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Explorations in Arthurian History>>
The Lady of the Lake doesn't really appear in historical investigations.
She is thought to have been based on lake fairies in Welsh stories.
Geoffrey of Monmouth says the leader of the maidens of Avalon was Morgan
Le Fay. Later legend traditions say that the Lady of the Lake was the
leader in Avalon.
Explorations in Arthurian
Legend>>
The Lady of the Lake in popular conception is the high priestess of an older
religion and the woman who gave Arthur Excalibur and then took it back when
Bedivere threw it back into the lake. She is also said to have intervened
when Morgan Le Fay gave Excalibur to Accolon, who tried to kill the king
with it.
Many traditions, chief among them Marion Zimmer Bradley, say the Lady
was responsible for educating Lancelot. Bradley also presents the Lady,
whom she names Viviane, as the high priestess of a very old religion,
centered in Avalon. She is known by many names, including Vivien and Nimue;
she is also said to be the one who locked Merlin away with his own spell.
© DW, King Arthur: A Man for the Ages
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