The Council Chamber


There are far too many characters in this legend for me to spend time on all of them. However, I can touch on the main characters and some of the others. These character sketches are mainly comparisons between one author and another. Among the authors I will be using are Sir Thomas Malory, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Persia Wooley, T.H. White, Chretien de Troyes, Helen Hollick, Stephen Lawhead, and Nancy McKenzie. This page is not fully finished yet, but I promise I'll finish it as soon as possible.


--Arthur Pendragon--
--Queen Gwenhwyfar--
--Morgan le Fey--
--Morgause--
--Merlin the Mage--
--Lancelot and Bedivere--




Arthur Pendragon

Also known as Artos, Artorius, Riothamus and some others.
Arthur, the centre of the legend. In Malory's novel, Arthur's personality remains mysterious. All we know is that he is a good, just and chivalrous king, and that he is a devout Christian. That claim has been contested by many different authors to this day.

First of all, historians place Arthur around the time frame 400-550 AD. At that time, Rome had lost its hold on Britain and Christianity has just begun to creep into the island. It would not have been possible for so many people to have been Christian, so many have characterised Arthur as a Pagan king. Also, the original Celtic legend speaks of Arthur as more of a warlord and army leader than an actual King. That claim has yet to be either proven or contested.

The many works of fiction surrounding Arthur show many different views of his character. Several of my favourite stories show Arthur's character in contrasting ways. First, since Marion Zimmer Bradley's novels centre more around the women, Arthur's character is not defined all that clearly. Surprisingly, it isn't defined very clearly in the Stephen Lawhead novels either. Arthur is a 'good man' but it is truly very hard to see what exactly is going on in his mind. However, in Helen Hollick's novels, Arthur is given a character completely different from Malory's, a character towards whom I am probably very biased. Arthur is a hard-edged warrior and his character seems more bad than good. He is arrogant, promiscuous, a pathologial liar, and has a killing temper. That is probably the most realistic view of Arthur that can be found, considering the time and the circumstances. It is also the view I like the best though everyone has their own opinion.
I am still looking for a good picture of Arthur, preferably as a young man. If anybody has or knows of one, could you please let me know? Thanks.
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Queen Gwenhwyfar

Also Known as Guinevere, Ginevra, Guenever and several others
Gwenhwyfar is probably the most disputed character in the entire legend. Malory painted an extremely unflattering picture of her in his story as an unfaithful and treacherous wife to Arthur, the great king. Most stories have shown her that way, until recent years. Her infidelity with Lancelot is what most remember her for and that is shown in recent books, though a reason is given for it.

In Marion Zimmer Bradley's novels, Gwenhwyfar is the devout Christian that provides a nemesis for her main character, the Pagan Morgaine. Gwenhwyfar is simply the opposite of Morgaine in all but one aspect; they are both in love with men they cannot have. In Persia Wooley's novels, Guinevere (as she is called there) first hates Lancelot for taking her husband away from her, then grows to love him. Most authors prefer to try and justify the way Gwenhwyfar turns away from her husband, while a few just get rid of Lancelot.

In the original legend, there was no Lancelot at all. This perfect knight was a creation of the French poet, Chretien de Troyes when he created his "Arthurian Romances." Helen Hollick's novel completely disposes with the idea that Gwenhwyfar was ever unfaithful and makes her character completely different from any other. Her Gwenhwyfar is a strong, passionate, warrior queen who grew up as the only daughter in a family of boys. She was never knowingly unfaithful to Arthur; the only time was when the entire country thought Arthur was dead in battle and she considered marrying a knight named Bedwyr.
The painting of Gwenhwyfar is by Johnathan Earl Bowser. See the main page for a link to his page.
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Morgan le Fey

Also known as Morgaine, Morgana and Morgaine of the Faeries
Morgaine is also a widely disputed character in that she is normally seen as Arthur's evil sister. Malory's story labelled her as the woman who stole Excalibur from Arthur and tried to replace her brother with her lover. In Persia Wooley's novel, Morgaine is Guinevere's rival in every possible way and the book makes her out to be an extremely unsympathetic character that fit the tone of the novel, but does not give a clear view of Morgaine's motives. The same holds true in Nancy McKenzie's two books.

It is in Marion Zimmer Bradley's novel "The Mists of Avalon" that Morgaine gets the treatment she deserves. The book is told mostly from her point of view; from when she was a little abandoned child in the court of Uther and Ygrainne, to when she was High Priestess of Avalon after the death of her aunt Vivian, the Lady of the Lake. Morgaine's motives for whatever she did are justified very well here and her character is crystal-clear.

In Helen Hollick's novel, Morgaine does not really have any major impact until the end of the second book. There, at her mother Morgause's orders, she seduces Arthur, not knowing that he is her half-brother. Her son, Medraut, is not the same evil Mordred that Malory's novel portrays, but Morgaine herself, who was far nicer at the beginning, eventually becomes like her cruel mother.
The painting of Morgan is by Jonathon Earl Bowswer.
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Morgause, Queen of the North

Morgause is an intriguing character, not only because she is all too often portrayed as simply evil, but because in some stories, she and Morgan le Fey are interchangeable. In the Malory story, they are two separate characters, both half-sisters to Arthur. Morgause was married to King Lot of the Orkney Isles. Morgan plots behind Arthur's back while Morgause openly threatens him after seducing him and bearing an illegitimate child, Mordred. Eventually, Morgause is killed by her own legitimate son, Agravayne, when she is found to have been carrying on an affair with her husband's killer.

In the Stephen Lawhead series, Morgan and Morgause are synthesised into one character, Morgian. The Persia Wooley trilogy keeps true to the Malory storyline while the Nancy McKenzie books omit Morgause altogether (I may be wrong; I haven't read those books in a long time). The Helen Hollick trilogy shows Morgause as Uther Pendragon's mistress, as opposed to Arthur's. She is Igraine's sister, unlike the Malory story where she is Igraine's daughter from her first marriage along with Morgan. Morgause does attempt to seduce Arthur but is unsuccessful. Her daughter, Morgaine, succeeds where she fails.

In all, Morgause is a shadowy character, even in the Marion Zimmer Bradley novel. She is Morgan's sister and Ygraine's daughter but appears only occasionally in the novel.
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Merlin the Mage

Merlin is either there or not there. In the Malory novel, he is the wizard who makes Arthur the King of all England by way of magic and sorcery. In Marion Zimmer Bradley's work, Merlin sets everything in motion, then disappears. In Stephen Lawhead's books, Merlin comes and goes at will while Mary Stewart writes the entire four books of her series from Merlin's point of view. Whew, things can get confusing here...
The classic view of Merlin would be the old man with the long white beard, carrying a staff and wearing a tall, pointed hat. Most recent authors tried to kill off that myth and did it quite successfully. Lawhead's Merlin is of a certain background that gives him the ability to remain young for a very long time. Marion Zimmer Bradley's Merlin is old but he is a stern druid. Mary Stewart's Merlin had an interesting sense of humor but I read the books so long ago, I hardly remember (reminder to self: read them again when opportunity presents itself).
The picture of Merlin is from the NBC miniseries "Merlin".
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Lancelot and Bedivere

Also known as Lancelet. Also known as Bedwyr.
These two characters appear in the books in some way, shape or form. Sometimes, they are interchangeable, other times both show up.

Lancelot is a character that doesn't come into play until the era of courtly love (Chretien de Troyes) steps into the Arthur legend. Therefore, it is safe to say his character was just added to give spice to the legend. The Malory story shows Lancelot to be a very chivalrous knight whose only real flaws are his love for Guinevere and his occasional lack of faith. Following in this tradition is the T.H. White story which was later made into the film "Camelot". Now, I have no quarrel with the film or the book; they make for an extremely moving love story that...just didn't happen. The Nancy McKenzie books, "The Mists of Avalon" and the Persia Wooley trilogy all have Lancelot as one of the larger characters and show his relationship with Guinevere through different eyes. It is an intriguing premise, especially Morgaine's point of view in the Marion Zimmer Bradley book.

Bedivere, on the other hand, was involved in the original legend as one of Arthur's best friends, along with Cei (or Kay). He appears in the Persia Wooley trilogy as well, along with Lancelot. Bedivere has an infinitesimal role in the Malory story but he is there; he just doesn't do anything of consequence. However, in the Helen Hollick story, Bedivere (there called Bedwyr) is Arthur's cousin who is eleven years old at the beginning of the story. Some time later, Bedwyr comes to England where he helps Arthur and Cei. In this book, Bedwyr takes over Lancelot's role, in a very strange way. Even before Arthur goes to battle in Gaul, Bedwyr knows he is in love with Gwenhwyfar. However, they do not have an affair until several months after she is convinced her husband is dead. Therefore, there is no real 'infidelity' going on.
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