Nationality/Culture
Romano-British/Celtic
Pronunciation
GWEN-uh-veer
Alternate Names
None
Appears In
Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, tales of King Arthur
Lineage
Daughter of King Leodegrance of Scotland
Character Overview
Guinevere was the wife of King Arthur , the legendary ruler of Britain. She was a beautiful and noble queen, but her life took a tragic turn when she fell in love with Lancelot , one of Arthur's bravest and most loyal knights. The relationship between the queen and Lancelot eventually destroyed the special fellowship of the Knights of the Round Table.
Guinevere was the daughter of King Leodegrance (pronounced lee-oh-duh-GRANTZ) of Scotland. Arthur admired the king's lovely daughter and married her in spite of a warning from his adviser Merlin that Guinevere would be unfaithful to him. As a wedding gift, Leodegrance gave Arthur a round table that would play a central role in his court.
After the marriage, Guinevere became acquainted with Lancelot, who performed various deeds to honor and rescue her. At first, Arthur took no notice of the growing attachment between the queen and Lancelot. Later, however, the king accused his wife of being unfaithful, and had to fight her lover. Several violent batdes between Arthur and Lancelot followed, with groups of knights joining in on each side. Eventually, Guinevere returned to Arthur.
Another group of legends concerning Guinevere show the queen in a more loyal role. In these tales, King Arthur left his nephew Mordred in charge of the kingdom during a military campaign. Mordred began to plot against Arthur, planning to marry Guinevere and take over as ruler of Britain. The queen refused to cooperate with Mordred and locked herself in the Tower of London to avoid marrying him. When Arthur returned to reclaim his throne, the two men fought. Arthur killed Mordred but was fatally wounded.
Following the death of Arthur, Guinevere entered a convent, where she spent the rest of her life praying and helping the poor. Filled with remorse for the trouble she and her lover had caused, she vowed never to see Lancelot again. When Guinevere died, she was buried beside King Arthur.
Guinevere in Context
The story of Guinevere can be seen as a reflection of medieval European beliefs about adultery. The affair between Guinevere and Lancelot is the root cause of the fall of Camelot , since all other events leading to Arthur's downfall stem from this betrayal. Guinevere is typically portrayed more negatively than Lancelot, suggesting that women— especially married women—were expected to live by a higher moral standard than the men of the time.
Key Themes and Symbols
Throughout the myths of King Arthur and his court, Guinevere represents both loyalty and betrayal. She is seen by the people of Camelot as a devoted supporter of her husband's deeds and ideas. Even after she betrays Arthur by having an affair with Lancelot, Guinevere regrets the betrayal and stays with Arthur, devoting herself to no other man even after his death.
Guinevere in Art, Literature, and Everyday Life
Guinevere appears in nearly every adaptation of the legend of King Arthur, including Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, T. H. White's The Once and Future King, and the Avalon series of novels by Marion Zimmer Bradley. On film, she has been played by actresses such as Ava Gardner, Vanessa Redgrave, and Keira Knighdey. Guinevere has also appeared as the main character in a number of works, including the Guinevere Trilogy novels by Persia Woolley and the television series Guinevere Jones (2002).
Read, Write, Think, Discuss
The story of Guinevere can be viewed as a tale that illustrates the dangers of unfaithfulness in a romantic relationship. This theme has appeared many times in books, films, and television shows. Can you think of a modern tale that focuses on this same theme? Describe the story, and compare it to the message found in the myth of Guinevere and Lancelot.
SEE ALSO Arthur, King; Arthurian Legends; Camelot; Lancelot; Merlin
FAQs
In many renditions of the Arthurian legend, Guinevere gets lambasted for cheating on Arthur with Lancelot, while Arthur is celebrated as the faithful partner.
Who did Guinevere cheat with? ›
In Chrétien's love triangle of Arthur-Guinevere-Lancelot, Guinevere consummated her love affair with Lancelot when Arthur and his knights are trying to rescue Guinevere from the land of Gorre.
Is Arthur in love with Guinevere? ›
In Chapter 18:1, Arthur first sees Guinevere and falls instantly in love with her. In 18:3, he tells Merlin he will have only Guinevere as his wife. Merlin warns him that she will not be faithful but will fall in love with a knight called Lancelot, and he with her, and they will betray him.
Who did Guinevere fall in love with? ›
Guinevere was the wife of King Arthur, the legendary ruler of Britain. She was a beautiful and noble queen, but her life took a tragic turn when she fell in love with Lancelot, one of Arthur's bravest and most loyal knights.
Did King Arthur forgives Guinevere? ›
In Tennyson's verse cycle in the 19th Century, Idylls of the King, Guinevere is portrayed as extremely reluctant to betray Arthur with Lancelot. At the end, she flees to the convent again, but is ultimately forgiven by Arthur before her death and repents her sins.
Is Guinevere a traitor? ›
Guinevere is accused of treason committed with Lancelot and is sentenced to be burned at the stake for the crime. Her treason consists not only of her adulterous affair with Lancelot, but also because she acted as an accessory to Lancelot's escape and homicide of the knights sent to capture him.
Who saved Guinevere from her punishment? ›
In Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur (1471), Guinevere is found guilty of adultery and treason and sentenced to be executed by public burning. She is saved by her love, Lancelot, who charges in, sword swinging.
Why did Lancelot love Guinevere? ›
He sees her as a formality; a king must have a wife so that he can produce an heir. Lancelot treats Guinevere more like a person. He is full of devotion to her, but he is also not afraid to call her out, which she likes.
Who accused Guinevere? ›
Seeing the blood on her sheet — and upon herself — from the wounded hand of Sir Lancelot, he immediately accused her of lying with one, or more of the wounded knights, who lay nearby and called them to witness.
Who married Guinevere? ›
Guinevere, according to legend, was the most beautiful woman in the kingdom. She was the daughter of King Leodegrance of Cameliard. Older versions of the Arthurian legend mention Guinevere as only one of Arthur's wives.
After Arthur leaves, Guinevere becomes hysterical for she has realized that she still loves him and understands at last the full significance and consequence of her immorality. In the years that follow, she remains at the abbey and devotes her life to penance and good works.
Did Lancelot sleep with Guinevere? ›
They also tell of Arthur's infidelity: while Guinevere and Lancelot are sleeping their first night together, Arthur is apparently in bed with a beautiful Saxon princess, Camille, who turns out to be as evil as Morgan le Fay.
Was Guinevere a real person? ›
What is much clearer is that other elements of the story, like the wizard Merlin, Arthur's sword Excalibur, wife Guinevere, and his Knights of the Round Table, are almost entirely fictional and appear together in Geoffrey of Monmouth's c.
What happens to Guinevere? ›
He looks for the queen and finds her in a nunnery. For love of Guinevere as much as for remorse he takes on the habit of a priest. Guided by visions, he goes to Almesbury, where he finds Guinevere dead. He buries her beside King Arthur, then sickens and dies himself.
What two ways did Guinevere love King Arthur? ›
Guinevere loves Arthur with her mind and Lancelot with her heart. The two men admire one another. If she chooses Arthur, she also protects all of those she is responsible for.
Why was Guinevere executed? ›
War broke out after Lancelot staged an armed rescue of Guinevere, condemned to death for her treasonous love for the great knight. In the heat of battle Lancelot killed two of Arthur's best men, Gareth and Gaheris, who had defended the queen.
What was the age difference between King Arthur and Guinevere? ›
This sounds especially sweet to modern audiences who see the then 65-year-old Sean Connery (King Arthur) as an inappropriate match for the then 30-year-old Julia Ormond (Guinevere). As the only Arthurian movie to have this age gap one has to think this was deliberate.
Is Guinevere a good person? ›
However, in some stories Guinevere is shown to be an honorable lover and a good politician. Even in Malory's text, Guinevere is loyal to Lancelot and often makes decisions with her country's best interests at heart.
Who betrays Arthur? ›
Answer and Explanation: Mordred is often the character that betrays King Arthur, but Queen Guinevere and Lancelot also betray King Arthur as they are having an affair.
Is Guinevere a villain? ›
Guinevere is the wife and queen of King Arthur in the Arthurian legend. Guinevere has been portrayed as everything from a villainous and opportunistic traitor to a fatally flawed but noble and virtuous lady.
According to Arthurian History
The idea that Guinevere and Sir Lancelot committed adultery with one another is found only in the legends of Arthur and the knights.
Who is Lancelot truly in love with? ›
In medieval English romance, Lancelot played a leading role in the late 14th-century Le Morte Arthur, which told of a fatal passion for Lancelot conceived by Elaine the Fair of Astolat and which described the tragic end of Lancelot's love for Guinevere.
Who is older Guinevere or Lancelot? ›
Guinevere and Lancelot are true siblings. Most of people thinking that Guinevere is older than Lancelot, but actually Lancelot is her older brother.
How old is Guinevere? ›
The age of Hero Guinevere in Mobile Legends is still 21 years old, a fairly young age and it is still time to become more mature. Guinevere is also one of the most famous Royal Members in the Land of Dawn, even having a brother named Lancelot.
Who betrayed Lancelot? ›
In the medieval legends about King Arthur of Britain and his knights, Lancelot is the greatest knight of all. In time, however, Lancelot's love for Guinevere (pronounced GWEN-uh-veer), the king's wife, leads him to betray his king and sets in motion the fatal events that end Arthur's rule.
Does Guinevere have a baby? ›
In many stories about King Arthur, the marriage between King Arthur and Queen Guinevere does not result in any children. However, in the 13th Century Perlesvaus, there is a legitimate child between King Arthur and Queen Guinevere named Loholt who becomes a Knight of the Round Table.
What is Guinevere known for? ›
Guinevere, wife of Arthur, legendary king of Britain, best known in Arthurian romance through the love that his knight Sir Lancelot bore for her.
Is Guinevere a girl? ›
Guinevere is a girl's name of Welsh origin, derived from the traditional spelling Gwenhwyer.
Who is Merlin's love interest? ›
Merlin spends a part of his life as a madman in the woods and marries a woman named Guendoloena (a character inspired by the male Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio). He eventually retires to observing stars from his house with seventy windows in the remote woods of Rhydderch.
Who does Merlin end up with? ›
The finale was “a love story between two men”
Most notably, the showrunner confirms that Merlin and Arthur did indeed grow to love each other by the end of the series, calling it a “pure” love. “We did, very genuinely, think of the episode as a love story between two men.
| Lancelot |
|---|
| Weapon | Secace (Seure), Arondight |
| Family | Ban, Elaine of Benoic, Lady of the Lake, Hector de Maris |
| Spouse | Elaine of Corbenic |
| Significant other | Guinevere, possibly Galehaut |
13 more rowsGuinevere, Ms. Violet, is a hero in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.
What episode does Gwen cheat on Arthur? ›
Gwen Breaks Arthur's Enchantment (S2 Ep10)
Here, he ends up hurting Gwen when he "confesses" his love for the Lady Vivian and stands her up. Consequently, it also leads to Vivian's father challenging Arthur to a fight to the death.
What happened between Arthur and Guinevere? ›
In the early chronicles and later in prose Arthurian romances, Guinevere was abducted by Mordred, Arthur's nephew (or, in some versions, his son), and this action was closely bound up with the death of Arthur and the end of the knightly fellowship of the Round Table.
Who betrayed King Arthur by sleeping with his wife Guinevere? ›
In the medieval legends about King Arthur of Britain and his knights, Lancelot is the greatest knight of all. In time, however, Lancelot's love for Guinevere, the king's wife, leads him to betray his king and sets in motion the fatal events that end Arthur's rule.
Why does Guinevere betray Arthur in Merlin? ›
Well, in the first place, the marriage of Guinevere and Arthur was an arranged marriage. Not based on love, though they did come to care for one another. But Guinevere fell head over heels in love with Lancelot and he with her. In those days, to commit adultery against the King was high treason, punishable by death.
Who is Merlin's wife? ›
Did Gwen and Arthur have a child? ›
Answer and Explanation: In many stories about King Arthur, the marriage between King Arthur and Queen Guinevere does not result in any children. However, in the 13th Century Perlesvaus, there is a legitimate child between King Arthur and Queen Guinevere named Loholt who becomes a Knight of the Round Table.
Did Guinevere love Arthur or Lancelot? ›
According to Arthurian Legend
French Poet, Chretien de Troyes is really the one to give us the first version of the Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere adultery story. de Troyes said that Lancelot and Guinevere loved each other deeply and gave themselves to each other heart and soul.
Who is the traitor in Merlin? ›
"There can be no doubt," he declares. "Gaius is the traitor!" But Merlin tells Arthur that Gaius would never betray the kingdom.
But Gwen is pregnant, and gives birth to a son she names after his father. And it turns out that this is in fact the Arthur whom the dragon was referring to when he told Merlin that he and the king were two halves of a whole, and that they would unite Albion together.
