The Arthur/Camelot/Morgaine Story by Lisa Ballico (well, one of them, from Lisa’s point of view)
Ok, here goes….some stories are just not meant to be confined to two or three pages, but I will give it my best shot.
Remember.. this is my own personal take on the whole Arthur story – its not just based on one book but on the many I have read about the Arthurian legends.
Vivienne, Igraine & Morgause are sisters.
Vivienne is Lady of the Lake, High Priestess of Avalon.
Igraine is married to Gorlois, Duke of Cornwell & lives at Tintagel Castle – she has her younger sister Morgause in her care.
Igraine & Gorlois have a female child – Morgaine.
Vivienne has 3 sons – all by the Beltane rights ,all fostered at the courts of different Kings – none of them reside on Avalon. One son is Lancelot who is fostered at King Bans Court.
One day, unexpectedly, Igraine receives a visit from Vivienne & Merlin- they tell her that fate decrees that she will one day bare the future High King of Britain.
Igraine is not happy.
Vivienne has always told her what to do, right down to marrying old Gorlois when she was just 15 – she tells them she will have no part in their plans.
Not long after, Igraine meets & falls in love with Uther Pendragon, the High King of Britain. Gorlois sees them together & goes into a jealous old man rage – he is already not very happy with the Kings rule & the fact that the King is giving his young wife the eye pushes him into battle.
Igraine uses magic to warn her lover, the King, of Gorlois intentions & Gorlois is killed in battle.
Uther then utilises the magical abilities of the Merlin, to cast an enchantment upon him so that he may enter Tintagel under the guise of Gorlois to be with Igraine. The magic works & Uther goes to Igraine’s bedchamber. This night, Arthur is conceived.
Igraine is now head over heels with the High King & they marry- she moves with Morgause & Morgaine to Uther’s court. In time, baby Arthur is born.
Now, Igraine is not rated very well on the mother scale, and a great deal of the responsibility falls on the shoulders of 6-year-old Morgaine.
Because of promises made by Uther before Arthur’s birth, the child must now be given to Merlin to be raised, as is proper to his station as a direct descent of the line of Avalon – at this same time, it is required that Morgaine be sent to Avalon, to join her Aunt, Vivienne there to begin her training as a Priestess of the Goddess.
With her youngest child only two, Igraine is now left childless.
Morgause, the youngest sister has grown into a wild young thing & falls in love with King Lot of Lothian & moves with him to his court – together they have 3 sons.
Back at Avalon, Morgaine continues to grow & it is here that she encounters her cousin Lancelot for the first time. She develops a love that will last a lifetime.
Because of the fact that Morgaine is of the direct Avalon line, she has been prepared to represent the goddess at the Beltane rites once she came of age. During this ritual, Morgaine plays the part of the maiden Goddess who is given to the Stag King of the forest – a time honoured ritual that ensures the continued survival of the old ways.
The young stag king who has also been prepared for this night- must fight his way through many obstacles to reach the Maiden Goddess – this done, he finds her & they come together in the way of the Beltane rites.
It is not until dawn, when, unmasked, Morgaine realizes that the young stag king is none other than her brother Arthur, whom she has not seen for years.
I don’t think they ate breakfast after that little revelation!
A child comes of this union; however, Arthur is unaware of the boys’ existence. Morgaine seeks refuge with her Aunt Morgause after leaving Avalon in rage at the deception & it is there that her son is born. Morgause convinces Morgaine to leave the child in her care & raises him as one of her own.
Arthur now takes his rightful position as High King of Britain now that Uther is gone.
He is required to marry & is offered the hand of Guinevere, daughter of King Leodgrance.
Arthur is enamoured with his lovely bride- they marry & her father presents them with the round table that is well known in all stories of Arthur & the Knights.
Arthur is unaware that his cousin & knight Lancelot, has also fallen in love with Guinevere & her with him- both know of each others love but resign themselves to the fact that it can never be.
In time, Guinevere proves to be barren, leaving Arthur with out an heir to his throne. Though he shows no blame to her, she becomes increasingly despondent & finds solace in the new ‘Christian’ religion that is becoming increasingly popular & threatening the old religion. She forces Arthur to do the same, therefore negating the vows he had made to the Goddess & the island of Avalon.
Vivienne is furious when this happens, & although aged, travels to Camelot to remind Arthur of his vows & oaths to the old ways.
When presented at court she is brutally murdered by the son of a woman she had been unable to save from death.
Matters are made worse when the Lady of the Lake is given a Christian burial & not returned to Avalon for final rites.
Morgaine, now next in line for Lady of the Lake, is bereft at the murder & burial of Vivienne but does not return to Avalon to fulfil her role. She now takes it upon herself to remove her brother from the throne & to return the people to the old religion.
Morgaine goes on to marry old King Uriens of Wales & engages in an affair with his son Accolan, who is loyal to the old ways. It is Accolan; she plans to put on the throne.
Morgaine manages to lure Arthur into the land of faery, where he wanders lost as Morgaine herself had done years before – it is during this time that his sword & the silver scabbard he was presented with at his King making are stolen from him & given to Accolan. Arthur’s sword & its scabbard are enchanted items that when used by Arthur, would never allow him to be fatally wounded.
Later, Arthur & Accolan meet & fight to the death – Arthur is the victor & sends the dead body of her lover back to his sister, Morgaine.
Meanwhile……………
Guinevere is abducted by her possible half brother , Meligrance. His plan is to keep her & make her pregnant, so that she is no longer wanted by the king. She tells him she is barren but the rape & abuse continue until she is rescued by Lancelot, who kills Meligrance & then makes love to her before taking her back to Camelot. Guinevere is overwhelmed with love for the man who ‘came for her’ & vows never to hide her love for him again.
However……..
Arthur is still with out an heir when he is made aware of Mordred, his sister’s son. Upon hearing that he is the young mans father, he brings Mordred to court as a knight, even though he is unable to claim him as his own.
Young Mordred is a dark type, having being raised by Morgause, who is not adverse to the old black magic & plans to overtake his father’s throne, no matter what the cost nor to whom.
Meanwhile………
In an attempt to end his affair with the Queen, Lancelot marries Elaine, daughter of King Pellinore.
Young Elaine is absolutely mad about him & enlists the help of Morgaine to get Lance into bed. The sorcery works & Lance, completely believing that Eileen is Guinevere takes her to bed- when they are caught in the act, by the King, no less, he demands that Lance do the right thing & marry his daughter. Lancelot agrees. Guinevere is not amused but can do nothing about the situation – she realizes Morgaine has played a part in this & her loathing for her sister in law increases.
Lance & Eileen have 3 children & Elaine dies during childbirth of the fourth. The first child, a son, is named Galahad- who goes on to become the heir to Arthur’s throne & the Knight who finally finds the Holy Grail.
Although away from court, lance still pines for Gwen & returns to court when his son is named as heir to the throne.
Morgaine, still, is not finished.
Horrified by what she sees as Arthur’s complete lack of respect for the ‘old religion’, Avalon & the goddess, she plots her revenge on the brother she had loved.
Disguising herself as an angel of the grail, she appears at a feast at Camelot & bewitches all of Arthur’s Knights – scattering them to the four winds in search of the Holy Grail.
The grail quest becomes a complete obsession- many who venture after it never return – lives & sanity is lost in pursuit of the grail.
Arthur’s court is in ruin – he now knows his queen has been unfaithful, with his dearest friend. His sister wants to destroy him & the people of Avalon have nothing to do with him.
All that is left is Mordred.
Gwen & Lance move to his castle but this does not last long – overcome with guilt – Gwen moves into a nunnery & Lance spends his last days alone after almost losing his mind on the grail quest.
Arthur is mortally wounded in battle with his son Mordred. Mordred is killed by his mother Morgaine.
Arthur’s body is returned to Avalon & the sword and scabbard as well .
Morgause is killed by one of her sons who finds her having an affair with a young knight.
Avalon slips further into the mists away from the mundane realm.
suggested reading -
The Avalon books by Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Guenevere Trilogy by Roselind Miles
The Once and Future King by TS White
the Betrayal of Arthur by Sara Douglass
the Camelot books by Sarah Zettel
