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!