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Arthurian Research
Camlann Bridge aka "Slaughter Bridge"
Guinevere
Saxons and King Cheldric
Lady Pendragon 2
Three swords cut from the Stone
Lady Pendragon 3
Why have you changed the Legend of Arthur and the Knights
of the Round Table around so much
Lady Pendragon: Dragonblade 2
Holy Grail
Lady of the Lake
Avalon
Camlann Bridge aka "Slaughter Bridge"
(In Welsh: Gwenhwyvar) One of the biggest problems Matt has encountered in researching
this material is the multiple stories, myths and supposed truths behind each character.
In "Le Morte D'Arthur" she was the wife of Arthur, daughter of King Leodegrance of
Cameliard. Welsh tradition calls her father Gogrvan or Ocvran, while in "Diu Crone" he is
called King Garlin of Galore. A late literary source, Thelwalls play "The Fairy of the Lake"
(1801), suggests that shes the daughter of Vortigern. Wace makes her Mordred's sister. In
Geoffrey of Monmouth's book, she is of Roman stock, and while Arthur was fighting the Roman
war, Mordred abducted her and made himself king. In the later version of the Arthurian
story she was the lover of Lancelot. According to "Perlesvaus", she died in Arthur's lifetime,
while Boece averred she ended her days as a prisoner of the Picts (those in present day Scotland).
She and Arthur had a son called Loholt, though he was also to be the son of Arthur and Lionors.
The "Alliterative Morte Arthure" says that she and Mordred were the parents of two sons.
B. Saklatvata has suggested she was really a Saxon named Winifred, and J. Markale has
opined that Kay and Gawain were originally amongst her lovers. Welsh tradition stated
that Arthur was married, not to one, but to three Guineveres. Some have argued that
Guinevere iis amythical figure, representing the sovereignty of Britain, over which contenders
fight; in this respect she is a parallel figure to Eriu, the Goddess of the sovereignty of Ireland.
C. Matthews's contends that this interpretation is supported by the legend of three Guineveres
married to Arthur, saying these are not three persons but a single triune goddess. This is
just a sample of the madness that is the "Arthurian legends".
When the Roman Empire fell in 455 AD, it left many of its provinces in chaos. The Saxons, the
Angles and the Jutes were three Germanic tribes who took advantage of this power vacuum and began
raiding along the coasts of England and Gaul (France). Cheldric the Ravager was a leader
of the Saxons during the Dark Ages and a real military figure--his involvement with Guinevere
is purley a matter of Matt's lining up of historical figures and dates, there is no basis for them
having ever met. A large part of the Arthurian legends center on Arthur fighting the Saxons
and preventing them from taking more land. Earlier stories have Vortigern (A High King preceding arthur)
allying himself with the Saxons and giving them land in Kent to help prevent other barbarians
from invading. A lot of the Celtic people saw this as letting wolves into the backyard to
help prevent other wolves from getting into the backyard. Ultimately it didn't matter
bbecausethe Saxons did eventually conquer most of England and it is from them (and the Angles)
that we now have the term Anglo-Saxon. They ruled over England completely until the Battle of hasting in
1066 when William the Conqueror and his Normans came in and kicked their ass.
When Matt first started doing his research He found that the Welsh had a sword of
power connected with Arthur called Caliburn and the Britons had the more widely known
blade Excalibur. Most belive that this is two different names for the same sword. In
the story, Matt has established that they are not the same blade and that there is a
third one called Draconis. The Three Swords make up a trinity of power with Caliburn
being the sword of purity (good), Excalibur being the sword of the land (neutral)
and Draconis being the sword of darkness (evil). The difference betwwen the blades play
a mayor part in the ongoing story.
Why have you changed the Legend of Arthur and the Knights
of the Round Table around so much
The Quest for the Holy Grail is as confusing and contradictory as all of the Arthurian
mythology, but the dominant legend is Christian in origin--even though the Catholic Church
itself denounced it. The Grail was said to be the cup of the Last Supper and at the
crucifixion to have received blood flowing from Christ's side. It was brought to Britain
by Joseph of Arimathea, where it lay hidden for centuries. The search for the vessel
became the principal quest of the knights of King Arthur. It was believed to be kept in a
mysterious castle surrounded by a wasteland and guarded by a custodian called the Fisher
King, who suffered from a wound that would not heal. His recovery and the renewal of the
blighted lands depended upon the successful completion of th quest.
The magickal properties attributed to the Holy Grail have been plausibly traced to the magic
vessels of Celtic myth that satisfied the tastes and needs of all who ate and drank from
them. In most Arthurian legends, Galahad the pure was the only Knight able to retrieve
the Grail and his doing so renewed their fellowship with the land--ending famine, pestilence...
The first appearance of the Holy Grail i na written text was in Chretien de Troyes's the "Conte
del Graal" (Story of the Grail) and has been featured in thousands of different poems, novels
and movies--perhaps the most endearing to this generation is the third installment of the
Indiana Jones movies.
As to what happened to the Holy Grail in legend, some believe it to be in Chalice Well in
Glastonbury put there by Joseph of Arimathea. Others feel it may have been taken to Nova
Scotia in 1398. Still others believe it was spirited away and hidden by the Knights Templar.
Matt has dicussed in prior appendixes the whole concept of Holy Blood, Holy Grail and how it
involves a messianic lineage leading from Jesus Christ. Anyone wanting more info on this
should read "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" (the book) or "Bloodline of the Holy Grail". They are both
available at any book store.
Most people think of the Lady of the Lake as being th woman who's hand comes out of the water and
delivers the sword in that one cool scene. While this is generally true, several women, who
are often blurred in the legends, all carry this title. Some names include Viviane, Eviene,
Viviene, Nimue, and Nina. In Malory's "Le Morte D'Arthur" she is the woman who gives Arthur Excalibur
and later takes it back when it is thrown into the water. In some works she is responsible for raising
Lancelot, and sometimes curing his madness. She is also Merlin's downfall in "Le Morte
D'Arthur", the "Vulgate Cycle" and other various forms of the legend. She enchants Merlin with the
magic he taught her. In Malory, she is killed in Arthur's court by Balin, but later reappears,
which leads to the speculation that the Lady of the Lake is a sort of title. Marion Zimmer
Bradley uses this idea to its full advantage in her feminist revision of the tales, "The Mists
of Avalon" (a must read, says Matt). The Lady of the Lake plays a crucial role in this text.
Interpreted by Geoffrey of Monmouth as the "Isle of apples," Avalon is where Arthur's sword
Excalibur was forged and where he received it from the Lady of the Lake. It is the place that
much folklore indicates as Arthur's final earthly destination, where hewas conveyed upon receiving
his mortal wound from Mordred.
The Origin of the name is unclear because the Welsh called the island Ynys Avallach, after the overlord
of the place, while the Latin derivation isInsula Avallonis, referring to the "Isle of apples,"
indicatinmg that the island was paradisical or magickal. Several descriptions of the island
indicate that it is indeed a whimsical place, as illustrated by the following summary by
Manguel and Guadalupi:
A small church was built here by Josepf of Arimathea; the rest of the island in inhabited by a race
of women who know all the magic in the world. It was here that King Arthur came with Merlin
and a hand reached out of the water and offered him the sword Excalibur, which served him
throughout his life. It is said that the hand belonged to the Lady of the Lake. Having received
the sword in Avalon, Arthur was required to return it there upon his death. Sir Bedivere
(or Percival) threw Excalibur back into the lake and the same hand appeared again, caught
the sword, and brandished it before disappearing. King Arthur returned to Avalon to die,
and from here he as borne by four queens--Morgan le Fay, the Lady of the Lake, Queen of
Northgales and the Queen of the Wastelands--on his last voyage. The island itself is a place
of lakes and rock, with deepmeadows and wooded hollows, where no wind blows and rain, hail
and snow have never been known to fall.
Some schools of thought hold that Arthur is still alive in Avalon and wil return to Britain
to be their future king. Other beliefs are that Glastonbury is the site of the true Avalon,
and that Arthur is buried there.