King Arthur's enchantresses : Morgan and her sisters in Arthurian tradition / by Carolyne Larrington.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Larrington, Carolyne, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Arthur, King--Legends.

Arthur.

Arthurian romances--History and criticism.

Arthurian romances.

Legends--Great Britain.

Legends.

Literature, Medieval--History and criticism.

Literature, Medieval.

Magic in literature.

Morgan le Fay (Legendary character)--Romances--History and criticism.

Morgan le Fay (Legendary character).

Women in literature.

Women--Mythology.

Women.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (272 p.)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : I.B. Tauris, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"King Arthur: the very name summons visions of courtly chivalry and towering castles, of windswept battlefields and heroic quests, and above all of the charismatic monarch who dies but who one day shall return again. The Arthurian legend lives on as powerfully and enduringly as ever. Yet there is an aspect to this myth which has been neglected, but which is perhaps its most potent part of all. For central to the Arthurian stories are the mysterious, sexually alluring enchantresses, the spellcasters and mistresses of magic who wield extraordinary influence over Arthur's life and destiny, bestriding the Camelot mythology with a dark and brooding presence. Carolyne Larrington brings these dangerous women vibrantly to life. Here is Morgan-le-Fay, a complex sorceress of great cunning and skill, immortalised by Helen Mirren's Morgana in John Boorman's film "Excalibur". Here too are the mystical Lady of the Lake; the beguiling Viviane, Merlin's deadly nemesis; and Morgause, Queen of Orkney, mother to Mordred, Arthur's incestuously-conceived son and his bitterest foe. Echoing the search for the Grail by the knights of the Round Table, Larrington takes her readers on an intriguing quest of her own - to discover why Arthurian enchantresses continue to bewitch us. Her journey takes in the enchantresses as they appear in poetry and painting, in politics and the theatre, on the Internet and TV, in high culture and popular culture. Whether they be chaste or depraved, necrophiliacs or virgins, benevolent or filled with hatred, the enchantresses represent a strain of femininity which continually challenges male chivalric values from within. These women are survivors. They outlive the collapse of Camelot and all it stands for. And it is as archetypal manifestations of the feared, uncontainable Other that they continue to inspire admiration, fright and fascination in equal measure. King Arthur's Enchantresses makes a unique contribution to contemporary writing on the Arthurian myths. It will intrigue and delight anyone with an interest in mythology, religion, cultural history and medieval literature."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

Contents:

Contents; Introduction; 1. Magic and the Enchantress; 2. Morgan and Arthur; 3. Morgan and Chivalry; 4. Morgan, Other Knights and Enchantresses; 5. Viviane, the Damoiselle Cacheresse and the Lady of the Lake; 6. The Queen of Orkney; 7. Vivien and the Victorians; 8. Morgan, Morgause, and the Modern Age; Notes; Bibliography; List of Pictures and Sources; Index

Notes:

Compliant with Level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Content is displayed as HTML full text which can easily be resized or read with assistive technology, with mark-up that allows screen readers and keyboard-only users to navigate easily.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9780755600007

0755600002

9780755694976

075569497X

9780857714060

0857714066

9786000008994

6000008996

9781429453684

1429453680

OCLC:

710975770