With many, many versions of both her nature and her fate, Guinevere's aspects are multifaceted, ranging through appearances as Arthur's wife in early Welsh oral tales, through medieval literature and into pop culture today.
Medieval Literature
While Guinevere's name and position as Arthur's wife stems from early Welsh legends and fairy tales that give root to Arthurian legends as we know them, around 1100 many writers and historians took an opportunity to flesh out her character in their works devoted to King Arthur.
Geoffrey of Monmouth
In Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, Guinevere betrays Arthur by helping his nephew Mordred usurp her husband's throne. She then rules by his side until Arthur returns to fight Mordred to the death. Widowed, she escapes to a nunnery, where she lives out the rest of her days in shame and seclusion. Guinevere's nature, however is uncertain, and it remains unclear whether or not she helps Mordred out of malice or is forced.
Marie de France
In de France's Lanval, who is an inspiration later for Lancelot, a noble knight visits Camelot, where Guinevere attempts to seduce him. When he resists, she accuses him of hom*osexuality.
Chretien de Troyes
De Troyes version is the first appearance of Lancelot as we know him, In a series of separate poems devoted to Arthurian lore, de Troyes portrayed Guinevere favorably compared to earlier versions, leading readers to believe that she was merely a flawed character who fell disastrously in love with Lancelot. Critics believe that de Troye's life in the French court, where he was surrounded by women audiences, may have influenced this softer, more sympathetic portrayal of Guinevere, as well as a more romantic focus to the story.
The Vulgate Cycle & Post-Vulgate Cycle
The Vulgate Cycle and Post-Vulgate Cycle are series of prose romances believed to have written by monks. The stories chronicle Lancelot's initial resistance to Guinevere's temptations, but ultimately blames the fall of Camelot on their affair. In this version, Arthur's downfall is a direct result of his knights not taking him seriously while his wife openly flouts her infidelity, making him a fool to other men, and therefore unable to lead. The Post-Vulgate cycle, which was reportedly written to de-emphasize the secular aspects of the original, downplays the love triangle and focuses on the hunt for The Holy Grail. Most of Lancelot's story is removed, as is the affair between the two of them.
Sir Thomas Mallory
Mallory's Morte d'Arthur's Guinevere is a little more fleshed out as a character, with more detail applied to her abduction and Lancelot's brave rescue, which builds more sympathy and dimension to both characters. She is also shown as merciful and just when counseling another Knight, Sir Gawain, after he makes the mistake of killing a man who begs for mercy. The end result of her story, however, is still very similar to earlier versions. After Guinevere is charged with adultery by Arthur and condemned to be executed, Lancelot saves her. They escape to his own home for a short while, during which Arthur is killed by Mordred. She later returns, however, after their love has lost its charm, and enters a nunnery in repentance.
Lord Alfred Tennyson
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.
Modern Retellings
Guinevere - and the love triangle she is at the center of - is a popular subject in contemporary pop culture:
Lavinia Collins's Guinevere
This adaptation tells Guinevere's story in her own words across a trilogy of three novels with a feminist focus on Guinevere's motivations and emotions, The novels, heavy on the romantic details, focus predominantly on the emotional aspects of the love triangle between Guinevere, Lancelot, and Arthur.
Kiersten White's The Guinevere Deception
This novel, also part of a longer series, casts Guinevere as a witch in the form of a changeling, who is sent to Camelot to marry Arthur by Merlin. She is tasked with saving the kingdom from predicted downfall.
Broadway's Camelot
This 1960 Musical by Lerner & Hart depicts Guinevere as initially reticent to act on her growing love of Lancelot. When the two finally succumb to a tryst, Mordred, trying to inflict harm on Arthur, reveals their secret. Arthur decides that his wife will be punished and burned at the stake. She is rescued by Lancelot, but the rift between the men causes a war that decimates the 100 knights of the Round Table and causes the fall of the empire.
Excalibur
This 1981 film begins with Arthur pulling the sword, Excalibur, from the rock, and, later, his meeting and marriage of Guinevere, as well as her budding feelings toward Lancelot. Lancelot stays away, until one night they consummate their relationship and Arthur discovers their betrayal. Arthur eventually forgives Guinevere for the affair.
First Knight
Adapted heavily from the de Troye version, this 1995 film is told more from Lancelot's view. Guinevere marries Arthur for safety and security from other men who pose a threat to her safety, but later falls genuinely in love with Lancelot.
Merlin TV Series (2008)
This series chronicles Guinevere, or Gwen's, relationship with Arthur. She is friends with Merlin, the sorcerer, and briefly has romantic feelings for Merlin.
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