King Arthur, his sister, and a mystery
- Svartalf
- Offensive Grail Keeper
- Posts: 40417
- Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2010 12:42 pm
- Location: Paris France
- Contact:
King Arthur, his sister, and a mystery
Hey people, are there any scholars of things Arthurian around here?
I have a problem. Morgan is called Le Fay, which means the faerie, not anything so mundane as the witch or the enchantress... yet, to my knowledge, she's the daughter of duke Gorlois of Cornwall and his wife Ygraine, both of whom are as fully human as you and I... can anybody puzzle that out for me?
I have a problem. Morgan is called Le Fay, which means the faerie, not anything so mundane as the witch or the enchantress... yet, to my knowledge, she's the daughter of duke Gorlois of Cornwall and his wife Ygraine, both of whom are as fully human as you and I... can anybody puzzle that out for me?
Embrace the Darkness, it needs a hug
PC stands for "Patronizing Cocksucker" Randy Ping
PC stands for "Patronizing Cocksucker" Randy Ping
- Brian Peacock
- Tipping cows since 1946
- Posts: 38156
- Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2009 11:44 am
- About me: Ablate me:
- Location: Location: Location:
- Contact:
Re: King Arthur, his sister, and a mystery
Well if we're going to take mythology and fiction seriously then Morgan could've been charmed by the Faerie Queen or swapped at birth for a changeling.
Rationalia relies on voluntary donations. There is no obligation of course, but if you value this place and want to see it continue please consider making a small donation towards the forum's running costs.
Details on how to do that can be found here.
.
"It isn't necessary to imagine the world ending in fire or ice.
There are two other possibilities: one is paperwork, and the other is nostalgia."
Frank Zappa
"This is how humanity ends; bickering over the irrelevant."
Clinton Huxley » 21 Jun 2012 » 14:10:36 GMT
.
Details on how to do that can be found here.
.
"It isn't necessary to imagine the world ending in fire or ice.
There are two other possibilities: one is paperwork, and the other is nostalgia."
Frank Zappa
"This is how humanity ends; bickering over the irrelevant."
Clinton Huxley » 21 Jun 2012 » 14:10:36 GMT
- Svartalf
- Offensive Grail Keeper
- Posts: 40417
- Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2010 12:42 pm
- Location: Paris France
- Contact:
Re: King Arthur, his sister, and a mystery
Well, I take it seriously because that's how it was written, and words mean something, so if a given word is used, it's because it's more appropriate than another, except that in the mentioned context, I fail to see why the author chose that specific term.
Of course, it might have been a borrowing from the Norse, in which case it would mean she was accursed/doomed, but that fails to explain why French, and more specifically Champenois French which was the dialect of Chrestien de Troyes, also used the word Fée to refer to that, presumably human, character.
Of course, it might have been a borrowing from the Norse, in which case it would mean she was accursed/doomed, but that fails to explain why French, and more specifically Champenois French which was the dialect of Chrestien de Troyes, also used the word Fée to refer to that, presumably human, character.
Embrace the Darkness, it needs a hug
PC stands for "Patronizing Cocksucker" Randy Ping
PC stands for "Patronizing Cocksucker" Randy Ping
- Brian Peacock
- Tipping cows since 1946
- Posts: 38156
- Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2009 11:44 am
- About me: Ablate me:
- Location: Location: Location:
- Contact:
Re: King Arthur, his sister, and a mystery
Because at that point it seemed necessary to the plot, or because he was recounting a fable that had been overlayed and altered during the history of it's telling to that point?
To be honest, given your interests you probably have a better handle in the whys and wherefores than anybody else.
To be honest, given your interests you probably have a better handle in the whys and wherefores than anybody else.
Rationalia relies on voluntary donations. There is no obligation of course, but if you value this place and want to see it continue please consider making a small donation towards the forum's running costs.
Details on how to do that can be found here.
.
"It isn't necessary to imagine the world ending in fire or ice.
There are two other possibilities: one is paperwork, and the other is nostalgia."
Frank Zappa
"This is how humanity ends; bickering over the irrelevant."
Clinton Huxley » 21 Jun 2012 » 14:10:36 GMT
.
Details on how to do that can be found here.
.
"It isn't necessary to imagine the world ending in fire or ice.
There are two other possibilities: one is paperwork, and the other is nostalgia."
Frank Zappa
"This is how humanity ends; bickering over the irrelevant."
Clinton Huxley » 21 Jun 2012 » 14:10:36 GMT
- JimC
- The sentimental bloke
- Posts: 73195
- Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 7:58 am
- About me: To be serious about gin requires years of dedicated research.
- Location: Melbourne, Australia
- Contact:
Re: King Arthur, his sister, and a mystery
The Once and Future king will return to save England in her greatest hour of need!
Nurse, where the fuck's my cardigan?
And my gin!
And my gin!
- Svartalf
- Offensive Grail Keeper
- Posts: 40417
- Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2010 12:42 pm
- Location: Paris France
- Contact:
Re: King Arthur, his sister, and a mystery
Not if the space Nazis nuke Glastonbury first
Embrace the Darkness, it needs a hug
PC stands for "Patronizing Cocksucker" Randy Ping
PC stands for "Patronizing Cocksucker" Randy Ping
- L'Emmerdeur
- Posts: 5729
- Joined: Wed Apr 06, 2011 11:04 pm
- About me: Yuh wust nightmaya!
- Contact:
Re: King Arthur, his sister, and a mystery
Like many subsidiary (and sometimes main) characters in old tales, it looks as if Morgan Le Fay morphed a number of times. According to Brittanica and Wikipedia anyway. I think it must have been natural that at least some bards would tire of retelling the rote tales and choose to play with the flow and color of the story. I can see somebody making sure to hit the main points of the story, what everybody expected and desired from it, while embroidering and even making an occasional major alteration.
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests