Character Study: King Lot

In Arthurian legend, King Lot is generally the king of Lothian and sometimes Orkney and Norway ^GM as well. There is historical basis as there appears to have been a king in the fifth century in the Lothian area who was headquartered near Edinburgh. ^RC

Lot is typically considered the father of Sir Gawain, one of the Knights of the Round Table. Depending on the source, he is married either to King Arthur's half-sister Anna ^GM or Morgause. ^TM There is even an argument to be made that he was married to Morgan Le Fay. ^RL

Lot is sometimes portrayed as an ally of Arthur's ^GM and at other times the leader of a rebellion against him. Some accounts have Lot taking over the British armies after Uther Pendragon, Arthur's father, became ill. However, when Uther died and Arthur was named king, Lot rebelled. ^EBK In some versions, Lot is defeated at Bedegraine and then becomes Arthur's ally. ^PV In other versions of the story, Lot remains a bitter enemy of Arthur until he is killed by King Pellinore. ^TM

King Lot as portrayed by James Perefoy in 2011's 'Camelot,'
image from violetjovovich.blogspot.com

In Otter and Arthur and the Round Table, Lot is King Arthur's primary enemy. Lot had a bitter rivalry with Uther Pendragon, Arthur's father, and maintained his desire to destroy the family after Arthur came to power. This hatred against Arthur is deepened when Lot marries Arthur's sister, Morgan (a composite of Anna, Morgause, and Morgan Le Fay). They bear a child, Mordred, who will maintain the hatred against Arthur.

Also see Morgan's character study.

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Resources:

• ^RC Ronan Coghlan The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Arthurian Legends Barnes & Noble Books. (1993)
• ^EBK EarlyBritishKingdoms.com
• ^GM Geoffrey of Monmouth Historia Regum Britanniae (c. 1136)
• KingArthursKnights.com
• ^RL Wikipedia entry on Roger Sherman Loomis (authority on Arthurian literature)
• ^TM Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur (1485)
• ^PV Post-Vulgate Cycle (c. 1230-1240)
• Wikipedia entry on King Lot

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Character Study: Morgan le Fay

In Arthurian legend, Morgan le Fay (also known as Morgan le Faye, Morgane, Morgaine, and Morgana) is typically characterized as King Arthur's half-sister and an evil sorceress. Her mother is Lady Igraine and her father is Gorlois, the Duke of Cornwall. Her father is killed in battle with Uther Pendragon, who has a son, Arthur, with Igraine. Morgan has two older sisters, Elaine and Morgause. She was first introduced to Arthurian legend by Geoffrey of Monmouth in Vita Merlini (c. 1150). She was portrayed as an enchantress, shape-shifter, and the oldest of nine sisters. However, her origin may date back to Celtic mythology and the Welsh goddess Modron. Chrétien de Troyes viewed her in Erec and Enide as a healer. In Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, she steals King Arthur's sword, Excalibur, and plots to kill him.

image from artfinder.com

In Otter and Arthur and the Sword in the Stone, Morgan is portrayed as Arthur's half-sister and arch enemy. She is determined to kill Arthur in hopes of ascending the throne. When her plan fails, she disappears in anger at the end of the book, determined to get revenge. The sequel, Otter and Arthur and the Round Table, will underscore her evil nature and determination to destroy her younger brother. She becomes a composite of several figures in Arthurian legend. In the Otter and Arthur books, she is the mother of Mordred, the traitor who destroys Camelot. His father is King Lot, who had another son, Sir Gawain, from a previous marriage. In Arthurian legend, Gawain and Mordred are both the biological sons of Morgause. Otter and Arthur and the Round Table will also unfold how Morgan imprisons Merlin by tricking him into giving up his magic. In Arthurian legend, this is typically done by Nivaine, a young sorceress with whom Merlin falls in love. Resources: Arthurian-legend.com Ronan Coghlan (1993). The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Arthurian Legends Barnes & Noble Books. KingArthursKnights.com Wikipedia

The Legend of Excalibur

cropped version of image from sciencereflections.com Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur. In many Arthurian legends, such as in The Estoire de Merlin, it was given to Arthur by the Lady of the Lake after he began his reign. However, it is sometimes considered the same sword Arthur draws from the stone which makes him the rightful king of all Britain. The Otter and Arthur stories treat them as the same sword, as do two of the most popular King Arthur movies, Excalibur (1981) and Disney's The Sword in the Stone (1963).

In Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, the Story of the Grail, when the sword is used by others such as Sir Gawain. Some versions say the blade is unbreakable and other stories attribute magical powers to the scabbard of the sword, saying that whoever wears it cannot die from injury. Arthurian legend often recounts a tale of Morgan Le Fay stealing the sword and throwing the scabbard in the lake, never to be recovered. He is subsequently mortally wounded at the battle of Camlaan and, in stories such as Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, instructs one of his knights to throw Excalibur in the lake. Some scholars say that this was a Celtic funeral tradition. In Historia Regum Britanniae, Geoffrey of Monmouth chronicles a supposed history of the kings of Briton through the 7th century. It is widely credited as the work which introduced the non-Welsh-speaking world to King Arthur. He calls Arthur's sword "Caliburnus," which evolved into Excalibur in French versions. The sword was referred to as "Caledfwlch" in early Arthurian legends, such as the Welsh Culhwch and Olwen and the poem "Preiddeu Annwfn." The tale of Excalibur also bears similarities to the Norse legend of Sigurd and the story of an Irish hero, Cú Chulainn, who used a sword called Caladbolg. Resources: Britannia.com entry: Excalibur Chrétien de Troyes Perceval, le Conte du Graal (c. 1181-1991) Culhwch and Olwen (c. 1100) Geoffrey of Monmouth Historia Regum Britanniae (c. 1136) Sir Thomas Malory Le Morte d'Arthur (1485) "Preiddeu Annwfn" (900 A.D.) Vulgate Cycle: The Estoire de Merlin (c. 1230-1240) Wikipedia.org entry: Excalibur

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