early 12th cen ...

'', the name reoccurs in the anonymous Latin romance ''

De Ortu Waluuanii ''De Ortu Waluuanii Nepotis Arturi'' () 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 nephew, Gawain. The romance gives the most det ...

'' belonging to Arthur's queen

Guinevere Guinevere ( ; ; , ), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First mentioned in literature in the early 12th cen ...

. It did not become a common English given name until the 19th century. ''

Gwendoline Gwendoline is a feminine given name, a variant of Gwendolen. Notable people called Gwendoline * Gwendoline Maud Syrie Barnardo (1879–1955), a British interior decorator * Gwendoline Butler (1922-2013), an English writer of mystery fiction *Gwen ...

'' was in use in England by the 1860s (an early example being Lady Gwendoline Anson, born c. 1837, a daughter of the 1st Earl of Lichfield),Sheard, K. M. (2011), , p. 262, . and ''

Gwendolen Gwendolen () is a feminine given name, in general use only since the 19th century. It has come to be the standard English form of Latin '' Guendoloena'', which was first used by Geoffrey of Monmouth as the name of a legendary British queen in hi ...

'' appeared in ''

Daniel Deronda ''Daniel Deronda'' is a novel by English author George Eliot, pen name of Mary Ann Evans, first published in eight parts (books) February to September 1876. It was the last novel she completed and the only one set in the Victorian society of ...

'', written by

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

and published in serialized form 1874–6.

Notable bearers

People

* Gwendolen Margaret Carter (1906–1991), Canadian scholar of African affairs * Gwendolen Mary "Gwen" John (1876–1939), Welsh painter * Gwendolen Fer (born 1986), French Equestrian rider *

Gwendolen Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk Gwendolen Mary Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk, 12th Lady Herries of Terregles (née Constable-Maxwell; 11 January 1877 – 28 August 1945) was the eldest child of Marmaduke Constable-Maxwell, 11th Lord Herries of Terregles and his wife, An ...

(1877–1945), British duchess *

Gwendolen Guinness, Countess of Iveagh Gwendolen Florence Mary Guinness, Countess of Iveagh (''née'' Onslow; 22 July 1881 – 16 February 1966) was an Anglo-Irish aristocrat and Conservative politician. She was, by marriage, a member of the Guinness brewing dynasty. Early life Sh ...

(1881–1966), Conservative politician in the United Kingdom * Gwendolen "Len" Howard (1894–1973), British naturalist and musician * Joyce Gwendolen Quin (born 1944), Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom * Gwendolen Mary "Gwen" Raverat (1885–1957), English wood engraver * F. Gwendolen Rees (1906–1994), British zoologist and parasitologist * Ella Gwendolen Rees Williams (1890–1979), novelist from Dominica * Guendalina Sastri (born 1953), Italian actress and singer *

Gwendoline Christie Gwendoline Christie (born 28 October 1978) is an English actress. She is known for portraying Brienne of Tarth in the HBO fantasy-drama series ''Game of Thrones'' (2012–2019), and the First Order (Star Wars), First Order Stormtrooper (Star War ...

(born 1978), English actress and model

Fictional characters

, mythical queen of the Britons *Guendoloena (Gwendolen),

Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...

's wife in the '' Life of Merlin'' *Guendolen, the fairy

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a female lover of a married man ** Royal mistress * Maîtresse-en-titre, official mistress of a ...

of King Arthur and mother of Gyneth in Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

's work ''

The Bridal of Triermain ''The Bridal of Triermain'' is a narrative poem in three cantos by Walter Scott, published anonymously in 1813. It is written in a flexible metre of four and three stress lines. Set in Cumberland, it recounts the exploits of a knight as he seeks ...

'' (1813) *Gwendolen,

loathly lady The loathly lady (, Motif D732 in Aarne–Thompson classification system, 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 ...

Reginald Heber Reginald Heber (21 April 1783 – 3 April 1826) was an English Anglicanism, Anglican bishop, a man of letters, and hymn-writer. After 16 years as a country parson, he served as Anglican Diocese of Calcutta, Bishop of Calcutta until his de ...

's ''Fragments of The Masque of Gwendolen'' (written 1816, published 1830) *

Gwendolen Harleth Gwendolen Harleth, later Gwendolen Grandcourt, is a central character in George Eliot's 1876 novel '' Daniel Deronda''. She acts as a foil to Mirah Lapidoth. Biography Gwendolen Harleth is beautiful and wilful, desired by many men, a fact which ...

, heroine in ''

'' (1876), the last novel

completed * Gwendolen Fairfax, a major character in

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

's comedy ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, a Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde, the last of his four drawing-room plays, following ''Lady Windermere's Fan'' (1892), ''A Woman of No Importance'' (1893) and ''An Ideal Husban ...

'' (1895) *Gwendolen, a tragic, snobbish novelist in

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

's 1896 short story '' The Figure in the Carpet'' *Gwendolen Vincent Lesley, Marigold's second cousin in L. M. Montgomery's novel '' Magic for Marigold'' *Gwendolen, the mistress of

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury fr ...

and Prince Henry II in

Jean Anouilh Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; ; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist and screenwriter whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ...

's play ''

Becket ''Becket or The Honour of God'' (), often shortened to ''Becket'', is a 1959 stage play written in French by Jean Anouilh. It is a depiction of the conflict between Thomas Becket and King Henry II of England leading to Becket's assassination in ...

'' (1959) *Gwendolen Chant, antagonist in

Diana Wynne Jones Diana Wynne Jones (16 August 1934 – 26 March 2011) was a British novelist, poet, academic, literary critic, and short story writer. She principally wrote fantasy and speculative fiction novels for children and young adults. Although usually d ...

' fantasy novel '' Charmed Life'' (1977) * Gwendolyn Tennyson, supporting protagonist in the

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

animated show, ''

Ben 10 ''Ben 10'' is an American media franchise conceived by Man of Action and owned by The Cartoon Network, Inc. The franchise, mainly consisting of animated series produced by Cartoon Network Studios, revolves around a young boy named Ben Tennys ...

'' *Gwendolen, a dragon in

The Last Dragon Chronicles ''The Last Dragon Chronicles'' is a series of seven children's fantasy novels written by Chris d'Lacey. The books follow a college student, David Rain, as he discovers the existence of living clay dragons in the house he lodges at. This ser ...

*Gwendolin, a hero character from ''Bloons TD 6'' * Gwendolyne "Gwen" Stacy,

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

character, the first romantic interest of

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

Other

* SS ''Gwendolen'', a British steamship launched in 1899 and named for Lady Gwendolen Cecil, daughter of

Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903), known as Lord Salisbury, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United ...

* 10870 Gwendolen, a main-belt asteroid named for the discoverer's mother, educator Mary Gwendolen Ellery Read Aikman (1903–1994) *''

'', a 1989 novel by

Buchi Emecheta Buchi Emecheta (born Florence Onyebuchi Emecheta; 21 July 1944 – 25 January 2017) was a Nigerian writer who was the author of novels, plays, autobiography, and children's books. She first received notable critical attention for her 1974 novel ...

References

Footnotes Citations {{given name Welsh feminine given names English feminine given names Feminine given names

Notable bearers

People

Fictional characters

Other

See also

References