The Lady of the Lake is a character from the Arthurian legends most famous for her involvement in King Arthur receiving his sword, Excalibur. As per the famous story, Merlin took Arthur to a special lake, where a hand brandishing a sword emerged. This sword was Excalibur. The mysterious hand that held up this sword and gave it to Arthur was that of the Lady of the Lake. However, her role in the Arthurian legends goes beyond this simple act. What else do the Arthurian legends reveal about her character?
The First Appearance of the Lady of the Lake
The two earliest references to the Lady of the Lake come from Chretien de Troyes and Ulrich von Zatzikhoven, both of whom wrote in the 12th century. Neither of these writers explicitly referred to her as the Lady of the Lake, but as we see the development of the Arthurian legends over the years, it is evident that this is who they were describing.
In Chretien’s Lancelot, we find a reference to Lancelot’s foster mother. She is described as a fairy who “cared for him in his infancy.” She had also given Lancelot a magical ring. In Ulrich’s Lanzelet, Lancelot is described as being raised by the Queen of Maidenland. This is a magical, otherworldly location in which there are no men. For reasons that will become important later, it is notable that she is described as having a son named Mabuz.
While neither of these sources presents her in her famous role as the provider of Arthur’s sword from a lake, they establish some key parts of her character.
The Lady of the Lake in Later Legends
As the Arthurian legends evolved over the decades and centuries, the Lady of the Lake maintained this otherworldly, fairy-like nature. She also continued to be portrayed as Lancelot’s foster mother, taking him away to be raised in a magical land. In later accounts, the entrance to her land was said to take the appearance of a lake. This explains her being known as the Lady of the Lake and the concept of her arm extending up through the water in the famous moment when she gives Excalibur to King Arthur.
However, she also appears as a cunning trickster. For example, a famous story that developed around her was that she had a relationship with Merlin, although she later betrayed him and trapped him in a death-like state. Nevertheless, in many cases, she aids King Arthur. One obvious example is when she cooperates with Merlin to give Arthur a new sword, Excalibur.
In many instances, she appears to occupy the same role as Morgan le Fay, indicating that they may have originally been the same character or that their characters have become conflated.
The Personal Name of the Lady of the Lake
The Lady of the Lake was not just known by this elaborate title. She also had a personal name. Generally speaking, the most famous form of this name today is Nimue. This was popularized by its usage by Sir Thomas Malory in Le Morte d’Arthur in the 15th century. However, prior to his version, we find numerous different forms of the name in the various manuscripts that mention her. Other examples include the following: Ninianne, Viviane, Nivene, Niviana, Vivien, Nimiane, and many other variations.
The original form of this character’s name is unknown. It is important to note that medieval scribes often confused the letter “u” for the letter “n,” and vice versa. Furthermore, the letter “m” often denoted a “v” sound in Welsh. This nicely explains not only the inconsistent use of “N” and “V” to start this name but also the inconsistent use of “n,” “v,” and even the letter “m” near the middle of it.
Did This Character Have a Historical Precedent?
With this information about the Lady of the Lake’s personal name in mind, it is possible that she ultimately comes from a historical figure from the period. While this may seem surprising, many historical figures from this period became thoroughly intertwined with fantastical legends, such as Urien. Therefore, the magical nature of the Lady of the Lake does not necessarily prevent her from having a historical inspiration.
There is one figure who stands out as a possible historical inspiration behind this character on the basis of her name. She is known in medieval records as Nyfain, the daughter of a king of Brycheiniog named Brychan. Allegedly, she married a king from the north of Britain named Cynfarch. This immediately puts her into the sphere of the Arthurian legends since Cynfarch was the father of Urien and Llew (that is, King Lot), both prominent Arthurian characters.
Potential Origins of the Lady of the Lake
Of course, the idea that she may have been based on Nyfain, the wife of Cynfarch, does not necessarily mean that she does not also have a more fanciful origin. There are many examples of historical figures adopting roles that ultimately came from much older mythological contexts. With the Lady of the Lake, there is an obvious appearance of a goddess or water nymph nature to her. Consider the fact that Arthur had one of his men throw Excalibur back into the lake when he was dying to be magically retrieved by the Lady of the Lake. Various scholars have noted that this may be related to the ancient Celtic custom of throwing precious items into bodies of water as offerings to the gods. In this context, then, the Lady of the Lake would appear to be, at least, partially an evolution of one of these gods from pre-Roman Celtic culture. However, this is not the only suggested origin for this mythical character.
Various other suggestions have been made. One possibility that is attractive on some levels is that she comes from Niamh, an otherworldly woman from Irish mythology. In Culhwch and Olwen, a Welsh prose Arthurian tale, there is an enormous list of King Arthur’s allies. Several of them seem to be taken directly from Irish mythology. Therefore, although unusual, it would not be shocking if Nimue in the Arthurian legends was taken from Niamh from Irish mythology. What makes this less likely, however, is the fact that the character of the Lady of the Lake appears to be absent from Welsh tradition. It is very unlikely that a figure from Irish mythology would have entered Arthurian lore without first passing through Welsh tradition.
The only character from Welsh tradition who might arguably fit the profile of the Lady of the Lake is Modron. The basis for this is that, as we saw earlier, the character of the Lady of the Lake is sometimes equated with Morgan le Fay.
Morgan le Fay is presented in the Arthurian legends as the lover of Urien, one of King Arthur’s knights. With this in mind, it is relevant that Welsh tradition exchanges this name for Modron. The texts which mention her attribute to her certain otherworldly characteristics. For instance, she is presented as the daughter of the king of Annwn, which is the name of the Otherworld in Welsh tradition. She is evidently the subject of a Welsh legend about the mother of Urien’s children, although the legend in question does not name her. In this legend, she was divinely compelled to wash at a certain ford until she had a child with a Christian. Urien was the one who eventually came across her and had intercourse with her, which union produced Owain and Morfudd.
Although this does not directly match the non-Welsh texts about the Lady of the Lake, it is possible that this mysterious Arthurian figure at least partially derives from Modron. This is made likely by the fact that Ulrich said Lancelot’s foster mother had a son named Mabuz, as we saw earlier. Similarly, the Welsh Modron had a son named Mabon. Some confusion between Owain’s mother and grandmother could potentially have led to Modron being conflated with Nyfain, hence the personal name of this figure in the legends.
The Lady of the Lake in the Arthurian Legends
In conclusion, we can see that the character of the Lady of the Lake is a mysterious figure not only because of her nature in the legends but also because of the inconsistency of the different sources. She was an otherworldly figure, often described as a fairy. It is possible that she partially derives from an ancient Celtic water goddess, although this is uncertain. She was said to have been the foster mother of Lancelot and to have resided in a separate realm whose entrance had the appearance of a lake. Some sources present her as being good, while others present her as being evil. Her most famous contribution to the Arthurian legends was her giving the sword Excalibur to King Arthur.
Some sources suggest that she was originally the same as Morgan le Fay. Regarding her origin, there is a good case to be made that she originates in part from the Welsh Modron, another otherworldly figure. She was the lover of Urien and mother of Owain. As for her personal name, “Nimue,” this potentially derives from Nyfain, the grandmother of Owain.
