Morgan le Fay

My favourite character in the tales of Camelot is Morgan le Fay, also known as Morgana.

Morgana is usually depicted as a villainous woman, with magical powers and a lust for more magical and political power. However, she did not begin this way in the Arthurian legends.

 

In a time when witchcraft was feared, medieval authors changed her entire character from the benevolent healer of Avalon into the villain we tend to see depicted today. The occurrence of this change can be pinpointed to around the 12th century, and the time of the Anarchy in England, caused by Empress Matilda fighting for her inheritance against the man who usurped her, King Stephen. (A woman seeking political power. Coincidence? I think not!)

 

So, back to Morgana. Now, I definitely will not be able to discuss every iteration of Morgana here (and believe me, there are a lot!) Of all of the characters of Arthurian legend, Morgana has probably gone through the most change. And the most drastic of changes as well.

 

In the earliest mention of Morgana, in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s lesser-known work, Vita Merlini, Morgana was one of nine sisters who ruled the Fortunate Aisle of Avalon. Though not at this point portrayed as an otherworldly being (the later name Le Fay depicting her as being of fairy folk) she had several powers, including shape-shifting and flight and she was described as the most beautiful of her siblings. In this iteration, her role was purely benevolent and she healed Arthur when he was wounded in the Battle of Camlann.

 

She has been depicted as a Queen, a fairy, a villain, the half-sister of Arthur Pendragon and even his lover! The character of Morgana has had more alterations than any other character in legend.

 

As time progressed, depictions of Morgana shifted more into a villainous and ambitious woman of sexual immorality, especially so in the later medieval period.

As discussed, the medieval period, unlike the time of the Celts in the Iron Age, was a time when people feared magic and witchcraft and women were thought to be inferior to men in every way, meaning that they should never be allowed any political power. Thus, Morgana, a woman of immense power, was altered into a character to be feared.

 

However, it was not only her physical power that was fearsome, nor the political ambition she held in other stories, but the fact that she was a woman. Merlin, the popular and beloved mage in the Arthurian tales held much the same traits and abilities as Morgana and yet he was treated kindly by characters and various authors of the stories alike. In addition, it is even stated in some versions of the tale that Merlin was even the son of a demon! The only difference between the two characters is that while Morgana was a woman, Merlin was a man and so he was allowed to have power and to want more. Of all of the immoral characters in Arthurian legend, including Arthur, Lancelot, Merlin, Mordred & Guinevere, to name a few, Morgana was the one chosen to be truly vilified. A trait that has unfortunately stuck to her character ever since.

 

I wish I had the space on this platform to delve deeper into the character of Morgana and I whole-heartedly recommend taking a dive down the rabbit hole with this character and learning more. Morgana is perhaps the most intriguing character in the Arthurian mythos and not just because of the many changes she went through over the centuries. She is a complex and powerful female figure in literature and her true story deserves to be heard.