If Merlin trained three women, including Guinevere and Morgana, who is the third one Maleficent? If it’s a character from Arthurian legends, I have two theories.
The first is that Maleficent is Morgause, another sister of Morgana and Arthur.
Alternatively, she could be another character from Arthurian legends – “the loathly lady,” a hideous old woman transformed into a young beauty by a kiss of love.
Legend has it:
A wandering knight of King Arthur’s court, condemned to death for the rape of a maiden, can escape punishment only by fulfilling the mission demanded of him by the queen: to learn what women desire. It is the loathly lady who will reveal this great secret to him, on the condition that he marries her.
Once the marriage is celebrated, his hideous wife asks the knight to make a choice: would he prefer her to be an ugly but faithful wife, or a beautiful but unfaithful one? The knight leaves the decision to her; satisfied to be thus recognized for her supremacy, she becomes both beautiful and faithful. “And so they lived until the end of their days, / in perfect joy.”
I’m also questioning if it isn’t Morgause. I think in some versions, she’s also Morgana’s aunt like in The Mists of Avalon.
Never knew that story but that’s intriguing as well.
It definitely is Maleficent. There is a panel at the end of Chapter 8 where she appears in a visual trinity with Morgana and Guinevere whilst the burn Aurora. I think it might be plausible for her to be related to Arthur and some of the Arthurian legends, but quite honestly, Breadfly and Sonne are masters at plot twists so I don’t rule out anything LOL
If I remember properly, you’re mixing up the Wife of Bath’s tale from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales with the Arthurian legend of the Loathly Lady. The tale is similar, but there is no rape by a knight here. Instead Arthur comes upon a knight who poses him the same riddle and must come up with the answer within a year or he’ll kill him. Arthur finds the correct answer with a loathly lady he meets in the woods, in return, she wants to wed his nephew, Sir Gawain. The rest of the tale continues the same way, except that Gawain willing weds the woman to save his uncle. Here the woman in question is known as Lady Ragnell and she’s the sister of the knight and under his spell. Half the spell is broken after the wedding but the other half is finally broken after Gawain is given the choice of whether she should be beautiful by day or by night. He eventually tells her that the choice is her own and the spell is fully broken.
miel
9 months ago
OHMYGOD this is so different!! All those years back when Argus first appeared and told Aurora to “kill the witch” my first throught was he was Maleficen’t son, but it felt silly then, and sooo much has happened since… but now I’m thinking Maleficent’s actually Morgause and he was both Lancelot and Mordred… bc even though it’s removed now, he once said Guinevere was 20 years younger than him. It’s a crack theory but oh well. I can’t wait to reread this when the art is updated!
Also the three sorceresses and the way they’re positions reminds me of the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone… which also leaves me wondering which is which?
If Merlin trained three women, including Guinevere and Morgana, who is the third one Maleficent? If it’s a character from Arthurian legends, I have two theories.
The first is that Maleficent is Morgause, another sister of Morgana and Arthur.
Alternatively, she could be another character from Arthurian legends – “the loathly lady,” a hideous old woman transformed into a young beauty by a kiss of love.
Legend has it:
A wandering knight of King Arthur’s court, condemned to death for the rape of a maiden, can escape punishment only by fulfilling the mission demanded of him by the queen: to learn what women desire. It is the loathly lady who will reveal this great secret to him, on the condition that he marries her.
Once the marriage is celebrated, his hideous wife asks the knight to make a choice: would he prefer her to be an ugly but faithful wife, or a beautiful but unfaithful one? The knight leaves the decision to her; satisfied to be thus recognized for her supremacy, she becomes both beautiful and faithful. “And so they lived until the end of their days, / in perfect joy.”
I’m also questioning if it isn’t Morgause. I think in some versions, she’s also Morgana’s aunt like in The Mists of Avalon.
Never knew that story but that’s intriguing as well.
It definitely is Maleficent. There is a panel at the end of Chapter 8 where she appears in a visual trinity with Morgana and Guinevere whilst the burn Aurora. I think it might be plausible for her to be related to Arthur and some of the Arthurian legends, but quite honestly, Breadfly and Sonne are masters at plot twists so I don’t rule out anything LOL
If I remember properly, you’re mixing up the Wife of Bath’s tale from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales with the Arthurian legend of the Loathly Lady. The tale is similar, but there is no rape by a knight here. Instead Arthur comes upon a knight who poses him the same riddle and must come up with the answer within a year or he’ll kill him. Arthur finds the correct answer with a loathly lady he meets in the woods, in return, she wants to wed his nephew, Sir Gawain. The rest of the tale continues the same way, except that Gawain willing weds the woman to save his uncle. Here the woman in question is known as Lady Ragnell and she’s the sister of the knight and under his spell. Half the spell is broken after the wedding but the other half is finally broken after Gawain is given the choice of whether she should be beautiful by day or by night. He eventually tells her that the choice is her own and the spell is fully broken.
OHMYGOD this is so different!! All those years back when Argus first appeared and told Aurora to “kill the witch” my first throught was he was Maleficen’t son, but it felt silly then, and sooo much has happened since… but now I’m thinking Maleficent’s actually Morgause and he was both Lancelot and Mordred… bc even though it’s removed now, he once said Guinevere was 20 years younger than him. It’s a crack theory but oh well. I can’t wait to reread this when the art is updated!
Also the three sorceresses and the way they’re positions reminds me of the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone… which also leaves me wondering which is which?
I actually remember Argus stating that Guinevere was much older than him, making him a gerontophile.