Le Camelot

Morgan le Fay , alternatively known as Morgana, Morganna, Morgain, Morgaine, Morgane, Morgen, Morgne, Morgue among other names and spellings, is a powerful enchantress in the Arthurian legend. Early appearances of Morgan do not elaborate her character beyond her role as a goddess, a fay, or a sorceress, generally benevolent and related to King Arthur as his magical savior and protector. Her prominence increased over time, as did her moral ambivalence, and in some texts there is an evolutionary transformation of her to an antagonist, particularly as portrayed in cyclical prose such as the Lancelot-Grail and the Post-Vulgate Cycle. A significant aspect in many of Morgan's medieval and later iterations is the unpredictable duality of her nature, with potential for both good and evil. Her character may have been rooted in Welsh mythology as well as other earlier myths and historical figures. The earliest account, by Geoffrey of Monmouth in Vita Merlini, refers to Morgan in conjunction with the Isle of Apples , which is where Arthur was carried after being fatally wounded in the Battle of Camlann. There, and in the early chivalric romances by Chrétien de Troyes and others, her chief role is that of a great healer. It is Chrétien who establishes her as Arthur's supernatural elder sister. In the Robert de Boron-derived French prose versions and the works based on them, including among them Thomas Malory's influential Le Morte d'Arthur, she is usually established as the youngest daughter of Arthur's mother, Igraine, and her first husband, Gorlois. Arthur, son of Igraine and Uther, is Morgan's half-brother; Mordred's mother Morgause is one of Morgan's sisters. Morgan unhappily marries Urien with whom she has a son, Ywain. She becomes an apprentice of Merlin, and a vindictive adversary of some knights of the Round Table, all the while harboring a special hatred for Arthur's wife Guinevere. In this tradition, she is also sexually active and even predatory, taking numerous lovers that may include Merlin and Accolon, with an unrequited love for Lancelot. In some variants, including the popular retelling by Malory, Morgan is the greatest enemy of Arthur, scheming to usurp his throne, indirectly becoming an instrument of his death; however, she eventually reconciles with Arthur, and retains her original role of taking him on his final journey to Avalon. Many other medieval and Renaissance works feature continuations of her evolutionary tale from the aftermath of Camlann as she becomes the immortal queen of Avalon in both Arthurian and non-Arthurian stories, sometimes alongside Arthur. After a period of being largely absent from modern culture, Morgan's character again rose to prominence in the 20th and 21st centuries, appearing in a wide variety of roles and portrayals.
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