Guinevere The Sovereignty Goddess of Arthurian Literature

Guinevere: The Sovereignty Goddess of Arthurian Literature? Master Thesis Middeleeuwse Studies Utrecht University Mandy van den Houten 0308560 Supervisors: Erik Kooper and Frank Brandsma Second Reader: Kevin Murray August 2007 Mandy van den Houten Illustration title page: Guinevere’s Maying John Collier, AD 1900 Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford Mandy van den Houten “I am the Sovranty…as thou hast seen me loathsome, bestial, horrible at first and beautiful at last, so is the sovranty; for it is seldom gained without battles and conflicts, but at last to anyone it is beautiful and goodly”.1 INDEX “Echtra mac nEchach Muigmedóin: The Adventures of the Sons of Eochaid Mugmedón”, ed and trans Whitley Stokes, Révue Celtique 24 (1903) 190-207 Mandy van den Houten Acknowledgements Chapter Introduction Introducing Guinevere Research into Guinevere’s origins State of the art A preview Research question 8 12 12 Chapter The Irish Sovereignty Myth The sovereignty goddess The sacred marriage The ale of sovereignty Promiscuity Fertility War and death Transformation Sovereignty queens Influence of Christianity on the myth 13 13 13 14 14 15 15 15 16 17 Chapter Guinevere and Sovereignty The affair(s) The abductions Guinevere’s supernatural origins Sovereignty objects Textual references Counter arguments 19 19 21 26 28 30 31 Chapter The Sovereignty Theme in English and French Arthurian Literature 34 The sovereignty theme 34 Sovereignty motifs 35 The Stag Hunt motif 38 The Transformed Hag or the Loathly Lady motif 39 ‘Sovereynetee’ and ‘flaitheas na h-Eireann’ compared 39 Arthurian commonplaces 41 Chapter Transmission through Welsh Arthurian Tradition? 44 Mandy van den Houten The Mabinogion The drinking motif The sovereignty myth: pan-Celtic or Irish? Transmission Welsh manuscript tradition Gwenhwyfar… …the prototype of Guinevere and Guenièvre? Chapter Familiar or Foreign Myth? Welsh awareness Scholars against and scholars in favour A Welsh sovereignty myth? Theme or motifs? 44 44 45 46 46 47 47 49 49 49 52 52 Chapter Conclusions 53 Appendices The Irish stories from Chapter Appendix 1: Baile in Scáil Appendix 2: Echtra Mac nEchach Muigmedón Appendix 3: Lebor Gabála Érenn Appendix 4: Baile Chuinn Chétchathaig 57 58 60 62 64 The Welsh stories from Chapter Appendix 5: Owain, neu Iarlles y Ffynnon Appendix 6: Peredur fab Efrog Appendix 7: Geraint ac Enid 70 Bibliography 71 66 68 Acknowledgements Nearing the end of my academic education, it is time to look back at the last four years However, my love for everything medieval started a good Mandy van den Houten few years before that, namely when I was given a copy of Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon on my fifteenth birthday This Arthurian retelling became my favourite book and during the years to come I read it at least five or six times My fondness of the story was one of many reasons which made me decide to a an English degree Whereas I was initially interested in the historical Arthur, my studies gradually turned me more towards the literary character After completing my first two years at Utrecht University, I went to Cork, Ireland as a Harting scholar My stay there sparked a new interest: the Celtic origins of Arthurian literature As I became more and more acquainted with Irish literature, I saw many parallels with the Arthurian tradition So, when it came to writing my Bachelor thesis, I was quick to decide on a topic: a discussion of Irish Arthurian literature My thesis was supervised by Dr Erik Kooper, who had witnessed my academic progression ever since I had first enrolled in university My desire to continue to learn about the Middle Ages encouraged me to take up a Master’s Degree in Medieval Studies Another year flew and when it was time to write my MA thesis I immediately considered going back to University College Cork Partly because I knew their library’s extensive Celtic collection would be useful and the fact that my boyfriend is Irish also helped in my decision I had some notion as to what I wanted to discuss in my thesis, but my ideas were still quite undefined at that stage It was during Dr Frank Brandsma’s classes on ‘Arthurian Literature in an International Context’ that my plans became more defined It was therefore an obvious choice to have Frank and my former BA supervisor Erik guide me through writing my final university assignment The scope of my thesis also required the supervision of a Celticist and I soon found one in Dr Kevin Murray, from the Department of Early and Medieval Irish of UCC From all three supervisors I received excellent guidance, even during their summer holidays Their help and encouragement has made the writing of my thesis an extremely rewarding experience I would like to thank Erik Kooper for lessons learnt and for being one of the people who Mandy van den Houten gave me the opportunity to take part in the Harting Scheme, which I thoroughly enjoyed I thank Frank Brandsma for his advice and guiding me through writing the research paper which became the core of my thesis I am also grateful for Kevin Murray’s willingness to proofread the Celtic sections of my thesis and for pointing me in the right direction with regard to the literary relations between Ireland and Wales during the Middle Ages Last but not least I wish to thank my parents, whose constant moral (as well as financial) support made it possible for me to pursue my goals, both personal and academic Chapter 1: Introduction Mandy van den Houten Guinevere, the famous first lady of Arthurian literature, has many different faces The representation of Guinevere in literature might even be called ambiguous Her portrayal varies from a queen playing an active part in the Arthurian court, to a very submissive and even passive character, merely Arthur’s consort with no influence in matters of state Furthermore, another fluctuation can be witnessed in the nature of her character While Guinevere is a strong but likeable woman in Chrétien de Troyes’s romances, other texts, such as Marie de France’s Le Lai de Lanval (“The Lay of Lanval”), which dates from approximately AD 1160, portray a haughty and unsympathetic queen.2 Although it largely seems to depend on who wrote about her, as well as when and where, it does raise questions about how her reputation became so indefinite Besides, Guinevere’s character is not the only thing that is questionable about her Throughout Arthurian tradition, regardless of her character, Guinevere’s relationship with men is often quite obscure Most of the time her ties with men seem to be of a feudal nature, but some texts, such as Lanval, suggest that Arthur’s queen was romantically involved with men even before her affair with Lancelot became established in the Arthurian tradition Stories which were written before Chrétien de Troyes and therefore before Guinevere became linked to Lancelot already seem to illustrate a special bond between the queen and some favourite knight.3 Apart from being venerated as the knights’ liege lady, she is often pursued by men and there are many stories in which she is in danger of being abducted The mythic nature of those abduction stories combined with the etymology of her name, has led scholars to suggest that Guinevere’s character has its origins in myth and that this would explain the ambivalence of her personality One of the scholars who investigated the etymology of the name Guinevere was A.C.L Brown However, Brown has not been the only one to investigate the similarity in names, both Rudolf Thurneysen and Roger Sherman Loomis considered it many years prior to Le lai de Lanval will from now on be referred to as Lanval I am referring to Lanval and the Historia Regum Britanniae, which will be discussed in chapter three Mandy van den Houten Brown.4 It has been established that Gwenhwyfar, the Welsh version of the name Guinevere, means “white enchantress, phantom, or fairy”.5 Since the name has strong mythic associations, scholars have been eager to find a mythological character that might have served as a prototype for the literary persona of Guinevere Brown investigated Irish mythology for comparisons and concluded that Guinevere has an Irish counterpart called Finnabair, whose name has the same meaning Finnabair is the daughter of Medb of Connacht, a figure from the Ulster Cycle and both mother and daughter are mythological characters who are linked to the concept of sovereignty This means that these women were associated with a certain province or country and usually they are the consort of the local king In this way, Medb is the sovereignty queen of Connacht, a region in the north-east of Ireland; whereas her daughter Finnabair is thought to figuratively represent the country of England So, in literature both women are linked to a certain territory and any man who desired to rule there had to woo its queen first Therefore, these queens confer land on their partners by marriage According to Brown, Guinevere is the Arthurian version of such a sovereignty queen Not only does her husband rule England but the following chapters will reveal more ways in which Guinevere is reminiscent of such a figure Some other scholars who have argued that Guinevere functions as a sovereignty figure in Arthurian literature are Glenys Goetinck, Jean Markale, Amy Varin, Richard Cavendish and John Darrah Goetinck has studied the Welsh Arthurian tradition and concluded that “Gwenhwyfar may have been a Welsh version of the personification of Sovereignty, as was Queen Medb in Irish literature This would explain her appearance in abduction stories, her apparent lack of constancy, her occasionally sharp tongue, and Arthur’s apparent tranquil acceptance of the situation” Roger Sherman Loomis, Arthurian Tradition and Chrétien de Troyes (New York: Columbia UP, 1948) 196, and Rudolf Thurneysen, Die irische Helden- und Königsage bis zum siebzehnten Jahrhundert (Halle: Niemeyer, 1921) 95 Arthur Charles Lewis Brown, The Origin of the Grail Legend (New York: Russell and Russell, 1966) 338 Brown 338 Glenys Goetinck, “Sovereignty Themes in Peredur, Owein, and Gereint,” Peredur: A Study of Welsh Tradition in the Grail Legends (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1975) 129-55, at 134 Mandy van den Houten Goetinck has not linked Guinevere to Finnabair, because she believes that Guinevere’s origins are in Welsh tradition, rather than in Irish mythology So, Goetinck also argues that Guinevere is the personification of sovereignty but has different reasons for claiming this In 1973, Jean Markale also identified Guinevere as a sovereignty figure in his book La femme celte (“The Celtic Woman”).8 However, Markale’s work has been criticised time and again for being unreliable as he used his sources too creatively In spite of this, Amy Varin, in her 1979 article on Mordred, acknowledges that Markale has been her source for claiming that Guinevere is a sovereignty figure However, her footnote on La femme celte also states that “as a whole this is a very poor book, but occasionally Markale says something of value” Writing just a year before Varin was Richard Cavendish Cavendish suggested that the story of the Round Table, and how it is part of Guinevere’s dowry, gives reason to believe that Guinevere is a personification of sovereignty He claimed that “Guinevere is the Round Table’s presiding goddess, as it were Arthur acquires it by marrying her, in something of the same way perhaps as in Celtic tradition he ‘married’ the land of Britain in her person” 10 So, Guinevere was not only associated with a figure from Irish mythology, she was now being called a goddess Roger Sherman Loomis had argued this before and more recently John Darrah has also tried to prove this point 11 Unfortunately the majority of the available publications are outdated and as shown some are even considered unreliable.12 However, more recent scholarship on Guinevere has focused on a different aspect of the queen Even though the previously mentioned scholars have been eager to look to mythology as a source for Guinevere, others are more inclined to analyse her primarily as a literary character Jean Markale, La femme celte (Paris: Payot, 1973) 191, 205 Markale argues the same point more elaborately in his King Arthur: King of Kings, trans Christine Hauch (London: Gordon and Cremonesi, 1977) 122-9 Amy Varin, “Mordred, King Arthur’s Son,” Folklore 90 (1979): 167-77 10 Richard Cavendish, King Arthur and the Grail (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1978) 54 11 John Darrah, Paganism in Arthurian Romance (Woodbridge: the Boydell Press, 1994) 68 12 Jean Markale’s work has repeatedly been considered defective An example can be found in Christian-Joseph Guyonvarc'h, “Une critique détaillée de l'Ouvrage l'épopée celtique en Bretagne de Jean Markale,” Textes Mythologiques Irlandais 11 (1978) 39 10 Mandy van den Houten heir to the throne The king decides that they will be tested by the wizard Sithcenn and thus it happens The man prophesies their future and afterwards sends them out to hunt, bearing the arms he has forged for them During the hunt they get lost, so they stop to build a fire and eat Afterwards they are thirsty and Fergus offers to go in search of water He finds a well guarded by an old woman who is extremely ugly The hag will only allow a drink in return for a kiss on the cheek Fergus bluntly refuses and returns to his brothers Afterwards, Brian and Ailill also fail to return with water However, Fiachra is not as uncouth as his brothers and gives the old woman a peck on the cheek She then tells him that one day two of his race will take the kingship of Ireland Nevertheless, the brothers still have no water Niall is last to try and he stumbles upon the same well Unlike his brothers he is not put off by the woman’s appearance and not only does he kiss her, he also declares he is willing to lie with her When he opens his eyes the hag has suddenly transformed into a beautiful woman The lady then identifies herself as the Sovereignty of Erin 164 and promises Niall that he and his offspring will hold the throne for many years to come She tells him to take the water back to his brothers but only in exchange for superiority over them Niall promises this and returns to the waiting men Niall does what Sovereignty told him and the four brothers vow their allegiance When the king’s sons return home, Niall relates their adventure to his father Sithcenn then confirms that Niall is indeed to be the heir to the throne 164 Erin is just another name for Ireland 62 Mandy van den Houten Appendix 3: Lebor Gabála Érenn “The Book of the Taking of Ireland” Author: Anonymous Date: Late eleventh century Language: Middle Irish Manuscripts: There are different redactions extant in over a dozen manuscripts, some of the best known are the Book of Ballymote, Book of Leinster, Book of Lecan and Rawlinson B 512 Edition: Lebor Gabála Érenn: The Book of the Taking of Ireland, vol v, ed and trans R.A Stewart Macalister, (Dublin: Irish Texts Society 44, 1956) John Carey, A new introduction to Lebor Gabála Érenn (Dublin: Irish Texts Society, 1993) Background: The work is a fictional history of Ireland and seems to have been an attempt at creating a common background for the Irish people The book starts at the creation of the world and works up to the time of writing It contains stories of how and when the Irish settled on the island and recounts its many invasions The stories contain some true elements but mainly consist of legends The work consists of ten books: • The Creation to the Dispersal of the Nations • The Ancestors of the Gaedil 63 Mandy van den Houten • The invasion of Cessair • The invasion of Partholón • The invasion of Nemed • The invasion of the Fir Bolg • The invasion of the Túatha Dé Danann • The Milesian invasion • The role of the kings of Ireland before Christianity • The role of the kings of Ireland after Christianity Summary: The parts of the story that are of interest here are book seven and eight Book seven is about the Túatha Dé Danann (meaning people of the goddess Danu), a race of supernatural beings Throughout the book, three of their women are mentioned: Ériu, Banba and Fotla They are thought to be aspects of a triple goddess who represents the country of Ireland However, the rule of the Túatha Dé Danann comes to an end and in book eight the Milesian invasion has begun The Milesians are the descendants of Míl of Spain At first, the divine race is able to keep the foreigners at bay However, a Milesian bard called Amorgen pleads with the women to allow the invasion Amorgen speaks to each sister separately and all three agree with the invasion on the condition that the island will be named after her Amorgen promises this to each sister, but Ériu is the only one who has foreseen their coming and actually supports the invasion Even though the women are killed during the invasion, the Milesians keep their promise and the country is called after Ériu In fact, the modern Irish name for Ireland, Eire, is derived from it 64 Mandy van den Houten Appendix 4: Baile Chuinn Chétchathaig “The Frenzy of Conn Cétchathach” Author: Anonymous Date: C 700 Language: Old Irish Manuscripts: The text has survived fully in Dublin, R.I.A MS 23.N.10 and London B.L MS Egerton Fragments of the text can be found in Irish poetry Edition: “Baile Chuind Chétchathaig nach der Handschrift von Druim Snechta,” Zu irischen Handschriften und Litteraturdenkmälern, ed Rudolf Thurneysen (Berlin: Weidmann, 1912) 48-52 Background: Same as the other sovereignty narratives Baile Chuinn Chétchathaig165 is an attempt at providing an accurate list of kings The last king who is positively identified is Fínnechta Fledach mac Dúnchada, who reigned from AD 675-695; afterwards the list is no longer historically accurate This detail has helped scholars date the text since it might indicate that it was composed during the reign of that particular king 166 The text resembles the later text of Baile in Scáil in many ways However, unlike BS, BCC lacks a narrative frame, only the list of kings survives, which leaves the text quite short It is possible that BCC influenced BS or perhaps both have a 165 166 Abbreviated to BCC after this Carey 189 65 Mandy van den Houten common source.167 The only thing that is known is that both stories once belonged to the same lost compilation of manuscripts called Cín Dromma Snechtai Summary: As the title implies, the story is a prophecy of a series of Irish kings The first king to be mentioned is Conn of the Hundred Battles, who also features in Baile in Scáil After Conn a number of kings are mentioned, some historical, some fictional, and for each king some achievement or other piece of information is mentioned Their rule is symbolically approved of by the sovereignty goddess, whose presence is merely implied in this story 167 Carey 192 66 Mandy van den Houten Appendix 5: Owain, neu Iarlles y Ffynnon “Owein or the Lady of the Fountain” Author: Anonymous Date: Eleventh or twelfth century Language: Manuscripts: Middle Welsh The Mabinogion is preserved in the fourteenth-century Llyfr Coch Hergest (“Red Book of Hergest”), which is now in the Bodleian Library in Oxford, as MS 111 The other, also fourteenth-century, manuscript source is Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch (“White Book of Rhydderch”) which is kept in the National Library of Wales Edition: The Mabinogion, trans Jeffrey Gantz (New York: Penguin, 1976) Background:168 The three stories which will be discussed in the last three appendices are part of the Welsh Mabinogion and are called Y Tair Rhamant, (“The Three Romances”) This group of tales does not belong to the Four Branches of the Mabinogion and have become known as the three romances because they are the Welsh counterparts of Chrétien de Troyes’ romances Yvain ou le Chevalier au Lion (“Yvain or the Knight of the Lion”), Perceval ou le Conte du Graal (“Perceval or the Story of the Grail”) and Erec et Enide 168 The background information provided for Owein applies to all three romances and will therefore only be mentioned once here 67 Mandy van den Houten (“Erec and Enide”) respectively.169 It is, however, not quite certain when the three Welsh romances were written The stories are thought to be older than the fourteenth-century manuscript it survived in but it is not agreed upon how much older exactly It is therefore also not known whether the French or the Welsh romances were earlier, but it is possible that both had a common source.170 Summary:171 The story begins with one of Arthur’s knight called Cynon, who is telling Cai a story Cynon relates how he found a magic fountain and was defeated by a black knight Owein, who is listening to Cynon, is intrigued by the story of the fountain and decides to go look for it Owein encounters the same scene, but the black knight flees after fighting Owein He disappears into a castle and when Owein follows him he gets locked in Inside he encounters a damsel called Luned who gives him a ring One of the rings qualities is that it can make its wearer invisible That night the black knight dies and at the funeral procession Owein approaches his beautiful widow The widow, however, will not have anything to with the killer of her husband Luned, the girl who helped Owein the night before thinks the widow needs a new husband to defend the fountain She then offers to go to Arthur’s court to find one, but as she already picked Owein, she feigns a visit and comes back with Owein The widow Laudine is not very eager to marry him but gives in because Owein is a better knight than her late husband Owein stays with her for three years until one day Arthur and his knights come for Owein Owein agrees to return to court but promises his wife to come back after three months However, Owein forgets about his promise and is gone for three years Only when a damsel comes for his ring is he reminded of his promise Owein is extremely remorseful and starts wandering He then saves a countess from her neighbour and becomes friends with a lion after saving him from a snake 169 Bromwich 1991, 282 Goetinck 1975, 171 The summary of the three stories will focus mostly on the scenes which are of particular interest to my arguments 170 68 Mandy van den Houten Accompanied by the lion, Owein saves Luned from prison and helps a baron recover his kidnapped sons After these valiant deeds Owein returns to his wife and brings her back to Arthur’s court The end of the story relates how Owein defeats a Black Oppressor who promises to better his ways Owein is then made leader of head of Arthur’s retinue Appendix 6: Peredur fab Efrog “Peredur, son of Efrawg” Summary: Peredur is raised by his mother after the death of his father and brother His mother fears for the life of her last remaining son and therefore takes the boy into isolation However, one day when Peredur is playing the forest, he encounters a group of knights When Peredur asks his mother what these men are she tells them they are angels Despite his mother’s objections, Peredur decides he wants to be like them and wishes to go after them Peredur’s mother senses her son’s determination and lets him go but not without some words of advice She tells him to go to the court of king Arthur, to pray the Our Father when he sees a church, to take food and drink when he needs it, to come to the aid of people crying for help, when he sees a jewel to take it and give it to someone else and finally to court a beautiful woman After two days he meets a damsel and follows his mother’s advice Peredur then continues on his way until he arrives at Arthur’s court, where Gwenhwyfar has just been insulted by the Red Knight who threw the contents of her goblet in her face When Peredur asks to see Arthur he is mocked by Cai but after he tells about his wish to become a knight, Cai tells Peredur to capture the Red Knight and bring back the Queen’s goblet Peredur is successful and is given proper armour Even though he is not made a knight yet, he is made to swear allegiance to Arthur Peredur leaves court and ends up with his uncles who train him 69 Mandy van den Houten as a knight While he is there, something incredible happens A bleeding spear is brought in, along with a platter carrying a severed head Peredur neglects to ask what the meaning of the procession is and there is nobody who explains the scene to him After leaving this place, Peredur encounters more family members who tell him his mother has died with grief after his departure Peredur continues to help people in distress and sends his defeated opponents to Arthur Finally his travels bring him to the empress of Constantinople While the two are having a conversation, three men approach the pair and challenge Peredur to fight for the empress Peredur accepts their challenge by taking the goblet they offer and drinks the wine that is in it When Peredur has defeated the three men, he rules with the empress for fourteen years before he returns to Arthur’s court One day an ugly woman visits the court and reveals how Peredur’s failure to ask questions about what he saw at his uncle’s, has caused his uncle’s lack of health and happiness In an attempt to make up for his past actions, Peredur revenges his family and kills the witches of Caerloyw who were responsible 70 Mandy van den Houten Appendix 7: Geraint ac Enid “Geraint and Enid” Summary: Geraint ac Enid starts with the hunt of a white stag Gwenhwyfar and Geraint are following Arthur’s hunting party when they come upon a knight, who is the company of a lady and a dwarf The queen has her female servant enquire after the knight’s identity but the girl is roughly refused an answer When Geraint tries he is treated the same way and gets whipped in the face Geraint wants to revenge the insult but is not wearing his full armour He then decides to follow the knight until he can get his hands on armour so that he can challenge the knight to a duel After following the knight to his hometown, Geraint meets Enid, the daughter of a poor nobleman, who takes Geraint in After Enid’s father provides Geraint with armour, the latter defeats the haughty knight and sends him to Arthur The two get engaged and Enid is taken to Arthur’s court in her own pitiable garments, where Geraint asks the Queen to dress his fiancée The two get married and enjoy their new life together at Arthur’s court After three years, Geraint has to go back to his father’s country There he is soon well known for being an excellent knight However, after a while he gets bored with fighting and prefers to spend time with Enid As a result of his new lifestyle Geraint is criticised for abandoning his knightly values Enid is very upset by this and is overheard 71 Mandy van den Houten by Geraint as she expresses her worries Geraint gets offended and decides to leave with his wife During their journey, both husband and wife are tested Enid is tested in her love for 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Arthur’s Son.” Folklore 90 (1979): 167-77 Zatzikhoven, Ulrich von Lanzelet Ed Florian Kragl Berlin: De Gruyter, 2006 Ziegler, Georgianna “The Characterization of Guinevere in English and French Medieval Romance.” Diss U of Pennsylvania, 1974 Ann Arbor, Michigan: University Microfilms International, 1982 76 ... woman Another key element of the sovereignty myth is the drinking symbolism The sovereignty goddess can show her approval of the reign of a mortal king by offering him the ale of sovereignty The ale... by the fact that the union of king and goddess is thought to have a immediate effect upon the well-being of the land The result of their sexual union is fruitfulness of the earth Finally, the goddess. .. a manifestation of the theme of sovereignty - but without the dignity of myth, it becomes a mere case of adultery”.55 The abductions Another part of Arthurian literature where Guinevere? ??s fidelity