Why Merlin's Guinevere is the best Guinevere

During my Merlin presentation I repeatedly mentioned that it was my favorite and in my opinion the best representation of Guinevere I’ve encountered so far. Reading the excerpts from the Mist of Avalon has just reaffirmed that opinion. Gwenhwyfar is apparently the picture perfect beauty, so much so she causes the proud and strong Morgaine to become self-conscious, but all I see in her description is a wimp, a lost little girl who is pretty pathetic, especially in comparison to Morgaine. I hate that she fits snugly into the “damsel in distress” category.  I prefer a Guinevere with more bite to her.  I’d say I liked T.H. White’s Guinevere a tad more, but she tended to be too whiny and self-centered, much like the other Guineveres we have seen in our readings.

Movie wise I have yet to be impressed by a Gwen. With the exception of Keira Knightley’s Guinevere in the 2004 King Arthur movie, most other film depictions of Gwen make her meek and a very flat character, yet again a damsel in need of constant saving. And honestly the only reason I slightly like King Arthur’s Guinevere is because, well, it’s Keira Knightley and I think she is nice to look at and I’m not afraid to say so!

Anyway, Angel Coulby is by far the best Gwen recorded either by pen or film. (Also, I see it fit now to warn you all that spoilers of the show may follow in my rant about how great she is). 

First off, she is not the typical image of Queen Guinevere, which is one thing I truly love. I don't think I have to explain much in the way of how she is different, it's pretty obvious, but I will make the comment that part of her appeal as Gwen is that she isn't the traditional pale skinned beauty that most other adaptations described her as. BBC provides us with a unique and beautiful Gwen, which is truly refreshing. 

We don’t know much about Gwen’s background besides that she has a living father (for the first few episodes) and a brother who becomes one of Arthur’s knights of Camelot.  She serves as Morgana’s servant but their relationship is not so formal, they are best friends in truth, rather than mistress and servant girl. Not only is she mentioned to be a gifted seamstress, but she also knows a great deal about how to mend armor and work with weapons because her father is a black smith. In my opinion she gets major bonus points for such a skill. Merlin’s Gwen is not afraid to break social barriers that usually constrict women. And although she initially is timid and awkward, as the series goes on she begins to grown in self-confidence. Initially finding Arthur to be unapproachable and unlikable, as time passes she begins to open up to him. However, she never becomes doe eyed and enamored with him, or even Lancelot (with one exception, but she was under a spell so it doesn’t quite count). Gwen doesn’t fit the girly type. She’s brave and loyal and everything I want in a leading lady.

And let’s not forget that she eventually becomes the queen of Camelot. Talk about climbing the social class ladder! 

I’m not saying it wasn’t a very challenging climb, the director of the show tried to make it as believable as possible (or as believable as any BBC show about magic can be), but she made it none the  less and stood up against the nay sayers, the principle one being Arthur’s own father. When she does become queen, she rules alongside Arthur, and in his absences she is strong willed ruler. we can also assume that after his death she continues to rule Camelot as Queen Regent, which shows how respected she is despite her "low" birth. She does not shirk away from the responsibility.  She also has a darker, manipulative side to her, which I absolutely LOVE. I want a Gwen who isn’t perfect, a Gwen who gets a little power hungry and creative with her royal liberties from time to time. That keeps things interesting!

Anyway, that is my rant about Merlin’s Guinevere. You should all give the show a try, if not for the best Gwen yet, then at least to hear Olivander’s voice come from a cheesy CGI dragon.

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Love, Lancelot, Guinevere, and Fate

So at the beginning of this class, Lancelot was my favorite knight, he was strong and mighty and being a sucker for romance his affair with Guinevere intrigued me. The story of the Knight of the Cart kept this view of Lancelot for me. In a previous post I mentioned the couple reminded me of Will and Jocelyn from the movie A Knights Tale. I loved his devotion to her and how their love was strong and true. As we progressed my opinions began to change. The biggest change occurred when my group did our project on Camelot. Seeing the illicit affair and the hurt it gave Arthur on the screen started to sour me to their epic romance and love. In most tales featuring their affair at the forefront up until I watched that had little to do with Arthur or his feelings. Watching him love both Lance and Jenny and get hurt by both of them made me hate their relationship. I realized as I read the end of Once and Future King that what really made me hate the character of Lancelot and his relationship with Guinevere was not only that I saw its affect on Arthur that made me not like it; it was the songs! They annoyed me with their constant singing and I just wanted them to go away and stop! As we read Once and Future King my warm feelings towards them began to come back, i'm not sure how much of it had to do with the fact that Lancelot was indeed ugly in this, so I saw real true love in their affair. I skimmed some of the chapters before this morning and saw some of the tenderness they felt for each other. I then rethought their on screen love in Camelot, minus the songs, and saw some of the same tenderness. I fully believe as I stated in class that Lancelot and Guinevere are fated and destined to be together, this however does not mean that they do not have free will. They used this free will to make some really bad decisions, they could have run when they fell in love instead of waiting 15 years, but you know what people say "You do stupid things when you're in love". Not only was their judgement blinded by their love, I think they could not leave Arthur. Lance loved Arthur, it was his best friend who had trusted him and they had been friends for years. Guinevere was Arthur's wife, whether she ever loved him, I'm not really sure but she did care for him. I feel like you cannot have some kind of care for the person you have been married to for years and especially if that person has helped you run a kingdom. I think their loyalty to Arthur kept them from running and that shows more about their character than the fact that they did not try and circumvent their destiny, as we saw so many try to do only to end up in the same place.

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Girls, Girls, Girls!

Me again! My post today is going to be about something a little different, and that is the role beauty plays in Arthurian tales. This may seem bizarre, and although beauty does not play a main role in the legends, the subject has been nagging at me for quite some time. (Although good looks are mentioned in both knights and maidens, I will be talking about feminine beauty, because it is the beauty I am most familiar with.) Guinevere, of course, is said to be the most beautiful in Arthur's kingdom. There are many portrayals of Guinevere, based on artist's ideas of beauty. I'll include some here:

William Morris's painting of Guinevere

Painting by Judith A. Smith

The list goes on. As a result, her beauty captures the heart's of Lancelot and King Arthur, and as a result, their free will. Even the women in The Saga of the Mantle seem to nearly have an enchanting power over the men, and are described as: "beautiful women and beautiful maidens, and there had never been better garments in the world than those with which they were adorned. For this reason every man looked at them, and every man was captivated..." (page 215 in my book, but don't even bother...you all have different editions. Anyhow, something about these words send a shiver down my spine. It is just so...

creepy. Can these men be for real? I picture these men drooling over a group of women as if they were behind glass at a zoo.

It does not end here, folks. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,  stanza 18, lines 940-970, two women are described (I will paraphrase):

(The first woman): "She was the fairest in all her figure, flesh and face...even more gorgeous than Guinevere..."

(enter the second woman): "With another lady leading her...who was far more aged...I must tell you that these two were totally unalike, for if the younger one had spirit, the senior one was seared. A pink complexion suffused the one, while rough, wrinkled cheeks rolled down upon the other. The younger...her breast and bright throat were laid all bare...the senior...By God! Her body was squat and thick."

By God is right! Despite the elderly woman having high honor in society, she has lost all power over Gawain, as opposed to the woman who is exposing her breast.

Do I even have to...go into how sexist that is?

After reading this, I got to thinking about our beauty standards today, and my conclusion is that despite how things may seem, we are much more accepting of different types of people. I will include pictures of women and maidens alike who have been deemed beautiful in today's society.

From boyishly thin to plus size, from age 16 to age 60...from black to white skin, to crazy pink hair...from hair long and curly to pixie-like short, society's idea of beauty is becoming more diverse. As diverse as the people who live in it. Not everyone can be Queen Guinevere, and it that notion in mind, it seems that the features that make a woman unique are what make her beautiful today.

What do you think? Has society truly changed, or is it as shallow about beauty as the society in Arthur's days appear to be? Who would you put on today's beauty list? Are any of them similar to the way you appear Guinevere? I don't think there is a wrong answer! 

You Can Call Me Al

Ever seen something that you find so humorous, but then you rethink what makes it funny and realize how sad it truly is? The first thing that comes to mind for me is the demon spawn show, Jersey Shore. I once watched fifteen minutes of that show (my other option was watching paint dry), and chuckled inwardly at the stupidity of everybody on that show. However, I soon became disturbed at the fact that people who are so influential in the world are also so ignorant.  
 

Why is this popular? At all.

The Saga of the Mantle was also like this for me. The true corruptness of the characters are what makes it humorous, and at the same this humor is an indicator of the cultural anxieties of the time. The fact that "well respected" people in Arthur's kingdom are full of disloyalty and adultery makes me wonder how much better other kingdoms are (and according to the mysterious visitor who brings the mantle, not by much). It also makes me question the successful-ness of courtly love.

Is Guinevere's affair with Lancelot a reflection of marital problems with Arthur, or is she just greedy with her love? I'm not sure yet.

Let's look at one couple, however, the one who ended up getting the mantle: Karadin and [insert name here]. Did anyone notice how Karadin treats his beloved...can we call her Betty? (A high five for anyone who gets that Paul Simon reference.) When she is asked to put on the mantle he says, "...I love you so profoundly that I don't want to lose your love- not for all the gold in the world, even though I were to be aware of any misdeed of yours." See, unlike the other couples, this mantle is merely a material object, less important than their love. His beloved answers, "...If my beloved does not take it amiss, then I will put on the mantle." The mantle ends up fitting her, and it is safe to say that neither one of them have been cheating on the other. Their love (a two-way street) reminds me of Odysseus and Penelope from The Odyssey. 
 

Odusseus and Penelope by Francesco Primaticco

Odysseus is gone for twenty years on a voyage, and Penelope stays faithful to him, after he is thought of as dead, after suitors enter her home and demand she marry one, after she is bullied time and time again. Odysseus returns, disguised as an old man, and beats Penelope's suitors in an arrow-shooting contest that only he could win. Returning to his normal form, Odysseus remains happily for the rest of his life with Penelope. It is stories like The Odyssey and The Saga of the Mantle that emphasize the importance of loyalty to the one you are betrothed to, and the troubles it can save you from. 

This makes me think...is courtly love good or bad? It gave Lancelot the strength of ten men, but humiliation to the women loved by such men.

Have a good day, fellow Arthurians! And if you never got my reference, this title will be 100% awkward.

Guinevere's Comb

Valentine's day weekend and courtly love--isn't that like a perfectly exaggerated "Hallmark" greeting card? Reds and pinks, ribbons and lace, hearts and cupids, decorating sentiments of "I'll always love you," or better yet "forever true."  A love like Lancelot's love will suffer, bleed, sigh, and swoon for his true love.  Our recent reading of Chretien de Troyes' Lancelot or The Knight of the Cart arrived with the Mylar balloons,  aisles of chocolates, and fresh cut flowers of Valentine's day.  People still long for romance.

After reading Kellen's  blog, especially her comments on Lancelot's obsession with his beloved's hair,  I couldn't resist posting some pictures of Victorian hair and mourning jewelry.  Hair of a loved one has captured romantic fancies for centuries. The first time  I saw a piece of hair jewelry it looked very much like the plain necklace pictured here.  It was owned by a family member. Imagine wearing a hair necklace, someone else's hair, next to the skin.  How close would you have to be to a person to wear his or her hair--intimate?






Narratives and myths featuring hair have captured the imagination of audiences for thousands of years.  Samson lost his strength when his hair was cut. Rapunzel  had trailing tresses.  Finding Guinevere's comb, Lancelot delights in touching pieces of her hair.   For Lancelot, there is power in her hair.

 Hair from St. Therese of Lisieux 

Saving a lock of a loved one's hair might be considered a sentimental gesture.  A mother might save a lock of her child's hair along with baby teeth the "Tooth Fairy" overlooked.  Celebrity hair clippings sell for high prices at auction.  According to the NY Times, a lock of Abraham Lincoln's hair sold for over $38,000.  In ancient Christianity, the hair from a saint would be considered a  relic--imbued with powers to heal or protect. In recent history a large clump of St Therese of Lisieux hair was saved for posterity (died 1897).  What better way to keep a treasure than in a picture frame or crafted into jewelry?  

Abraham Lincoln's Lock

Some of pieces of hair jewelry are very elaborate others are simple. Keep a piece of your dearly departed close; have jewelry made from a loved one's hair.  Wouldn't Lancelot have taken the hair from his queen's comb and tucked it in a safe place?  Romantic love wouldn't allow Lancelot  to leave Guinevere's comb or  golden hairs behind.