The Mythology Of The Lady In The Lake

Rosa Cuevas

D. Ockey

8/24/16

The Mythology of the Lady in the Lake

The legend I decided to write about was “The Lady in the Lake” as written by Sir Thomas Malory, the work in its entirety was published as Le Morte D’ Arthur but I have chosen to write about the influences and story of the Lady of the Lake character or, Nimue, as she is referred to in the text. The legend begins with the beautiful enchantress Nimue who is believed to be living a castle underneath a lake surrounding the island of Avalon.

The lady in the lake is a centuries old tale that describes the beginning of King Arthurs established Monarchy, and the rise of his order of the Knights of the Round Table. Arthur was a simple young man and he traveled with a magician named Merlin,

King Arthur’s story ends with the lady of the lake carrying him away in a dying state, to the magical island of Avalon, it is unknown what they did to him, but many people interested in the mythological lore of Europe believe that Arthur would return to defend the country from invaders. I personally was not satisfied with this cliff hanger, I wondered whether Arthur lived or perished on the island, and what the state of the kingdom he once ruled over had remained in. I indulged myself for a moment and believed that if you asked an extremely superstitious and patriotic citizen of Britain if they thought the story was true, without historical evidence or accuracy, they might be willing to take a leap of faith and say that yes, this is indeed the history of Great Britain, that’s why its “Great Britain” the only superpower that has an adjective before its name, elevating its status to something

The most wonderful thing about the story of King Arthur is that historians don’t completely believe its fictional and they leave the category of the story as mythological, It may have been a great patriotic story spread during the medieval ages to encourage young men to become knights, or soldiers, and to fight in service of the crown, in defense of the country. The lady of the lake is the main character of this paper, and in my perspective Arthur could not rule Britain without the aid of a woman, a magical woman no less. This could in fact be one of the earliest pieces of propaganda in the form of a tall tale, and it’s oddly satisfying that it’s not been proven, because it only allows skeptics to apply their ideas to this story. The only historical comparison I can make between Arthur and anyone else would be Genghis Khan, he also fought across his land, but instead became a savagely and more infamously known, warrior