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The Lady of the Lake
The lady of the lake is a famous, romantic legend that remains shrouded
in mystery today. What is the legend behind the enigmatic lady who
captured our hearts and who features so often in art and books?
The Legend
The Lady of the Lake was said to be the foster mother of the Arthurian
knight, Sir Lancelot and raised him beneath the waters of her Lake. She is
best known for her presentation to King Arthur of his magical sword,
Excalibur, as she raised the sword up to the sky from her Lake. It is said
that Merlin, King Arthur's advisor, first met the Lady of the Lake at the
Fountain of Barenton, in Brittany, and fell so in love with her that he
taught her all his magical powers. The Lady soon became not only Merlin's
scribe, but his lover too. However, over the years, the Lady's powers grew
so great that she outshone even Merlin, and imprisoned him inside the
Glass Tower. She stepped into Merlin's old role as King's advisor to some
extent, but Merlin's fall contributed to the end of the King's reign, and
the Lady reclaimed Excalibur at the Battle of Camlann, where the King was
killed. The sword was hurled deep into the murky depths of the Lady's
Lake. She returned once more as one of the three Queens to escort her King
to Avalon.
Does She have a name?
What makes the Lady of the Lake so attractive is her enigma and mystery.
For
example, does she even have a name? This question has not gone unanswered,
and she's most frequently referred to as Vivienne or Nimue. Nimue is said
to be related to Mneme, or Mnemosyne, one of the nine water nymph muses of
Greek and Roman mythology who gave swords, rather like Arthur's Excalibur,
to the hero Perseus. The name Vivienne drives from the Celtic name, "Vi-Vianna",
a variant of "Co-Viana", which is another name for the Celtic water
goddess, Coventina. But, bearing in mind Latin pronunciation, the name
Vivienne probably relates to Merlin's wife's name, Gwendoloena.
The origins behind the legend
Water deities were very popular in Celtic society because they controlled
the essence of life itself. The spontaneous movements of natural water
showed, to the Celts, the sheer power of the goddesses, nymphs and faeries
that lived within. Offerings to water for good luck were commonplace and
even today, we throw coins into wishing wells, and refer to the Lady of
the Lake as "Lady Luck". The Lady was most celebrated at her shrine on
Brocolitia, on Hadrian's Wall. Here, a temple surrounded a pool fed by a
sacred spring. Coins, jewellery and bronze figurine offerings have all
been excavated here, as well as many altars dedicated by local soldiers.
Morgan le Fay, another water nymph, is largely believed nowadays to have
been Merlin's scribe and lover, not the Lady of the Lake, it is believed
that these two women are in fact variants of the same person. Especially
seeing as Morgan le Fay is also included as one of the three Queens who
escorted Arthur to Avalon. Perhaps then, the other Queen is also a variant
on the Lady of the Lake, making up the final third of the Celtic Triple
Goddess.
Written by Victoria Crouch
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