| Guinevere | |
|---|---|
| Matter of Britain character | |
 Guinevere watching the mortally wounded Arthur being sailed off toAvalon inQueen Guinevere byJames Archer (c. 1860) | |
| In-universe information | |
| Race | Giant (some folklore, otherwise human) |
| Title | Princess,Queen,Mother Superior |
| Occupation | High Queen ofBritain Later tradition: Queen ofLogres and Britain (orEngland), convent head |
| Family | King Leodegrance (father),Gwenhwyfach (sister) |
| Spouse | Arthur, occasionally alsoMordred |
| Significantother | Varied, including eitherLancelot, Mordred orYder |
| Children | Usually none, occasionallya son with Arthur orchildren with Mordred |
| Relatives | Varied, includinga cousin |
| Religion | Christian |
| Home | Malory version:Cameliard,Camelot,Tower of London,Amesbury Priory |
| Nationality | British |
Guinevere (/ˈɡwɪnəvɪər/ ⓘGWIN-ə-veer;Welsh:Gwenhwyfarpronunciationⓘ;Breton:Gwenivar,Cornish:Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English asGuenevere orGuenever,[1] was, according toArthurian legend, anearly-medieval queen ofGreat Britain and the wife ofKing Arthur. First mentioned in literature in the early 12th century, nearly 700 years after the purported times of Arthur, Guinevere has since been portrayed as everything from a fatally flawed, villainous, and opportunistic traitor to a noble and virtuous lady. The variably told motif ofabduction of Guinevere, or of her being rescued from some other peril, features recurrently and prominently in many versions of the legend.
The earliest datable appearance of Guinevere is inGeoffrey of Monmouth's pseudo-historical British chronicleHistoria Regum Britanniae, in which she is seduced byMordred during his ill-fated rebellion against Arthur. In a later medieval Arthurianromance tradition from France, a major story arc is the queen's tragic loveaffair with her husband's best knight and trusted friend,Lancelot, indirectly causing the death of Arthur and the downfall of the kingdom. This concept had originally appeared in nascent form inChrétien de Troyes's poemLancelot, the Knight of the Cart prior to its vast expansion in the prose cycleLancelot-Grail, consequently forming much of the narrative core ofThomas Malory's seminal English compilationLe Morte d'Arthur. Other themes found in Malory and other texts include Guinevere's usual barrenness, the scheme of Guinevere's evil twin to replace her, and the particular hostility displayed towards Guinevere by her sister-in-lawMorgan.
Guinevere has continued to be a popular character featured in numerous adaptations of the legend since the 19th-century Arthurian revival. Many modern authors, usually following or inspired by Malory's telling, typically still show Guinevere in her illicit relationship with Lancelot as defining her character.
The originalWelsh form of the name isGwenhwyfar (alsoGuenhuibhar,Gwenhwyvar), which seems to be cognate with the Irish nameFindabar (the name of the daughter of QueenMedb andAilill mac Máta in theUlster Cycle); Gwenhwyfar can be translated as "The White Fay/Ghost", fromProto-Celtic*Windo- "white" +*sēbro "phantom" (cognate withOld Irishsíabar "a spectre, phantom, supernatural being [usually in pejorative sense]").[2][3][4][5] Some have suggested that the name may derive fromGwenhwy-fawr, or "Gwenhwy the Great", as a contrast toGwenhwy-fach, or "Gwenhwy the Little/Lesser".Gwenhwyfach (also spelledGwenhwyach) appears inWelsh literature as a sister of Gwenhwyfar, but Welsh scholars Melville Richards andRachel Bromwich both dismiss this etymology (with Richards suggesting that Gwenhwyfach was a back-formation derived from an incorrect interpretation ofGwenwhy-far asGwenhwy-fawr).[6] A cognate name inModern English isJennifer, fromCornish.[7]
The name is given asGuennuuar (Guennuvar) in an early Latin textVita Gildae.Geoffrey of Monmouth rendered it in a Latinized form asGuenhuuara (Guenhuvara – but some manuscripts and thus modern editions also spell it with an M as inGuenhumara orGanhumara, possibly stemming from scribal error confusing "uu/uv" for "um") in hisHistoria Regum Britanniae, further turned intoWenhauer (Wenhaiuer) byLayamon (Gwenayfer in one manuscript) and into bothGenoivre andGahunmare inWace'sRoman de Brut. ChroniclerGerald of Wales refers to her asWenneuereia (Wenneveria) and the popular romancerChrétien de Troyes calls herGuenievre (Guenièvre). The latter form was retained by the authors of Chrétien-influenced French prose cycles, who would use also its variants such asGenievre (Genièvre) orGueneure. Her many other various names appearing through the different periods and regions of medieval Europe include bothGaynour andWaynour (Waynor[e]) in the English poemsAlliterativeMorte Arthure andThe Awntyrs off Arthure,Genure (Gaynor) in theStanzaicMorte Arthur,Guenloie in theRomanz du reis Yder,Guenore inSir Gawayn and þe Grene Knyȝt,Gwenvere (Guennevere,Guenera,Gwenner) in thePolychronicon, andGwendoloena (Gwendolen) inDe Ortu Waluuanii. Her name is almost invariablyGinover (Ginovere) inMiddle German romances (e.g. byHartmann von Aue,Heinrich von dem Turlin,Ulrich von Zatzikhoven) but was writtenJenover byDer Pleier, and the audience of Italian romances got to know her asGinevra (Zenevra,Zenibra). In the 15th-century Britain, she was calledGwynnever in theMiddle Cornish playBewnans Ke, while theMiddle English authorThomas Malory originally wrote her name asGwenever orGwenivere (Guenever,Guenivere) in his seminal compilationLe Morte d'Arthur.[8] Some assorted other forms of her name in the Middle Ages and Renaissance literature of various countries and languages have includedGanor,Ganora,Gainor,Gainovere,Geneura,Guanora,Gueneour,Guenevera,Gwenore,Gwinore,Ntzenebra,Vanour,Vanore (Wanore).[9][10]
In one of theWelsh Triads (Trioedd Ynys Prydein, no. 56), the 13th-century series of texts based on the earlier oral tales of the bards of Wales, there are three Gwenhwyfars married toKing Arthur. The first is the daughter of Cywryd of Gwent, the second ofGwythyr ap Greidawl (a supernatural figure), and the third of (G)ogrfan Gawr ("the Giant").[11] In a variant of another Welsh Triad (Trioedd Ynys Prydein, no. 54), only the daughter of Gogfran Gawr is mentioned. There was once a popular folk rhyme known in Wales concerning Gwenhwyfar: "Gwenhwyfar ferch Ogrfan Gawr / Drwg yn fechan, gwaeth yn fawr (Gwenhwyfar, daughter of Ogrfan Gawr / Bad when little, worse when great)."[12] An echo of the giantess-Guinevere tradition appears in local folklore regarding the Queen's Crag boulder atSimonburn in England.[13]
The earliest datable mention of Guinevere (as Guenhuvara, with numerous spelling variations in the surviving manuscripts) is in Geoffrey'sHistoria, written c. 1136. It relates that Guinevere, described as one of the great beauties of Britain, was educated underCador,Duke of Cornwall.[14] The other chronicles typically have Cador as her guardian and sometimes relative. According to Wace, who calls Cador anearl, Guinevere was descended from anoble Roman family on her mother's side; Layamon too describes her as of Roman descent, as well as being related to Cador.[15] Much later English chroniclers,Thomas Gray inScalacronica andJohn Stow inThe Chronicles of England, both identify Cador as her cousin and an unnamed King ofBiscay (the historical Basque country) as her father.[15]
Welsh tradition remembers the queen's sisterGwenhwyfach and records the enmity between them. Two Triads (Trioedd Ynys Prydein, no. 53, 84) mention Gwenhwyfar's contention with her sister, which was believed to be the cause of the disastrousBattle of Camlann. In the Welsh proseCulhwch and Olwen (possibly the first known text featuring Guinevere if indeed correctly dated c. 1100[16]), Gwenhwyfach is also mentioned alongside Gwenhwyfar, the latter appearing as Guinevere's evil twin in some later prose romances. German romanceDiu Crône gives Guinevere two other sisters by their father, King Garlin of Gore:Gawain's love interest Flori and Queen Lenomie ofAlexandria.
Guinevere is childless in most stories.[17] The few exceptions to that include Arthur's son named Loholt or Ilinot inPerlesvaus andParzival (first mentioned inErec and Enide).[18] In the AlliterativeMorte Arthure, Guinevere willingly becomesMordred's consort and bears him two sons, although the dying Arthur commands her and Mordred's infant children to be secretly killed and their bodies tossed into the sea (Guinevere herself, who unlike Mordred seems to show little care for the safety of their children,[19] is spared and forgiven by Arthur). There are mentions of Arthur's sons in the Welsh Triads, though their exact parentage is not clear. The possibly medieval tale ofKing Arthur and King Cornwall has the latter having a daughter with Guinevere. Besides the issue of her biological children, or lack thereof, Guinevere also raises the illegitimate daughter ofSagramore and Senehaut in theLivre d'Artus.
Other relations are equally obscure. A half-sister and a brother named Gotegin play the antagonistic roles in the Vulgate Cycle (Lancelot–Grail) andDiu Crône respectively, but neither character is mentioned elsewhere (besides the Vulgate-inspired tradition). While later romances almost always named KingLeodegrance as Guinevere's father, her mother was usually unmentioned, although she was sometimes said to be dead (this is the case in the Middle English romanceThe Adventures of Arthur, in which the ghost of Guinevere's mother appears to her and Gawain inInglewood Forest). Some works name cousins of note, though these too do not usually appear more than once. One of such cousins isGuiomar, an early lover of Arthur's half-sisterMorgan in several French romances; other cousins of Guinevere include her confidante Elyzabel (Elibel) and Morgan's knight Carrant (or Garaunt,[20] apparentlyGeraint[21]). InPerlesvaus, after the death of Guinevere, her relative King Madaglan(s) d'Oriande is a major villain who invades Arthur's lands, trying to force him to abandon Christianity and to marry his sister, Queen Jandree.[22] InPerceforest, the different daughters of Lyonnel of Glat (the greatest knight of the ancient Britain) and Queen Blanche of the Forest of Marvels (also known as Blanchete, daughter of the Maimed King and the Fairy Queen) are distant ancestors of both Guinevere andLancelot, as well of asTristan.[23]
In Geoffrey'sHistoria, Arthur leaves her as aregent[24] in the care of his nephew Modredus (Mordred) when he crosses over to Europe to go to war with the Roman leaderLucius Tiberius. While her husband is absent, Guinevere is seduced to betray Arthur and marry Mordredus ("in violation of her first marriage, had wickedly married him"[25]), who declares himself king and takes Arthur's throne. Consequently, Arthur returns to Britain and fights Modredus at the fatal Battle of Camlann.[26] Wace's chronicleRoman de Brut (Geste des Bretons) makes Mordred's love for Guinevere the very motive of his rebellion.[27] In the later romance AlliterativeMorte Arthure, Guinevere is a traitoress who secretly plots her husband's death while pretending to be his devoted and caring wife.[28]
Early texts tend to portray her barely or hardly at all. One of them isCulhwch and Olwen, in which she is mentioned as Arthur's wife Gwenhwyfar and listed among his most prized possessions,[29] but little more is said about her.[30] It can not be securely dated; one recent assessment of the language by linguist Simon Rodway places it in the second half of the 12th century.[31] The works of Chrétien de Troyes were some of the first to elaborate on the character Guinevere beyond simply the wife of Arthur. This was likely due to Chrétien's audience at the time, the court ofMarie, Countess of Champagne, which was composed of courtly ladies who played highly social roles.[32]
Later authors use her good and bad qualities to construct a deeper character who plays a larger role in the stories. In Chrétien'sYvain, the Knight of the Lion, for instance, she is praised for her intelligence, friendliness, and gentility. On the other hand, inMarie de France's probably late-12th-centuryAnglo-Norman poemLanval (andThomas Chestre's laterMiddle English version,Sir Launfal, where she is a daughter ofKing Rion of Ireland and Arthur marries her on the advise ofMerlin despite her having had many lovers[33]), Guinevere is a viciously vindictiveadulteress and temptress who plots the titular protagonist's death after failing to seduce him. She ends up punished when she is magically blinded by his secret true love fromAvalon, the fairy princess Lady Tryamour (identified by some as the figure of Morgan[34]). Guinevere herself wields magical powers inThe Rise of Gawain, Nephew of Arthur. The AlliterativeMorte Arthure has Guinevere commit the greatest treason[35] by giving Arthur's sword kept in her possession to her lover Mordred in order to be used against her husband. Throughout most of Malory'sLe Morte d'Arthur, a late-medieval compilation highly influential for a common perception of Guinevere and many other characters today, she figures as "a conventional lady of [chivalric] romance, imperious, jealous, and demanding, with an occasional trait such as the sense of humor" (Edward Donald Kennedy), until she acquires more depth and undergoes major changes to her character at the end of the book, arguably becoming "the most fascinating, exasperating, and human of all medieval heroines" (Derek Brewer, cited by Kennedy).[36]
Such varied tellings may be radically different in not just their depictions of Guinevere but also the manners of her demise. In the Italian 15th-century romanceLa Tavola Ritonda, Guinevere drops dead from grief upon learning of her husband's fate after Lancelot rescues her from the siege by Arthur's slayer Mordred. InPerlesvaus, it isKay's murder of her son Loholt that causes Guinevere to die of anguish; she is then buried in Avalon, together with her son's severed head. Alternatively, in what Arthurian scholarsGeoffrey Ashe andNorris J. Lacy call one of "strange episodes"[37] ofLy Myreur des Histors, a romanticized historical/legendary work by Belgian authorJean d'Outremeuse, Guinevere is a wicked queen who rules with the victorious Mordred until she is killed by Lancelot, here the last of theKnights of the Round Table; her corpse is then entombed with the captured Mordred who eats it before starving to death.Layamon'sBrut (c. 1200) features a prophetic dream sequence in which Arthur himself hacks Guinevere to pieces after beheading Mordred.[38] Historically, the bones of Guinevere were claimed to have been found buried alongside those of Arthur (described as "his second wife" on their grave stone as reported byGerald of Wales[39]) during the exhumation of their purported graves by the monks ofGlastonbury Abbey in 1091.[40]
| Abductor | Rescuer | Text |
|---|---|---|
| KingMelwas(unclear, includes rape) | Gildas(negotiated) | Vita Gildae |
| PrinceMaleagant(out of unrequited love) | Lancelot(in a duel) | Lancelot, le Chevalier de la Charette |
| King Valerin twice(claiming to be her rightful husband) | Lancelot(in a duel) Arthur(aided by Lancelot, Malduc, and others) | Lanzelet |
| Gotegrim(tohonor kill her for infidelity) | Gawain(in a duel) | Diu Crône |
| Brun de Morois(motivated by love) | Durmart | Durmart le Gallois |
| KingUrien(as a war prisoner) | Gawain | Livre d'Artus |
| Conspiracy of theFalse Guinevere(to replace her on the wedding night) | Abduction failed[41] | VulgateLancelot |
| King Arthur(to execute her on a false accusation) | Lancelot(in atrial by combat duel againstMador de la Porte)[42] | VulgateMort Artu |
| King Arthur and his loyalists(to execute her for treason) | Lancelot and his followers(in battle) | VulgateMort Artu |
| KingMordred(to secure power; some versions, including the derivedMorte Arthure, present the episode as an affair between them) | Escapes herself(helped by her cousin Labor and others)[43] | VulgateMort Artu |
| King Eugenius of Scotland(as a war trophy)[44] | None | Historia Gentis Scotorum |
A major and long-running Arthurian story trope features Guinevere being kidnapped and then tells of her rescue by either her husband or her lover. Welsh cleric and authorCaradoc of Llancarfan, who wrote hisLife of Gildas sometime between 1130 and 1150,[45] recounts her being taken and raped (violatam et raptam) byMelwas, king of the "Summer Country" (Aestiva Regio, perhaps meaningSomerset), and held prisoner at his stronghold atGlastonbury. The story states that Arthur (depicted there as a tyrannical ruler) spent a year searching for her and assembling an army to storm Melwas' fort when Gildas negotiates a peaceful resolution and reunites husband and wife.[46] The 14th-century Welsh poetDafydd ap Gwilym alludes to it in one of his poems, calling her Ogfran the Giant's daughter.[47] It is also the subject of the obscure Welsh poem "The Dialogue of Melwas and Gwenhwyfar" that exists only in two late copies.[47]
The Melwas story seems to be related to anOld Irish abduction motif called theaithed in which a mysterious stranger kidnaps a married woman and takes her to his home; the husband of the woman then rescues her against insurmountable odds.[48] A seemingly related account was carved into thearchivolt of Modena Cathedral in Italy, which most likely predates that telling (as well as any other known written account of Guinevere in Arthurian legend). Here, Artus de Bretania and Isdernus approach a tower in which Mardoc is holdingWinlogee, while on the other side Carrado (most likely Caradoc) fights Galvagin (Gawain) as the knights Galvariun and Che (Kay) approach. Isdernus is most certainly an incarnation of Yder (Edern ap Nudd), a Celtic hero whose name appears inCulhwch and Olwen. Yeder is actually Guinevere's lover in a nearly-forgotten tradition mentioned inBéroul's 12th-centuryTristan. This is reflected in the laterRomance of King Yder, where his lover is Queen Guenloie of Carvain (possiblyCaerwent in Wales[49]).
Chrétien de Troyes tells another version of Guinevere's abduction, this time by Meliagant (Maleagant, derived from Melwas) in the 12th-centuryLancelot, the Knight of the Cart. The abduction sequence is largely a reworking of that recorded in Caradoc's work, but here the queen's rescuer is not Arthur (or Yder) but Lancelot, whose adultery with the queen is dealt with for the first time in this poem. In Chrétien'slove triangle of Arthur-Guinevere-Lancelot, the young knight is literally madly in love with the queen.[50] In his trials, Lancelot accepts shame and dishonor to prove his total submission and devotion to Guinevere,[51] in the end earning the reward of a night of love after rescuing her from the otherworldly land of Gorre. It has been suggested that Chrétien invented their affair to supply Guinevere with a courtly extramarital lover (as requested by his patroness,Princess Marie); Mordred could not be used as his reputation was beyond saving, and Yder had been forgotten entirely.[52] This version has become lastingly popular. Today it is most familiar from its expansionin the prose cycles, where Lancelot comes to her rescue on more than one occasion.
There are furthermore several other variants of this motif in medieval literature. In Ulrich'sLanzelet, Valerin, the King of the Tangled Pinewood, claims the right to marry her and attempts to carry her off to his castle in a struggle for power, possibly related to her connections to the fertility and sovereignty of Britain. Lancelot, acting as Guinevere's champion, defeats Valerian and saves her from the plot. However, Valerin later kidnaps Guinevere anyway and places her in a magical sleep inside his castle guarded by dragons; she is rescued by Arthur's party (including Lancelot) with the help of Malduc, wizard of the Misty Lake.[53][54] In Heinrich'sDiu Crône, Guinevere's captor is her own brother Gotegrim, intending to kill her for refusing to marry the fairy knightGasozein, who falsely[55] claims to be her lover and rightful husband (and who also appears as the young Guinevere's human lover named Gosangos in theLivre d'Artus),[56] and her saviour there is Gawain. InDurmart le Gallois, Guinevere is delivered from her abduction by the eponymous hero, having been abducted by Brun de Morois in a scenario reminiscent that of Valerin but more romantic on Brun's side (who is spared by Gawain and joins Arthur's knights).[57] In theLivre d'Artus, she is briefly taken prisoner byKing Urien during his rebellion against Arthur, and her rescuer is again Gawain.[58]
Another version of the narrative is associated in local folklore withMeigle in Scotland, known for its carvedPictish stones. One of the stones, now in theMeigle Sculptured Stone Museum, is said to depictVanora, the local name for Guinevere.[59] She is said to have been abducted by King Modred (Mordred). When she is eventually returned to Arthur, he has her condemned to death forinfidelity and orders that she be torn to pieces by wild beasts, an event said to be shown on Meigle Stone 2 (Queen Venora's Stone).[59] This stone was one of two that originally stood near a mound that is identified as Vanora's grave.[59] Modern scholars interpret the Meigle Stone 2 as a depiction of the Biblical tale ofDaniel in the lions' den. One Scotland-related story takes place inHector Boece'sHistoria Gentis Scotorum, where Guinevere is taken north by thePicts following Mordred's and Arthur's deaths at Camlann. She spends the rest of her life as their prisoner, and after her death she is buried at Meigle.[44]
This prominent story in its many versions may be ultimately of early Celtic origin.[60] MedievalistRoger Sherman Loomis suggested that this recurring motif shows that Guinevere "had inherited the role of a CelticPersephone" (a figure fromGreek mythology).[61] All of these similar tales of abduction by another suitor – and this allegory includes Lancelot, who saves her when she is condemned by Arthur toburn at the stake for her adultery – are demonstrative of a recurring 'Hades-snatches-Persephone' theme, positing that Guinevere is similar to theCeltic Otherworld brideÉtaín, whomMidir, king of the Underworld, carries off from her earthly life.[62] According toKenneth G. T. Webster, a scenario such as the one fromDiu Crône may be an echo of a more ancient lore in which Guinevere is "afairy queen ravished from her supernatural husband by Arthur of this world and therefore subject to raids which the other world would regard as rescues, but which to the Arthurian world appear as abductions."[63]
The following narrative is largely based on theLancelot-Grail (Vulgate) prose cycle and, consequently,Le Morte d'Arthur as abridged by Thomas Malory with some of his changes. It tells the story of the forbidden romance of Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere, initially in accordance to thecourtly love conventions still popular in the early 13th-century France. However, their affair was soon afterwards directly condemned as sinful, especially in thePost-Vulgate Cycle retelling. Guinevere's role in their relationship in the VulgateLancelot is that of Lancelot's "female lord", just as theLady of the Lake is his "female master".[64] Regarding her characterisation by Malory, she has been described by modern critics as "jealous, unreasonable, possessive, and headstrong," at least through most of the work before the final book, and some of these traits may be related to her political qualities and actions.[65]
In the 13th-century French cyclicalchivalric romances and the later works based on them, including Malory's, Guinevere is the daughter ofKing Leodegrance ofCameliard, who had served Arthur's father,Uther Pendragon, and was entrusted with theRound Table after Uther's death. The newly-crowned King Arthur defends Leodegrance by defeating KingRience, which leads to his first meeting with the young Guinevere. An arrangedmarriage of state soon commences, and Arthur receives the Round Table as Guinevere's dowry, having ignored Merlin's prophetic advice warning him not to marry her. This version of her legend has her betrothed to Arthur early in his career, while he was garnering support and being pressured to produce an heir (which Guinevere, barren as in most other versions, will fail to deliver). When the mysterious White Knight (Lancelot) arrives from the continent, Guinevere is instantly smitten in their first meeting while the teenage knight himself is stupefied and paralyzed (esbahis et trespensés) by her beauty.[50] Lancelot first joins theQueen's Knights to serve Guinevere after having been knighted by her. Following Lancelot's early rescue of Guinevere from Maleagant (inLe Morte d'Arthur this episode only happens much later on) and his admission into the Round Table, and with the Lady of the Lake's andGalehaut's assistance, the two then begin an escalating romantic affair that will go on for many years and in the end will inadvertently lead to Arthur's fall.
In the Vulgate Cycle, Lancelot's stepmother,Viviane the Lady of the Lake, gifts the pair an identical pair of magic rings of protection against enchantments. In this version, the lovers spend their first night together just as Arthur sleeps with the beautifulSaxon princess named Camille or Gamille (an evil enchantress whom he later continues to love even after she betrays and imprisons him, though it was suggested that he was enchanted[66]). Arthur is also further unfaithful during the episode of the "False Guinevere" (who had Arthur drink a love potion to betray Guinevere), her own twin half-sister (born on the same day but from a different mother) whom Arthur takes as his second wife in a very unpopular bigamous move, even refusing to obey the Pope's order for him not to do it, as Guinevere escapes to live with Lancelot in Galehaut's kingdom of Sorelais. The French prose cyclical authors thus intended to justify Guinevere and Lancelot's adultery by blackening Arthur's reputation and thus making it acceptable and sympathetic for their medieval courtly French audience. Malory'sLe Morte d'Arthur, however, portrays Arthur as absolutely faithful to Guinevere, even successfully resisting the forceful advances of the sorceressAnnowre for her sake, except as a victim of a spell in a variant of the "False Guinevere" case. Malory is silent regarding Guinevere's feelings for Arthur but goes so far as to suggest she uses charms or enchantments to win Lancelot's love.
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Lancelot refuses the love of many other ladies, dedicates all his heroic deeds to Guinevere's honor, and sends her the redeemable knights he has defeated in battle and who must appeal to her for forgiveness. In one of Malory's own episodes, Lancelot's devotion to the queen saves him from the plot of the necrophiliac enchantressHellawes, herself motivated by jealously for Guinevere.[67] On her side, Guinevere is often greatly jealous for Lancelot, especially in the case ofElaine of Corbenic, when her reaction to learning about their relationship (which, unknown to her, by this time has been limited only to him beingraped-by-deceit by Elaine, including an earlier act of the fathering ofGalahad) causes Lancelot to fall into his longest period of madness (Lancelot's fits of madness caused by his passionate love is a recurring motif in the romance[68]), which only Elaine is able to eventually cure with the power of theHoly Grail itself. The episode is also included in the Post-VulgateSuite du Merlin, where it instead serves to accent the pathetic and humiliating nature of Lancelot's illicit relationship with the queen.[69] The greatest danger facing their love comes from Guinevere's sworn enemy and Arthur's half-sister, the enchantressMorgan the Fairy, who is jealous of her. The "hot and lustful" fairy herself falls in love with Lancelot and kidnaps him several times,[50] and schemes against the lovers on various other occasions, such as the ring plot.[70] She is sometimes foiled in that by Lancelot, who also defends Guinevere on many other occasions and performs assorted feats of chivalry in her honor.
Malory tells his readers that eventually, after the end of theGrail Quest, the pair started behaving carelessly in public, stating that "Launcelot began to resort unto the Queene Guinevere again and forget the promise and the perfection that he made in the Quest... and so they loved together more hotter than they did beforehand." They indulged in "privy draughts together" and behaved in such a way that "many in the court spoke of it." Guinevere is charged with adultery on three occasions, including once when she is also accused of sorcery.[71] Their now not-so secret affair is finally exposed to Arthur by Morgan,[72] and proven by two of the lateKing Lot's sons,Agravain andMordred. Revealed as a betrayer of his king and friend, Lancelot kills several of Arthur's knights and escapes. Incited to defend honour, Arthur reluctantly sentences his wife to be burnt at the stake. Knowing Lancelot and his family would try to stop the execution, the king sends many of his knights to defend the pyre, though Gawain refuses to participate. Lancelot arrives with his kinsmen and followers and rescues the queen. Gawain's unarmed brothersGaheris andGareth are killed in the battle (among others, including fellow Knights of the RoundAglovale,Segwarides andTor, and originally also Gawain's third brother Agravain), sending Gawain into a rage so great that he pressures Arthur into a direct confrontation with Lancelot.
When Arthur goes after Lancelot to France, he leaves her in the care of Mordred, who plans to marry the queen himself and take Arthur's throne. While in some versions of the legend (like the AlliterativeMorte Arthure, which removed French romantic additions) Guinevere assents to Mordred's proposal, in the tales of Lancelot she hides in theTower of London, where she withstands Mordred's siege, and later takes refuge in a nunconvent.[73] Hearing of the treachery, Arthur returns to Britain and slays Mordred at Camlann, but his wounds are so severe that he is taken to the isle of Avalon by Morgan. During the civil war, Guinevere is portrayed as a scapegoat for violence without developing her perspective or motivation. However, after Arthur's death, Guinevere retires to a convent in penitence for her infidelity. (Malory was familiar with theFontevraud daughter house atNuneaton,[74][75] and given the royal connections of its sister house atAmesbury, he choseAmesbury Priory as the monastery to which Guinevere retires as "abbas and rular",[76] to find her salvation in a life of penance.[77]) Her contrition is sincere and permanent; Lancelot is unable to sway her to come away with him.[78] Guinevere meets Lancelot one last time, refusing to kiss him, then returns to the convent. She spends the remainder of her life as an abbess in joyless sorrow, contrasting with her earlier merry nature. Following her death, Lancelot buries her next to Arthur's (real or symbolic) grave.
Modern adaptations of Arthurian legend vary greatly in their depiction of Guinevere, largely because certain aspects of her story must be fleshed out by the modern author. In spite of her iconic doomed romance with Lancelot, a number of modern reinterpretations portray her as being manipulated into her affair with Lancelot, with Arthur being her rightful true love. Others present her love for Lancelot as stemming from a relationship that existed prior to her arranged marriage to Arthur, and some do not include the affair at all. In much of modern Arthuriana, Guinevere also assumes more active roles than in her medieval depictions, increasingly even being cast as protagonist.
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