The Knight of the Sacred Lake

by Rosalind Miles

  GUenevere Queen of the Summer Country, daughter of Queen Maire Macha and King Leogrance, wife of Arthur, mother of Amir, and lover of Sir Lancelot

  Hervis de Rivel, Sir Knight of the Castle Bel Espoir in southern England, governor of the school for squires attended by Mordred as a youth

  lachimo, Brother Monk sent with Brother Sylvester to Avalon to support the Christians’ attempt to claim the Hallows

  Igraine, Queen Queen of Cornwall, wife of Duke Gorlois and beloved of King Uther Pendragon, mother of Morgause, Morgan le Fay, and Arthur

  Ina Maid to Guenevere

  Kay, Sir Son of Sir Ector, foster-brother of Arthur, and knight of the Round Table, one of Arthur’s first three companion knights

  Lady of Broceliande Ruler of the Lake and waterfall of Broceliande in Little Britain, Lancelot’s foster-mother, sister of the Lady of the Lake, and a priestess of the Great Goddess

  Lady of the Lake, the Ruler of Avalon, priestess of the Great Goddess

  Lamorak Son of King Pellinore, knighted by Arthur after the Battle of Kings, later knight and chosen one to Queen Morgause of the Orkneys

  Lancelot, Sir Son of King Ban of Benoic and Queen Elaine, knight of the Round Table and lover of Queen Guenevere

  Lavain, Sir Elder son of Sir Bernard of Astolat, brother of Sir Tirre and Elaine, rescued by Sir Lancelot from an outlaw attack

  Leif Leader of the knight companions of the throne in the Orkneys, sworn to Sir Lamorak and Morgause, avenger of both

  Lionel, Sir Second son of King Bors, brother of Sir Bors, cousin of Lancelot, and knight to Guenevere

  Lot, King King of Lothian and the Orkneys, onetime ally of King Uther Pendragon, husband of Queen Morgause, father of Gawain, Agravain, Gaheris, and Gareth, and later usurper of the Middle Kingdom and enemy of Arthur

  Lovell the Bold, Sir Champion to Guenevere’s mother before Sir Lucan

  LUCan, Sir Champion to Guenevere’s mother and her chosen one, later Arthur’s knight

  Mador, Sir Young knight from the Meads, an estate on the Welsh borders, admirer of Guenevere

  Maire Macha, Queen Guenevere’s mother, Queen of the Summer Country, wife to King Leogrance, and lover of Sir Lucan

  Merlin Welsh Druid and bard, illegitimate o fspring of the house of Pendragon, adviser to Uther and Arthur

  Mordred Son of Arthur and his half sister Morgan Le Fay

  Morgan Le Fay Younger daughter of Queen Igraine and Duke Gorlois of Cornwall, placed in a Christian convent by her stepfather, King Uther, also known as Sister Ganmor and Sister Ann, Arthur’s half sister and lover, wife of King Ursien, and mother of Mordred

  Morgause Elder daughter of Queen Igraine and Duke Gorlois, given as wife to King Lot by King Uther, Arthur’s half sister, mother of Gawain, Agravain, Gaheris, and Gareth, later lover of Sir Lamorak

  Nemue Chief priestess to the Lady of the Lake, courted by Merlin

  Niamh, Sir Knight of the Round Table, early champion of Guenevere’s mother, and defender of the Mother-right

  Patrise, Sir Knight of the Meads, brother of Sir Mador

  Pelles, King Fanatical Christian king of Terre Foraine and the Castle of Corbenic, brother to Pellinore and father of Elaine

  Pellinore, King King of Listinoise, ally of Arthur, father of Lamorak

  Placida, Abbess Mother Superior of the House of the Holy Mother, the Christian convent where Morgan Le Fay was placed as a child

  Sagramore, Sir Knight to Arthur

  Sylvester, Brother Monk sent with Brother Iachimo to replace Boniface and Giorgio on Avalon, to wrest the Hallows from the Lady of the Lake

  Tirre, Sir Second son of Sir Bernard of Astolat and brother of Sir Lavain and Elaine, rescued by Lancelot from an outlaw attack

  Tor, Sir Knight to Arthur

  Ursien, King King of Gore, overlord of Sir Ector, the foster-father of Arthur, and husband of Morgan Le Fay

  Uther Pendragon King of the Middle Kingdom, High King of Britain, lover of Queen Igraine of Cornwall, and Arthur’s father

  Yvain, Sir Eldest son of King Ursien of Gore, sworn enemy of Morgan Le Fay

  LIST OF PLACES

  Avalon Sacred island in a lake in the Summer Country, center of Goddess worship, modern Glastonbury in Somerset

  Bedegraine Forest on the borders of Gore in the north of England

  Bon Espoir, Castle Seat of Sir Hervis de Rivel in the south of England below London, where he kept a school for the training of squires, attended by Mordred

  Caerleon Capital of the Middle Kingdom, formerly the City of the Legions during the Roman occupation, seized by King Lot after the death of King Uther and held by a force of six vassal kings until reclaimed by Arthur, modern Caerleon in South Wales

  Camelot Capital of the Summer Country, home of the Round Table, modern Cadbury in Somerset

  Canterbury Base of the Roman Church in the British Isles, and site of the first archbishopric in England

  Cornwall Kingdom of Arthur’s mother, Queen Igraine

  Dolorous Garde Castle of Prince Malgaunt, taken by Sir Lancelot and renamed Joyous Garde

  DrUid’S Isle, the Mona, o f the north coast of Wales, modern Anglesey

  Fils de Dame, Castle Seat of Sir Dorward and his mother, Lady Clariva, in Listinoise, where they kept a school for pages

  Gore Christian kingdom of King Ursien in the northwest of England where Arthur and Kay were brought up, modern west Lancashire and Cumberland

  Hill of Stones Ancient burial site of the Queens of the Summer Country, location of ritual queen-making, and site of the feast of Beltain

  House of the Little Sisters of Mercy Convent where Morgan Le Fay was imprisoned as a child, formerly called the Convent of the Holy Mother, renamed when Morgan’s activities came to light

  Iona Island on northwest coast of England, site of the first settlement of Celtic Christianity in Britain

  Island of the West Modern Ireland

  Joyous Garde Sir Lancelot’s Castle (see Dolorous Garde)

  Listinoise Kingdom of King Pellinore and his son Lamorak, modern East Riding of Yorkshire

  Little Britain Territory in France, location of the kingdom of Benoic, home of King Ban and King Bors, modern Brittany

  London Major city in ancient Britain, center of Christian colonization of the British Isles

  Middle Kingdom Arthur’s ancestral kingdom between the Summer Country and Wales, modern Gwent, Glamorgan, and Herefordshire

  Orkneys, Islands of The cluster of most northerly islands of the British Isles, and site of King Lot’s kingdom, later ruled by his widow, Queen Morgause

  Saxon Shore, the Site of invasions by tribes called the Norsemen, raiders from Norway, Denmark, and East Germany

  Severn Water, the The Bristol Channel, estuary of the River Severn, dividing the Middle Kingdom from the Summer Country

  SUmmer Country Guenevere’s kingdom, ancient center of Goddess worship, modern Somerset

  Terrabil Castle of Queen Igraine of Cornwall, defended by Duke Gorlois, taken by King Uther in the siege where Gorlois lost his life

  Terre Foraine Kingdom of King Pelles in northern England, modern Northumberland

  Tintagel Castle of Queen Igraine of Cornwall, capital of her kingdom

  Val Sans Retour, Le Estate of King Ursien in Gore, donated to Arthur, presented to Morgan Le Fay and the base of her power

  Welshlands Home to Merlin, modern Wales

  York Second most powerful center for the Christian colonization of the Bristish Isles after Canterbury, and the second most senior archbishopric

  THE CELTIC WHEEL OF THE YEAR

  THE CHRISTIAN WHEEL OF THE YEAR

  A Reader’s Guide to the GUENEVERE Trilogy by ROSALIND MILES

  A CONVERSATION WITH ROSALIND MILES

  Was Guenevere a real person? If so, how was the real woman different from the medieval/fantasy image that we have of her?

  It seems clear that Guenevere, like Arthur, was a real person, although her exact history is in doubt. There is a Gu
enevere monument in Scotland, but her name suggests a homeland nearer to the Welsh borders by the River Severn, as it derives from the Welsh “Gwenhwyfar.” This evocative name means “White Shadow” or “White Phantom” and was also applied to the barn owl, whose snowy face, breast, and legs made it look like a white phantom when flying at night.

  Guenevere was one of a long line of Celtic warrior queens who ruled their own tribes from the earliest days of the British Isles. Famous among them was Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni, who led a reported 70,000-strong army against the Romans in the first century AD. These women fought from fast, light-weight wicker chariots with their champions at their side. There were also highly esteemed war colleges in the British Isles that were run by fighting queens, where men were taught the essentials of combat by women warriors, until these were suppressed by the Christians from the seventh century onward.

  This is one of the key ways in which Guenevere, as an active heroine, would have differed from the much more passive and helpless heroine portrayed in later times. In medieval and fantasy versions of Guenevere’s story, she often has little personality and seems no more than a lady in a tower. As a pre-Christian heroine she would also have had full control of her own body, the freedom to travel where she wished, and to come and go at will. In particular, before the era of modern morality, women enjoyed substantial sexual freedoms—the right to love whomever and whenever they chose.

  You’ve written many non-fiction titles, have a Ph.D., and are considered an authority on cultural and sociological issues, especially women’s issues. What compelled you to write a novel about Guenevere and Camelot? How does she appeal to you as a woman of the twenty-first century?

  Modern women are believed to enjoy freedoms greater than any before, thanks to twentieth-century feminism. In reality, women often had more advanced roles in earlier times, living in societies which have erroneously been regarded as primitive. In writing about Guenevere, I was interested in exploring the range of options available to women when they were not restricted by ideas of appropriate behavior or good taste. The world of Camelot also appealed to me because it was such a great time for men. A knight or squire had numerous opportunities to be manly and heroic, but they were deeply into winning love and sharing their lives with women, too.

  As I see her, Guenevere would do well in the twenty-first century because she readily seizes opportunities and creates her own where none exist. Although only a young woman when the story begins, she does not allow herself to be put down by older or more established figures, and uses her intelligence to challenge what is not clear or authentic to her.

  What has been the most surprising reader reaction you’ve had to the Guenevere novels? Do people tend to agree with your view of Guenevere and Arthur’s story?

  The most surprising thing to me is how enthusiastic readers have been about this new version of stories that have so often been told before. To someone who grew up in England, the warmth and friendliness of American readers is just wonderful. I have been impressed, too, by the depth of knowledge and familiarity with the whole Arthurian oeuvre that American readers display.

  I was also delighted and pleasantly surprised that most readers who visited my website (www.Rosalind.net) and gave me their comments tended to agree with my version of events. The only exception was to be found in the character of Morgan, who, like all passionate, difficult, and mysterious women, provokes fierce debate. Some readers agreed with my portrayal, others felt that she should not be confused with her sister Morgause. Still others felt that, like Eve in the Bible, she was framed!

  What was the most surprising thing you discovered as you did the historical research for these books? How did you incorporate it (or not) into the novel?

  There were two things I discovered which took me by surprise. The first concerned the warfare of the time. Celtic warriors went into battle naked except for sword and cloak, having coated their faces and bodies all over with the blue-green plant dye, woad (not slashed on cheekbones and forehead as in Mel Gibson’s Braveheart). They also slicked their long hair into elaborate pompadours with lime, a fact I felt I could not include: who wants a warrior with big white sticky hair?

  The other discovery was a godsend to a writer of historical fiction, the revelation that from the very earliest times, Guenevere’s Camelot (modern-day Cadbury in Somerset) had access to a rich range of trade goods, like silk, perfumes, and glass and ceramic ware, many from the East. Traders from as far away as Syria were able to sail right up to Avalon, today’s Glastonbury, via the Severn Estuary, as it was an island right up until modern times when the marshes and rivers all around it were drained.

  Guenevere has a very strong dislike for Christianity and its followers—how would you address the concerns of modern Christians reading this book who might be offended by the negative portrayal of Christians?

  I would hate to hurt or offend any reader, and if any of the characters in the book give offense, I apologize with all my heart. I was trying to give an accurate portrayal of the early evangelical Christians, who faced a myriad of confusing pagan beliefs and did their best to stay true to their faith. My research suggested that apart from the first martyrs who went uncomplainingly to their deaths in the Roman Colosseum, early Christianity tended to be a very militant religion, bent on stamping out other gods and other faiths. Like all the religions of the East, it insisted on the dominance of men over women. This idea would have been incomprehensible to the great motherworshiping cultures of the world, which had been in existence for many thousands of years before the birth of Christianity (this is discussed more fully in my non-fiction historical study, Who Cooked The Last Supper?: The Women’s History of the World).

  Early Christianity’s insistence on celibacy as a precondition of holiness for men and women was also hard for the life-loving Celts. These are some of the reasons why Christianity is hard for Guenevere. Every religion is only as good or bad as its adherents, but the portrayal of one or two ambitious and ruthless early Christians is not to be taken as any reflection on the whole faith. To balance the portrayal, I created some true Christians like Brother Boniface who are idealistic, loving, and holy in the purest sense. Above all, this is a work of fiction which seeks to explore the conflicts of history which have made us what we are.

  Guenevere and her foremothers lived in a matriarchal society, one which you portray as a very positive environment for women. Is that historically accurate? At what point did English society shift from being matriarchal to patriarchal?

  Almost all societies seem to have started out as matriarchies, since our earliest ancestors did not understand the secret of human birth. They believed that women were able to create life by themselves, from their own bodies, and so women were thought to be superhuman, even divine. So for thousands of years, women were the natural rulers and law-givers of every tribe, as older women still remain in some parts of the world.

  Among the people of the Northern Hemisphere (Celtic, Nordic, Pictish, Icelandic), women ruled as queens until recorded times. In the British Isles we still remember queens like Boudicca and Cartimandua, who sadly only emerge into recorded history at the time when all our island queens were losing their natural right to succeed.

  These powerful women were defeated by the Romans and by the advent of Christianity, which for military and religious reasons respectively, sought to put women in second place. Nevertheless, Britain, Iceland, and the Scandinavian countries are still easier with women rulers than other parts of the world. Witness the British queens like Elizabeth I and II; the ruling queens of Holland, Denmark, and Sweden; the Icelandic president Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (the first woman head of state in the world); and prime ministers like Margaret Thatcher of Britain and Gro Harlem Brundtland of Norway.

  We are lucky now to live in an era when none of these ancient institutions, like the monarchy, the military, and the church, still feel the same way about women’s place in the world!

  What is your next book about?

/>   It’s another Arthurian trilogy, because I love writing about these people and their world so much. It’s the story of Isolde, who was Guenevere’s friend and contemporary and also the Queen of Ireland in her own right. Isolde was married to King Mark of Cornwall and in love with Sir Tristan of Lyonesse. In those days Ireland was called the Western Isle, so the novel is called Isolde, Queen of the Western Isle. I hope to keep writing about this magical world as long as the Goddess permits!

  A READING GROUP GUIDE

  Guenevere—last in a line of proud queens elected to rule the fertile lands of the West, true owner of the legendary Round Table, and guardian of the Great Goddess herself—is a woman whose story has never been told. Long relegated to a passive role on the arm of King Arthur, Guenevere finally springs to life in this lavish retelling of one of the richest and most enduring epic tales of Western culture: the Arthurian legend. Rosalind Miles’s bold, magical interpretation recreates the stirring pageant of love, war, heartbreak, jealousy, revenge, and desire from Guenevere’s perspective, capturing as never before her formidable power as a queen and her full-blooded passion as a woman. Rich in historical detail, the Guenevere Trilogy draws us into the inner life of a courageous and beautiful heroine, torn between the fires of her own heart and her devotion to her husband and her people. This guide is designed to help direct your reading group’s discussion of Rosalind Miles’s new perspective on a woman you only thought you knew.

  ABOUT THE BOOKS

  When Guenevere, young Queen of the Summer Country, marries Arthur, High King of the Middle Kingdom and heir to the Pendragon dynasty, their union creates the largest and most powerful kingdom ever known in the Isles. Yet their golden era of political harmony and courtly love is not destined to last; a gathering darkness forebodes the evil and revenge that will plague Arthur and Guenevere’s reign. When Arthur’s long-lost half-sisters—princesses torn from their mother and their ancestral right by Arthur’s brutal and unscrupulous father, Uther Pendragon—arrive at court, chaos is unleashed in the form of Morgan Le Fay, whose black enchantments destroy everything Guenevere holds dear and threaten to separate the King and Queen forever.