GUINEVERE
AS SEEN IN:
'Merlin'
AS PLAYED BY:
Angel Coulby
FIRST ADAPTED BY:
Chrètien de Troyes
TV DIMENSION:
Some alternate dimension TBD
STATUS:
Recastaway
From Wikipedia:
Guinevere was the legendary queen consort of King Arthur. In tales and
folklore, she was said to have had a love affair with Arthur's chief knight Sir
Lancelot. This story first appears in Chrétien de Troyes' "Lancelot, the Knight
of the Cart", and reappears as a common motif in numerous cyclical Arthurian
literature, starting with the Lancelot-Grail Cycle of the early 13th century and
carrying through the Post-Vulgate Cycle and Thomas Malory's "Le Morte d'Arthur".
Guinevere's and Lancelot's alleged betrayal of Arthur was often considered as
having led to the downfall of the kingdom.
Guinevere has been portrayed as everything from a weak and opportunistic traitor to a fatally flawed but noble and virtuous gentlewoman. In Chrétien's Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, she is praised for her intelligence, friendliness, and gentility, while in Marie de France's Lanval (and Thomas Chestre's Middle English version, Sir Launfal), she is a vindictive adulteress, disliked by the protagonist and all well-bred knights. The early chronicles tend to portray her inauspiciously or hardly at all, while later authors used her good and bad qualities to construct a deeper character who plays a larger role. The works of Chrétien were some of the first to elaborate on the character Guinevere beyond simply the wife of Arthur. This is likely due to his audience at the time, the court of Marie de Champagne, which was composed of courtly ladies who played highly social roles.
Guinevere has been portrayed as everything from a weak and opportunistic traitor to a fatally flawed but noble and virtuous gentlewoman. In Chrétien's Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, she is praised for her intelligence, friendliness, and gentility, while in Marie de France's Lanval (and Thomas Chestre's Middle English version, Sir Launfal), she is a vindictive adulteress, disliked by the protagonist and all well-bred knights. The early chronicles tend to portray her inauspiciously or hardly at all, while later authors used her good and bad qualities to construct a deeper character who plays a larger role. The works of Chrétien were some of the first to elaborate on the character Guinevere beyond simply the wife of Arthur. This is likely due to his audience at the time, the court of Marie de Champagne, which was composed of courtly ladies who played highly social roles.
In the alternate TV dimension of 'Merlin', Gwen is the daughter of the
blacksmith, but still catches the eye of Prince Arthur.
BCnU!
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