Hello Maxie
What a great question, allowing me to spend time on the wonderful
Camelot legends.
It's probably a good idea to divide the answer up into characters
associated with Camelot for centuries and others tagged on more
recently. The traditional Camelot stories are all connected with King
Arthur and the adventures of his knights and since you ask for my
definition, I want to start there.
I think of Camelot as the place where King Arthur had his court, the
court with a Round Table to which knights from all over Britain would
come. Even though people argue about where exactly Camelot was
located, it certainly was in the British Isles.
One of the sites most often associated with Camelot is at Cadbury
Hill:
"Cadbury hill has its [own legend]. Arthur lies asleep in a cavern
closed by iron gates, or maybe golden ones. Sometimes they open so
that the fortunate wanderer can glimpse him inside. A party of
Victorian archaeologists were asked by an old man if they meant to dig
up the king. A well on the left of the path as you go up it is
Arthur's Well, and the highest part of the hill is Arthur's Palace, a
phrase on record as early as 1586. On Midsummer Eve, or Midsummer
Night, or Christmas Eve (opinions differ, and some say it is only
every seventh year), Arthur and his knights ride over the hilltop and
down through the ancient gateway, and their horses drink at a spring
beside Sutton Montis church. Whether or not they can be seen, their
hoof beats can be heard. Below the hill are traces of an old track
running towards Glastonbury, called Arthur's Lane or Hunting Causeway,
where a noise of spectral riders and hounds goes past on winter
nights."
http://www.britannia.com/history/cadcast.html
But Camelot means more to many people than a centuries-old court. Even
though it's hard to prove it even existed, Camelot appeals to us
imaginatively as a symbol of an earlier age when knights were heroic,
the king was good, and there was a place for love and for magic. So it
lives on in romantic movies and role-playing games.
Since you ask about my opinion, I'd have to say the traditional
characters from the original Arthurian legends are the most
"representative of that era". Some of the newer ones (see lower down
the page) have their own great traditions but they don't ever seem
quite so representative to me.
======================
TRADITIONAL CHARACTERS
======================
WIZARDS
Merlin the wise wizard is linked with Arthur's destiny from babyhood.
He might also be called a mage or enchanter.
DRAGONS
Heroes would fight dragons to keep the world safe.
"Beneath a hero's sword lies slain
A dragon huge and dread"
http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/ARTELOIS.HTM
ENCHANTRESS
Morgana-le-Fay is a central figure in the Arthurian legends. Sometimes
"Fay" means fairy but here she's very different from our usual idea of
fairies. "Fay" refers to her magical powers, which she didn't always
use for good, so let's call her a "sorceress".
Nimue is another enchantress. She is the 'Lady of the Lake' who gave
Arthur Excalibur.
KNIGHTS WITH DARK SUPERNATURAL POWERS
These include the Green Knight and the Black Knight.
"a knight upon a coal-black horse, clothed in black velvet, and with a
pennon of black linen upon his lance"
http://www.missgien.net/arthurian/mabinogion/owain3.html
GOOD KNIGHTS IN QUEST OF THE GRAIL
The Round Table knights went on quests to right wrongs, and aimed for
purity and goodness.
THE KING
Not just Arthur the man, but the idea of a strong king born to his
destiny (remember how he pulled the sword from the stone?).
DAMSELS
Knights protect them from harm.
GUINEVERE
She really has to be in a category of her own. Sometimes she plays the
role of queen, sometimes of the great love of Lancelot's life.
You'll find links to lots of characters from the King Arthur stories
here:
http://www.britannia.com/history/artbios.html
One example is the Lady of the Lake
http://www.britannia.com/history/biographies/nimue.html
The site also leads you to great background information on the legends
and the history connected with them:
http://www.britannia.com/history/h12.html
All the characters so far go back many centuries. One famous version
of the legends dates back to the fifteenth century. It's pretty tough
reading, very different from modern English, but here's a link to it
in case you're interested:
Le Morte D' Arthur: King Arthur and the Legends of the Round Table
Thomas Malory
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/067960099X/qid=1052576040/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/103-6316520-3260604
You can search for almost anything to do with Camelot at the Camelot
Project:
http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/cphome.stm
===============================
19TH CENTURY CAMELOT CHARACTERS
===============================
The Camelot stories were very popular with the Victorians. The poet
Tennyson is famous for writing about them and various artists painted
scenes from the legends. Sometimes they introduced ELVES or FAIRIES
into their work.
Find out more here:
Arthurian Literature & Art
http://faculty.pittstate.edu/~knichols/labelle2.html
===============================
20TH CENTURY CAMELOT CHARACTERS
===============================
In fantasy universes like "the Dark Age of Camelot", the traditional
Camelot types exist alongside characters who originally came from
other myths and stories.
GARGOYLES
Here's an article about how gargoyles have been tied in with Arthurian
legend.
A Guide to the Gargoyles Universe
http://avalon.gargoyles-fans.org/castle/todd/intro.html
Gargoyles used to mean stone carvings on churches:
http://www.stonecarver.com/cathedral.html
OBERON, TITANIA, PUCK etc.
Mostly born from traditional English fairy lore, made famous by "A
Midsummer Night's Dream".
NORSE MYTH (WITH A TOLKIEN FLAVOR)
Tolkien was inspired by Norse mythology and so are some of the 21st.
century Camelot characters.
The Trolls in Midgard (Norse name for earth) are examples of these:
http://www.camelotlore.com/CL_Quests.asp
(click on races)
ANCIENT BRITONS
Highlanders and Britons in Albion (old name for Britain).
IRISH MYTH
Celts, for instance, from Hibernia (old name for Ireland).
If I haven't commented on a particular character or characters that
you're interested in, please let me know and I'll do my best to help.
And if you want more explanation of any of this, please just request
clarification.
Thanks for an interesting question which I enjoyed answering.
Regards - Leli
searches:
Camelot and all the other names! |
Clarification of Answer by
leli-ga
on
10 May 2003 12:15 PDT
GUINEVERE
I think you might get some ideas about Guinevere's dress from pictures
found by a google image search:
http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=guinevere&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search
Many of them will take you to pages with more information about her.
You will often see her with a simple ring-like crown (perhaps with
veil) and a medieval dress where the bodice comes down in a V-shape at
the front, maybe with a girdle like this:
http://judith.linuxhelp.ca/~jwwaterhouse/painters/guinevere.jpg
THE ENCHANTRESS
Her basic dress is medieval like Guinevere's but she is often
illustrated with a cloak for secrecy:
http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/images/armorgan.htm
An enchantress might have a wand:
"And Merlin said, "Yea; all this will I teach thee and more besides;
for I will teach thee not only how thou mayst create such a structure
as this out of invisible things, but will also teach thee how thou
mayst, with a single touch of thy wand, dissipate that castle
instantly into the air; even as a child, with a stroke of a straw, may
dissipate a beautiful shining bubble, which, upon an instant is, and
upon another instant is not."
http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/Pylemv.htm
Morgan Le Fay has been associated with the healing arts:
http://www.britannia.com/history/biographies/morgan.html
LADIES, DAMSELS etc.
If you are particularly interested in the female characters, you
should follow up the Lady of Shalott, Elaine and Iseult who are all
important figures in the Arthur stories. All are usually represented
in flowing medieval dress, sometimes with long sleeves with a wide
flare:
http://www.uidaho.edu/student_orgs/arthurian_legend/ladies/iseults/potion.jpg
Notice that a girdle at the waist and long hair banded with ribbon is
a typical style:
http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/images/rheade&l.htm
Find more about the Arthurian ladies here:
http://www.uidaho.edu/student_orgs/arthurian_legend/ladies/ladies.html
I don't know think there's much in the Camelot stories about candles,
but for many centuries it was a sign of wealth and/or royal status to
use the most precious candles made of expensive beeswax. Tallow
candles were the everyday kind.
Because Arthurian legend is set outside ordinary everyday life it's
quite hard to pin down just what a typical day would be like, but
let's assume we're talking about the Middle Ages.
Here are some excerpts about the life of noble medieval ladies:
"In their castles, the lords and the ladies led privileged lives: they
used to wear colourful clothes made from luxurious fabrics such as
silver or velvet. They used to eat white bread made from refined flour
and also meat. Besides, they used to drink wine instead of beer."
"Medieval ladies also learnt to ride and sometimes they joined in
hunting expeditions."
http://www.xtec.es/crle/02/middle_ages/alumne/scene1/activity1/activity_1.htm
The wife of a lord might have to take charge of the castle while he
was away, but otherwise her life would be very leisured. The queen and
her ladies might have done fine needlework and learnt to dance and
sing. They would watch knights jousting and join in the feasting
afterwards.
There are plenty of usefu links if you click on "medieval women" here:
http://www.teacheroz.com/Middle_Ages.htm
Hope this helps! Please let me know if anything is unclear.
Leli
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