Was Guinevere really an adulteress?
This tradition is to be found entirely in
the Legends. The story of Arthur's queen, whom
Geoffrey
of Monmouth calls Ganhumara, goes
back a long way. The Triads refer to Arthur's three
queens, all named Gwenhwyfar, the Welsh spelling. Welsh tradition also has the story of
Gwenhwyfar's abduction by Melwas.
Two versions of the end of this episode exist: The first has
Arthur riding to her rescue and killing Melwas; the second
has Gildas,
a 6th-century monk who wrote in Arthur's time and who
mentioned Badon
Hill but did not mention Arthur,
as the mediator in the dispute. The legends, of course, would change this
rescuer to Lancelot
and would incorporate this story into the Love Triangle
aspect of the relationship between Arthur's best knight and
his queen. But Lancelot is entirely the creation of
Chretien
de Troyes and is as such no part
of historical investigation. As for Mordred,
whom Geoffrey calls Modred and whom scholars think was also
called Medraut, the tale of his seizing the throne with the
help of the queen is to be found in Geoffrey. Later writers
would hold Guinevere blameless in this, but Geoffrey says
she broke her marriage vows to Arthur and settled in as
Modred's queen. When Arthur returned to fight his nephew,
Guinevere fled to a nunnery (Geoffrey doesn't say which) and
lived out her days there in penitance. See also We can point to one man to give us the
Lancelot-Guinevere adultery story: Chretien
de Troyes. He it was who invented Lancelot
and added him to Arthur's court as a Knight of the
Round
Table. He it was who said the
queen so loved Arthur's First Knight that she gave herself
to him willingly. He it was who said the two were so ashamed
and yet not shameful. Other writers would build on this theme.
Sir Thomas Malory
put forward the idea that Arthur's continuing to turn a
blind eye (or not knowing at all) would serve as a measure
of mistrust of his authority by his knights; they also would
doubt his ability to rule if he couldn't see or admit such
an obvious thing. Malory would add the story of how Arthur
found his queen guilty of treason and sentenced her to death
by being burned at the stake and how Lancelot rescued her
and carried her off. Arthur and Lancelot fought, of course,
and Malory follows Geoffrey
in placing Guinevere
in a nunnery. Tennyson finds the adultery to be the
cause of all that is wrong with Arthur's court. Because of
his sin, Lancelot cannot behold the full glory of the
Holy
Grail. Because of the sin's being
known, Balin and Pelleas go mad. Modern writers would treat the adultery
as a matter of course and even suggest that it was
inevitable becaue Guinevere didn't really love
Arthur. See also
Was
Arthur a king or just a battle commander? Was
Guinevere really an adulteress? Was
Morgan Le Fay really a witch? Was
Morgause to blame for all of Arthur's
troubles?
Explorations in Arthurian History and Legends
Main
Page
Other
