Explorations in Arthurian Legends
The People
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- Accolon: Gaulish knight who was given Excalibur by Morgan Le Fay, who hoped he would use it to kill Arthur. The Lady of the Lake intervened to help Arthur get back Excalibur, which he used to kill to Accolon. Click here
and here
for more or read Cawein's Accolon
of
Gaul.
- Agravaine:
son of Lot and Morgause, married Laurel. In Malory and
others since, he is the Round Table Knight who arranged
for Lancelot and Guinevere to be caught together in sin.
In the ensuing confusion, he was killed by Lancelot.
Click here
for more.
- Alan:
Percival's father in the Didot Perceval, he is
also thought to be a son of King Pellinore.
- Anfortas:
the Grail King/Fisher King according to Wolfram. Click
here
and here
for more.
- Anguish:
King of Ireland and father of Isolde, according to
Malory. Click here
and here
for more.
- Bagdemagus:
Round Table Knight who was a cousin of Arthur and the
father of Malegraunce, who kidnapped Guinevere. He was
killed by Gawain. Click here
and here
for more.
- Balin
and Balan: knights who met an untimely death at each
other's hand. Click here
and here
and here
for more.
- Ban: King of
Benwick and father of Lancelot, he was an ally of Arthur
at the early battle of Bedegraine. Click here
for more.
- Banin: Ban's
godson and a Round Table Knight.
- Baudwin:
served as constable of the realm and was a governor of
Britain when Arthur fought against the Romans on the
continent. He survived the Battle of Camlann and became a
hermit. Click here
for more.
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- Bedivere:
according to Geoffrey the Duke of Normandy and Arthur's
right-hand man. He is portrayed as such in Culhwch and
Olwen, although there his name is Bedwyr. He is also
reputed to be the one who cast Excalibur
into the pool after Arthur's wounding. Click
here
and here
and here
for more.
- Bertilak:
the real name of the Green Knight, who arranges for the
temptation and redemption of Gawain. Click
here
and here
for more.
- Blaise:
wrote the story of Arthur's battles. Merlin's mother
stayed with him when she was pregnant. click
here
for more.
- Blamore:
Round Table Knight who, with his brother Bleoboris,
supported Lancelot in the quarrel with Arthur. Click
here
for more.
- Blanchefleur:
mistress of Perceval in Chretien de Troyes. Click
here
and here
for more.
- Bleoboris:
Round Table Knight who, with his brother Blamore,
supported Lancelot in the quarrel with Arthur. Click
here
for more.
- Bors: knight
who saw the Holy Grail but returned to Arthur's court to
share the news. He later died on crusade. Click
here
and here
for more.
- Caxton,
William: first English printer (at Westminster) and
publisher of Malory's
works, beginning in 1485. He was the source of the
first-ever book published in English: Raoul Le Fevre's
Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye (1474), and the
first-ever illustrated book published in English: The
Myrrour of the worlde (1481). He also published
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (1478). He
published
books on conduct, morality, history, and philosophy and
even an encyclopedia. He translated 24 books and, in all,
published 100 items. Click here
for more and here
to read technical information about Caxton's
printing.
- Clamadeus:
according to Chretien de Troyes, king who laid siege to
Blanchefleur's castle and who was killed by Perceval in
single combat. Click here
and here
for more.
- Claudas:
king of the Desert Land who opposed King Bors and
imprisoned Guinevere. Click here
and here
for more.
- Cliges: son
of Alexander Soredamurs who himself falls in love with
Fenice, who is married to Cliges's uncle, the emperor of
Constantinople. Unlike Isolde, Fenice won't be party to a
love triangle. Still, all ends happily. Click
here
for more on Chretien in general and here
to read Chretien's romance.
- Colgrevance:
Round Table knight who is on the plotting to catch
Lancelot and Guinevere in the act of adultery and who is
killed by Lancelot as he is escaping the trap. Click
here
and here
for more.
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- Dagonet:
fool at Arthur's court. Arthur eventually makes him a
knight. In Tennyson, he is portrayed, especially in the
tale of Tristan, as the only member of the court who has
faith left in Arthur. Click here
for more and here
and here
to read poems all about Dagonet.
- Dinadan:
Round Table knight who didn't believe in fighting just
for fighting's sake. He was killed my Mordred and
Agravaine. Click here
and here
for more.
- Dinas: Round
Table knight and Mark's seneschal, he went with Lancelot
and Guinevere to France and became the Duke of Anjou.
Click here
for more.
- Dindrane:
sister of Parzival, she went on the Grail Quest and died
giving blood to cure the leprous chatelaine. Curiously,
she was also known as Blanchfleur, who Chretien says was
Perceval's mistress. Click here
and here
for more.
- Dodinel:
Round Table knight called "the Savage" because he hunted
game in wild forests. Click here
for more.
- Ector:
foster father of Arthur and father of Kay. Tennyson calls
him Anton. Click here
for more and here
to read an excerpt from The Once and Future
King.
- Ector
de Maris: brother of Lancelot who succeeded their
father as King of Benwick.
- Elaine: the
name of two famous women. The first is the wife of Ban,
King of Benwick, and the mother of Lancelot. The second
is the Lady of Astolat, who loves Lancelot but dies with
grief that she can't have him. Even though she has kept
his shield and given him her favor to wear on his armor,
he loves her not. Her barge arrives at Camelot. Click
here
and here
and here
for more.
- Elizabeth:
sister of Mark, King of Cornwall, and wife of Meliodas,
father of Tristan.
- Enid: the
objects of Erec's affections according to Chretien
(though he spells her name Enide) and Geraint's
affections according to Malory and Tennyson. Click
here
and here
for more, here
to read Chretien's Erec, and here
and here
to read Tennyson's Geraint-Enid idylls.
- Erec: knight
who overcomes many trials and his own suspicions to win
the hand of his love, the beautiful Enide. His tale was
Chretien's first Arthurian tale, and it contains many
descriptions of the knights and the goings-on at Camelot.
Click here
and here
for more and here
to read Chretien's Erec.
- Ettard:
damsel whom Pelleas fell in love with. Nimue made her
love him by magic, then transferred his love to Nimue.
Click here
for more. Tennyson calls her Ettare. She is the symbol of
wickedness, pride, and greed; as such, she is the
downfall of Pelleas.
- Evelake:
King of Sarras, fought with Joseph of Arimathea, who
baptized him and renamed him Mordrain. As this character,
he lived with unhealed wounds, waiting for the Grail
Knight to come. Click here
for more. He is also known as Afallach.
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- Fenice:
wife of the emperor of Constantinople and lover of
Cliges, according to Chretien. Unlike Isolde, she would
not be part of a love triangle. Click here
for more on Chretien in general and here
to read Chretien's romance.
- Fisher
King: the king who waits at the Grail Castle for a
knight to ask the necessary question: "What ails thee?"
In the Vulgate Cycle, he is called Pelles; Robert de
Boron calls him Bron; Wolfram calls him Anfortas. Click
here
and here
and here
for more.
- Florence:
son of Gawain who was killed by Lancelot when the latter
was escaping Camelot after being nearly caught in the act
of adultery with Guinevere.
- Gaheris:
Round Table knight and son of Lot and Morgause who saw
her in bed with Lamorak and killed her. He was banished
from Camelot because of this, later killed Lamorak, and
was himself killed by Lancelot when the latter rescued
Guinevere from certain death. Click here
and here
and here
for more.
- Galahad:
the purest of the knights. He was the son of Lancelot and
Elaine, a noble warrior in his own right, and he has
emerged as the hero of the Quest for the Holy
Grail, beginning with the
Prose Lancelot, part of the Vulgate cycle.
Subsequent stories added the element that only Galahad
could look into the Grail and behold the divine mysteries
that cannot be put into words. He was also the only
knight who could sit in the Siege
Perilous. Click
here
and here
for more.
- Galehaut:
"high prince" and ruler of the District Isles, he invaded
Britain but become friends with Lancelot. He was made a
Round Table knight but later died from grief when he
thought Lancelot was dead. His cousin Galihadin was also
a Round Table knight. Click here
for more.
- Galihadin:
Round Table knight who was a cousin of Galehaut and who
joined Lancelot in France and became the Duke of
Sentage.
- Gareth:
knight of the Round Table who didn't start out that way.
Son of Lot and Morgause, he earns his way to the Round
Table and into the arms of Lynette with a series of
adventures, culminating in the defeat of four knights who
were holding Lynette's sister hostage. Click
here
and here
and here
for more and here
to read Tennyson's idyll Gareth and
Lynette.
- Gawain: son
of Morgause
and Lot
and nephew of Arthur, he was from the first portrayed as
a model of knightly perfection. With the integration of
the Holy
Grail theme came Gawain's
displacement by Lancelot
as champion in arms and Perceval
(and later Galahad)
as champion in spirit. Gawain is perhaps most famous for
the story of his adventures at the hands of the
Green
Knight. Click here
and here
and here
and especially here.
- Geraint:
prince of Devon and husband of Enid, according to
Tennyson. In two idylls, Geraint is portrayed as
suspicious of his wife's infidelity; he is boorish toward
her and makes her prove her fidelity. Click
here
and here
for more
- Gorlois:
husband of Igraine. Arthur is born of Gorlois's wife in a
tryst with Uther Pendragon. Click here
and here
and here
for more.
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- Guinevere:
queen of Arthur who fell in love with Lancelot and failed
to give the king an heir. Early Welsh literature names
her Gwenhwyfar, the "White Phantom" and the "first lady
of the island." Geoffrey of Monmouth names her Gunhamura,
a Roman lady. Some accounts, including for a time the
monks at Glastonbury, maintain that Guinevere was
Arthur's second wife. The idea of her being rescued dates
from 11th century literature, which tells of her
abduction by King Melwas and rescue by Arthur. With
Chretien de Troyes comes the listing of her rescuer as
Lancelot, who saved her from captivity at the hands of
Melegeant in Gorre. Later traditions have her as the
daughter of Leodegrance, who gave as part of her dowry
the Round Table. Her first meeting with Lancelot is also
in dispute: Some sources say he escorted her to her
wedding to Arthur; other sources say they met when
Lancelot came to court. Whatever the case, they are
always portrayed as lovers in the end. Later tales have
her retiring to a nunnery or being abducted by Mordred.
Click here
and here
and here
and here
for more.
- Gwenhwyfar:
older name of Guinevere meaning the White Phantom.
For more, click here
and especially here
The Welsh
Triads tell us that there were
three Gwenhwyfars. Marion Zimmer Bradley resorts to this
name for Arthur's queen, who is the symbol of
Christianity, the new religion that clashes with the
pagan ways of old.
- Igraine:
Wife of Gorlois and then Uther Pendragon and mother to
Arthur. Some stories have her also as mother to either
Morgause, Morgan, or both. In The Mists of Avalon,
she is the sister of Viviane, the Lady of the Lake. Click
here
and here
and here
and here
for more.
- Ironside:
name of the Red Knight of the Redlands. He was a Round
Table knight and later defeated by Gareth. Click
here
for more.
- Iseult:
Tristan's lover and Mark's wife, she was also called
Isolde.
- Isolde:
famous lover of Tristan and wife of King Mark. Click
here
and here
and especially here
for more.
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- Joseph of
Arimathea: buried Jesus, of whom he was a secret
disciple, in his own tomb. We see him first in Robert de
Boron's "Joseph d'Arimathie," which tells of his being
entrusted with the Holy
Grail, which he brings to
England. The village of Glastonbury
is the reputed home of Joseph's first church. Click
here
and here
and here
for more.
- Julius
Caesar: in the Vulgate Cycle called emperor. Merlin
disguised as a stag visits the court of Caesar, who tells
him that he has had a disturbing dream. Merlin and
Grisandole capture the Wild Man of the Woods, who tells
Caesar that his dream means that his wife will be an
adulteress. Click here
and here
and especially here
for more.
- Kahedrin:
son of Hoel of Brittany and brother of Isolde of the
White Hands, whom Tristan later married. Kahedrin loved
Isolde of Ireland, Tristan's lover, and died of love for
her. Click here
for more.
- Kay: In Welsh
traditions, he is thought to be the first to join
Arthur's cause. In Malory and elsewhere, he is Arthur's
foster brother. Click here
and here
for more.
- Lady
of the Lake: the mysterious woman who gave Arthur
Excalibur. Stories about her diverge at this point.
Marion Zimmer Bradley tells us that her name was Viviane
and that she raised Lancelot and was the high priestess
of a much older religion. She is also named as the healer
of Arthur at Avalon. Click here
and especially here.
- Lamorak:
Pellinore's son and Perceval's brother, he was a Round
Table knight who was found in bed with Morgause and later
killed for it. Click here
and here
for more.
- Lavaine:
son of Bernard and brother of Elaine, both of Astolat,
Lavaine was a follower of Lancelot. Click
here
for more and here
to read Tennyson's idyll Lancelot and Elaine and
here
to read a poem in which Lavaine is a main
character.
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- Lancelot:
The bringer of romance to the Arthurian legends. Before
his advent, Arthurian tales were songs
of war. Most traditions have
Lancelot as the son of King Ban of Benwick. Lancelot is
cared for by the Lady of the Lake, who teaches him how to
fight. Whether he meets Guinevere because he is her
escort back to Camelot to wed Arthur or because he
arrives at court when she is already queen and catches
her fancy with his knightly abilities is an open
question. He is at once the best and the worst of
Arthur's Knights of the Round Table: As the king's
champion, he bests all challengers and wins many a battle
for his king; as the king's cuckolder, he wins the
queen's love and creates an irreparable rip in the fabric
of the High King and his shiny Camelot. Click
here
and here
and especially here
for more.
- Leodegrance:
king of Cameliard and father of Guinevere. He is also
said to have given the Round Table to Arthur as a wedding
gift. In Tennyson, it is to his aid that Arthur rushes at
the beginning of his reign. Click here
for more.
- Lohengrin:
son of Perceval in Wolfram, he went in a boat drawn by an
angel disguised as a swan. He married Elsa and told her
not to ask his name; several years later when she did, he
left. Click here
for more.
- Loholt: son
of Arthur and Round Table knight. Click here
for more.
- Lot: He is
given many names and many faces as well. Was he
King
of Lothian? Was he
King
of Orkney? Was he
King
of Gododdin? He is also
alternately a supporter and opposer of King
Arthur.
- Lucius:
Roman emperor whom Arthur defeats on the
Continent.
- Lynette:
high-born lady whose heart is eventually won by Gareth.
Click here
and here
for more and here
to read Tennyson's idyll Gareth and
Lynette.
- Mark:
legendary king of Cornwall. He is thought have been based
on the historical figure of Cunomorus of Cornwall. He is
inextricably woven into the tale of Tristan and Isolde.
Some legends confuse his story with Gorlois's. Click
here
and here
and here
for more.
- Melegraunce:
abductor of Guinevere, who was rescued by Lancelot. He is
named Melwas in the Welsh version, in which Gildas
mediates the queen's release. Click here
and here
for more.
- Meliodas:
king of Liones and father of Tristan. Click
here
and here for more.
- Merlin:
Robert de Boron's Merlin portrays Merlin as the
prophet of the Holy
Grail, a role he was to repeat
in the Vulgate cycle. This set of manuscripts fleshes out
the role of Merlin as advisor: He tells Uther to
establish a knightly fellowship (Round
Table, anyone?), and he
assures Uther that his true heir will be revealed as the
one who could draw the sword from the stone. Finally,
Merlin's infatuation with the Lady of the Lake (in most
cases Nimue) is introduced. Click here
and here
and here
for more.
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- Modred/Mordred:
Arthur's bastard son who, according to whom you read,
either killed Arthur himself or merely seized the kingdom
while Arthur was away. Some traditions have Mordred
marrying Guinevere in Arthur's absence. Most sources say
that Mordred's mother was Morgause, although some say it
was Morgan. Click here
and here
and here
and here
for more.
- Morgan:
Geoffrey of Monmouth (in the Vita Merlini)
introduces her as the ruler of Avalon and the healer of
Arthur after his great defeat at Camlann. Chretein de
Troyes's Erec tells us that she is Arthur's
sister. The Vulgate cycle features her as instigator of
trouble between Arthur and Guinevere. She is almost
always portrayed as having magical powers, which some
sources say she learned from Merlin. Indeed, the
Avalon
legends say it is Morgan who heals Arthur when he is
brought to the magical Isle. Click here
and here
and here
and here
for more.
- Morgause:
wife of Lot and mother of Gawain, Gareth, Gaheris, and
Agravaine. Some traditions have her as Arthur's sister or
half-sister; most say she is the mother of Mordred. Click
here
and especially here
for more.
- Nentres:
King of Garlot, he married Arthur's half-sister, Elaine.
He was one of the 11 rulers who rebelled against Arthur
when the latter was first crowned king.
- Nimue:
alternately the Lady
of the Lake and the sorceress
who learned Merlin's secrets and then imprisoned him.
Click here
and here
for more.
- Orguelleuse:
woman of standing who made a name for herself by stating
that deeds of daring were the only way truly to achieve
courtly love. She is featured in Chretien de Troyes and
Wolfram, the latter of whom says she caused the wounds of
Anfortas, the Fisher/Grail King.
- Owain: son
of Urien and Morgan; English version of Yvain
- Palamedes:
pagan knight who fell in love with Iseult of Ireland. He
fought Tristan for her and became a Christian when
Tristan knocked the sword out of his hand. He later
became Duke of Provence.
- Pellam:
King of Listinoise, he saw his brother killed by Balin
and attacked the latter, knocking his sword free, and
chased him around his castle. Balin found the Lance of
Longinus and used it to stab Pellam; this was the
Dolorous Stroke.
- Pelleas:
knight who fell in love with Ettard, who did not return
his favors. Nimue made Ettard fall in love with him while
at the same time made him fall in love with
Nimue.
- Pellinore:
father of Perceval and Lamorak. He killed Lot and was
killed by his son Gawain. In T.H. White, he is a comic
character who pursues the Questing Beast.
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- Parsival/Perceval:
knight
who found the Holy Grail. Versions differ on where he
found it (Was it the Grail Castle?) and where he had to
go to get it (Through the WasteLand?). Grail and
Round
Table knight whose childlike
innocence rendered him almost impervious to worldly
temptation. His great adventure, in Chretien de Troyes's
poem "Le Conte du Graal," is a visitation with the Fisher
King, who showed him (depending on tradition) either a
dish or the Holy
Grail. He proved unable to ask
the question that would heal the Fisher King and was sent
packing; consequently, he sought the Grail. In some
legends, he finds it; in others, he does not.
- Priamus:
Sracen knight who was descended from Joshua, the
Maccabees, Alexander the Great, and Hector of Troy. He
fought Gawain and then asked Gawain's help in converting
to Christianity. He healed them both with water from the
four waters of Paradise. He later became a Round Table
knight.
- Rivalin:
the father of Perceval in Gottfried, he married
Blanchefleur, the sister of Mark.
- Rummaret:
king who paid homage to Arthur in Iceland. Wace calls his
land Weneland; Layamon calls it Winetland.
- Sagremor:
Round Table knight whose father was the King of
Hungary.
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- Taliesin:
sixth-century
poet whose name has mingled
with that of Merlin through the mists of time. He figures
as a character in early Welsh tales of Arthur and returns
as the Merlin, a title, in Marion Zimmber Bradley. Click
here
for more.
- Tristan:
nephew of King Mark of Cornwall. Supposedly on a mission
to bring Isolde back to Cornwall for Mark to marry,
Tristan and Isolde drink a love potion themselves and
fall hopelessly in love. Tradition has Isolde marrying
Mark. Some legends have Tristan marrying another woman
named Isolde; others say the two lovers were banished by
the vengeful Mark; others say that Mark killed Tristan
and Isolde died of grief. Click here
and especially here
for more.
- Urien:
husband of Morgan and king of Gore. The Vulgate Cycle
says his wife was Brimesent.
- Uther
Pendragon: legendary father
of Arthur. He is said to have
impersonated Gorlois of Cornwall and impregnated
Gorlois's wife, Igraine, with the child that became
Arthur. Some traditions have him as brother of Ambrosius
and High King of Britain for a time. Geoffrey of Monmouth
says he is buried at the Giants' Dance. Click
here
and here
for more. Click here
to see Howard Pyle's illustration. Click here
for a discussion of Uther and the Seven Swords of
Waylund.
Uther's grip on Britain remains. Modern Cumbria has a
Pendragon
Castle.
- Viviane:
alternate name for the Lady
of the Lake.
- Vortigern:
the man
who started it all. It was he,
the ruler of Powys (according to the Pillar of Eliseg),
who invited the Saxons to England to fight against the
Picts. Mary Stewart returns to Vortigern's story in
telling of the youth of Merlin. Click especially
here
for more information on Vortigern.
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