What Is The Character Of Queen Guinevere

Arthurian knight, finds himself in love with a Celtic queen, Iseult, who is already married to his

She is the most perdurable female figure in King Arthur and his Knights. Without her the suspense and the plot flow could not have been achieved. Her influence has enabled her to penetrate into men’s world a trait that distinguishes her from the rest of the women. Knights are referred to as the queen’s knights. We could say the same of the ladies who accompany the queen and keep the knights in good company (pg.52) .Queen Guinevere, as the King’s wife, is acknowledged by males.

Queen Guinevere’s character was more about being royal and doing as she wanted. She was married to King Arthur. She was above all of the wrongs that she has done and shows no signs of sadness, even when she is sad (page 632). She has an affair with Sir Launcelot without King Arthur knowing about it. She causes conflicts among the knights and the King. Both men are so in love with Queen Guinevere. Sir Launcelot throughout the story does battle for Queen Guinevere, while showing King Arthur his loyalty.

We as readers realize that many women of this era were objects of courtly love. However, in other Arthurian texts, Guinevere takes a more active role in the story and portrays an adulteress. In "Du Mantel mautaille" a knight arrives at King Arthur's court and brings with him a magic coat which is to fit the women who has been faithful to her husband or lover. Guinevere is singled out by the author as the "incarnation of unfaithfulness" (Bloch 95). In medieval literature, women are also portrayed as adulteresses such as the Lady in Sir Gawain and The Green Knight.

“Lanval,” caught my attention from the beginning to end, specifically how Lanval’s lover saves him from getting beheaded. Seeing Queen Guinevere lose in her husband’s court allows me to realize that in life, love is powerful. Despite being powerful, Queen Guinevere was unable to get Lanval to love her. Queen Guinevere’s failure in becoming a knight’s mistress enables readers to be aware that having power makes one feel important; however, such power can become one’s worst nightmare. On the other hand, in “The Wife of Bath’s Tale,” Queen Guinevere’s power is the key to her joy. Her power forces a knight to marry the hag, an old and unattractive

During a high point in medieval chivalric romance, both Marie de France’s Lanval and the anonymous Sir Gawain and the Green Knight tell fanciful tales of knighthood, chivalry, and spiritual and temporal (courtly) love. Both Lanval and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight portray their female characters as possessing considerable power and influence, within the events in the story and in the structure of the plot. Indeed, the female characters in both works function as the catalysts of the events within the stories, and also as instruments for each author's conveyed meaning. While Lanval presents its female characters in an unorthodox reversal of gender roles, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight employs the female characters as moral and spiritual trials for the hero, Sir Gawain. I will examine how the fairy princess and Queen Gwenevere in Marie de France's Lanval present a reversal of gender roles as was traditionally understood; she presents femininity as powerful, inspiring, and morally dynamic (for a woman can be ideal, or she can be corrupt). I will compare this to the representation of Lady Bertilak and Morgan le Fay in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in which they are used to convey a “Biblical” warning for an ecclesiastical audience; particularly that of moral failure and the temptation of the flesh.

Although it is hinted, one could say that King Arthur knew of the relationship between Lancelot and Guinevere but chose to look the other way in fear of losing Sir Lancelot. Sir Lancelot is an example of what a perfect knight would be in the True Knighthood. His honor to King Arthur is what King Arthur holds precious to himself. These three men want to stay loyal to one another and fight against what others are trying to say.

The Queen Guinevere's pride was wounded when she gets rejected by Lanval. Queen Guinevere offers herself to Lanval saying he could have anything he desires. Lanval rejects her by telling her he won't betray his king and that he

tale and la Mort d' Arthur the leading plot of both these stories is conceived by the wife and Guinevere's lust and pursuit of love and happiness.

Lanval stays loyal to his promise until Queen Guinevere confesses her interest in him, offering herself to him in which he then he delicately rejects her. Speaking his loyalty to King Arthur. Angry, she blames him of being homosexual, Lanval, because of Queen Guinevere’s accusation says, “The poorest girl of all, is better than you, my lady queen, in body, face, and beauty.” The queen asking to be involved in an adulterous relationship is not seen as ideal behavior for modern women or for twelfth century women. During this time men were commonly known for being dishonest and unfaithful, therefore, to have this woman do this, definitely was a different direction than expected. Hurt by the rejection and statement of Lanval, Queen Guinevere tells King Arthur that Lanval came onto her. Arthur upset at the situation orders that Lanval be sent to court where if he could not prove that such a woman existed more beautiful than his beloved queen, he shall be

Even though these qualities are praised in this culture, medieval narratives commonly uphold unrealistic virtues of what a perfect woman is. After Lanval vows to keep their love a secret, the queen of the court tempts the knight with her love. She says, "Lanval, I have honored, cherished and loved you much. You may have all my love: just tell me what you desire! I grant you my love and you should be glad to have me" (pp. 1771). Shortly after Lanval rejects her advances, the queen further establishes her ill will towards the good knight by saying, "I well believe that you do not like this kind of pleasure. I have been told often enough that you have no desire for women" (pp. 1771). The importance of these accusations exemplifies the queen's power and influence over Lanval. Although he graciously declines the queen's love, he regrettably reveals his love to the queen in an attempt to prove himself to the court. He says, "And I will tell you one thing; you can be sure that one of her servants, even the very poorest girl, is worth more than you, my lady the Queen, in body, face and beauty, wisdom and goodness" (pp. 1771). The manner which the queen entices Lanval reveals that both power and evil can be easily compared to this woman's actions, showing readers the other side of the coin. The division between these two women illustrates how often this society feeds off of a virgin/ whore dichotomy, branding such women

The fact that Gwynevere is the King Arthur wife means that she is committing treason by having her relationship with Lancelot. Yet again the novel Arthur is being betrayed.

In The Knight of the Cart, Lancelot sets out to rescue Queen Guinevere, who he has fallen in love with and has been captured by King Arthur’s enemy, Meleagant. He is first mentioned after he is found by Gawain, another Knight of the Round Table. Lancelot convinces Gawain to lend him one of his horses so that

He is tested at various stages in his voyage, such as by the damsel who requires him to sleep with her if he wants hospitality. Lancelot agrees only after pleading with her not to make him sleep with her. He did this not because the girl was unattractive for he states, "Many men would have thanked her five hundred times for such an offer." He agrees to this act only because he believes that he needs the lodging to rest himself so he can dutifully continue his quest for Guinevere. Yet, Lancelot does not even look at her when she is naked; his lack of interest causes the damsel to relinquish him from his promise. He stays perfectly loyal and faithful to his queen.

The idea of the morally pure Tryamour in opposition to Guinevere who is seen here to be a woman of loose morals seems to be in stark contrast to the comparison of Orfeo, the human king, and the Fairy King who appeared to be more of a twisted mirrors of one another. In fact in a Middle English romance it seems strange to see a vision of the court so corrupted that the author feels no need to explain the blinding of Guinevere beyond the fact that the Queen herself said let her be blinded should Launfal be telling the truth; a moment Saunders refers to in The Forest of Medieval Romance as “a sudden reminder of the violence of the faery world” (146). Taşdelen however leans towards the negative when it comes to Tryamour saying that her very being named a fairy is enough to reveal her “Threatening nature” (423) however she does for give Launfal and allows him to return with her to the fairy realm when he had betrayed her trust in the one thing she had asked of him,