Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon, my Darlings.   For this week’s Femme Fatale Friday blog post, I will be discussing the evolution of the Lady of the Lake in Arthurian lore!   I thought this would be an ideal way to kick off September, as this is a very Avalonian time of year, with the Autumn Equinox always feeling so Avalonian (with all the Apples). I will examine the evolution of the Lady of the Lake by discussing three of the Ladies of the Lake who are cited with this title in the Arthurian legends.   While the first two Ladies of the Lake I will be discussing are often names of the Lady of the Lake that are used interchangeably, I will focus on one important aspect of the Lady of the Lake for each of them, to show how she has evolved throughout the Arthurian legends.   Without further ado, let’s look at three Ladies of the Lake!

Nimue

~Nimue is one of the oldest names given to the Lady of the Lake.   It is usually stated to be Nimue who raised the orphaned Lancelot in Avalon after his parents died.   This is the Lady of the Lake as she is described to be the protector of Avalon, the aid of Camelot (as she also gifted the sword Excalibur to Arthur), and the positive feminine magickal presence in the legends!   Nimue shows us in her story the maternal and caregiving version of the Lady of the Lake.   Nimue is the Lady of the Lake as a beneficient protector, guide, guardian, and teacher.    She is there to foster Knights and give Sacred Swords to Kings.   She fosters the Sovereignty of the land of Camelot and empowers the magick of Avalon with her deeply maternal care!       

Vivienne

~Vivienne is a name given to the Lady of the Lake most often in the French Romances.   Vivienne is usually stated to be the more Femme Fatale version of the Lady of the Lake, especially in art, as it is Vivienne who is most often named as the Beguiler of Merlin.   The Lady of the Lake is commonly stated to have been a student of the great Wizard Merlin.   However, the most common version story goes that when she could learn no more from Merlin, she imprisoned him inside a Cave or in a Hawthorn tree!   Now, there is obviously much more to the story than that.   Many modern scholars and magickal practitioners think of this as being only one side of the story, Merlin’s.   There is a chance that Vivienne was either a former lover (as they are often said to be lovers) who wanted to end the relationship and had to imprison him when he would not let her go.   Alternatively, it could be that Vivienne never welcomed his advances and imprisoned him because of this!   I like to look at this story from both sides, as I think that they most likely both had fault in the failed relationship.   Beyond that, it is even possible that Vivienne imprisoned Merlin at his own behest, as he was tired of living in the realm of men and wanted to rest, as this is often given as the case for his leaving Arthur in the earliest versions of the tales!       

Morgan le Fay

~Finally, I have to discuss my beloved Morgan le Fay, who, as the Lady of Avalon, is also a Lady of the Lake!   In most versions of the legends, she takes on this title after returning to Avalon.   In this case, this is an evolution for Morgan, going from being the antagonist of her brother to fully embracing her own magickal powers and using them for positive means!   This is Morgan le Fay, as she is when she arrives to ferry Arthur to Avalon after he is mortally wounded during his final battle of Camlann.   This is Morgan le Fay as the leader of the Ninefold Sisterhood of Avalon, as we see her in her first literary appearance in Vita Merlini, where she is a healer and the Goddess of Avalon.   Morgan le Fay, as the Lady of the Lake, is interestingly one of her earliest guises discussed, even though more common versions of the legends have this be the end result of her story, as I stated above.   Morgan le Fay, as Lady of the Lake, is the beneficient healer and nurturer of Priestesses on the Isle of Avalon; she is the Psychopomp ferrying souls, and she is the leader of other magickal Faery Women!

~I hope you have enjoyed reading this post about the evolution of the Lady of the Lake.   Who is your favorite Lady of the Lake?   Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is a lovely Arthurian illustration of the Lady of the Lake.   I found the illustration on https://ch.pinterest.com/pin/940830178406319217/.    

LINK TO AVALONIAN ROSE FAERY MYSTERIES PATREON: patreon.com/AvalonianRoseFaeryMysteries 

Further Reading

• Vita Merlini by Geoffrey of Monmouth
• Vulgate Cycle
• Post-Vulgate Cycle
• Le Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory
• Ladies of the Lake by Caitlin and John Matthews