(no subject)

[chthonic-gnome.livejournal.com]

[Poll #118322]

Comments

[sapphire-knight.livejournal.com]

Ok, I plead momentary/temporary ignorance. It's been awhile...can someone please refresh my memory and give me the Cliff's Notes version of the story, i.e. the what, why, etc. Thanks.

[chthonic-gnome.livejournal.com]

The story of Guinevere and Lancelot? Well...there are too many versions, but I'll give a shot at telling the basic story. Different versions tell that Guinevere was Lancelot's beloved before she married King Arthur, others say that she fell in love with Lancelot after the marriage. Either way, she was cheating on Arthur. People started to suspect the affair, and Mordred set the couple up so that they could be caught in bed together. They were caught, and Guinevere was put on trial. When she was about to be burned at the stake for her adultery/treason, Lancelot came to rescue her, and she became a nun so that Arthur couldn't take revenge on her. Of course there are so many variations on the story that I'm doing this legend some injustice.

Some sources to read in which you can find the story of their love affair:
* The Knight of the Cart by Chretien de Troyes
* The Death of King Arthur in the Vulgate Cycle--also available in the Penguin Classics edition, very good version
* The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
* ??? Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory ??? (I haven't read this yet, you Malory fans can tell us if this story gives good background on Guinevere and Lancelot)
* Finally, Lancelot of the Lake from the Vulgate Cycle.

All of these except for The Mists are the earliest original tales, so they should be pretty informative.

[resmin.livejournal.com]

Honestly I think it depends on which version you read/believe... Does she have Arthur's permission? Did she fall in love with Lancelot first? Does she sleep with Lancelot only when she thinks they are about to die? etc. etc.

(I gave her a three)

[chthonic-gnome.livejournal.com]

Wow...looks like it's leaning more toward the "She's a bad Queen" side.

[ocannie.livejournal.com]

I have read the series by Rosalind Miles, The Guenevere Novels, which favorably portray a woman's role in that time period, and lends much sympathy towards Guenevere's adultery. After finishing those novels alone, I was very compassionate towards her part in the legend.

But even before that, long ago I read The Once and Future King and there was something about Lancelot being ugly that made the affair seem compassionate and sympathetic.

And also, with so many tales including the mention of Arthur's son Mordred, born of his own sister Morgan le Fay... even though Arthur was fooled, just as Igraine was with Uther, still he committed not only adultery himself, but incest as well.

But I am a romantic at heart, and perhaps that above all else is why I favor the Guenevere character and her loving the knight.

[plushy.livejournal.com]

I couldn't possibly decide yet, especially with having only read one of the modern stories so far. Going by 'The Mists Of Avalon' I'd say a 7... if Lancelot really was her true love, then it shouldn't be denied. But she was sneaky about it. Then again, they were different times & she probably had no choice. Me thinks more research i in order for this.

[h-e-l-e-na.livejournal.com]

I'd say 5. Because 1) there are so many versions and 2) the facts behind the story are not clear enough for my taste. Maybe there was love, maybe a knight's social ladder-climbing scheme multiplied by a queen's boredom, etc., etc. Or maybe everything was much more complicated and tragic.