White Rose of Avalon

Arthurian Legend

  • Guinevere as Arthurian Adulteress

    Welcome to the first ever Femme Fatale Friday here at  White Rose of Avalon!    For this first post in this themed Friday series I have chosen to discuss a figure I have talked about often on this site, Arthur’s wife Guinevere.    Today I want to specifically look at Guinevere’s role as an adulteress…

  • Faerie Tale and Legend Inspired Beauty

    As someone who has always adored Arthurian legend, Pre-Raphaelite art, faeries, and mermaids, I have been inspired by each of these things, in the way I dress and use beauty products.   Mermaid, faerie, and Pre-Raphaelite art all covet long and luscious hair (of course, to be fair faeries can also have short sassy hair…

  • My Top 5 Favorite Knights of the Round Table

    Today I want to countdown my favorite Knights of the Round Table.    Narrowing it down to five was quite difficult, but I was able to come up with five distinct favorites! Number 5: Percival ~The story of Percival is one of a young knight coming from humble origins to become one of the famed…

  • Fata Morgana

    A fata morgana is a type of mirage seen by sailors.    It appears like a mystical structure just above the sea, and it appears quickly.   The reason I want to talk about this particular type of mirage is the origin of its name.    It is named for Morgan Le Fay, and in…

  • Living in My Own World

    Living in my own world is how I phrase my personal outlook on life.    I have my own internal world that is quite a unique, and imaginative place!   I have a deeply complex imagination, and my personal loves and desires are very much things that influence everything I do.    My imagination allows…

  • Gawain and the Green Knight

    The tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a medieval one (14th century) written by an anonymous author.   The title was interestingly only given centuries later.   It has since been translated by many great poets and scholars!    This summer, the much awaited film (that was supposed to premiere last year…

  • Artistic Interpretations of The Lady of Shallot

    Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote the poem The Lady of Shallot based on Arthurian legend.    His poem would be so immensely popular that it would go on to inspire many artistic interpretations (even though it was an artistic interpretation itself).   Victorian age artists adored this subject! The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, especially, would be inspired by…

  • Morgause: Mother of Mordred

    Morgause is one of the sisters of King Arthur in the Arthurian Legends.   It is her, instead of Morgan Le Fay, who is given to be the mother of Mordred in the earliest tellings.    I have discussed Morgan as Mordred’s mother previously.   Morgan and Morgause tended to get conflated as time went…

  • Morgan Le Fay as Morrigan

    Morgan Le Fay can be seen as an Arthurian take on the Irish Celtic goddess the Morrigan.   The Morrigan is a death goddess and a war goddess.    She was often associated with battlefields and warriors.    The Morrigan was a crow goddess who was deeply connected to this bird, which makes sense given…

  • Beltane

    Beltane is also known as Calan Mai in ancient Welsh Celtic societies.   It is the celebration of the beginning of May, and of the fertility of the land, and people.   Many goddesses and faerie queens are associated with Beltane.    They include Blodeuwedd, Rhiannon, and Maeve.   Guinevere is often associated with the…