Choron Zy

MORGAN LE FAY, NIMUE AND MERLIN IN SIR THOMAS MALORY’S LE
MORTE D ’ARTHUR: ADVANCEMENT AND DEVASTATION THROUGH MAGIC
BY
JESSICA A. CHORONZY
A Thesis Submitted to the School o f Graduate Studies

in Partial Fulfillment o f the Requirement for the Degree o f
Master o f Arts
Southern Connecticut State University

N ew Haven, Connecticut
August 2006
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MORGAN LE FAY, NIMUE AND MERLIN IN SIR THOMAS MALORY’S LE MORTE
D 'ARTHUR: ADVANCEMENT AND DEVASTATION THROUGH MAGIC
BY
JESSICA A. CHORONZY
This thesis was prepared under the direction o f the candidate’s thesis advisor, Dr. Sue
Ellen Holbrook, Department o f English, and it has been approved by the members o f the
candidate’s thesis committee. It was submitted to the School o f Graduate Studies and was
accepted in partial fulfillment o f the requirements for the degree o f Master o f Arts.
eg'S /yrf-f hA
Sue Ellen Holbroolk, Ph.D. ^
Thesis Advisor
Dana Sonnenschein, Ph.D.

Second Reader
Robert McEachem, Ph.D.

Department Chairperson
i C. Holley Ph.D.
2an, School o f Graduate Studies
J u ly 13,—2Q06-
Date
ABSTRACT
Author: Jessica A. Choronzy
Title: MORGAN LE FAY, NIMUE AND MERLIN IN SIR THOMAS
MALORY’S LE MORTE D ’ARTHUR: ADVANCEMENT AND
DEVASTATION THROUGH MAGIC
Thesis Advisor: Sue Ellen Holbrook, Ph.D.
Institution: Southern Connecticut State University
Degree: Master o f Arts
Year: 2006
The magical characters in Sir Thomas Malory’s text Le Morte D ’Arthur appear contradictory;
Merlin, Nimue and Morgan Le Fay employ magic to assist and destroy. This thesis endeavors to
create a more comprehensive understanding o f these characters by employing history, the Celtic
origins o f the characters and the evolutions o f the characters in a source study o f Malory through
his predecessors, Geoffrey o f Monmouth and the authors o f the French Vulgate Cycle. The
imperfect fusion o f the Celtic and pagan religions and the confusion o f the place o f magic in
society, which is evinced in the budding medieval sciences, parallel the allure and threat o f the
magical characters in Malory’s Arthuriad. By tracking the metamorphoses o f the characters in
the source studies and aligning them with their Celtic origins, I conclude that these characters are
not contradictory; rather, they function as misunderstood Celtic forces in Malory’s Christianized,
Arthurian society.
iii
To Mom, Dad, Amy and Pop,
You’ve made it so everything w ill always be possible; I love you.
iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I’d like to thank the people who have contributed their time, talents and support to this
project Great thanks goes to my thesis advisor and friend, Dr. Sue Ellen Holbrook. Her selfless
devotion o f time and guidance truly turned the germ o f an idea into reality. It was an honor to
collaborate with a respected Arthurian scholar, such as she and Thursday afternoons w ill be
greatly missed. I’d also like to thank my second reader, Dr. Dana Sonnenschein for her time and
care in reading the thesis and offering new perspectives. Lastly, much thanks to my family,
Mom, Dad, Amy, Mike and Tom. Thank you for always being interested in and excited about
this project. Your hugs, laughter and inspirational words were invaluable to me throughout this
process.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION TO THE ST U D Y ..................................................................................................... 1
CHAPTER ONE: MALORY’S CONTRADICTORY MAGICAL CHARACTERS...................... 4
MERLIN.........................................................................................................................................5
NIMUE......................................................................................................................................... 11
MORGAN.....................................................................................................................................14
CHAPTER TWO: CELTIC ORIGINS.................................................................................................19
NIM UE........................................................................................................................................20
MORGAN.................................................................................................................................... 24
MERLIN...................................................................................................................................... 29
CHAPTER THREE: GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH...................................................................... 35
HISTORIA REGUMBRITANNIAE..........................................................................................36
THE VITA MERLINI.................................................................................................................. 38
CHAPTER FOUR: THE FRENCH VULGATE CYCLE.....................................................................41
MERLIN...................................................................................................................................... 42
THE FEMALE MAGICIANS.................................................................................................. 45
NINIANE..................................................................................................................................... 46
MORGAN.................................................................................................................................... 50
CHAPTER FIVE: HISTORY & MEDIEVAL NOTIONS OF MAGIC AND WOMEN............. 54
vi
THE SUB-CONSCIOUS PLANE.......................................................................................... 55
THE FUNCTION OF DEMONS ON THE SUB-CONSCIOUS PLANE........................ 57
THE CONSCIOUS PLANE.................................................................................................... 59
MEDIEVAL CONFUSION OF MAGIC EVINCED BY THE SCIENCES....................64
ASTRONOMY/ASTROLOGY...............................................................................................65
MEDICINE.................................................................................................................................66
NAMING THE MEDIEVAL WOMAN................................................................................68
CHAPTER 6: THE CHARACTERS RE-VISITED.......................................................................... 73
MERLIN..................................................................................................................................... 73
NIMUE........................................................................................................................................78
MORGAN.................................................................................................................... ...............80
CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION............................................................................................................ 85
APPENDIX.............................................................................................................................................. 90
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................................ 91
INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY
As a student o f literature, my encounters with Arthurian literature have been scattered
throughout my educational history. Always part o f a medieval or Victorian literature class, the
different Arthurian texts managed to work their way into the curriculum, but my knowledge o f
this genre was basically designated to the century o f the respective text. It was not until I took a
Celtic mythology class at Southern Connecticut State University, taught by my thesis advisor Dr.
Holbrook, that I learned the Arthurian characters had a much richer legacy. It was at this point
that I began rethinking the texts and the characters with regard to their evolutions over the
centuries, which was the inception o f this study.
I began noticing that the magical characters underwent more significant transformations
throughout the centuries than the non-magical figures and Le Morte D ’A rthur by Sir Thomas
Malory, ca. 1480, proved the most emblematic work in terms o f these evolutions. Malory’s late
medieval text was revolutionary, because for the first time all o f the Arthurian tales were woven
into a single literary work, complete with plot line and character development. Since the magical
Arthurian characters, Merlin, Nimue and Morgan le Fay maintain an exquisitely comprehensive
history, as former Celtic figures, one would expect to encounter a profound evolvement o f them
in Malory’s late-medieval work. On the contrary, this happens to be the text in which Morgan,
Nimue and Merlin are the least explicated and developed. By investigating Malory’s source
studies and the history o f the Celtic religion and pagan magic, it became clear that Malory’s
representation o f the magical characters reflected his British culture, past and present. From the
Romanization o f the Celts, to the m issionizing campaign o f Rome to the developing misogyny in
Britain, all o f these factors bore influence upon Malory’s interpretation o f the magical characters.
Although many literary scholars approach an historical interpretation with trepidation, I
have discovered that applying history and the source studies to this project was an especially
useful approach. Through an historical lens, the developments o f Nimue, Morgan and Merlin
became fixed in a more concrete foundation. I was gradually able to deconstruct their confining,
human and contradictory roles in Malory’s text through specific historical considerations, and
perceive them in a broader, more plausible context. One o f the most revealing parallels between
history and literature is the treatment o f magic in the budding medieval sciences and the
treatment o f Malory’s magical figures. Medieval astrology/astronomy and medicine began as
renamed forms o f pagan magic that were harnessed and utilized for the advancement o f society.
Pagan magic was able to penetrate society in this way through the precarious distinctions
between acceptable, Christianized magic and unacceptable, Celtic necromancy. Merlin, Morgan
and Nimue are treated similarly in Malory’s text. While they are needed to advance society and
spirituality, they are fundamentally pagan forces and therefore, reconfigured and harnessed into
less threatening roles as human beings. Their contradictory actions chiefly resulted from this
duality; they are Celtic forces contained within predominantly human embodiments. Morgan and
Nimue were presented even more paradoxically, primarily because they were female
practitioners o f magic in a misogynistic medieval society. However, when Merlin, Nimue and
Morgan are considered according to Malory’s source studies and their original Celtic identities,
their antithetical natures become resolved in Le Morte D ’Arthur. This study therefore postulates
that in order to comprehensively account for Merlin, Nimue and Morgan in Malory’s text, we
must not view them simply according to their human containments, but according to their roles
as unbridled Celtic forces.
CHAPTER ONE: MALORY’S CONTRADICTORY MAGICAL CHARACTERS
Perhaps one o f the most obscure idiosyncrasies o f Malory’s text, Le Morte D ’Arthur, is
the portrayal o f the magical characters, Nimue, Morgan le Fay and Merlin. It is difficult to gain
an understanding o f these characters in Malory’s work, for not only are they paradoxical
characters, hut they are only chiefly featured in the first four books. This lack o f explication, in
addition to their contradictory natures, are the reasons as to why the magical characters are so
elusive in Malory’s text. Merlin is presented as an all-powerful wizard and prophet, yet, his
powers are ultimately ineffective; he proves unable to save him self and Arthurian society from
the doom he so clearly foresees. Nimue is a classic example o f a literary femme fatal; she is an
ambitious murderess, yet she is also the loyal fairy lover o f Pelleas and Merlin’s successor as
Arthur’s protector. Morgan le Fay is featured as Arthur’s nemesis and a whirlwind o f
destruction; however, she is also portrayed as a healer and Arthur’s protectress by escorting him
safely to die afterlife. In subsequent chapters, I shall suggest that the contradictions within each
magical character are due in part to the inherent medieval confusion regarding the role o f magic
in society. I shall also suggest that this confusion about magic stems from the historical
overlaying o f the pagan and Christian religions upon the Christianization o f Britain and Ireland
during the fifth century AD.
MERLIN:
The incongruities o f Merlin’s character are namely due to an ambiguity concerning exactly who
(or what) he is and the extents o f his powers. For all o f Merlin’s wizardly abilities, he is still
bound to earthly constraints, such as fate. At times it appears as though he can break free from
these humanly shackles, yet there are certain pivotal situations in which he has not the power, or
the gumption, to ameliorate the destructive future he prophesizes. In addition to this, the readers,
as w ell as the Arthurian characters, are never quite sure if Merlin is an incubus,1 for Malory does
not explicitly divulge that information. Nevertheless, Merlin’s penumbral genealogy stations
him ambiguously between worlds (earth/hell) and species (human/demon). Therefore, Merlin
maintains an intermediary role in Arthurian society, and this position ultimately accounts for his
contradictions, as w ill be discussed in chapter six.
Historically, it was authors o f the French Vulgate Cycle2 who demonized Merlin by
portraying a scene in which Merlin’s mother is raped by a demon, which w ill be discussed frilly
in chapter four. Malory, on the other hand, opts not to classify Merlin as evil. Instead, his
demonic parentage is only alluded to through other characters, thereby likening Merlin’s incubus
humor in Malory’s text to hearsay, as opposed to fact. We first recognize Merlin’s possible
affiliation with Satan through Nimue’s perspective. She resists his sexual advances, and it
appears that she refrains from any type o f personal relationship with Merlin on the grounds that
he is in part demonic, as Malory conveys: “And always Merlin lay about the lady to have her
maidenhood, and she was passing weary o f him, and fain would have been delivered o f him, for
1 An incubus is a being bom with both human and demonic genealogies. In Merlin’s case, his father was a demon
and his mother, a human.
2 The edition of The French Vulgate Cycle used in this thesis is Launcelot-Grail: The Old French Vulgate Arthurian
Vulgate and Post-Vulgate (5 vols.) edited by Norris J. Lacy
5
she was afeared o f him because he was a devil’s son” (1:118). While Nimue is frightened o f
Merlin on a personal level, she is not fearful o f his craft, as w ill be discussed in the section o f
this chapter pertaining specifically to Nimue. Nevertheless, she seems to be convinced o f
Merlin’s true nature while the rest o f Camelot speculates, as disclosed by Morgan and Uriens’
son, Uwain. Enraged at his mother for attempting to murder his father, Uwain inadvertently
reveals the popular opinion circulating about Merlin: “men saith that Merlin was begotten o f a
devil, but I may say an earthly devil bare me” (1: 138). Since his genealogy may be nothing more
than a fallacious rumor, the possibility o f Merlin being an incubus proves not as threatening as
the reality o f his definitive magical proficiency.
Such a postulation is demonstrative in Le Morte D ’A rthur by the secondary passages that
associate Merlin with evil not through his parentage, but through his magical adeptness. One
such reference occurs at the end o f book one where Merlin is being chased by churls and saved
by King Arthur: “‘O Merlin,’ said Arthur, ‘here hadst thou been slain for all thy crafts had I not
been’” (1: 52). Another casual reference can be found at the end o f book three, when Pellinor
overhears two knights plotting to poison Arthur, and one knight issues a warning to the other:
“‘Beware,’ said the other knight, ‘o f Merlin, for he knoweth all things by the devil’s craft’” (1:
114). Although the residents o f Malory’s Arthurian society are unsure as to Merlin’s true
pedigree, they are most confident o f his magical and prophetic abilities, which prove reason
enough in Malory’s text, and in medieval society, to associate an individual with the demonic
league.
Because Merlin’s identity as a supernatural entity remains tenebrous in Malory’s text, so
do the extents o f his powers. Merlin is sonorously capable o f wielding god-like supremacy, yet
in certain situations, he is divested o f these virtuosities and confined to the human realm o f fate.
Despite his gift o f foreknowledge, he is unable to amend the future, even to save himself. In
addition to this, the people who solicit Merlin’s prophetic advice eventually displace him as an
operative source o f power by disregarding his forewarnings. Therefore, Merlin is antithetically
all- powerful, yet helpless in Le Morte D ’A rthur.
Merlin’s appearances in the first four books steadily decline until he willingly succumbs
to his own foreseen doom in book four. His self-imposed withdraw from the Arthurian society,
which he created, suggests that Merlin apprehends that he is a defeated figure from the
beginning. The first book features Merlin as the driving force o f Arthurian society; he becomes
Arthur’s ‘creator,’ protector and military advisor. Book one is unique o f the four books featuring
Merlin’s appearances, since he maintains an active role, intervening upon certain occasions to
assure the safety o f Arthur and his kingdom. In books two through four, Merlin begins his
societal withdraw and is either unable to, or chooses not to directly intervene any longer; instead,
he delivers his mostly unheeded prophesies until his death in book four.
Book one explodes with Merlin’s godly powers through his ‘creation’ o f Arthur and
Arthurian society. Uther Pendragon, sick with love and desire for the Duke o f Cornwall’s wife,
Igraine, sent for Merlin, who devised a plan to shape-shift Uther into the Duke so that he may
enter the castle o f Tintagel freely to quench his desire for Igraine. This union bore Arthur, who
was then given to Merlin to rear. Merlin was also responsible for concocting the legendary
sword in the stone event, which was ultimately designed to prove before the lords in the land that
Arthur was the rightful king o f Britain. After the groundwork o f establishing the Arthurian rule
had been secured, Merlin takes the roles o f military strategist, protector and advisor in order to
maintain the young and inexperienced Arthur’s rule. It was thanks to Merlin’s clever military
advice and specific battle plans that Arthur was successful in the war waged by the eleven kings.
A lso, it was Merlin who revealed Arthur’s regal heritage, which helped legitim ize his kingship in
the eyes o f the opposing lords. The powers displayed in these initial scenes leave the impression
that Merlin is an unconquerable, dynamic force o f power and that his priority is caring for this
society he has created
In addition to initially protecting Arthur’s rule in book one, Merlin also protects the
King’s very life through his prophetic and magical interventions. One particular scene, which
displays this direct intervention occurs when Merlin places a sleeping enchantment upon Pellinor
before he has a chance to mistakenly slay Arthur. Moreover, Merlin attempts to reverse one o f
his tragic prophecies by telling Arthur to send away all the children that were bom on May-day:
“for Merlin told king Arthur that he that should destroy him should be bom in May-day,
wherefore he sent for them all, upon pain o f death.. .and so was Mordred sent by King Lot’s
w ife, and all were out in a ship to the sea...” (1: 58). Consequently, this scene also presents the
first foreshadowing o f Merlin’s future ineffectiveness. Later in this passage, Merlin’s attempt to
alter fate is foiled when the ship carrying the children crashed into a castle, and the only
surviving child was indeed Mordred, Arthur’s son and future destroyer.
Throughout books two through four there is a sudden shift in the potency o f Merlin’s
powers. In book one Merlin prescribes and alters destiny, particularly Arthur’s, through his
magical interventions. However, book two marks the beginning o f Merlin’s impotence against
the momentum o f fate and his self-imposed withdraw from society is foreshadowed when Merlin
replaces direct interventions with prophetic warnings. In book two, Merlin takes special care to
warn the Knight, Balin, that his failure to save his opponent’s lady before she slew herself w ill
have tragic ramifications: ‘“because o f the death o f that lady thou shalt strike a stroke most
dolorous that ever man struck.. .for thou shalt hurt the truest knight and the man o f most worship
that now liveth.. ( 1 : 71). The Knight Merlin speaks o f is Balin’s brother, Balan, and this
cryptic message does not prevent Balin and his brother from accidentally slaying each other by
the end o f book two. Because Merlin’s foreknowledge cannot prevent or supercede providence,
his prophecies are futile. Another instance in book two, which reinforces Merlin’s subjectivity to
fate, transpires at the funerals o f Balin and Balan. Merlin takes Balin’s sword and delivers the
prophecy that by this instrument, Launcelot, “shall slay the man he loved best, that shall be Sir
Gawin” (1: 90). Merlin then attempts to alter this fate by bounding the sword inside a stone set
above a stream yet “by adventure it swam down the stream into the city o f Camelot” (1: 90).
Merlin’s powers are again undermined by fate, a notion that sharply contradicts his role in book
one as the providential force o f Arthurian rule.
In the first book, Arthur and the whole o f society is dependent upon Merlin’s advice and
powers, yet by the third book Merlin’s most critical prophecy is ignored. When Arthur was a
new King and his rule was in its infancy, he depended heavily upon Merlin for advice,
prophecies and interventions, but in book three, Merlin is not as needed by the established and
secure Arthur. Merlin’s major scene in the third book is his warning to Arthur against marrying
Guenevere: “But Merlin warned the king covertly that Guenever was not wholesome for him to
take to w ife, for he warned him that Launcelot should love her, and she him ...” (1: 92-3). Arthur
completely disregards the warning and Merlin actually neglects his own cautionary prophecy, for
it is Merlin that goes to Guenever’s father to arrange the marriage. This scene reveals a defeated
Merlin, who is caught between the future and the present, again the intermediary, and is no
longer able to impact the course o f either time frame.
Book four presents the completion o f the vanquished Merlin, for he is unable even to
change his own destiny to save him self from a seemingly reversible situation. Merlin clearly
foresees that by teaching Nimue his magic, she w ill gain enough knowledge to destroy him by
imprisonment within a stone. Yet, he continues to teach her magic and relinquishes himse lf fully
to his demise. It is as if the weakening o f Merlin’s potency as a magician and prophet renders
Arthurian society more secure and self-sufficient; thus, the society he has established operates
according to its own orbit and Merlin is displaced and subject to the course o f fate that has
emerged. However, Merlin realizes that his presence w ill be missed by Arthur, as he tells the
King, “yet had ye lever than all your lands to have me again” (1: 117). Upon hearing this, Arthur
asks the question the readers are thinking: “since ye know o f your adventure, purvey for it, and
put away by your crafts that misadventure” (1: 117). Instead o f offering an explanation, Merlin
simply answers, “‘Nay’... it w ill not be” (1: 117). Merlin then leaves the kingdom and helplessly
follows Nimue to his doom. In this scene especially, Merlin’s contradictions surface as the once
dynamic prophet and advisor to the helpless, displaced and fated man. The latter seems
10
especially pitiful, for he can know the future, but either cannot or w ill not alter it. This discussion
w ill be further explicated when the characters are revisited after the historical illuminations.
NIMUE:
The actions o f Nimue and Morgan are dichotomized as either good or evil. Each woman
embodies both opposing forces with little middle ground, whereas Merlin’s intermediary role is
not as condemnable. As w ill be discussed more fully in chapter five, this has to do with the
medieval notion o f the ‘unknowable’ natures o f women and the compulsion to classify them as
either a Maiy or an Eve prototype. Therefore, it is not surprising that the contradictions o f
Nimue’s character range significantly from a dominated woman, to a murderess, and finally to
Merlin’s successor.
When we first meet Nimue, she appears as a huntress, riding into Arthur’s court in
pursuit o f a white palfrey. Consequently, she is the possession o f not just one, but two men. At
this point the differentiation must be made between Nimue and her sister. While Nimue is indeed
one o f the ladies o f the lake, she is not the Lady o f the Lake who gave Arthur Excalibur and was
later beheaded by Balin for the murder o f his mother. Instead, Nimue arrives upon the Arthurian
scene clearly more helpless than her sister, for two jousting knights are determining her fate. The
first is her cousin, who is Sir M eliot, and the other is Sir Hontzlake, who stole her from Arthur’s
court; both desire possession o f her. Pellinor settles the discord by wounding Hontzlake and
making peace with M eliot, bringing Nimue safely back to Arthur’s court.
11
On the way back to the court, Nimue begins to reveal that she is not simply the proverbial
damsel in distress. Instead, her ability to advise and deliver social justice is manifested.
Pellinor’s quest was to bring Nimue back to court after Hontzlake had taken her, and he was in
such fervor to succeed in this adventure that he disregarded a damsel’s cry for help to avenge her
slain knight. On the journey back to court, Pellinor saw that the lady had slain herself out o f
sheer grief, and he lamented greatly at his failure to help and potentially save her. Nimue
instructs him to bury the knight in a hermitage and bear the lady’s head to King Arthur; Pellinor
complies. Nimue’s insistence that he account for this lady’s fate in the presence o f the court also
suggests that she has a sense o f sisterhood, as her own fate has been determined by men thus far.
Nimue’s portrayal has been benevolent in the aforementioned scenes, but book four is
where Nimue’s contradictions surface as both murderess and savior. A s mentioned in the
previous discussion o f Merlin, Nimue was fearful o f him because she believed him to be “a
devil’s son” (1: 118). A lso, there is a brief mention o f Nimue despising Merlin because she
perceived that he desired her maidenhead and was likewise, “ever passing weary o f him” ( 1:
118). In the earlier text, The French Vulgate Cycle, Merlin poses serious threat to Nimue’s
protected virginity and her destruction o f him is portrayed as self-defense. In Malory’s text,
Merlin is presented as more o f a nuisance than a threat, and Nimue’s entombment o f him seems
an unwarranted act o f cruelty: “So by her subtle workings she made Merlin to go under that
stone to let her wit o f the marvels there, but she wrought so there for him that he came never out
for all the crafts he could do” (1: 118). Also, this scene is exceptionally brief when compared to
The French Vulgate text; thus, a full explanation o f Nimue’s motives is lacking in Le Morte
D ’A rthur and Nimue emerges as an obdurate femme fatal.
12
However, Nimue does redeem herself as book four progresses by establishing herself as
Merlin’s successor through saving Arthur’s life on two occasions. In the beginning o f book four,
Nimue uses her magic for ‘evil’ by entombing Merlin, yet she eventually commits her magic to
the powers o f ‘good’ by reversing Morgan’s thaumaturgy and preserving Arthur’s life. The first
usage o f this philanthropic magic occurs when Arthur is near death in a battle with Accolon, who
is fighting with Excalibur, while the King is unknowingly fighting with a counterfeit sword (not
Excalibur) made by Morgan. Nimue takes action as she uses her enchantments to switch the
swords: “.. .by the damsel’s enchantment the sword Excalibur fell out o f Accolon’s hand to the
earth” (1: 133). Another scene in which Nimue saves Arthur from Morgan’s devices occurs
when Morgan sent him an enchanted mantle as an ‘apology’ for the aforementioned murder plot.
Nimue advises, “put not on you this mantle till ye have seen more, and in no w ise let it come on
you nor on no knight o f yours till ye command the bringer thereof to put it upon her” (1: 142).
When the messenger put the mantle on, she immediately disintegrated into ashes.
Book four ends with the portrayal o f Nimue as an enforcer o f social justice on behalf o f
King Pelleas. By the end o f book four, Nimue appears as the champion o f valiant knights
through her associations with Arthur and now Pelleas. Besides her love for Arthur, she saves the
King because she is deeply moved by his struggle during his battle with Accolon: “she had great
pity that so good a knight and such a man o f prowess should so be destroyed” (1:132-3).
Nimue’s appreciation o f honorable knights also moves her to action on behalf o f King Pelleas,
for the good King is near death as a result o f his heartbreak over the cruel Ettard’s refused o f his
love. Nimue discovers this and says, “.. .it is no joy o f such a proud lady that w ill have no mercy
13
on a valiant knight” (1:157). Nimue casts a sleeping enchantment over Pelleas, a love
enchantment over Ettard, and proceeds to tell Ettard that Pelleas was dead on account o f her. The
resolution is that Ettard dies o f a broken heart and Nimue and Pelleas fall in love. Throughout the
text, Nimue acts as Pelleas’ protector and loyal fairy lover. As will be explicated fully in chapter
six, Nimue’s contradictions o f character in Malory’s text are due in part to the brevity with
which she is explained. Insightful details o f her personality, which are derived from her Celtic
persona and within The French Vulgate Cycle, are omitted from Malory’s text. Therefore, the
representations o f Nimue in Malory’s text are incomplete and appear incongruous.
MORGAN:
Morgan and Nimue differ in Le Morte D ’Arthur primarily because Nimue redeems
herself for the ‘murder’ o f Merlin through her magical interventions on behalf o f Arthur and
Pelleas. Contrarily, Morgan has virtually no redeeming qualities, save her role in escorting
Arthur to the afterlife (the island o f Avalon) and her charge as Alisander’s healer. Similar to
Nimue’s treatment in Le Morte D ’Arthur, there are several idiosyncrasies o f Morgan’s repertoire
that are omitted from this text. Unlike Nimue, however, the vilification o f Morgan begins before
Malory’s text in The French Vulgate Cycle. The medieval repugnancy attached to Morgan
sharply contrasts her Celtic origins, since as a Celtic goddess she was portrayed as ‘The Great
Queen.’ In Celtic mythology, Morgan (the Morrigan) reigned judiciously over both life and
death, which rendered her perhaps a controversial goddess, but not a diabolical one. In Malory’s
text, however, the former ‘Celtic Great Queen’ is portrayed as a malefactor, intent upon
murdering her half brother, Arthur. The great contradiction o f Morgan stems from her role as
14
Arthur’s nemesis until she reappears as one o f the women, who ferries the dying Arthur to
Avalon to heal his battle wounds.
Morgan’s significant appearances in Malory’s work occur namely in book four, where
she is a cyclone o f possible devastation. With regards to Arthur, both o f Morgan’s murder
attempts develop a palatable motif; she both gives and takes away material objects. In the first
instance, she ‘takes away.’ Arthur entrusts Morgan with caring for Excalibur, but she gives the
magical sword to her lover, Accolon, and creates a counterfeit sword. Her scheme is that Arthur
w ill lose against Accolon in battle without Excalibur, and Accolon w ill usurp kingship. As
discussed earlier, Morgan almost succeeds until Nimue foils her ambitious design- The assiduous
Morgan steals away the scabbard o f Excalibur while Arthur is recuperating in an abbey after the
battle with Accolon. Arthur promptly discovers the theft and pursues her through the forest.
Realizing she could not escape, Morgan threw the scabbard into a lake and shape-shifted herself,
her horse and her knights into stones.
The second murder attempt is rendered by giving, when Morgan sends Arthur a
bewitched mantle as a munificent ‘apology.’ Before Nimue intervenes, Arthur is delighted by the
regal mantle brought by Morgan’s damsel: “... [she] brought with her the richest mantle that was
ever seen in that court, for it was set in precious stones as one might stand by another, and there
were the richest stones that ever the king saw... [w]hen the king beheld the mantle it pleased him
m uch...” (1: 142). Thus, Arthur’s vision is superficial and unable to penetrate surface level,
which is also evinced in Morgan’s first murder attempt, when Arthur could not recognize the
counterfeit Excalibur.
15
These murder attempts reflect a form o f Celtic hero testing and are designed to actually
benefit Arthur in the future. The scenes in which Morgan attacks Arthur closely resemble the
actions o f Morgan’s Celtic counterpart. The Morrigan also administers a series o f assailments to
the Celtic hero she is associated with, CuChulainn. Similarly, these attacks prove not to be
maniacal; instead they are tests issued to strengthen the hero. A full discussion o f Morgan’s
particular tests w ill be had in chapter six. Nevertheless, it is initially difficult to perceive Morgan
as a possible instructress in Malory’s text on account o f her concentrated, and sordidly one
dimensional portrayal in Le Morte D ’Arthur. Furthermore, her care o f Arthur in the afterlife
seems more than contradictory in the context o f the narrative; when considered in relation to the
exchanges between Arthur and Morgan, the final scene appears to be a misfit and inappropriate
one.
The actualization o f Morgan as Arthur’s healer in Avalon is indeed an incongruous
notion, and so is her act o f healing the wounded knight, Alisander. In the cases o f both Arthur
and Alisander, Morgan is functioning as a life force and a source o f rejuvenation as a healer, yet
her villainous persona taints this benevolent role. Her destructive relationship with Arthur prior
to their sojourn to Avalon complicates Morgan as a life source and a similar complication is true
in the case Alisander. After he is fatally wounded in book ten, Morgan steals him away to her
castle: “The Queen Morgan le Fay searched his wounds, and gave such an ointment unto him
that he should have died. And on the mom when she came to him he complained him sore; and
then she put other ointments upon him, and then he was out o f his pain” (2: 73). However,
Alisander comes to understand that Morgan’s healing services bear a hefty price.
16
Morgan is conspiring with Alisander’s enemy, King Mark, who happens to be the reason
for Alisander’s previous battle. With no compunction, Morgan informs Alisander that he must
swear to be her prisoner for a year if he wishes to be fully healed. The Knight chooses to be
healed o f his wounds, but is later rescued from Morgan’s castle. By juxtaposing the healing
scenes, involving Arthur and Alisander, Morgan’s identity as a healer is either contradicted by
her dubious motives or past actions. Like Nimue, the character o f Morgan is not frilly explicated
in Malory’s text and, she too is a dangerously contradictory force set loose in Le Morte
D ’Arthur.
We have reviewed the individual contrarieties o f Merlin, Nimue and Morgan, but these
characters share one grand contradiction. A ll three o f the magical figures in Malory’s text
promise advancement, either socially and/or spiritually while simultaneously threatening
devastation. Merlin creates Arthurian rule, yet the case may be made that he also destroys his
creation through his ultimate ineffectiveness as a prophet/magician and through his self-imposed
withdrawal. Nimue employs her powers for both ‘good’ and ‘evil.’ She both destroys Merlin and
becomes his successor, protecting Arthur and enforcing social justice. Morgan is a constant
symbol o f malice and destruction, yet in certain scenes she is a figure o f renewal as a healer.
This becomes obvious by her attempts to destroy and heal Arthur’s body and ultimately
protecting his soul in the sojourn to the afterlife. The powers these three characters wield to both
destroy and create bears an historical parallel; the medieval epoch also exemplified a similar
attraction to and fear o f (pagan) magic. A complete discussion o f this historical parallel w ill be
had in chapter five, and the characters o f Merlin, Nimue and Morgan in Malory’s text w ill be
17
revisited in chapter six in order to gain a more comprehensive perspective and re-evaluate their
ostensive contradictions within Malory’s text.
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CHAPTER TWO: CELTIC ORIGINS
In order to fully understand the contradictions o f Merlin, Nimue and Morgan within Le
Morte D ’Arthur, we must engage in a source study o f Malory’s text. Because Arthurian
literature has been evolving since the oral transmission o f Celtic tales, the development o f the
characters in a respective study are equally as important as the portrayal o f the characters in the
text itself. Source studies are a common methodology in Arthurian scholarship in order to
acquire a complete understanding o f the characters. The required sources o f examination for this
study o f Malory’s text are the Celtic origins o f the characters, Geoffrey o f Monmouth and the
French Vulgate Cycle.3 After these sources are discussed and the evolutions o f Merlin, Nimue
and Morgan become clear, the contradictions in Malory’s text become more tenable.
The Celtic personas o f Merlin, Nimue and Morgan naturally embody the religion and
beliefs o f the pagan Celts. This is the fundamental reason as to why these powerful characters
threaten medieval society and Arthurian-medieval society. However, both the historical and
literary societies are compelled by the uncontainable Celtic powers; thus the attempt to harness
and utilize these Celtic forces.
3 For dates of the medieval source studies, please refer to the appendix
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NIMUE:
An attempt to confine Nimue to one specific goddess would be in vain, for there are
numerous Celtic water goddesses and gods. Nimue therefore represents common elements shared
by these goddesses, which are their associations to fertility, rejuvenation and their later personas
as fairies. There are several water goddesses in Celtic mythology, such as Coventina, Cleena,
Clota and Vera o f the Tuatha De Danann, but Clota is the most illustrious goddess o f fertility and
fairy lore. David MacCulloch, author o f The Religion o f the Ancient Celts, describes Clota as,
“an old goddess o f fertility, whose festival in which gods were latterly more prominent, is still
remembered” (70). MacCulloch goes on to describe Clota’s water and fairy connections: “She is
also associated with the waters as a water-nymph captured for a time as a fairy-bride by the Earl
o f Desmond” (70). Traces o f Clota can be detected in Malory’s Nimue, as she is also an esoteric
water goddess o f rebirth, turned fairy lover o f Pelleas.
Nimue also shares similarities to a particular W elsh water goddess. Branwen, whose
father was a sea god, was alleged to have been a water goddess associated with the cauldron, a
popular Celtic symbol o f fertility and rejuvenation: “.. .we connect her with the cauldron
described in her legend, symbol o f an orgiastic cult, and regard her as a goddess o f fertility”
(MacCulloch 103). Because o f Nimue’s water goddesses predecessors, she functions in
Arthurian society as a symbol o f life and social rejuvenation, even her femme fatal reputation in
Malory’s text is a gesture o f rebirth, which w ill be discussed in chapter six.
Accordant to most primitive cultures, water in Celtic society was a much respected life
source. One means o f worship included making offerings to a particular body o f water out o f
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respect and/or in an effort to massage the tempers o f the water deity. N igel Pennick, author o f
the book Celtic Sacred Landscapes, elaborates, “[m]aking offerings to the gods o f rivers and
lakes is a venerable Celtic tradition. Rich parade armour and weapons o f the Iron Age have been
found in England in the Thames.. .Sacrifices to the lake were considered necessary for the w ell
being o f the surrounding land; when the treasures were stolen, disaster ensued” (64). In later
texts such as the French Vulgate Cycle and Le Morte D ’Arthur, this Celtic water veneration
practice is emulated in the event o f The Lady o f the Lake, Nimue’s counterpart, bequeathing
Excalibur unto Arthur, and the King’s return o f the sword to the lake upon his death. The
relationship between Arthur and the lake goddess echoes the respect the Celts maintained for
natural bodies o f water. After all, it was the decision o f The Lady o f the Lake to bestow the
powers o f Excalibur unto Arthur and the King ritualistically accepts her gift, and follow s the
instructions to return her property to the lake before his journey to the afterlife.
The cyclical element o f this scene also reflects a more spiritual aspect to Celtic water
veneration. Since Elysium was thought to be located across the sea upon an island, bodies o f
water served as reminders o f immortality and the afterlife. More directly, the Celts believed Tir
nan Og could be reached through the bottom o f lakes. This land is the afterlife/fairy realm o f
youth and happiness where members o f the Tuatha De Danann (Celtic deities/fairy folk) reign.
Pennick describes the treacherous sojourn o f introspection required to reach Tir nan Og:
.. .one must pass through the reflective crystal waters o f the lake, undertaking a
journey from the outer world to the inner, just as the sun enters the waters o f the
underworld at sunset. It is a perilous shamanic descent into the unconscious
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depths where tim eless archetypes reside. The lake is a dangerous crystal castle
where all is reflected inwards. There the visitor may be trapped in an inner world
that bears no relation to the outer one. Once entered, it is a region from which it
is difficult to escape. But those who do manage to return are changed by the
experience. (110)
In addition to sustaining life, water was exceptionally important to Celtic society because it was
a physical property that connected the Celts to the afterlife and their own spirituality. Clearly,
the Celts ascertained that the internal journey necessary for self-knowledge was just as hazardous
as any extrinsic quest. Yet, the value o f the self-odyssey was equally realized. Pennick also
reveals that, “[i]n myth and custom, Celtic sacred waters are associated with the three archetypes
o f light: the sun, the eye and consciousness” (63). This description o f water as an archetype o f
light connotes literal, external illumination (the sun) and personal illumination (the eye). In a
sequence with consciousness, ‘the eye’ suggests the ‘third eye,’ which is one’s intuitive,
introspective eye, as opposed to the physical eye that can only see the physical world. To the
Celts, a body o f water represented the other world; thereby any interaction with a body o f water
represented a meditative gesture o f self-hood. In this respect, water maintained an esoteric
connotation, for this physical portal to eternity served to re-establish the bonds between humans,
their souls and the deities o f Tir nan Og.
After the Roman conquests o f Britain and Ireland, sacred water sites, such as lakes, were
replaced by ‘holy w ells’ and offerings to the water deities were replaced with offerings to the
patron saints o f the respective w ell. However, the water deities did not morph into saintly icons
22
as seamlessly as that. The idea o f water spirits guarding bodies o f water lingered, but instead o f
labeling the spirit as a god or goddess, they were demoted to the fairy realm. The members o f
the water fairy realm are numerous and include mermaids, sirens, and water dwarves, to name a
few. Nimue’s ‘ancestors’ however were the race o f beautiful female fairies that associated with
human beings: “In Celtic France and Britain lake fairies are connected with a water-world like
that o f Elysium tales, the region o f earlier divinities. They unite with mortals...” ( MacCulloch
190). Usually, this unification transpires through marriage, but this is not always the case, as this
particular faiiy is especially interested by humans, especially children. In The French Vulgate
Cycle, Nimue also embodies this attraction to children when she kidnaps Launcelot and raises
him. Katherine Briggs, author o f the book The Fairies in Tradition and Literature, explains:
... [Tjhey [fairies] covet human children and steal them whenever they can. No
account o f fairies is complete without mention o f this practice. From the early
chronicles o f Gervase o f Tilbury and Ralph o f Coggeshall, through the
Elizabethans down to modem times, and in both Celtic and Saxon areas, the tale
is substantially the sam e.. .beautiful children are desired by fairies to improve the
fairy stock, who tend to be dark and hairy.... (136)
Launcelot is described in The French Vulgate Cycle as, “so beautiful a child that one more
beautiful could not be imagined” (2: 12). Accordingly, The Lady o f the Lake’s attraction to and
kidnapping o f Launcelot reflects a comprehensive fairy tradition.
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The hero-fairy relationship is another tradition demonstrated by Nimue. In her book,
Studies in the Fairy Mythology o f Arthurian Literature, Lucy Allen Paton summarizes the three
primary roles subsumed by the fairy in her relation to the hero: lover, caregiver, and instructress.
Nimue in The French Vulgate Cycle illustrates the mother role by taking upon herself the duty o f
Launcelot’s foster-mother, and loving him as if he were her birth child. According to the second
fairy tradition, Nimue also served as his instructress. At eighteen years o f age, Launcelot
expressed interest in becoming a knight in King Arthur’s court. Although she was heart-broken
at the thought o f releasing him back into the world, she aided his decision o f knighthood by
ensuring that he fully realized lifestyle he was choosing. First she explained the ‘burden’ o f
knighthood (2: 59), and then she imparted the history o f the occupation, explaining this line o f
work required two hearts, one o f stone for evildoers and a compassionate heart for the victims.
Nimue de-glamorizes knighthood in this fashion so that Launcelot’s impending decision to join
Arthur’s company w ill be an educated and a pure one. The manifestations o f Nimue, which
characterize her as a fairy mother and instructress, are alluding to her Celtic legacy, for, as we
know, fairies were the new names for Celtic water deities in a Christianized society. This
practice o f renaming pagan ideologies was an historical one, and w ill be discussed more fully in
chapter five.
MORGAN:
Similar to Nimue, Morgan was also a life goddess in Celtic tradition; yet paradoxically,
she was also the goddess o f death. True to her domains, Morgan’s Celtic counterpart, the
Morrigan, had conferred destruction upon Celtic Irish society, while conversely mitigating its
revivification. The original authors o f the early Irish texts, in which the Morrigan appears,
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struggled with making sense o f her strikingly dualistic countenance. These pioneering authors
were monastic scribes, who put into literary form the mythology that had been in circulation
since perhaps the 8th century (Kinsella ix). Usually, the monastic scribes would transform a
Celtic goddess, like Brigit, into a Christian saint through their literary interpretations o f the
respective Celtic figure. However, The Morrigan’s affiliations with death and destruction did not
fit the prototype o f a Christian saint. The early adaptations o f the Morrigan by these monastic
scribes likened the Morrigan to the Greek/Roman Furies o f their classical studies. The Morrigan
closely resembled the Morta, the Fury who controlled and destroyed the life thread o f every
human. Arthurian Scholar, Norma Goodrich explicates/4 [t]he third sister, called Morta
(Death)... wove the thread on her loom and either bit it o ff with her teeth or cut it with her
shears” (188). Because o f this classical understanding o f the Morrigan, her duality was kept in
tact by the monastic scribes, unlike the later medieval texts, which demonized her by all but
omitting her polemical nature.
The Morrigan translates into 4The Great Queen’ o f the Tuatha De Danann, the fairy race
and once pagan deities that lived within mounds o f earth and/or beneath lakes. The Morrigan is
an earth and fertility goddess, representing life, and a goddess o f war, which unites her with
death and destruction. As a life goddess, the Morrigan is primarily represented as a sexual
goddess. In one o f her most celebrated acts, the Morrigan ceremoniously engaged in sexual
relations with the god, the Dagda, so that the Tuatha De Danann would triumph over the
opposing deities, the Fomoiri. This sexual countenance o f fertility is misconstrued in the
medieval works to symbolize adultery, as evinced in The French Vulgate Cycle, and accounts for
her vilification in Malory’s text.
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The Morrigan also represented terrestrial fertility as the goddess o f cattle. Rosalind Clark
author o f the book, The Great Queens, explains the relevance o f cattle to Celtic Irish society:
“Early Irish Economy was based on cattle fanning. Since the fertility o f cattle was essential to
the society, magical and supematurally fertile cattle form an essential part o f the mythology.
Early Irish literature contains several magical or god-like cows that can act as characters or are at
least primary focal points in the stories...” (Clark 29). The Tain Bo Cuailnge was begun over a
bull, and throughout the Tain, die Morrigan herself is either associated with catde or shape-shifts
into a cow. In one particular episode, the Morrigan assumes her usual shape as a crow4 in order
to privately, “warn the bull to lead his heifers away from the Connacht army” (Clark 38). The
meaning o f this scene is further described by Clark: “.. .the bull and the Morrigan appear to be
Otherworldly equals-friends, perhaps, since she is telling him a secret. At any rate there is some
kind o f mutual understanding here.. .The bull understands her perfectly. He heeds her words and
removes his herds to a place o f safety” (39). The Morrigan later appears as a heffier in order to
challenge CuChulainn after he refuses her romantic advances. After examining the Morrigan’s
intimate connection to the Celtic life source o f catde it becomes clear that she is the ultimate
Celtic symbol o f life and land.
Just as the Morrigan is the Celtic representation o f life, she is also the insignia o f war,
death and the otherworld in Celtic literature. In the Tain, Whenever the Morrigan appears in her
ominous crow or raven form, batile and death prove dangerously near. CuChulainn first
encounters the Morrigan in this very context, when he reaches a battlefield littered with corpses,
attempting to rescue the Ulster king, Conchobor. The boy CuChulainn finds him self in a loosing
4 She is also portrayed as a raven, and literarily speaking, both birds symbolize death.
26
battle with a phantom warrior, while the Morrigan, who is called Badb in this episode, incites
CuChuliann to fight the specter with more prowess: “It’s a poor sort o f warrior that lies down at
the feet o f a ghost!” (80). The antagonism o f the Morrigan is effective and CuChulainn triumphs,
for it is the charge o f the Morrigan to both inspire and devastate warriors.
In the Tain, the Morrigan’s relationship to the Ulster hero, CuChulainn, is particularly
where her fiuy-esque countenance is most clearly displayed. Consequently, this relationship
between goddess and hero bears an almost identical nature to that o f Morgan and Arthur.
Perplexingly, the actions o f both the Celtic goddess and Morgan seemingly display the avidity to
both aid and destroy their heroes, CuChulainn and Arthur. Thus, they are both the enemies and
the saviors o f the heroes.
The Morrigan, however, has somewhat o f a motive for harming CuChulainn, whereas
Morgan’s contempt for Arthur is not apparent in Le Morte D ’Arthur. The Morrigan appears to
CuChulainn as a beautiful young lady, offering him her love, cattle, and help in future battles.
CuChulainn insults her by remarking, “‘[i]t wasn’t for a woman’s backside that I took on this
ordeal!”’ (133). Spumed, the Morrigan threatens him and returns to challenge him in the shapes
o f a w olf, an eel and a heifer, whereby CuChulainn injuries the Morrigan in all three
incarnations. Unknowingly, CuChulainn heals her wounds by a toast when she appears to him as
an old hag milking a cow, giving him a much desired drink: “Good health to the giver!.. .the
blessing o f God and man on you” (137). Upon discovering whom he has cured, CuChulainn
admits that he never would have uttered those words, had he known it was the Morrigan. Despite
CuChulainn’s dismissal o f the Morrigan’s help and generally cavalier regards toward her, she
27
attempts to help him one final time on the day o f his death. W hile CuChulainn approaches the
battlefield by chariot, the Morrigan causes one o f the wheels to break, but instead o f
acknowledging the divine sign, CuChulainn proceeds to the battle and his death. A s the hero has
chosen his own fate, the Morrigan, in her crow incarnation, seats herself upon his shoulder
before the battle begins. This ominous bird o f carrion clearly symbolizes his impending death,
but also, since she presides over the afterlife, we may assume that this is also a gesture o f her
protection o f the hero into eternity.
Since there was such an absolute belief in life after death amongst the Celts, the Morrigan
is symbol o f redemption, as a death goddess. Alexander MacBain, author o f the book Celtic
Mythology and Religion explains, “[s]o realistic was the Celtic belief in the existence o f life after
death that money loans were granted on the understanding that they were to be repaid beyond the
grave” (134). Furthermore, it was common for the Celts to either bury in the grave or bum upon
file pyre any worldly possessions that were useful to the deceased in life, so that the dearly
departed could continue to use the objects in the hereafter. According to Celtic ideals, the
hereafter was located upon islands. And since the Morrigan and her medieval counterpart,
Morgan le Fay, preside over these supernatural islands, they truly are the Great Queens o f death,
which in the Celtic religion, is the more meaningful, permanent life.
According to the Morrigan’s Celtic representation, she embodies terrestrial and
supernatural life and is therefore not a diabolical force. Like the Morrigan guides CuChulainn to
the afterlife in her raven form, Morgan escorts Arthur to the island o f Avalon, but In Le Morte D ’
Arthur, this episode is perplexing. In the Celtic Ulster cycle, however, the turbulent relationship
28
between the Morrigan and CuChulainn and her ultimate protection o f him is accounted for.
Because the Morrigan is presented as The Great Queen by presiding over both life and death, she
is the embodiment o f the cyclical nature o f life. Consequently, the cyclical movement o f life is
inherently paradoxical, for the Morrigan rejuvenates the earth and souls, but this revitalization
can only occur from the destruction o f their former states. This Great Queen aspect o f Morgan
and her domains o f life and death/ love and hate are not fully accounted for in Le Morte
D ’A rthur, and we are left with an inimical Morgan.
MERLIN:
Most Arthurian scholars and sleuths alike have considered if King Arthur was indeed an
historical sixth century King, or if the name Arthur represented a composite o f deeds and
legacies enacted by several influential kings o f the dark ages. This subject has been the scope o f
much scholarly attention, yet there are clues, which suggest that the character o f Merlin may also
have been based upon historical Celtic figure/figures. This postulation may seem incogitable at
first, for the conventional persuasion o f Merlin is o f the iconic wizard; with his seemingly super
human powers, he is not only capable o f practicing magic; he is magic. Although necromancy is
indeed a valuable facet to Merlin’s persona, we must leave behind the overwhelming notion o f
‘Merlin the wizard’ for the time being in order to unearth Merlin’s Celtic roots and examine his
origins as man. The Welsh name Myrrdin and the Scottish name Lailoken are referenced
throughout select Welsh and Scottish poetry in the sixth century, and both names appear to share
the most direct connection to the figure we know as Merlin. There is reason to hazard that these
two Celtic characters may have alluded to one historical person, a druid living in the lowlands o f
Scotland, as Tolstoy suggests in his book, The Quest fo r Merlin. The simple verity that there
29
were tales and poems circulating throughout Wales and Scotland respectively and without
causality, in the same time period no less, featuring the Wild Man theme5 may allude to the
existence o f a historical person upon whose life the tales were based. In A.O.H. Jarman’s essay,
“The Merlin Legend and the Welsh Tradition o f Prophecy,” he attests that there is not a causal
relationship between Myrddin and Lailoken: “There can be no doubt o f the ultimate identity o f
the Lailoken o f the Scottish sources and the Myrddin o f the Welsh poems. It is equally as clear
that each had existed separately and independently in Scottish and Welsh tradition respectively
for several centuries before their relationship was perceived in the post Geoffrey [o f Monmouth]
period” (111). Thus, die possibility that these two distinct traditions were exploring the life o f a
real historical figure is probable, as these tales remained disparate for centuries.
Whether or not Merlin was based upon a single historical person is not as essential to our
study as is Merlin’s original Druidic affiliation. It w ill be discussed fully in chapter six that the
historical plight o f the Druids bears much resemblance to that o f Merlin’s in Malory’s Arthuriad.
Because o f the striking similarities between Myrddin and Lailoken and the lack o f a causal
relationship, we can infer that the common element between the characters illustrated Druidism,
if not an historical druid. Furthermore, the Wild Man in the Woods m otif is evident in both
Lailoken and Myrddin, and it w ill be asserted in the following sections that this m otif is
reflective o f Druidism.
Before exploring the deeper significance o f the Wild Man theme, a mention is needed o f
where in Celtic literature Myrddin and Lailoken appear. The appearances o f Myrddin are more
5 This motif in Celtic literature features a man loosing his reason and forsaking society for the woods and through
the Wild Man state he usually gains prophetic abilities.
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scattered throughout the Celtic texts and require a more comprehensive explanation. The
character o f Myrddin appears in three poems from die W elsh Black Book o f Carmarthen in The
Welsh Triads,6 scribed approximately in the mid- thirteenth century. The titles o f the mid
thirteenth century poems are Yr Affallennau (The Apple Trees), Yr Oianau (The Greetings) and
Ymddiddan Myrddin a Thaliesin (The Dialogue o f Myrddin and Taliesin). The last three poems
were scribed in the following two centuries: Cyfoesi Myrddin a Gwenddydd ei Chwaer (The
Conversation o f Myrddin and His Sister Gwenddyd), Gwasgargerdd Fyrddin yn y Bedd (The
Diffused Song o f Myrddin in the Grave) and Peirian Faban (Commanding Youth). The Myrddin
character, however, predates the thirteenth-fifteenth centuries; according to Jarman, “[a]ll o f the
poems contain matter which is older, and in many cases considerable older, than the dates o f the
written texts” (106-8). This fact is vital, for the central figure, Myrddin, was not simply a
concoction o f the thirteenth century mentality, but rather his origins reflect a Celtic heritage,
which aids our conceptions o f Merlin as a Druid.
The character o f Lailoken is chiefly featured in one text. Similar to Myrddin, the
character o f Lailoken (originally named Laloecen) was immortalized in print in the thirteenth
century by Joceline Furness in the work, The Life o f Saint Kenitgem. A later edition o f this text
surfaced in the fifteenth century and bore a striking congruity to the Myrddin o f the Welsh
poems. The parallels between Lailoken and Myrddin are evident; both purportedly lived in the
sixth century and had associations with the historical King, Rhydderch. Both Myrddin and
Lalioken arrive at the W ild Man state by their involvements with the horrors o f war. Myrddin
lost his faculties and was driven to the Caledonian forests after the mental scarring he endured
6 The edition used for this diesis was Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Welsh Triads, edited and translated by Rachel
Bromwich.
7 The early edition edited by Alexander Penrose Forbes was consulted for this thesis.
31
through his participation in great battle o f Arfderydd. During this battle, he presumably fought
against King Rhydderch. His prophecies maintain a political nature, particularly in the poem
Cyfoesi, where he reveals the past and future o f Wales and Britain through a conversation with
his sister. Lalioken was also thrust into the Wild Man state by way o f a battle, which took place
in Scotland. Similarly, Lailoken acknowledged that his role in the battle wrought doom and
destruction, but his retribution was not fully self-imposed, as it was in the case o f Myrddin.
Lailoken heard a voice in the clouds condemn and banish him to the woods until he received
communion upon his dying day. Lailoken forges an unlikely friendship with Saint Kentigem,
who worked closely with the Christian King, Rhydderch, and the prophecies o f Lailoken remain
rather tenebrous until he foretells his own threefold death o f “cudgeling, piercing and drowning,”
as Jarman identifies (110). This prophecy proves accurate; Lalioken was beaten to death by
shepards at the command o f King Meldred; his body subsequently fell into a river, was pierced
by a sharp stone, and ultimately inundated by the river water. As w e’ve seen, there are several
parallels between Myrddin and Lailoken, but the chief similarity between Lalioken and Myrddin
is clearly the W ild Man theme. And more importantly, both characters gain prophetic powers in
this state.
The complicated Wild Man m otif shared by Myrddin and Lailoken bears inherently
negative connotations. Nikolai Tolstoy in his book, The Quest fo r Merlin further explains: “The
implication is clear enough; the W ild Man not only represents man in his early savage condition,
but also that strain o f savagery in his nature which is a lingering heritage o f his primitive
condition.. .the image o f the Wild Man is simply a reflection o f an earlier, unregenerate state,
when man dwelt as yet in conditions o f unalloyed primitive barbarity” (192). Lailoken and
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Myrddin may seem primitive in terms o f their rustic lives within forests, but emotionally and
mentally primitive, they are not, as they are far too introspective. Both characters somberly
reflect upon their destructive roles in battle and likewise, they ration that some esoteric
retribution is in order. True, they become ‘mad’ forest denizens, but, this madness is a direct
result o f their overly sensitive and emotionally developed psyches. If anything, the genesis o f
their madness reflects the antithesis o f barbarity, for the animalistic qualities o f war, murder and
impulse violence, are ultimately what they recoil against; thus, their forest refuges represent
peace and civility.
The Wild Man theme in the cases o f Myrddin and Lailoken does not suggest the
primordial man, but rather a highly perceptive, elemental and advanced human countenance,
which is closely aligned to that o f a Druid. The Druids in Celtic society were the learned class,
similar to the Brahmins, and besides their priestly roles o f overseeing religious ceremonies, they
assumed the offices o f doctor, poet, philosopher, astrologer/astronomer, and judge. The post-
Christian perspective o f Druids however, namely identified the Druidic order with nature,
particularly remote forests and with prophecy/augury. Because the Druidic priesthood forbade
their traditions to be written, particulars are evasive, but it is clear that the post-Christian
mentality largely confined the characteristics o f the Druids to the realms nature and magic. As
Peter Berresford Ellis explains in his book, A Brief History o f the Druids, Pliny the Elder, author
o f the work, Naturalis Historic, was responsible for associating sacred oak groves with the
Druids and Pliny is also credited for “giv[ing] one o f the fullest accounts o f the Druids to ever
survive, presenting them as natural scientists... and magicians” (59). The memory o f Druidic,
woodland sanctuaries is personified by Lailoken and Myrddin, as their retreats into forests are
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historically reflective o f the imposed, Druidic recession into isolated forests after Julies Caesar’s
a
colonizing campaign. Also similar to Myrddin and Lailoken, the Druids were renowned
prophets. There were several means through which a druid could access knowledge o f future
events, reading the entrails o f human sacrifices, dream interpretation, discerning the flights o f
birds and casting lots. Myrddin and Lailoken do not use these means o f prophecy, but, as
mentioned previously, they do indeed have the ability to foresee political and future events in the
Wild Man state. The idea o f a markedly Celtic figure, like that o f Myrddin and Lailoken,
retreating into an isolated grove where he is able to prophesize is even more suggestive o f the
historical plight o f the Druids post-Roman colonization. As mentioned previously, it was
discerned by the Roman-pagans that the Druids practiced magic and divining in their woodland
sanctuaries. Therefore, through Myrddin and Lailoken, Merlin’s Celtic legacy is that o f
Druidism.
8 This will be discussed more thoroughly in chapter five

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CHAPTER THREE: GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH
Geoffrey o f Monmouth, a W elsh cleric and author o f two fundamental pieces o f
Arthurian literature, The Historia Regum Britanniae and The Vita Merlini (both composed
approximately mid-twelfth century) managed to keep Merlin allied with his Celtic identity. The
above works do not include Nimue and only briefly mention Morgan (The Vita Merlini), but
Merlin’s character in both works maintain his link to Druidism. In The Vita, Merlin is portrayed
once again as a W ild Man retreating into the woods, and as discussed in the previous chapter, the
Druids allegedly practiced what the Roman pagans deemed magic. According to Geoffrey’s
adaptation, Merlin is dedicated to science in the forest, and it w ill be proven in chapter five that
in the medieval epoch, Celtic magic was renamed as ‘science.’ Therefore, Merlin’s scientific
endeavors in The Vita are indirectly symbolic o f Druidism.
Since Geoffrey was the first to modernize the Celtic Merlin tales into a medieval
interpretation, much o f Merlin’s Celtic identity remained in tact. However, In the H.R.B.9
Geoffrey adds new dimensions to Merlin, those o f wizardry and magic. As w ill also be discussed
in chapter five, the romantic, medieval apprehension o f the Druidic religion connoted wizards
and magic; thus, wizardry was also an indirect manifestation o f Druidism. Geoffrey’s
representation o f a Druidic Merlin, as seen through a medieval lens, resulted in an amalgamated
9 acronym for The Historia Regum Britanniae used by Arthurian scholars

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Merlin in terms o f the Celtic and medieval conceptions o f Druidism. The Celtic conception
featured Druids as valued prophets and members o f the learned class, which is evident in
Merlin’s role as problem-solver and prophet Geoffrey’s medieval connotation o f Druidism is
reflected in Merlin’s countenance as a natural scientist and wizard. Thus, Geoffrey left an
amalgamated Merlin for posterity. However, as Christianity became more stabilized in late
medieval society, Merlin becomes more o f a one-dimensional character until he eventually
becomes a displaced, archaic figure in Arthurian society, which is evinced in Malory’s work.
HISTORIA REGUM BRITANNIE:
A s mentioned previously, Geoffrey kept Merlin closely aligned with his Celtic origins
and appropriately, Merlin’s first official act in pre-Arthurian society is prophetic, not magical. As
recalled from the previous chapter, Merlin’s Celtic predecessors, Lailoken and Myrddin were
prophets, as opposed to wizzards. King Vortigem’s magicians are purposely misleading him
when they tell the King that in order to keep his tower from collapsing, he should sprinkle die
tower with the blood o f the child, Merlin. Revealing their treachery, Merlin declares that beneath
the tower in a pool o f water lie two sleeping dragons. When the water was drained, the white and
red dragon began to fight and it was then that Merlin went into a prophetic trance:
Alas for the Red dragon, for its end is near. Its cavernous dens shall be occupied
the White dragon, which stands for the Saxons whom you have invited over. The
Red dragon represents the people o f Britain, who w ill be overran by the White
one: for Britain’s mountains and valleys shall be leveled, and the streams in its
valleys shall run with blood. (171)
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This type o f political prophecy marks the future career o f Merlin as a prophet to the Kings o f
Britain, Vortigem and Uther, yet his relationship with Arthur in this text is limited. After Merlin
‘creates’ Arthur, he ultimately fades out o f the narrative, and his connection with Arthur is
strictly through magic.
Although the relationship between Arthur and Merlin is not expounded upon in this text,
it is more intimate than his previous relationships with kings, since Arthur is a direct extension o f
Merlin’s magic. King Uther Pendragon is sick with love and desire for the Duke o f Cornwall’s
w ife, Ygema. Because he is aware o f the King’s infatuation with her, The Duke o f Cornwall
locks Ygema inside the castle fortress o f Tintagel. Moved by the King’s emotion, Merlin devises
a plan by which Uther w ill be able to satisfy his yearning for the Duke’s wife: “.. .1 know how to
give you the precise appearance o f Gorlois [The Duke o f Cornwall], so that you w ill resemble
him in every aspect.. .1 w ill change my own appearance, too, and come with you. In this way
you w ill be able to go safely to Ygema in her castle and be admitted” (206-7). The union o f
Uther and Ygema results in the birth o f Arthur.
The prophetic, magical Merlin gives the appearance that he is supernatural, but Geoffrey
includes a very human dimension to Merlin’s character in the H.R.B., which is Merlin as a
problem-solver. In this regard, Merlin is not above the laws o f human existence, but rather he
reflects the traditional, societal function o f a Druidic learned class. After King Aurelius’ battle
with the Saxons, he felt compelled to build a monument to his fallen soldiers, one that would last
for eternity. The King gathered carpenters and stone masons to create this monument: “The
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whole band racked their brains and confessed themselves beaten” (195). The Archbishop o f
Legions suggests that the King summon Merlin: “If there is anyone anywhere who has the ability
to execute your plan, then M erlin.. .is the man to do it. In my opinion, there is no one in your
kingdom who has greater skill, either in foretelling the future or in mechanical contrivances”
(195). Merlin deems the healing stones o f ‘the giant’s ring,’ located atop Mount Killaraus in
Ireland, a fitting tribute to the fallen solders. When Merlin and a band o f strong men had reached
the Mount, they were unable to devise how to take the stones back to Britain: “ When [Merlin]
saw what a mess they were making o f it, he burst out laughing. He placed in position all the gear
which he considered necessary and dismantled the stones more easily than you could ever
believe” (198). Merlin was successful in transporting and erecting the stones, building the
megalithic formation we know as Stonehenge. As w ill be discussed in chapter six, Merlin’s
association to Stonehenge also reflects his traditional Druidic origins.
THE VITA MERLINI:
In The Vita, Geoffrey reconnects Merlin with his original Welsh conception Wild Man
whereas in the H.R.B., the famous connection between Merlin and Wizardry is first revealed.
Aside from these two now familiar components o f Merlin’s identity, Geoffrey adds the exponent
o f scientist (astrologist & meteorologist to be exact) to Merlin’s credentials. Further, this
sentiment o f Merlin as a natural scientist recalls the ‘new’ perception o f the Druids according to
the Roman pagans.10
The Vita begins with the now familiar account o f a prophet, Merlin, who is driven to
insanity by the death and destruction, which ensued on account o f a great battle. Like Myrddin
10 Please refer to Ellis’ account of Pliny the Elder on page 34

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and Lailoken, Merlin in this text also steals to the Caledonian woods for solace and rejuvenation.
A lso, in accordance with Lailoken and Myrddin, Merlin’s retreat into the forest is reflective o f
the imposed Druidic retreat into the groves, specifically the sacred grove o f Anglesey, which w ill
be discussed fully in chapter five. Another Celtic constituent is echoed in The Vita, which is the
healing power o f water. Merlin is cured o f his madness once and for all thanks to a gush o f water
that had burst out o f the foot o f a mountain, creating a new fountain. Taliesin, Merlin’s disciple,
seems unsurprised that the water has healed his master, and relates matter o f factly, “ [f]or there
are fountains and rivers and lakes throughout the world which by their power cure many, and
often do so ... There is another fountain, called Cicero’s, which flows in Italy, which cures the
eyes o f all injuries...” (99). Taliesin continues to name specific healing bodies o f water for the
subsequent two pages, likening water to a sort o f healing, magical elixir. As we have discovered
through the Celtic origins o f Nimue, the ancient belief o f water as a tool for self-healing and
discovery was especially compelling in Celtic societies and continued to remain so, even into the
medieval epoch.
Because Merlin maintains his Druidic heritage in The Vita, particularly his kindred
relationship to the earth and nature, he eventually becomes renowned as a natural scientist. As
mentioned previously, the Romans labeled the Druids as magicians and this type o f magic was
eventually labeled as science in the medieval period, which w ill be discussed in chapter five.
Therefore, Merlin’s retreat into the forest to practice science is a modernized perspective o f the
Druidic magic practiced in groves.
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The bitter winter season in the Caledonian forest prompts Merlin to ask his sister to
provide him with food and a very specific type o f home: “Before the other buildings build me a
remote one with seventy doors and as many windows through which I may watch fire-breathing
Phoebus and Venus and the stars gliding from the heavens by night...” (63). Merlin’s home
became his greatest scientific tool, for throughout The Vita, Merlin studies the stars and their
movements to predict not only the future, but also the weather. Approximately half way through
The Vita, Taliesin visits Merlin to learn if there is going to be any upcoming rainstorms, and we
discover that Merlin is indeed able to understand and predict the weather. More importantly,
Merlin reveals a Druidic understanding o f the intricate system by which nature operates. Science
is akin to religiosity in Merlin’s comprehension o f the universe, for he explains that God created
the earth, sea, sky, plants and animals and each component is interdependent upon the others.
When we revisit Merlin in chapter six, we shall see that this understanding o f the connections
between natural elements is highly symbolic, for Merlin him self is the point o f convergence for
all o f nature. The scientific aspect o f Merlin completes the amalgamation o f Merlin that Geoffrey
leaves creates in the H.R.B. and The Vita, and Geoffrey’s successors are left with a magical,
scientific, problem-solving, and prophetic Merlin.
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CHAPTER FOUR: THE FRENCH VULGATE CYCLE
The French Vulgate Cycle (or Suite-Vulgate ca. early thirteenth century) and Post-
Vulgate Cycle (or Suite-Post Vulgate ca. mid thirteenth century)11 is a compilation o f Arthurian
tales authored by anonymous French writers. As Norris J. Lacy, a renouned translator o f The
French Vulgate Cycle, explains in his introduction, it was Chretien de Troyes who, “popularized
King Arthur in French as Geoffrey o f Monmouth had done it Latin” (1: ix) during the later half
o f the twelfth century. The Suite-Vulgate, written during the first half o f the thirteenth century,
then, is a mixture o f Chretien de Troyes’ work and Monmouth’s work. Naturally, there were new
elements added into the Arthurian theme by the Vulgate authors; Merlin’s demonization being
one new theme. Also, in the The French Vulgate Cycle, there appear detailed accounts o f
Morgan and Niniane. Morgan is not consummately vilified yet, however, she is morally
ambiguous. Similarly, Niniane is not presented as a femme fatal in these texts; rather, her Celtic
water goddess associations expand, aligning her with Diana/Artemis, a Roman and Greek
goddess o f the hunt and nature. The French Vulgate Cycle is crucial to our consideration o f
Malory, for this early medieval text begins to illuminate the contradictions o f Niniane, Morgan
and Merlin, upon which Malory w ill expound.
11 The French Vulgate Cycle is also referred to as The Launcelot-Grail cycle.

12 In The French Vulgate Cycle, Niniane is the name assigned to Nimue character.
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MERLIN:
In Geoffrey o f Monmouth’s work, The H.R.B., Merlin’s conception is miraculous, for he
is fathered by an invisible entity. However, Merlin is never explicitly identified as an incubus. In
The H.R.B., Merlin’s mother recalls: “.. .some one used to come to me in the form o f a
handsome young m an.. .when I was sitting alone, he would talk with me, without becoming
visible; and when he came to see me in this way he would often make love with me, as a man
would do, and in that way he made me pregnant” (168). After relaying this fantastic tale, a man
named Maugantius is brought in by King Vortigem to make sense o f this claim: “.. .1 have
discovered that quite a number o f men have been bom in this w ay.. .between the moon and the
earth live spirits which we call incubus demons. These have partly the nature o f men and partly
the nature o f angels, and when they w ise they assume mortal shape and have intercourse with
women” (168). The belief in the incubus species was also a medieval one, and their intermediary
positions between the earth and hell w ill become a crucial element, when we revisit Malory’s
Merlin’s character in chapter six. Nevertheless, Monmouth implies that Merlin may in fact be the
spawn o f a demonic rape, but the first text in which Merlin’s personal history is discussed
extensively, and he is pointedly named an incubus, is through Robert de Boron’s Merlin in the
Suite-Vulgate.
As mentioned previously, the authors o f The French Vulgate Cycle have remained
anonymous throughout history; however, scholars believe that they have identified the author o f
the first two works within the Suite-Vulgate (The History o f the Holy Grail and The Story o f
Merlin), one Robert de Boron13. Supposedly, Boron composed his works at die end o f the twelfth
13 Boron’s The History o f the Holy Grail and The Story of Merlin are the first two works o f Lacy’s French Vulgate
Cycle edition
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century, a few years before the Vulgate writers began their respective works in the early
thirteenth century. Therefore, it is Boron’s notion o f a demonized Merlin which permeates the
subsequent tales o f The French Vulgate cycle.
Boron’s two works begin The French Vulgate Cycle: The History o f the Holy Grail and
The Story o f Merlin. The grail history features Joseph o f Arimathea and his decedents, who are
famed with bearing relics from Christ’s crucifixion to Britain. Juxtaposed to this holy history, is
the birth o f an anti-Christ, Merlin. The tale opens with Satan and his demons discussing with
indignation that the Lord had freed Adam, Eve and other repented sinners. Their anger, as we
discover through their conversation, is rooted in their acknowledgment that by God’s willingness
to forgive human sin, they are powerless: “We lost everything, since He can forgive sins until the
end o f humankind, if He can find people doing His works, whereby they are His. And even
though they do our works all the time, they w ill be lost to us if they repent. Thus, we have lost
everything!” (1:167). The resolution o f the demons was to create a demon ‘representative,’ as it
were, to speak and work on their behalf: “If we had someone who had that power and who knew
those [past events], and if he were on earth with other folk, then he could help trick them .. .And
he could also foretell things that were to come about and be said soon and far into the future, so
that he would be believed by everybody...” (1:167). There is a demon amongst the group, who
claims that he has the power to impregnate mortal women and thus was the beginning thought o f
Merlin’s conception. This glimpse into the demonic intent o f creating Merlin tells the reader
directly that his presence in the world was initially to reap human souls for Satan.
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Although Merlin never entirely detaches from his inherent demonic nature, his mother’s
religious piety ultimately redeems him from complete demonic control. As Peter Goodrich
explains in his introduction to Merlin: A Casebook, the tale o f Merlin’s conception is based upon
the book o f Job. In both the biblical story and Boron’s adaptation, unrelenting devils savagely try
to destroy a devout family one member at a time through trickery and horrible misfortune, until
all have shunned God. The devils are successful in acquiring the souls o f the family featured in
Boron’s adaptation, except for one daughter. She received consul from a wise priest and rebuked
all forms o f the devil’s trickery until her harlot sister schemed to remove her from the family
home by hiring ruffians to accost her. After this incident, the pious woman allowed anger to
overtake her and eventually fell asleep. Because she was vulnerable to the devils in this wrathful
state, she was raped in her sleep by a demon and became impregnated with Merlin. However,
because Merlin’s mother was innocent o f adultery and had him baptized as soon as he was bom,
Merlin was ‘saved’ through his mother’s virtue. Nevertheless, Merlin is portrayed as a physical
representation o f evil; when he was bom he was covered with hair and the ability to speak as a
newborn, telling the past (demonic inheritance) and prophesizing the future (divine inheritance).
Throughout the subsequent tales o f the Suite-Vulgate, Merlin’s demonic nature appears to
be squelched by his commitment to use his powers for good; thus his ambiguity. As in
Monmouth’s text, Merlin creates Arthur and establishes his rule, cares for and advises the King
well. Merlin’s demonic nature does not surface through his relations with men; instead, his
devilish qualities emerge in the form o f lechery through his intimate relationships with women.
Just as Merlin’s father forced sexual relations upon his mother, so does Merlin attempt to seduce,
or at least exert a type o f romantic mastery over Niniane and Morgan through teaching them die
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skill they seek, magic. However, the Suite-Vulgate and Suite- Post Vulgate vary greatly in
portraying Merlin’s amorous conquests. In the Suite-Vulgate, Merlin’s motives as suspicious,
while the Suite-Post Vulgate suggests a sinister, predatory Merlin. This point w ill be expounded
upon in the following subheadings discussing Niniane and Morgan individually and their
relationship to each other in The French Vulgate Cycle.
THE FEMALE MAGICIANS:
Aside from their respective relationships with Merlin, there are several details about the
characters o f Niniane and Morgan, which are either excluded, or not emphasized in Malroy’s
text. Le Morte D ’A rthur does not feature the female practitioners o f magic in great detail, or as
sharing any commonalities required for establishing a literary relationship; Niniane and Morgan
are strictly presented as structural opposites. In Malory’s text, Morgan plots against Arthur using
her skill o f black magic and Nimue foils the plot through white magic; thus the extent o f their
relationship, except when they escort the wounded Arthur to Avalon. As The French Vulgate
Cycle proves, Niniane and Morgan share a common link through Merlin and through magic,
particularly learning his magic. Their relationship is more intricate in this text, and because o f
the complexity o f their association, they are not as dichotomized on the spectrum o f good and
evil. Correspondingly, their individual characters are explicated more fully in The French
Vulgate Cycle, and again, it is more difficult to brand them as either good or evil than it is in a
text such as Malory’s, which omits these details.
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NINIANE:
The characteristics and roles o f Niniane vary in the Suite-Vulgate/ Suite-Post Vulgate, but
one intriguing staple o f her character is her relation to the Roman goddess, Diana. The Vulgate
authors did not confine Niniane to her Celtic persona, but rather, they broadened her pre-
Christian affiliations to include an elemental, huntress goddess. Diana /Artemis (Greek name for
Diana), was goddess o f the hunt and a daughter o f Zeus. Similar to Niniane, Diana asked for her
father’s permission not to marry when she was a young girl, and devoted her time to roaming the
forest and hunting. In The French Vulgate Cycle, Niniane is not merely associated with Diana,
she has an indirect familial link to the goddess. Niniane’s father, Dyonas, was Diana’s godson,
and the goddess herself imparted to Dyonas that his first daughter (Niniane) would be pursued by
the wisest man on earth (Merlin) and that she would learn his craft and he would be rendered
helpless for the love o f her. Niniane’s actions in The French Vulgate Cycle are pre-ordained by a
higher power; thus, she is not directly to blame for her dealings with Merlin and the nature o f
their relationship. For this reason, and Niniane’s disclosed motives for the entrapment o f Merlin,
she is not vilified in this text, as she is in Le Morte D ’Arthur.
However, it is ultimately Niniane’s association with the goddess Diana in the Suite-Post
Vulgate which creates her femme fatal reputation in Malory’s text. Both Diana and the Niniane
we meet in the Suite-Post Vulgate inflict wrath upon men, who do not display appropriate respect
for their virtues. Diana is famous for turning Actaeon into a deer and setting her fleet o f dogs to
devour him alive, all because he was spying on her when she bathed in the lake. Similarly,
because Niniane was aware that Merlin was after her maidenhead, she gradually entrances him,
until she shuts him inside a cavernous tomb to die.
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Despite her provoked ferocity towards men, however, the goddess Artemis/Diana is also
associated with nurture and motherhood in caring for children, particularly orphans. The
archaeologist Katerina Servi and author o f the book Greek Mythology, explains, “[w]hen
Pandareus was killed by Zeus for stealing a golden dog.. .Artemis, together with Aphrodite and
Athena, looked after his orphan daughters” (42). Artemis is revered as the goddess o f not just
orphans, but all children: “Artemis protected childbirth and, in a wider sense, motherhood and
upbringing o f children” (43). Niniane also maintains a strong maternal element in The French
Vulgate Cycle, as she bears the role o f foster mother to Launcelot and rears him so that he w ill
understand and be prepared for a life devoted to knighthood.
Although the ligature o f the Suite-Vulgate/Post- Vulgate Niniane is her association with
Diana/Artemis, there remain notable differences between the two portrayals o f Niniane. In the
Suite-Vulgate, Niniane represents the celebrated aspects o f Diane as a huntress/ nature- child,
and she actually comes to love Merlin, whereas the Suite-Post Vulgate Niniane inherits Diana’s
murderess legacy with regards to amorous men. In the Suite-Vulgate, we meet Niniane when she
is just a child o f twelve years, and it is clear that she is more innocent than the Suite-Post Vulgate
Niniane, who recognizes that her virginity is the concentration o f Merlin’s pursuit. Shape-shifted
into a handsome young man, Merlin visits the spring where the nature- child, Niniane, comes to
play. Merlin immediately falls into an internal struggle with him self upon his first sight o f
Niniane; he thinks to him self, “that he would be most unwise to fall asleep in sin and lose his
mind and his knowledge just to know the delights o f a young lady to shame her and to lose God”
(1: 282). Here, we witness the contentious pull o f Merlin’s demonic and virtuous demeanors,
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whereas in the Suite-Post Vulgate, Merlin is far less introspective. After a brief conversation,
Merlin described some o f the marvelous ‘tricks’ he is able to perform. A delighted Niniane
accepts Merlin’s verbal contract that if he were to teach her his magic, she would love him
eternally without condition, thereby, “grant[ing] his wish without seeing or understanding his
cunning.” (1: 282). Merlin clearly knows how to seduce Niniane as a child, for he proceeds to
further glamorize his magical abilities by conjuring what is essentially a carnival, complete with
jousting, dancing, singing, and ladies and knights dressed in finery amidst a magical castle and
lavish orchard. Utterly captivated by this marvel, Niniane pledges her devotion to Merlin for the
second time and he begins to teach her his thaumaturgy.
Intriguingly, Niniane’s imprisonment o f Merlin in the Suite-Vulgate is not an act o f self-
defense as it is in the Suite-Post Vulgate, nor is it demonstrative o f femme-fatal cruelty as it is
portrayed in Le Morte D ’Arthur, but rather it is an immature gesture o f the possessive love o f a
child. As any child desires to keep her favorite toy exclusively for herself, so does Niniane wish
to keep Merlin without the worry o f sharing him. Contrary to the Suite-Post Vulgate rendition,
Merlin foresees his imprisonment and imparts tearful good-byes to Arthur and his master Blaise
before setting o ff to meet Niniane as promised. Another obverse feature o f the entrapment scene
amongst the Suite-Vulgate!Suite-Post Vulgate is that Niniane explains her motives to Merlin for
imprisoning him:
... [S]he put her arms about his neck and said that he had to belong to her, for she
was his. “You know very w ell,” she went on, “that the great love I feel for you
has even made me leave my father and mother to hold you in my arms day and
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night. A ll my thoughts, all my longing[s] are for you. Without you I have no joy
or happiness.... (1: 416)
Niniane indeed visited Merlin regularly in the opulent tower she imprisoned him within, and her
love for Merlin is actually surprising when considered against the Suite-Post Vulgate Niniane. As
w e’ve discovered, the Suite-Vulgate Niniane is not afraid o f Merlin and does not suspect him o f
harboring ill intentions, perhaps because the Suite-Vulgate Merlin is internally conflicted, not
overtaken by his demonic nature.
Although the Suite-Post Vulgate Merlin does not exert sexual domination over Niniane
by physical means, he plainly has an agenda, which is to be the first to know Niniane carnally.
Like Diane/Artemis, the Suite- Post Vulgate Niniane is savvy in matters o f potential threats to
her virginity, and because Merlin poses such threat, she sustains hatred for Merlin. In the Suite-
Post Vulgate text, N iniane is fifteen years o f age, but as the text also informs us, she is especially
w ise for a child. Also parallel to her predecessor, Diana, she is identified as a huntress. The
slightly older, more circumspective Niniane, who was visiting Camelot, suspected that beneath
Merlin’s visits lie dubious objectives: “she feared that he would shame her by his magic or lie
with her in her sleep” (4: 245). However, Niniane forces Merlin to swear that he would refrain
from employing trickery in order to gain her virginity, to which he does indeed swear, for as he
mentions in the text, he plans to wait until Niniane consents before engaging in a sexual
relationship. Eventually, Merlin escorts Niniane back to her homeland o f Brittany and she seizes
an opportunity to entomb Merlin in a cave and be rid o f him permanently.
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The Suite-Post Vulgate Merlin has no foreknowledge o f Niniane’s design to entomb him
because she has used her learned magic to beguile Merlin’s powers o f personal foreknowledge.
So weakened is Merlin by her spells that he becomes physically paralyzed before, “she had him
taken by the feet and the head and thrown upside down into the hole where the two lovers lay.
Then she put the stone on top .. .she began to work her spells and so joined and sealed the stone
to the sarcophagus by magic and strength o f words that there was never afterwards anyone who
could move [the stone]” (4: 261). The members o f her fellowship were fear-stricken by this event
and Niniane offers this justification: “.. .what should one do [?] He comes wothe me and follows
me, not for my honor but to degrade and deflower me. I would rather he were hanged than touch
me in this manner, for he is the son o f the devil, and I couldn’t love he son o f the devil for
anything in the world” (4: 261). Here, we recognize the emerging femme fatal theme associated
with Nimue in Le Morte D ’A rthur. However, in the Suite-Post Vulgate, Niniane’s justifications
are fully disclosed and elaborated upon, which they are not in Malory’s text. Furthermore, the
Niniane figure is not vilified in either the Suite-Vulgate or the Suite-Post Vulgate, but her
associations with Diana/Artemis later taint her Celtic legacy o f rebirth and life.
MORGAN:
The French Vulgate Cycle begins the medieval misrepresentation o f Morgan’s Celtic
legacy o f sexuality and fertility, discussed in chapter two. Particularly in the Suite-Post Vulgate,
Morgan’s character is typified by her destructive acts, and the notion surfaces that Morgan is a
malevolent force in Arthurian society, upon which later authors w ill expound. However, Morgan
is not completely vilified in these texts, for the Suite-Vulgate suggests that Morgan’s downfall
may not be entirely her choice alone.
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As stated previously, Morgan’s Celtic counterpart, the Morrigan, was associated with
fertility both sexual and terrestrial, and it is this aspect o f sexuality and fertility which has been
vilified by medieval authors. The Suite-Post Vulgate authors suggest that it was Morgan’s
sexuality, which led her to evil through the dark arts. Morgan’s soul became so utterly blackened
that it became obvious on a physical level: ‘Unquestionably she [Morgan] was a beautiful girl up
to the time she began to learn enchantments and magic charms; but once the enemy entered her
and she was inspired with sensuality and the devil, she lost her beauty so completely that she
became very ugly” (4: 172). In this sense, it appears that Morgan’s ‘sensuality’ was the agent
through which the enemy14 was able to seduce her into black magic. Niniane, on the contrary,
safeguards her virtue from Merlin’s sexual desires, and the power o f her virginity thereby leads
her to benevolent magic, and she becomes Merlin’s successor and Launcelot’s foster mother.
Interestingly, Morgan is pregnant with Yvain when she begins her magical studies with
Merlin, which would seem to suggest her goddess nature o f fertility, but instead it represents a
condemnable, lustful appetite. Morgan approaches Merlin, begging to be taught magic, “.. .on
her promise that she would do for him whatever he dared ask o f her” (4: 200). Because Morgan
was beautiful before she undertook black magic, Merlin fell in love with her and complied. Thus,
in the Suite-Post Vulgate, Morgan prostituted herself in order to learn magic, and when she
deemed she gained enough knowledge, she chased Merlin away from her upon pain o f death.
Morgan then falls in love with Accolon, who “knew her carnally” (4: 200), and it was for him
she created the counterfeit scabbard o f Excalibur to defeat Arthur, so Accolon could be king.
Judging by these events, it would appear as though Morgan had already fully embraced an
14 Either Satan, or a more literal interpretation could suggest Merlin

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adulterous life prior to her internship with Merlin; however the Suite- Vulgate offers an
antithetical interpretation.
In this earlier text, Morgan is somewhat o f a victim, indirectly nudged into the black arts
by the triangular relationship between her, Merlin and Niniane. Little is mentioned in the Suite-
Vulgate about the accordance between Morgan and Merlin; in fact, when compared to the Suite-
Post Vulgate, their relationship appears rather inconsequential to the development o f either
character. However, this brief association between Morgan and Merlin is indeed valuable, for it
suggests that Merlin may be a party to Morgan’s decent into evil. As Ann Berthelot author o f
the essay “Merlin and the Ladies o f the Lake” explains, “she [Morgan] is willing to learn, and he
agrees to teach her; the depth o f their involvement is not alluded to, and eventually they each go
their own way, apparently without bad feelings.” (167). It is not certain that Merlin bartered a
carnal relationship for magic lessons, but since sexual relations are Merlin’s preferred currency
for instructing magic in the Suite-Post Vulgate to both Morgan and Niniane, we may speculate
that a similar transaction took place in this situation. The question then is how do we account for
Morgan’s wickedness in the Suite-Post Vulgate?
After the ephemeral affair between Morgan and Merlin, he meets Niniane to whom he
teaches the craft o f magic, all but forgetting about Morgan. Subsequently, as we know, Niniane
ultimately becomes Merlin’s ‘good fairy’ successor. Berthelot makes the point that this
distribution o f magical power is inappropriate. Logically, one would assume the important role
o f Merlin’s successor would be reserved for Morgan, as she inherently wields more power than
Niniane through her connection with the island o f Avalon. Recalled from chapter two, islands
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represented the afterlife to the Celts. Berthelot claims that in this text, Niniane, “is nothing but an
upstart magician” (167). Despite this fact, it is Niniane who receives all o f Merlin‘s white magic
knowledge, becoming the ‘good fairy’ through protecting Arthur and mothering Launcelot.
There is no other role for Morgan to assume in The French Vulgate Cycle, but malevolent, black
magic practitioner, for Niniane has risen above her station, so to speak, in this text and subsumed
the role that rightfully belonged to the former Celtic goddess o f life and death, Morgan.
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CHAPTER FIVE: HISO I RY AND MEDIEAL NOTIONS OF MAGIC AND WOMEN
The farther away the characters o f Merlin, Nimue and Morgan are from their Celtic
legacies, the more contradictory the elements o f their personalities appear. These literary figures
became archetypes o f pagan heritage reconstructed in order to fit into a Christian world. Art
reflects history in this way, for in the medieval ages, Celtic concepts o f magic in the sciences and
Christianity were recalibrated according to Christian ideals in order to benefit medieval society.
During the first four centuries AD, when Rome imperialized Celtic Britain and Ireland, and
especially in the early medieval period15 paganism seemed to have been trampled underfoot by
the new Roman rule and later by the Christian religion.
However, this was not the case. Below the surface, paganism, markedly pagan magic,
was very much present in medieval culture, particularly in religious and scientific areas. More
importantly, the threat o f paganism to a Christianized society was also existent in medieval
society. Therefore, paganism never truly disappeared, rather it was renamed16 and reconstructed
in order to alleviate the threatening features o f the ‘old’ religion, while maintaining the select,
beneficial aspects. The parallel between this historical illumination and the magical Arthurian
characters is that the newly Christianized society cultivated a diametrical notion o f pagan magic.
15 Most scholars agree that the early medieval period began in 500 AD
16the religion of Celtic paganism assimilated into Christianity and magic was renamed as science
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As we have discovered in The French Vulgate Cycle and Le Morte D ’A rthur, the Arthurian
embodiments o f magic, Merlin, Nimue and Morgan, are paradigms o f contradiction when their
Celtic/pagan legacies are reconfigured in order to assimilate in a Christianized, Arthurian
society. Further, all three characters are portrayed in Malory’s text as personifying the beneficial
and destructive elements o f Celtic magic. The following sections w ill suggest that the tendency
to harness and utilize Celtic magic reflects the historical medieval fear, yet attraction to
uncontainable Celtic power.
THE SUB-CONSCIOUS PLANE:
There were two planes o f understanding regarding the medieval awareness o f Celtic
magic; the conscience plane and the sub-conscience plane. The conscience plane refers to the
intentional, carefully explicated distinctions between unacceptable pagan magic and acceptable
Christianized magic. Upon this plane, the medieval sensibility perceived explicit disparities
between pagan and Christian magic; moreover, the necessity o f denouncing pagan magic, in
order to maintain the stability o f the Christian church, was also recognized. Furthermore, this
conscious distinction was apparent in the medieval sentiments toward the sciences. The sub
conscience plane refers to the intermingled areas o f pagan and Christian magic, which the
medieval consciousness did not discern. This is most notably evinced through particular biblical
events, which feature pagan magic. There was a deep contradiction then in the denunciation o f
pagan magic, for as the bible proves, much o f fundamental, Christianity theology is actually
renamed pagan magic. The conscience and sub-conscience planes both exhibited the medieval
acknowledgment o f the powers and social benefits magic embodied, yet the notion o f allowing
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pagan magic into society was far too threatening. Thus, the medieval sciences and Christianity
alike are renamed as such in an effort to conceal their many pagan features.
Because Christianity is laden with prophecy and magic, the notion is furthered that magic
itself did not pose a threat to medieval society, but rather it was non-christianized magic which
presented the danger o f setting unfamiliar, powerful forces loose. Thus, there was a clear
hypocrisy in the medieval consciousness o f acceptable and unacceptable magic. Within the most
fundamental document o f Christian faith, the bible, there are numerous scenes featuring what
could be identified as pagan magic/divination, and even sorcery, as displayed by the miracles
performed by Jesus. Perhaps one o f the most explicit demonstrations o f the presence o f pagan
divination and witchcraft is King Saul’s consultation with the Witch o f Endor in the Old
Testament (I Sam. 28.8). Disheartened by the Philistine invasion, King Saul “consulted the
Lord, but the Lord gave no answer, whether in dreams or by the Urim or through prophets” (I
Sam. 28.7). Despite the fact that Saul had driven the “mediums and fortune tellers” out o f Israel,
he sought the Witch o f Endor for answers, when praying did not seem to help his cause. The
Witch o f Endor conjured the spirit o f the previous King, Sammuel, who told Saul that he and all
o f Israel would soon be subject to the Philistines. This biblical illustration serves to illuminate
the allure and trepidation attached to magic, namely divination. Historically, there was a
tendency to attempt to contain powers that are not affiliated with Christianity, or God, because
they pose danger by operating beyond the realm o f human comprehension and God’s powers.
Yet, these very powers are also alluring, even to the very people who denounce them, as we
realize through the example o f Saul, for these powers can also provide personal and societal
advancement.
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Because Jesus is a miracle worker, amongst other things in the N ew Testament, there are
several examples o f what could be classified as sorcery. There are two specific cases in which
Jesus takes on a wizardly role. His ‘magic’ is defined as miraculous, even though there often
seems to be no holy or divine motive to employ the use o f extra-humanly powers. One famous
example is when Jesus is a child attending a wedding in Cana. The wedding party runs out o f
wine and confides in Mary their embarrassing situation. Mary instructs her son, Jesus, to
transform the water into wine and ‘magically,’ he does (John 2:1-11). Another similar event
occurs when Jesus creates fifty loaves o f fish and bread for a crowd o f people out o f only one
loaf (Matthew 15: 13-21). The word ‘magic’ in these instances is replaced by the word ‘holy,’
because Jesus is the one creating the ‘miracles,’ yet if this were not Jesus responsible for these
events, they would have been classified as a type o f wizardry kindred to that o f Merlin.
THE FUNCTION OF DEMONS ON THE SUB-CONSCIOUS PLANE:
The presence o f demons in the lives o f humans was fully realized in medieval
Christianity, but on a psychological level, the fervent belief o f demons represented an outlet
through which medieval peoples could release their fears o f pagan magic. The only powers
demons were able to wield were through pagan forms o f magic, particularly divination. This
b elief alone reaffirms the almighty power o f God, and the saints, by the idea that demons could
be defeated through the help o f God. Therefore, pagan magic was personified by demons and
likewise gave the medieval church a ‘tangible’ enemy. Valerie Flint explains in her work, The
Rise o f Magic in Early Medieval Europe the belief in the existence o f demons was unwavering
and a part o f everyday life to a medieval person. Flint utilizes the mid-fourth century work, The
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Life o f [St.] Antony, which greatly influenced St. Augustine’s writings, to prove the
omnipresence o f demons in medieval society. Saint Antony claims:
Great is the number o f them in the air around us, and they are not far from
u s... .They also din loudly, emit silly laughs and hiss. If no one pays any attention
to them, they wail and lament as though defeated... .the attack and appearance o f
the evil ones is full o f confusion, accompanied by crashing, roaring and shouting,
it could w ell be the tumult produced by rude boys and robbers, (qtd. in Flint 104)
Demons, according the medieval sensibility, actually occupied their own place in the
cosm os, in between hell and earth. The medieval peoples abided by the precept that the universe
was composed o f a finite structure, in which all heavenly and sublunary beings had a specific
place. C.S. Lewis in The Discarded Image explains: “In medieval science the fundamental
concept was that o f certain sympathies, antipathies, and strivings inherent in matter itself.
Everything has its right place, the region that suites it, and if not forcibly restrained, moves
thither by a sort o f homing instinct” (92). This structure by which everything had a place and
operated naturally according to its position was composed o f a series o f spheres. Lewis goes on
to say: “Earth is surrounded by a series o f hollow and transparent globes one above the other,
and each o f course larger than the one below. These are.. .the ‘heavens’” (96). The heavens
totaled seven in number, and the inhabitants o f the sphere, or air, between heaven and earth were
demons.
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Similar to Merlin, Demons maintained an intermediary position in the cosmos. C.S.
Lewis explains that the demons cast to this middle realm o f the cosmos were the ones who did
not join Satan’s rebellion: “These were banished into the lower and more turbulent levels o f the
airy region. They remain there until Doomsday, after which they go to hell” (136). Moreover,
these demons shouldered the blame for causing disease and misfortune in medieval society, yet,
because their powers were limited to destruction, they were not as powerful as God. Thus, the
Christian medievals realized that while demons are more powerful than humans, with the help o f
God, demons and indirectly pagan magic could be combated and conquered.
THE CONSCIOUS PLANE:
Non-Christianized magic and the Celtic religion in general were dealt with on the
conscious plane in two ways: the first being fervent denunciation and the second, a less abrasive
and more effective approach, which replaced aspects o f paganism with Christianity. The result o f
the latter was a gradual metamorphosis o f paganism into Christianity, for certain pagan rituals,
worship sites and saints were renamed according to Christian ideals. But even before the dawn o f
Christianity, there existed Celtic suppression in Britain and Ireland, by the pagan Roman attacks
upon the Celtic Druids. During Caesar’s Roman invasions o f Britain and Ireland in 55 BC17 the
Druids were conquered and later displaced because o f the threats they posed to the Roman state
and religion.
The Druids were the learned class and wielded powers in the political and religious
forums, and there are two main theories in circulation regarding the motivation o f the pagan
Roman attacks upon the Druidic Celts. The first has to do with the opposing ideologies o f the
17 Scullard 10
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pagan Romans and the Druids. Several scholars have suggested that the major ideological cause
for contention was that the Romans were thoroughly offended by the Druidic ritual o f human
sacrifice. The other, albeit less severe, grounds for contention were that several o f the beliefs o f
the Druids were fundamentally different than those o f Roman persuasion. Such fundamental
disparities would have made it difficult for both religions to peacefully co-exist in Ireland and
Britain, as Peter Berresford Ellis in his book, A B rief History o f the Druids discloses:
The Romans were materialistic, the Druids spiritual. For the Romans the State
was a monolithic structure spread over territories deliberately organized into a
hierarchy. With the Druids it was a freely consented moral order with an entirely
mythical central idea. The Romans based their law on private ownership o f land,
with property rights vested in the head o f the family, whereas the Druids always
considered ownership collective. The Romans looked upon women as bearers o f
children and objects o f pleasure, while the Druids included women in their
political and religious life. (16)
However, this theory becomes complicated when taken into consideration that the Romans had a
reputation for displaying religious tolerance in the territories they conquered. Furthermore, the
pagan Romans and Celts shared one great similarity, which was that both were polytheistic
religions and often times their respective gods assimilated into a combined deity. Author o f the
book, A History o f Roman Britain, Peter Salway explains:
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One o f the reasons why religion in Roman Britain is both so confusing and often
so difficult to interpret is the tendency in the Roman world to ‘conflate’ with
classical gods the deities o f the peoples that the Romans conquered.. .This process
greatly helped the integration o f Roman and conquered, for the Romans were
extremely tolerant o f foreign religions, provided that there was no suspicion o f
political conspiracy (they strongly disliked closed groups and societies).... (487)
The Druids were such an example o f the aforementioned ‘closed group,’ and most certainly
retaliated against Roman persecution. Thus, while differing religious ideologies may have been a
contributing factor for persecution, it was the political threat posed by the Druids, which
classified them as Roman enemies.
The Druids were the powerf ul class in Celtic society and naturally represented the pre-
Roman, ‘old order.’ During the Roman occupation, the Druids maintained their own laws and
legal systems. In an effort to maintain the old order, the Druids from Britain to Gaul banned
tribes together to form Roman resistance. Consequently, Gaul was the location o f Druidic strong
hold until the battle o f Gaul, which rendered utter destruction for the Gallic Druids and caused
many to flee to Britain for safety. There, the Druids were forced to retreat into secluded woods
to escape persecution and adopted die groves o f Anglesey (in Wales) as their sanctuary and
headquarters. Finally, the Romans called for drastic action in order to eliminate native resistance
stimulated by the Druids, as H.H. Scullard explains, “the Emperor Claudius decreed the
complete suppression o f Druidism, a policy which reached its fulfillment when Suetonius
Paulins finally destroyed the Druids’ sacred groves in Anglesey and eliminated their priesthood”
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(154). While the old order o f the Druids was eliminated, the legacy o f the Druids was not. Peter
Salway goes on to explain that at this time Britain was “enthralled by magic” (498). Salway
continues, “Throughout the meager record o f British Druidism, then, we have this emphasis on
Druidic lore and ritual, not politics, nor, with the exception o f Anglesey, war” (498). The
memory o f the Druids came to embody Celtic magic and legend, which pervaded Britain and
caused a host o f problems post-Christianization.
As w e’ve discovered, Pagan Romans abolished Druidism namely because o f the political
threat the Druids posed to the Roman state. During the early years o f post-Christianization, the
now monotheistic Romans persecuted the Celtic pagans on religious grounds, for the Celtic
religion threatened to undermine the new religion in its infancy. It was not until Emperor
Theodosius had come to power in 379, that the Roman powers actively initiated governmental
persecution o f the entire Celtic religion. As author o f the book, Christianity and Paganism, J.N.
Hillgarth explains, “[a] major attack on paganism soon followed” (45). Theodosius implemented
stricter penalties for violators o f the Church, such as heretics. Hillgarth goes on to state:
“Theodosius was the first emperor to prohibit the whole established pagan religion o f the Roman
State (392)...there ensued a series o f laws, culminating in the threat o f the death penalty in 435.
A ll citizens were intended to be Catholics” (45). An excerpt from the Thesdosian Code in
Hillgarth’s book demonstrates that the initial means o f pagan conversion was through
persecution:
Reinforced Penalties For Pagans
Thesdosian Code, XVI, 10-25 (435) trans. Pharr, p. 476.
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We interdict all persons o f criminal pagan mind from the accursed immolation o f
victims, from damnable sacrifices, and from all other such practices that are
prohibited by the authority o f the more ancient sanctions.. .A ll men shall know
that if it should appear, by suitable proof before a competent judge, that any
person has mocked this law, he shall be punished with death, (qtd. in Hillgarth 49)
Against such vehement persecution, the pagans lashed out against the Romans. Hillgarth goes on
to explain, “[t]here is archaeological evidence for a pagan revival in the fourth century, even
under the orthodox Emperor Theodosius (379-95). In the Alpine diocese o f Trent in 397
missionaries who tried to prohibit their converts taking part in the traditional rites by which the
fields were blessed and their fertility assured, were murdered” (53). The harsh governing against
the Celts and the subsequent revolts proved a continuous symbiotic relationship until Pope
Gregory created a new agenda for m issionizing the Celts.
Pope Gregory the Great in 595 tried a more diplomatic means o f conversion. While he
recognized the Christian necessity o f denouncing paganism, the Pope also saw the benefits o f
replacing elements o f the old religion with the new, instead o f outright persecution and
destruction. In their book, History o f the World Christian Movement, authors Dale T. Irvin and
Scott W. Sunquist elaborate:
Sharp opposition to local gods and practices was deemed necessary to win the
people o f the countryside to the Christian faith.. .Augustine appears initially to
have been instructed by Gregory to pursue such a method. But a second set in
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instructions from Gregory followed, suggesting a different approach to the
mission; in this letter the pope advised them not to try to destroy the local
religious shrines. They should seek to remove the idols that were housed in them,
replacing them with Christian relics o f saints they had brought with them to
England. The shrines and temples themselves were to adapt to Christian
worship.. .The pope in effect was calling for a more open attitude toward
indigenous religiosity. Modified accommodation was to replace immediate
eradication.. .For their part, the missionaries were to seek to turn various
indigenous practices in the direction o f Christian worship as part o f this overall
strategy o f gradual Christianization. (329)
Sunquist and Irvin go on to explain that overall, this method was successful, for the pagan
peoples were given alternatives, such as Christian saints as an alternative to a deity and Christian
relics for pagan relics. Even the actual location o f pagan worship sites were transformed into
Christian holy grounds with the erection o f churches.
MEDIEVAL CONFUSION OF MAGIC EVINCED THROUGH THE SCIENCES:
The historical overlapping o f religions mentioned above is essentially the source o f the
medieval confusion regarding magic. A s w e’ve discovered, Christianity and paganism
eventually melded into one religion by overlaying the new and the old religions. Thus, paganism
and Druidism for that matter, had never truly disappeared from Western Europe, but rather it was
suppressed under Christianity. However, certain elements o f paganism, such as magic, rose to
the surface o f medieval society on occasion and the budding field o f science was one such
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occasion. Traditionally, magic and science are characterized as adversaries, but in their
infancies, the sciences were reminiscent o f what the medieval psyche would otherwise identify
as magic. Just as elements o f paganism had essentially been renamed as Christianity, magic had
been renamed as science in order to make such practices acceptable. Nevertheless, the medieval
peoples still recognized the pagan echoes o f magic in the sciences and likewise began to make
vague distinctions between accepted science and unacceptable magic.
ASTRONOMY/ASTROLOGY:
The sciences involving the stars and heavenly bodies have their foundations in the pagan
practice known as divination. This pagan religious practice had several manifestations, as Flint
relays, “[t]here was astrology, predictions from thunder and eclipses, from the flights and cries o f
birds and from the directions the smoke sacrifices took in the air.. .none o f this could the early
medieval church abide.. .It therefore attacked it wholesale” (88). Divination was condemned
because it insulted and undermined a fundamental belief o f Christianity; God created free w ill,
and these methods exacted to tell one’s future discredited that notion. The bothersome presence
o f divination took a sinister turn, when over the centuries, divination, namely astrology, was
believed to have been manipulated by demons in the attempt to trick humankind through the
inquest o f foreknowledge. Interestingly, as Flint claims, “[a]strological magic did not persist; it
was actually given strength. Astrology’s extra strength came from the possibility that, in some
manifestations, it might be used in Christian hands as a counter to these other, far more alarming,
forms o f divination...” (97). The dawn o f this realization led to the famous distinction by Isodore
o f Seville between divination and astrology. This initial dichotomy between divination and
astrology is featured within Flint’s book and states that ‘natural’ astrology is dedicated to the
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study o f the courses o f the sun, moon and stars, while ‘superstitious’ astrology refers to the old
practice o f divination through which humans seek out their fate (Flint 98). The real distinction
between astrology and divination lies in the purpose o f the person studying the stars, which
understandably generated contusion. Through this precarious distinction, divination was
renamed in scientific terms and allowed into medieval society.
Eventually, astrology became a not only accepted, but an encouraged practice. Flint states
that this was, “one o f the most spectacular rescues in the history o f magic’s rise” (128). A lso, by
the eleventh century, manuals on the subject were in circulation (128). Flint also provides a
specific reason as to why astrology was made formal science in the early middle ages: “Firstly,
there were in existence forms o f non-Christian magic thought more destructive both mentally
and physically than astrology, and against which astrology might prove to be an active
compromise and counter... [astrology] might be seen as a quite acceptable ingredient o f
asceticism, and an appropriate way o f freeing the spirit from the miring o f the earth and o f
associating it with the angels” (129). Despite the remarkable evolution o f astrology, we must
remember that the only concrete distinction between astrology and divination was the purpose o f
the person studying the cosmos. Thus, the widely accepted science o f astrology was
fundamentally renamed pagan divination.
MEDICINE:
Medical science also experienced a shaky beginning due to its magical foundations.
Christian figureheads opposed magical medicine because its methods were based upon pagan
healing rituals. Flint reveals that, “[t]wo elements among the practice o f non-Christian
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magicians unfailingly drove pastors into a fury. These were, firstly, the habit o f tying, binding,
or putting onto sick or injured people supposedly curative ligatures; and, secondly, the
administering to them o f “execrable remedies” in potions or pow ders...” (243). Akin to Isodore
o f Seville and astrology, Saint Augustine in the De Doctrina Christiana makes the distinction
between “scientific” medicine and magical medicine:
Whatever has been conceived by men for fashioning and worshipping idols is
superstitious, since it concerns the worship for creating a thing, or some part o f it,
as God, or else concerns communications and certain arrangements and pacts with
demons and portents.. .To this category belong.. .all amulets and charms o f which
the science o f medicine also disapproves, whether these involve enchantments, or
certain signs called “characters”.... (qtd. in Flint 244)
Yet, Augustine was aware o f the potential curative powers o f these magical properties and
created an escape clause in the De Doctrina Christiana:
It is one thing to say: “If you drink the juice crushed from this herb, your stomach
w ill not pain you and quite another to say: “If you hang this herb around your
neck, your stomach w ill not pain you.” In the first instance, a suitable and salutary
mixture is recommended; in the second a superstitious token deserves censure.
And yet, where there are no enchantments, invocations or characters, we can ask
these questions. Is the object which is toed or fastened in any way to the body for
the restoration o f its health effacious by virtue o f its own nature? (If so, we may
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use this remedy unrestrictedly).. .But, when we do not know the reason for the
eddicacy o f a thing, the intention for which it is used is important in so far as
concerns the cure or alleviation o f bodies, whether in medicine or agriculture.
(qtd. in Flint 301)
Again, we are faced with that ambiguous demarcation o f purpose, which permits several
interpretations and adaptations o f the aforementioned science. Because o f this, the early
medieval peoples were highly diversified in their feelings towards pagan forms o f medicine, such
as charms and amulets. Similar to astrology then, magic was once again allowed to penetrate
society under the guise o f science.
The relationship between the historic overlaying o f paganism and Christianity and the
inherent medieval confusion about the role o f magic in society w ill assist our reconsideration o f
the magical characters Merlin, Nimue and Morgan and their roles in Arthurian society. As we
have discussed throughout the source studies o f Malory, Merlin, Nimue and Morgan have all be
portrayed as forces which contradict themselves in Arthurian society. Their respective links to
Celtic religion and magic poses threat to Arthurian society as pagan magic threatens medieval
society. The treatment o f Merlin, Nimue and Morgan in Malory’s work then reflects a deeper
historical insecurity about this imperfect fusion o f Christianity and paganism.
NAMING THE MEDIEVAL WOMAN:
The middle ages were an epoch replete with misogyny, and this notion has been the
source o f scholarly consideration for decades. Because we are considering female practitioners
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o f magic, Nimue and Morgan, in Malory’s late medieval text, it is especially relevant to mention
the psychological manifestations o f this misogyny, as it emerges in the ‘unknowability’ o f a
woman. Elizabeth PetrofF discusses this concept in her book entitled Body and Soul Essays on
Medieval Women and Mysticism-, because a woman was unknowable, there was need to
‘unmask’ and expose her for what she truly was. Petroff asserts that the medieval woman posed
threat because she was literally ‘unknowable’ to the medieval male, and if she maintained any
form o f power, the compulsion to reveal her was all the stronger. As w e’ve established, Nimue
and Morgan were Celtic, female representations o f power and maintained their powers through
magic from The French Vulgate texts, onwards. The sharp contrasts o f Nimue’s and Morgan’s
personas between ‘good’ and ‘evil’ in Malory’s work suggest this male, medieval fear o f the
powerful female’s unknowability.
The genesis o f this distrust o f women assumed that females were comprised o f two
opposing halves, good and evil. In the cases o f Nimue and Morgan, both sorceresses harbor these
contradictions, for they equally destroy and save. Petroff explains, “[s]ometimes good women
are unmasked as good women; they may also turn out to be evil. Evil women may turn out to be
truly evil, or the appearance o f evil may be accounted for so that true goodness may be seen.
This compulsion to unmask women is the reassertion o f male power, power that seems to be in
the hands o f a fem ale.. .in a world that women ought not wield power” (27). In the Arthurian
tradition, Nimue and Morgan not only maintain power through their magic, but magical crafts
prove stronger then that o f the mortal men. Thus, when examined with the idea regarding the
medieval confusion o f magic, the contradictions that appear within the female magical characters
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are naturally manifestations o f historical medieval sentiments. This point shall be discussed in
the following and final chapter.
Much o f the characterization o f Nimue and Morgan in Malory’s text has to do with this
distrust o f women and the compulsion to expose them. However, Nimue and Morgan are from an
epoch in early pre-Christian Celtic society, when women with power were not feared and/or
subsequently ‘exposed,’ but rather, they were respected. Actually, in many early Celtic tribes,
there was a matriarchal rule. The most famous Celtic Queen was o f the Iceni tribe, Boudica, who
took over the tribe after her husband’s death in the first century AD. This employment o f female
succession in itself is representative o f the early Celtic attitudes towards women. Boudica was a
fierce warrior and even led a Roman rebellion upon colonization. Under Boudica, the Iceni were
an unstoppable Celtic tribe and she was looked upon as a Queen and a priestess, as author
Antonia Fraser explains: “Boudica’s ability to summon up the character o f priestess-or even
goddess- on the eve o f battle was to be an important factor where her war leadership was
concerned” (52). Boudica was both a royal and religious figure for the Iceni, which is not
completely uncommon in early Celtic society. Women were also defined as the ambassadors o f
a tribe and involved in political counsels. Further, there existed Druidesses, who were looked
upon by the Romans as witches, but these women were allowed to partake in Celtic religious
practices. Peter Berresford Ellis describes other social functions and laws pertaining to Celtic
women:
Women could be found in many professions, even as lawyers and judge.. .A
woman could inherit property and remained the owner o f any property she
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brought into a marriage. If the marriage broke up, she not only took out o f it her
property but any property that her husband had given her during the marriage.. .A
woman was responsible for her own debts and not those o f her husbands. (94-5)
The shift towards patriarchy had been a gradual one and was hastened once Roman
influence had taken root and certainly accelerated upon the establishment o f Christianity. Within
Celtic religiosity, mother goddesses were being replaced by the conception o f father gods.
External forces played a role also, for the colonizing Roman’s regarded women as property, and
this brand o f misogyny had begun to seep into Celtic culture also.
The disparity between early Celtic and medieval notions o f women are crucial in our
study, because Nimue and Morgan are treated according to the century that represents them.
Their legacies are steeped in this Celtic conception that women are powerful, competent,
respectable forces in society, yet after centuries o f patriarchy and developing misogyny, their
Celtic powers in the areas o f state and religion have been vilified and reduced to either good or
evil. Thus, it is not simply medieval confusion o f magic that renders this treatment. This is
apparent, for Merlin, who is rumored to be an incubus in Malory’s text, is not vilified to the
extent that Morgan and Nimue are. Instead, he remains ambiguous, and is not as threatening as
the sorceresses on account o f his gender. Magical affinities were especially threatening in the
hands o f a woman, for both magic and women themselves were ‘unknowable’ and therefore
required containment. Furthermore, the compulsion to simply dichotomize Nimue and Morgan
between good and evil provided some comfort and understanding to the medieval male. If
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Nimue, Morgan, and women and general, could be classified, they were no longer enigmatical,
and thereby less threatening.
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CHAPTER SIX: THE CHARACTERS RE-VISITED:
After examining the characters’ Celtic legacies and Malory’s sources studies o f Geoffrey
o f Monmouth and The French Vulgate Cycle, it becomes clear that it is the reconfiguration o f
these fundamentally Celtic figures through medieval ideals, which renders their contradictions in
Malory’s text. Further, this re-calibration o f pagan magic embodied by Merlin, Nimue and
Morgan is congruous to the larger historical practice o f renaming pagan magic in terms o f the
sciences and even Christianity as a result o f the imperfect fusion o f paganism and Christianity.
When re-examined in terms o f their Celtic legacies and through the source studies, however,
Merlin, Nimue and Morgan all function as social revivers and life sources in Malory’s text
through their symbolic actions o f creating new life by destroying existing life. This is the new
lens through which we w ill examine Nimue, Morgan and Merlin once again.
MERLIN:
A s stated previously, Merlin’s chief contradiction is that he is both powerful wizard and
ineffective prophet. It has been postulated that Merlin subsumes a Druidic role in the texts, due
to his connection with the elements, magic, prophecy and knowledge. Merlin’s contradictions
illuminated in chapter one have to do with this Druidic affiliation, for he operates in between the
time space continuum as a Druidic force in the now medieval-Arthurian society. In addition to
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this, Merlin is rumored to be an incubus in Malory’s text, which portrays him as hovering over
the median separating species and worlds. Therefore, Merlin is an intermediary figure in
Malory’s text and as such, he primarily functions in between opposites, the past/ present and
earth/ hell. As w e’ve discovered through the roles o f demons in medieval society, the
intermediary figure is one which bears the fears and discontenments o f a society. Analogous to
the representation o f demons as personified paganism and tangible Christian enemies, Merlin’s
role as a Druid in Malory’s Arthuriad bears a similar, personified unease with the presence o f
paganism in Christianized society. As discussed in chapter five, this consternation was the result
o f the overlapping pagan and Christian religions in the fifth century AD, for the overhanging
presence o f the Celtic religion and its powers was never fully treated or resolved in medieval
society.
O f Merlin’s two intermediary positions o f demon and Druid, his Druidic role is more
revealing in terms o f his operation in Arthurian society and later displacement. As w e’ve seen in
chapter three, Merlin’s explanation o f the cosm os to Taliesin in The Vita reveals his Druidic
understanding o f the order o f the universe. Jean Markle author o f “Master and Mediator o f the
Natural World” maintains that it is Merlin’s power over these elements which truly reveal his
Druidic nature. Markle likens Merlin to the Celtic god, the Dagda, who was the ruler o f the
Tuatha De Danann. This connection firstly stems from: “.. .a purely Celtic perspective, druids
necessarily embody gods, because if all gods are druids, all druids must be gods.. .And the god o f
the druids, the druid-god is Dagda.” (414-5). The Dagda presides over all and as Markle
explains:
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[The Dagda] represents the being fully reconciled with him self and with all
things. Analysis o f his case reveals that Dagda is the father o f his own mother, the
uncle o f his son, the lover and the son.. .o f his own daughter.. .He is not bound by
time or space because he is him self past, present and future.. .He thus rules over
rocks, water, plants, anim als.... (415)
Especially through this connection with nature, Merlin acts as a mediator o f all things, for
through him animals, minerals and the cosm os are extensions o f each other. In The Vita, Merlin
is associated with a stag and a w olf, which suggests Merlin’s mastery over the animal kingdom
and his connection to it, as Markle continues: “he appears mounted on a stag, suggesting that he
is a stag, and he is accompanied by a w olf, suggesting he is a wolf. To be Master o f Animals
means not only to rule animals, but also to be able to take on their forms. And that is pure
shamanism.” (411). This oneness with animals also bears a druidic resemblance, for the Druids
would also ‘become’ an animal by ritually wrapping themselves in buck hides and lying at the
base o f a waterfall to obtain a vision. In The French Vulgate Cycle and Malory’s text, Merlin is
associated to the elements o f rock and water through his entrapment within stone and his
relationship with The Lady o f the Lake (Nimue). Lastly, Merlin is identified as a star-reader in
all o f the source study texts and in Malory’s text, for he is able to interpret meaning and
prophecies from their alignments. This is especially obvious in the H.R.B., when the stars form a
dragon and Merlin is summoned to interpret the meaning and he reveals to King Uther that his
son Arthur w ill become a powerful, successful ruler (201). O f the natural world o f mineral,
water, animal and cosm os, Merlin is more than the intermediary; he is the nexus upon which all
aspects join.
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As grand as this intermediary position seems, this role is ultimately displaces him when
Arthurian society becomes medieval-Arthurian society. The progressing medieval world was
becoming more dichotomized and no longer had a place for a Druidic intermediary, reveals
Markle:
Why did Merlin accept imprisonment? Because he understood that to live outside
nature is to bring one’s destruction. As early as the twelfth century, when we can
already begin to see the outlines o f Capitalism in the new towns obsessed with
money, Merlin served as a warning.. .the marketplace became the central place,
replacing the cemetery, symbol o f the communion between the living and the
dead. A people which regulates its dead to a place outside the urban context, and
which abandons the holy sanctuary for the Temple o f Wealth, cuts itself o ff
brutally from its roots. Once cut o ff from its roots, a people no longer knows how
to use Nature, only how to abuse it. (418)
Not only was Merlin a misfit in a religious sense and his powers increasingly ineffective in a
Christian world, but he did not belong in the changing medieval socio-economic world. Merlin’s
self-imposed withdrawal from Arthurian society is logical in this context, for as Markle claims,
Merlin realized that entrapment meant salvation, for destruction would have ensued if he
attempted to mold him self to society. Merlin’s willingness to subject him self to ‘death’ also
signified social rejuvenation, for he realized that as an archaic, displaced figure his destruction
was necessary to the perpetuation o f new life.
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Merlin’s acceptance o f personal destruction by entombment within a stone symbolizes
Druidic burial rituals involving stone circles. Stonehenge is the most famous o f stone circles, but
there are several smaller stone circles scattered across Britain and Ireland. A s w e’ve discussed in
the H.R.B., Merlin was credited with establishing Stonehenge and historically, the Druids were
purportedly one group thought to have erected this megalithic structure. However, this theory has
been disproved, for Stonehenge was established before the arrival o f the Celts to Britain:
“Stonehenge dates from the close o f the Neolithic Age, and most o f the smaller circles belong to
the early Bronze Age, and are probably Pre-Celtic” (MacCulloch 281). Also, most scholars
agree that Stonehenge was neither a Druidic temple, or an astrological device, but rather
Stonehenge and other stone circles most likely functioned as sacred places o f burial and hence
were sites o f ancestor worship. In this respect, Merlin’s self-sacrifice reflects the Druidic ritual o f
interment.
Merlin’s contradictions in Malory’s text are superficial, for Merlin represents the Druidic
unity between all forces: man, god, nature and the cosmos. Merlin’s later classification as an
incubus also fits into this unity; there are no dichotomies between forces, even good and evil.
Therefore, Merlin is the being through which opposites converge, yet in a Christian medieval
society, which was evolving away from nature and toward capitalism, a Druidic intermediary
was no longer needed to command and unite the universe. As the world was becoming more
dichotomized, Merlin grew ineffective and became displaced until he ritualistically sacrificed
himse lf within a Druidic stone circle. However, this act was a gesture o f change and allowance,
for by accepting and accommodating the procession o f time, he helped usher in the future.
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NIMUE:
The Celtic persona o f Nimue also serves to bridge her seemingly contradictory roles in Le
Morte D ’ Arthur. According to her Celtic goddess legacy, she represents the life source o f water
and is an archetype o f spiritual reconnection. However, through Nimue’s character evolution, she
also becomes associated with the Roman/Greek goddess Diana in The French Vulgate Cycle.
Diana is reflective o f the Greek goddess Artemis, and both goddess share the legacy o f exacting
vengeance upon men in the name o f safeguarding their propriety. However the story o f Diana
furnished The French Vulgate Cycle explicates the incident in which Diana gruesomely
murdered one lover in order to be with another. She was in turn murdered for this deed by her
second lover. It appears to be this association with the Roman goddess Diana, which deflects
Nimue’s associations away from her Celtic glories o f water, life and light, aligning her with
ambition and murder. It appears that this portrayal o f Nimue left an impression upon Malory;
after all, the first time we meet Nimue in his text she is presented as a huntress, pursuing a white
palfrey. Considering Petroff s discussion o f the medieval compulsion to unmask women, in
order to reveal her true nature, Nimue’s reputation as a femme fatal is a literary unmasking. The
power o f her Celtic legacy may have been the motive to expose beneath her representation as a
Celtic water and light archetype, Nimue had the potential to be an Eve prototype. Although
Malory’s treatment o f her focuses upon the ‘unmasked’ Nimue, she still bears the power to
reconnect with her Celtic goddess powers o f life and rejuvenation by succeeding Merlin.
In fact, Nimue’s entombment o f Merlin serves to be the greatest representation o f Nimue
not as a femme fatal, but as a life force. As Sue Ellen Holbrook reveals in her essay “Elemental
Goddess: Nymue, the Chief Lady o f the Lake and Her Sisters,” it is Nimue’s Celtic goddess, not
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Roman goddess, persona which shines through Malory’s text. The element o f the stone used in
Merlin’s entrapment and Nimue’s water association actually suggest social rejuvenation:
In considering the abandonment o f megalithic monuments and apparent
preference for water worship among the Celts we might note that Britain and
Europe became wetter, as w ell as colder in the later Bronze Age...Given this
archeological backdrop, the Lady o f the Lake’s enclosure o f Merlin in a
megalithic structure.. .may also hint at a cultural memory o f an historic shift in
ritual sites and practices. Within (pre) history, however, this shift would seem to
have been a gradual one in which megalithic monuments may have been forsaken
but sun and water both signify. (81)
If we perceive Merlin and Nimue as people, then she is clearly a murderess. However, if we
regard her and Merlin as Celtic forces, then the entrapment scene, in any context, is
representative o f perhaps the historical/social rejuvenation discussed above. Nimue acts as the
officiator o f Merlin’s self-sacrifice and likewise stimulates the future by properly deciding when
to ‘begin’ the past. Nimue returns to her glorious Celtic origins through her participation in
Merlin’s self-sacrifice, and later succession o f the wizard, for she symbolically reinstitutes the
Celtic water archetypes o f light (sun, eye and consciousness) into Arthurian society.
I suggest that we re-read the contradictions o f Nimue within Malory’s text o f murderess/
Merlin’s successor in terms o f the socially important roles a Celtic woman was allowed to keep
pre-Christianization. We’ve already established that Nimue’s ‘murderess’ classification is also a
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superficial reading, for she acts as priestess in this sacrifice. A lso, her succession o f Merlin
suggests a new magical matriarchy, reflective o f early matriarchies o f Celtic society, as
discussed in the previous chapter. Clearly there was a patriarchal rule o f Camelot by Arthur, but
as far as the magical world o f Arthurian society is concerned, Nimue was high priestess and
later, ruler.
MORGAN:
As w e’ve seen in medieval texts, particularly Malory’s text, Morgan’s paradoxical, Great
Queen legacy is only half represented the further time moves away from Celtic dogmas and into
the late middle ages. Congruent to Merlin and Nimue, Morgan acts according to her profound
understanding o f the cyclical nature o f life. This is especially true in Morgan’s case, because she
is the goddess o f the life which transpires on and beyond earth.
In her relation to Nimue, Morgan was doubly worthy o f vilification, for not only was
Morgan/Morrigan a controversial goddess in terms o f life and destruction, but her pagan fertility
associations have been reconfigured by medieval authors to reflect adultery. In The French
Vulgate Cycle, Morgan barters her sexuality for the sake o f ambition and she is featured with
several lovers. Yet presumably, Nimue shares a canal relationship with Pelleas, which would
also be considered adulterous by medieval standards. However, the difference between Nimue
and Morgan in this respect is that Nimue is selective and chooses Pelleas out o f love; therefore,
Nimue is worthy o f redemption.
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Undoubtedly, Morgan was an exceptional threat to the medieval male, but despite her
representation in Malory’s text, her Celtic roots suggest that her destructive acts are potentially
life giving. Her attacks on Arthur in book four, which reflect the attacks o f Morrigan upon her
hero, are actually a form o f hero- testing and indirectly, protection. As mentioned in chapter one,
Morgan’s two attacks on Arthur involve giving (the mantle) and taking away (Excalibur) and
both tests expose Arthur’s inability to see the true source o f objects beyond face value. Facades
are common in Arthurian texts, and are the true destructive forces at work. Arthur was conceived
by a fa9 ade, Uther’s shape-shifted form to seduce Igrane; therefore, Arthurian society is based
upon deceptions and delusions. Ultimately, this inability to see beyond surface level brings
Arthur’s destruction; he is unable to recognize his sister and conceives his destroyer, Mordred,
and he either cannot or w ill not see the relationship between Launcelot and Guenever. In this
respect, Morgan’s tests in book four serve as a lesson o f forewarning to the King. Arthur is
unable to read the signs however, just as CuChulainn was unable to interpret the Morrigan’s sign
when his chariot wheel broke as he went into battle. The Morrigan and Morgan are actually more
than fair in their treatments o f the heroes. It is Arthur and CuChulainn who indirectly refuse the
assistance o f the respective goddess by lacking the ability to decode the cryptic warnings. Yet,
both goddesses take responsibility for ensuring the hero reaches the afterlife safely. Their deathly
domains alone prove their prowess, since terrestrial life is finite, they preside over the permanent
life which can only begin through the passage o f death.
There is however a late fourteenth century poem by an anonymous author entitled Sir
Gawin and The Green Knight,18 which supplements more o f Morgan’s Great Queen Aspect,
lacking in Malory, and The French Vulgate Cycle for that matter. Although Morgan is not a main
18 The edition used in this diesis is translated by Marie Borroff

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character, she is the driving force o f the poem. Through Bertalik’s (the Green Knight)
explanation, Morgan’s role is identified at the end o f poem:
She guided me in this guise to your glorious hall,
To assay, if such it were, the surfeit o f pride
That is rumored o f the retinue o f the Round Table,
She put this shape upon me to puzzle your wits
To afflict the fair queen, and frighten her to death...
She was with my w ife at home, that old withered lady,
Your own aunt is she, Arthur’s half sister. (2456-2464)
Morgan is actually die mastermind behind Gawin’s adventure; she intended to test Gawin, the
budding hero, and frighten Guenever to death. Her animosity towards the Queen can be recalled
back to The French Vulgate Cycle when Guenever dissolved Morgan’s relationship with her
kinsman. More importantly, Morgan again becomes the tester o f the hero, yet her reputation is
glorious because the Gawin does not die, hence the testing is deemed benevolent. The
Morgan/Mom'gan figure tests both Arthur and CuChulainn until she finally protects them in the
afterlife, but Gawin remains alive at the end o f Morgan’s tests. Instead o f dying, he learns from
Morgan that he is fallible and becomes humbled, but more importantly, he learns how to live and
appreciate life. Ultimately, Gawin fails when he thinks he is not being tested, such as taking the
girdle from the wife; thus, through Morgan he realizes that the seemingly small tests o f character
are the most consequential. We may hazard that because Gawin is a celebrated, but rather new
hero, she withholds the ‘real’ testing, which she delivers to Arthur and CuChulainn. And yet,
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Morgan is still represented as a death figure in the poem, as mentioned in the above quote, she
appears as the old crone (death) while standing next to Bertalik’s young and beautiful w ife, who
symbolizes life and sexuality.
Morgan’s wilderness palace, named HautDesert, resembles the fairy mounds o f the
Tuatha De Danann, which Morgan governs also. Gawin, near the brink o f death, stumbles upon
this enchanted, colorful castle in the middle o f the savage woods and within this palace o f
Morgan’s is where the testing begins. The powerful Bertalik is presented as the ruler o f the
palace, but he explains that he is actually Morgan’s employee. Gawin, who once believed his
glory was derived o f his kinship to Arthur, now discovers that his true greatness is his kinship to
Morgan ‘the goddess’ (2452). Morgan’s role in SGGK19 recalls her former power as a ruler-
goddess, but also reflects the early Celtic tribes governed by women. Thus, the most powerful o f
men and the most noble o f heroes are still subject to and learn from this Great Queen.
Our new perspective o f Morgan is not new at all. Perceiving Morgan comprehensively
and accurately means reconnecting the former goddess to her rightful identity as Great Queen,
despite the vilification in later medieval tests. Her means o f hero testing and whether or not the
hero dies at the end o f his ‘lesson’ must not distort Morgan’s character into an evil one. Her
domains seem contradictory and twofold, life and death, but as Gawin comes to realize, the only
way to truly live is to understand death. However, even the heroes who die are promised a new
and glorious life in the otherworld, for Morgan/the Morrigan herself either literally or
symbolically escorts them to the afterlife. Thus, Morgan has proven herself to be only a life
19Acronym used by Arthurian scholars when referencing Sir Gawin and the Green Knight
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goddess. Morgan cannot be identified as a destroyer, for she reigns over both terrestrial life and
the afterlife; thus, the only thing that Morgan destroys is death itself.
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CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUSION
By applying history and the source studies o f Malory’s text, the contradictory magical
characters are not quite as contradictory as they once appeared in Le Morte D ’A rthur. Merlin is a
figure o f Druidic ideals; Geoffrey o f Monmouth reveals a magical dimension to the Merlin
character, yet keeps him aligned to his Celtic roots. Within The French Vulgate Cycle, Merlin is
demonized as an incubus and maintains an intermediary position between species and the forces
o f good and evil. Malory initially represents Merlin as a dynamic, creative force in Arthurian
society, only to become displaced and destroyed by his own creation. Like Monmouth, w e’ve
kept Merlin close to his Druidic origins throughout our examination o f his character and
discovered that he functions as Druidism personified in a changing, medieval society. His
powers were much needed in creating and regulating society until a new rule is established. In
Malory’s world, that new rule is Arthurian, the government Merlin establishes, for Arthur is
famous for implementing the new order, Camelot and the round table, amongst the warring
kings. Historically, the pagan Romans and later, Christianity were the new orders and Druidism,
and the Celtic religion in general, was displaced, becoming archaic and suppressed. Merlin’s role
o f intermediary between worlds as an incubus and a Druidic figure explains his awesome powers
in the first book and gradual di sempowerment throughout books two through four. As a symbol
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o f Druidism and the Celtic religion, his powers naturally could not retain their potency in a
Christianized world.
In Malory’s text, Nimue returns to her Celtic water archetypes o f light and spirituality
and her contradictions dissipate when we consider her character evolution. Within the Suite-
Vulgate and Suite-Post Vulgate, there are two different portrayals o f Niniane. Yet, she is
connected to the goddess Diana/Artemis, which associates Niniane to the goddesses’ history o f
murdering potential lovers; the cause o f Niniane’s later vilification in Malory’s text. The Suite-
Vulgate presents Niniane as an enamored child who plans to keep Merlin for herself by
imprisoning him within a tower. The Suite -P o st Vulgate Niniane commits an act o f self-defense
by protecting her maidenhead and shutting Merlin inside a cave. However, because Merlin’s
Druidic affiliations are especially prevalent in Malory’s text, his act o f self-destruction was one
o f self-sacrifice, as opposed to an uncontrollable love for Niniane, as in the Suite-Vulgate. Also
contrary to the Suite-Post Vulgate rendition, Merlin’s sacrifice was intentional in Malory’s text.
As explained in chapter four, in the Suite-Post Vulgate, Merlin was utterly unaware o f his
impending destruction, for Niniane placed a spell upon him so powerful that he was unable to
foresee her murderous intentions. In Malory’s text, Merlin’s destruction is clearly an act o f self-
sacrifice, for he is fully aware o f his fate and sacrifices him self for no reason other than he must.
As mentioned in chapter one, when Arthur tells him to avoid the entrapment by Nimue he so
clearly foresees, Merlin’s simple answer of, “N ay...it w ill not be” (1: 117) suggests that he
accepts and understands his necessary self-sacrifice. Because o f this aspect o f Druidic self-
sacrifice within a stone circle in Malory’s text, Nimue is not a murderess, but rather the high
priestess needed to commence the ceremony o f sacrifice. After her role as priestess, she
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appropriately becomes ruler over the realm o f magic in Arthur’s kingdom; thus, her reconnection
to the Celtic water archetype o f rebirth and spirituality.
Morgan’s contradictions in Malory’s text also become more understandable when
she is evaluated according to her Celtic origins and later developments in The French Vulgate
Cycle. The Great Queen legacy o f Morgan begins to be halved in The French Vulgate Cycle',
instead o f the Queen o f all opposing forces, she becomes more aligned with wickedness and
adultery. However the Suite-Vulgate does suggest that perhaps Morgan is not inherently evil, for
she may be nudged by Merlin into villainy. The Suite-Post Vulgate portrays Morgan as already
corrupted by wickedness before her apprenticeship with Merlin; in fact, it was she who suggests
that she would be w illing to do anything in order to learn his magic. On the surface, Malory
completes the severance o f Morgan from her goddess qualities, but her form o f hero testing and
command over the afterlife proves that Morgan is still the Great Queen in Malory’s text.
I have suggested that these great contradictions in Malory’s text could be elucidated
primarily through source study and a historical analysis in order to draw upon the natural
parallels between the Celtic religion and magic in Britain and the character developments o f
Nimue, Morgan and Merlin. The two major historical events for this study were the elimination
o f the Druids by the pagan Romans and the imperfect fusion o f the Celtic religion and
Christianity by the m issionizing strategy o f Pope Gregory the Great. This overlay o f religions
meant that paganism still remained a part o f a now Christianized society, which threatened the
latter state because o f the power and destruction a foreign, polytheistic, pagan power may
unleash. However, the allure o f these powers was equally as great, and renaming pagan magic in
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the sciences as astrology/astronomy and medicine conformed the pagan divination and healing
rituals into Christianized domains. This allowed the medeivals to utilize the powerful, beneficial
elements o f pagan magic and condemn the threatening aspects, the uncontainable power. The
precarious distinctions drawn between pagan magic and Christian science ultimately depended
upon the purpose o f the person engaging in a respective scientific pursuit; thus the confusion
surrounding the place o f magic in medieval society.
Merlin, Nimue and Morgan were also reconfigured by the medieval writers and became
further and further removed from their Celtic origins in the chronological advance toward the
late middle ages. As members o f a Christianized-Arthurian society, these characters became
problematic symbols o f the Celtic pagan religion. Similar to medieval society, the placement o f
the magical characters in Arthurian society was approached with trepidation. Yet at the same
time, the uncontainable powers o f Merlin, Nimue and Morgan also promised social and spiritual
advancement. Thus, drawing from the historical example o f the sciences, they were also confined
into acceptable roles in Arthurian society in order to utilize the potential benefits and eliminate
the threats o f their powers. The acceptable role for Merlin, Nimue and Morgan in Malory’s text
was humanity, as opposed to their true natures, the intangible forces o f Celtic powers. By
presenting the magical figures as primarily humans instead o f Celtic forces, their powers were
harnessed and less threatening. However, confining Merlin, Nimue and Morgan to humanity
ultimately resulted in the marked contradictions in Malory’s text. As w e’ve discovered from
history, paganism was just below the surface o f Christianized medieval society and the same is
true o f the magical characters. Despite their human portrayals, their Celtic natures surfaced
through their usages o f magic; thus the contradictory actions o f Merlin, Nimue and Morgan. As
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human beings, they are indeed antithetical figures, but as Celtic forces, their actions are anything
but conflicting, for the characters operate according to their designated places in the Celtic
religion. However, the Celtic orbit they function within does not assimilate tenuously in
Malory’s late-medieval, Christianized society. Therefore, unless we regard the magical figures
comprehensively as Celtic forces, they w ill remain contradictory and conflicting in Malory’s
text.
In keeping with Arthurian scholarship, the purpose o f this thesis is not to suggest a
definitive reading o f the texts, but rather to offer a new perspective with which to understand
Malory’s magical characters. Through certain historical parallels and the evolution o f the
characters through Malory’s source studies, I have suggested that Malory’s characters are not as
contradictory as they appear; moreover, they maintain their glorious, but misunderstood Celtic
legacies in Le Morte D ’Arthur. By grounding this interpretation in history, we have a much
richer, broader context with which to consider the characters, and a framework for their
developments throughout the source studies. The purpose o f this new lens with which to see
Merlin, Nimue and Morgan in Malory’s text is to reconnect the characters to their original Celtic
splendor and deepen the respect owed to them in their roles o f creating and renewing Malory’s
Arthurian society.
89
APPENDIX
SOURCE STUDIES TIMELINE:
The High Middle Ages:
Ca. 1136-Geoffrey o f Monmouth: VitaMerlini
Ca. 1148-Geoffiey o f Monmouth: Historia Regum Britanniae
Ca. 1191-Robert De Boron: Joseph d ’Arimathea
Early 13th Century-77ie Suite- Vulgate
The (Early) Late Middle Ages:
Mid 13th Century- Suite Post-Vulgate
The (Latel Late Middle Ages:
Ca. 1480-Sir Thomas Malory: Le Morte D ‘A rthur
90
REFERENCES
Primary Sources:
Borroff, Marie, (Trans.). Sir Gawin and the Green Knight. N ew York: W. W. Norton &
Company, Inc., 1967.
Bromwich, Rachel. (Ed. & Trans.). Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Welsh Triads. Cardiff: University
o f Wales Press, 1978.
Forbes, Alexander Penrose (Ed.). The Lives o f S. Ninian & S. Kentigem. Edinburgh: Edmonston
& Douglas, 1874.
Geoffrey o f Monmouth. The History o f the Kings o f Britain. Trans. Lewis Thorpe. New
York: The Penguin Group, 1966.
Geoffrey o f Monmouth. Vita Merlini. Trans. John Jay Parry. Urbana: University o f Illinois,
1925.
Kinsella, Thomas, (Trans.). The Tain Bo Cuailnge. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Lacy, Norris J. (ed.). Launcelot-Grail: The Old French Vulgate Arthurian Vulgate and Post-
Vulgate (5 vols.). N ew York: Garland, 1993-96.
Malory, Sir Thomas. Le Morte D ’Arthur. (2 vols.). Ed. Janet Cowen. New York: The Penguin
Group, 1986.
Secondary Sources:
Berthelot, Anne. “Merlin and the Ladies o f the Lake.” Goodrich and Thompson 162-185.
Briggs, Katharine. The Fairies in Tradition and Literature. London: Routledge, 1967.
Clark, Rosalind. The Great Queens: Irish Goddesses from the Morrigan to Cathleen ni
Houihan. Maryland: Barnes and Noble Books, 1991.
91
Ellis, Peter Berresford. A B rief History o f the Druids. New York: Carroll & Graff Publishers,
1994,2002.
Flint, Valerie. The Rise o f Magic in Early Medieval Europe. New Jersey: Princeton
University Press, 1991.
Fraser, Antonia. The Warrior Queens. N ew York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1988.
Goodrich, Norma Lorre. Merlin. New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1988.
Goodrich, Peter H. & Thompson, Raymond H. Merlin: A Casebook N ew York: Routledge,

2003.
Hillgarth, J.N. (ed.). Christianity and Paganism, 350-750. Philadelphia: University o f

Pennsylvania Press, 1986.
Holbrook, Sue Ellen. “Elemental Goddesses: Nymue, the C hief Lady o f the Lake, and Her
Sisters.” Wheeler and Tolhurst 71-88.
Irvin, Dale T. & Sunquist, Scott W. History o f the World Christian Movement. New York: Orbis
Books, 2001.
Jarman, A.O.H. “The Merlin Legend and the W elsh Tradition o f Prophecy.” Goodrich and
Thompson 105-130.
Lewis, C.S.. The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance

Literature. Cambridge: The Cambridge University Press, 1964.
MacBain, Alexander. Celtic Mythology and Religion. Stirling: Eneas MacKay, 1917.
MacCulloch, David. The Religion o f the Ancient Celts. Edinburgh: Morrison & Gibb
Limited, 1911,1977.
Markale, Jean. “Master and Mediator o f the Natural World.” Goodrich and Thompson 410-426.
Paton, Lucy Allen. Studies in the Fairy Mythology o f Arthurian Romance. Boston: Ginn & Co.,
1903.
Pennick, N igel. Celtic Sacred Landscapes. N ew York: Thames & Hudson Inc., 1996.
Petroff, Elizabeth Alvilda. Body & Soul: Essays on Medieval Women and Mysticism.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.
Salway, Peter. A History o f Roman Britain. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993.
92
Scullard, H.H.. Roman Britain Outpost o f the Empire. London: Thames and Hudson Inc.,
1979.
Servi, Katerina. Greek Mythology. Athens: Ekdotike Athenon S.A., 1997.
Tolstoy, Nikolai. The Quest fo r Merlin. Little, Brown & Co., 1985.
Wheeler, Bonnie and Tolhurst, Fiona. On Arthurian Women Essays in Memory o f

Maureen Fries. Dallas: Scriptorium Press, 2001.
93

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MORGAN LE FAY, NIMUE AND MERLIN IN SIR THOMAS MALORY’S LE

MORTE D ’ARTHUR: ADVANCEMENT AND DEVASTATION THROUGH MAGIC

A Thesis Submitted to the School o f Graduate Studies

Southern Connecticut State University

All rights reserved.

ProQuest Information and Learning Company

D 'ARTHUR: ADVANCEMENT AND DEVASTATION THROUGH MAGIC

Dana Sonnenschein, Ph.D.

Robert McEachem, Ph.D.

Author: Jessica A. Choronzy

Title: MORGAN LE FAY, NIMUE AND MERLIN IN SIR THOMAS

MALORY’S LE MORTE D ’ARTHUR: ADVANCEMENT AND

DEVASTATION THROUGH MAGIC

Thesis Advisor: Sue Ellen Holbrook, Ph.D.

Institution: Southern Connecticut State University

Degree: Master o f Arts

magical characters in Malory’s Arthuriad. By tracking the metamorphoses o f the characters in

You’ve made it so everything w ill always be possible; I love you.

INTRODUCTION TO THE ST U D Y ..................................................................................................... 1

CHAPTER ONE: MALORY’S CONTRADICTORY MAGICAL CHARACTERS...................... 4

CHAPTER TWO: CELTIC ORIGINS.................................................................................................19

CHAPTER THREE: GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH...................................................................... 35

THE VITA MERLINI.................................................................................................................. 38

CHAPTER FOUR: THE FRENCH VULGATE CYCLE.....................................................................41

THE FEMALE MAGICIANS.................................................................................................. 45

CHAPTER FIVE: HISTORY & MEDIEVAL NOTIONS OF MAGIC AND WOMEN............. 54

THE FUNCTION OF DEMONS ON THE SUB-CONSCIOUS PLANE........................ 57

THE CONSCIOUS PLANE.................................................................................................... 59

MEDIEVAL CONFUSION OF MAGIC EVINCED BY THE SCIENCES....................64

NAMING THE MEDIEVAL WOMAN................................................................................68

CHAPTER 6: THE CHARACTERS RE-VISITED.......................................................................... 73

As a student o f literature, my encounters with Arthurian literature have been scattered

centuries, which was the inception o f this study.

Although many literary scholars approach an historical interpretation with trepidation, I

treatment o f Malory’s magical figures. Medieval astrology/astronomy and medicine began as

as unbridled Celtic forces.

Arthur’s protector. Morgan le Fay is featured as Arthur’s nemesis and a whirlwind o f

during the fifth century AD.

contradictions, as w ill be discussed in chapter six.

this chapter pertaining specifically to Nimue. Nevertheless, she seems to be convinced o f

the reality o f his definitive magical proficiency.

Such a postulation is demonstrative in Le Morte D ’A rthur by the secondary passages that

operative source o f power by disregarding his forewarnings. Therefore, Merlin is antithetically

all- powerful, yet helpless in Le Morte D ’A rthur.

society he has created

one as the providential force o f Arthurian rule.

longer able to impact the course o f either time frame.

D ’A rthur and Nimue emerges as an obdurate femme fatal.

representations o f Nimue in Malory’s text are incomplete and appear incongruous.

Avalon to heal his battle wounds.

her horse and her knights into stones.

The actualization o f Morgan as Arthur’s healer in Avalon is indeed an incongruous

promise advancement, either socially and/or spiritually while simultaneously threatening

ostensive contradictions within Malory’s text.

and utilize these Celtic forces.

water goddess o f rebirth, turned fairy lover o f Pelleas.

(MacCulloch 103). Because o f Nimue’s water goddesses predecessors, she functions in

Malory’s text is a gesture o f rebirth, which w ill be discussed in chapter six.

underworld at sunset. It is a perilous shamanic descent into the unconscious

represented a meditative gesture o f self-hood. In this respect, water maintained an esoteric

their souls and the deities o f Tir nan Og.

chronicles o f Gervase o f Tilbury and Ralph o f Coggeshall, through the

fairy stock, who tend to be dark and hairy.... (136)

kidnapping o f Launcelot reflects a comprehensive fairy tradition.