Tea at Trianon: The Origin of Guinevere

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, December 12, 2022

The Origin of Guinevere

I never heard that the Cathars worshipped "Sophia" or "Wisdom." They worshipped the "Good God" but believed that the "Demiurge" was equally or almost as powerful. From Ancient Origins:

The earliest mention of Guinevere is in Geoffrey Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain . This book laid out the basics of the traditional Arthurian legend that later authors would use as a source for elaboration. It includes many of the legend’s central characters, but in more basic and less detailed forms.

This text refers to Guinevere as Gwenhuvara, which comes from the Welsh name Gwenhwyfar. The meaning of the name is not known, but we do know it references a female figure from Welsh mythology famed for her bad reputation. The name was associated with the idea of infidelity, and as such, was still used as a way to insult a young woman’s character up until the end of the 19th century.

In Monmouth’s version, Guinevere is simply described as Arthur’s queen and a great beauty descended from the Romans. According to the tale, Arthur leaves Camelot to wage war in Europe and leaves his wife and kingdom in the care of his traitorous nephew, Mordred. Mordred wastes no time in seducing Guinevere and taking the throne for himself. When Arthur returns, Guinevere flees the kingdom due to feelings of guilt and joins a nunnery. Mordred and Arthur go on to duel it out in a great battle that ends with them both mortally wounded.

Monmouth never goes into detail about the affair between Mordred and Guinevere. Authors who came slightly later, like Wace (1110-1174 AD) and Layamon (12th-13th century), were less generous in their depictions of Guinevere. These authors showed her as complicit in the coup. Most contemporary writers disagreed with this take, however, and usually depicted her as having been abducted by Mordred and being forcefully seduced. From these early versions of the tale, it is hard to learn much about Guinevere. She is never given much characterization; she primarily acts as a plot device. All we can really discern is that her character may be at least partly based on a figure from Welsh mythology . (Read more.)