Notes

In the Arthurian legend, Merlin becomes one of the most powerful people in the world. In some retellings, Merlin is a woman who has been transformed into a man. In this essay, I will examine how gender roles have changed throughout history and how this change has impacted on our modern view of these legends.

There are many different interpretations of how society used to be and what it means nowadays, but we cannot deny that our past was not like ours today. According to Malory, Arthur is crowned at seventeen and the first thing he does is found a round table. The round table represents equality and equality seems impossible to achieve in today's society. If we look at one of the most traditional roles of a man, we can see that this idea of equality has changed and how it has changed.

In the past, women were expected to cook and clean but nowadays, women have jobs just like men do. As well as this, women can also go to college and earn degrees. Many of the roles for men have also changed. Although people did not use to fight in wars, they could not do anything else. Nowadays, men are able to work in any job that is available and they are able to take care of their families at the same time.

According to the Arthurian legends, Merlin becomes one of the most powerful people in the world. In some retellings, Merlin is a woman who has been transformed into a man. This idea is not entirely accepted today but it was accepted by many writers in the past. I find it interesting that this concept was even considered because it shows how much our world has changed over time.



The women of Camelot have often been overshadowed by the men; the stainless king, noble knights, and mage Merlin possessed sufficient complexity to entertain all audiences. Just as the men of the legend have overshadowed the women, so, too, have male authors, translators, and artists enjoyed a greater degree of recognition.

Perhaps, when you think of King Arthur, the first characters that you might think of would be Merlin, Lancelot and of course, Arthur. However, the female characters play a bigger role than most people realize. Now that begs the question, what, if any, does the influence of women play within the legends of King Arthur? To begin this analysis, we must first look at the time period in which most of the Arthurian literature was written.
they often can be seen as the driving forces behind the knights’ quests or plotline. Perhaps this is due to the power that the knights’ code of chivalry grants woman. If we take a closer look at the code in Malory, one can clearly see the verse in which woman are explicitly mentioned, which the knights are to always honor gentlewoman, protect them and help them in times of distress (Malory). And yet, this code only applies specifically to women of higher class or position, illustrating the lack of power of woman as a whole, since the only thing that even gives the women power through this code is their status. This power the noble women hold over the knights is possibly one of the stronger requirements asked of the knights. Often times, woman are either the catalyst for the knights’ quests, whether they make a request outright or create something in a more indirect way.

The easiest example here is that of Guinevere. One of her main roles is seen through her romance with Lancelot as it can be seen as one of the main threats to Camelot and this coupled with her inability to produce an heir with Arthur ultimately helps lead to the downfall of Arthur’s kingdom.
Today there seems to be an underlying assumption that chivalry is all about men in armor riding around questing, jousting and conquering, while the women sit helplessly in their towers and castles with nothing to do but sigh and swoon.

Certainly, Guinevere, Isoud, Elaine and the other ladies of Arthurian legend didn’t put on armor and ride into battle, but neither did they sit quietly on the sidelines.
Female characters, conversely, represented the intellectual side of chivalry — they are characters of reflection. Whenever a knight accomplished a great deed, he (or perhaps his vanquished foe) returned to Camelot to recount his actions to the Queen and ladies of the court.
In such instances, it was the job of the Queen and her ladies to either praise the knight for adhering to the true spirit of chivalry, or rebuke him for succumbing to the temptations of vanity, pride or greed. A knight who defended the helpless or showed mercy to a fallen enemy received acclaim and admiration. Conversely, a knight who was too boastful about his prowess or reputation received harsh, critical words, and might well be sent on a dangerous quest to atone for his vanity. In this way, Guinevere and the female characters of Arthurian romance provide much-needed balance within the literature of chivalry — a dynamic which today would be described by concepts such as “yin and yang” or “anima and animas.”