Read The Legend of the King Online
Authors: Gerald Morris
(My thanks to user ninedaysaqueen of
LiveJournal.com
for simplifying discussions of my books by proposing
abbreviations and suggesting most of the above.
I
did
change QFU to simply QF.)
(
Boldface
indicates characters created for the series.
All others come from the original legends.)
| Agrivaine | Second youngest son of King Lot of Orkney and Morgause the Enchantress, brother of Gawain, Gaheris, and Gareth. In the Squire's Tales series, Agrivaine's first significant appearance is in LK. |
| Alan | Captain of the Guard at Camelot. First appears in SK, where Gawain sends him to seek his fortune at Arthur's court. Appears also in SD and SQ. |
| Ariel | Daughter of Nimue, Lady of the Lake. Plays a major role in PP and PC. She is named for the sprite in Shakespeare's The Tempest, and not for the Little Mermaid. |
| Arthur | Illegitimate son of King Uther Pendragon and Igraine of Cornwall, King of All England, Hero of All Heroes, Once and Future King. One of only two characters to appear in every volume of the series, and for good reason. |
| Beaufils | See Guinglain. |
| Beaumains | See Gareth. |
| Bedivere | One of Arthur's kinsmen and earliest knights. In the series, plays his largest role in BD. |
| Brangienne | Handmaiden to Queen Iseult of Cornwall. Plays a large role in BD. |
| Constans | Hermit who, in PC, builds a tomb for Lancelot. I invented this name, but I used a real story for Constans's backgroundâthe knight Sir Pedwyr (Pedivere) who killed his wife and was sent to Rome by Lancelot as penance. |
| Dinadan | Oddest of Arthurian heroes. In Malory's Morte d'Arthur, he's an inept fighter who pops up without explanation throughout the story of Tristram and Iseult. Yet Malory, who elsewhere values skill with arms above all else, seems rather fond of Dinadan. In my series, I made Dinadan Tristram's younger brother. He appears first in SD, but plays his most significant roles in BD and SQ. I'm fond of him, too. |
| Eileen | The love of Terence's life and eventually his wife. Appears first and most importantly in SK, but also has significant parts in SD and SQ. |
| Gaheris | Second son of King Lot of Orkney and Morgause the Enchantress, brother of Gawain, Agrivaine, and Gareth. Mentioned first in ST and has a small role in BD, but plays his parts mostly in SD and LK. |
| Ganscotter | Enchanter and ruler of the Isle of Avalon, father of Lorie and Terence. His name is borrowed from a German romance called Diu Krone, where an enchanter appears with the unfortunate name Gansguoter. In the series, appears in ST, SK, and QF, using the name Scotus in the latter book. |
| Gareth | Fourth son of King Lot of Orkney and Morgause the Enchantress, brother of Gawain, Gaheris, and Agrivaine. Appears in SD, where he is usually called Beaumains ("Pretty Hands"), a nickname given to him by Kai. |
| Gawain | King Arthur's greatest knight. Oldest son of King Lot of Orkney and Morgause the Enchantress, brother of Gaheris, Agrivaine, and Gareth, husband of Ganscotter's daughter, Lorie. As the primary knightly hero of the Squire's Tales series, he appears in every book except BD, which takes place while Gawain and his squire, Terence, were away on the quest that is retold in SK. |
| Godwulf | A gregarious hermit who appears several times in LK. |
| Griflet | Officially Griflet Le Fise Dieu. One of King Arthur's earliest knights. Appears within the series in ST, SD, and PC. |
| Guinevere | Queen of England, wife of King Arthur, daughter of King Leodegrance. Best known in Arthurian lore for her love affair with Lancelot. In this series, plays significant roles in ST, SK, PP, PC, and SQ. |
| Guinglain | Hermit and son of Gawain. In my own retellings, I have identified this traditional character with anotherâBeaufils ("Fair Son"), hero of the popular Middle English romance Lybeau Desconus ("The Fair Unknown"). Appears first in the series as the main character of QF, then again in SQ. |
| Jean Le Forestier | See Lancelot. |
| Kai | Son of the old knight Ector, who raised Arthur, and thus Arthur's foster brother. Seneschel (i.e., steward) for the king. Except for Arthur himself, Kai is the only character who appears in every volume of my series. His name is usually spelled Kay, but appears as Kai in the Welsh tales of the Mabinogion, and I liked that better. |
| Lamorak | In Malory, knight of the Round Table and consort to Morgause the Enchantress. In the series, appears in BD as the infatuated lackey of an unnamed "faery beauty. " |
| Lancelot | A French knight, son of King Ban of Benouic, who came to England to become one of Arthur's greatest knights. Today, probably the most famous of all the Round Table. Best known for his love affair with Queen Guinevere. In the series, plays his largest roles in SK, SD, and PC. In SD, he appears as a recluse whom I named Jean Le Forestier. |
| Laudine | Wife of Ywain and minor enchantress in LK. |
| Lorie | Daughter of Ganscotter the Enchanter who marries Gawain. Half sister of Terence. The name Lorie is one of the names occasionally used for the Loathly Lady who appears in a traditional Gawain romance. Another is Dame Ragnall. For one reason or another, I went with Lorie. Appears in ST, SK, and QF. |
| Luneta | Daughter of Lynet and Gaheris and heroine of LK. I borrowed her from the French romance Yvain: The Knight with the Lion, where her name appeared as Lyneteâprobably intended to be the same character as Lynet. Since I already had a Lynet in the series (SD), I altered the spelling and made Luneta Lynet's daughter. |
| Lynet | A fascinating character from Book VII of Malory, a strong-willed young woman who sets out on her own to rescue her castle from a besieging knight. She is so atypical for Arthurian ladies that Malory calls her a "Savage Damsel." Marries Gaheris in SD and appears again as Luneta's mother in LK. |
| Lyonesse | Older and much less interesting sister of Lynet. Appears in SD. |
| Mordred | Son of Arthur, who was seduced through magic by the Enchantress Morgause. On his mother's side, then, is half brother to Gawain, Gaheris, Agrivaine, and Gareth. Appears first in QF, then again in SQ. |
| Morgan | Usually Morgan Le Fay. The grand lady of Arthurian literature, a powerful enchantress, and a very complex character indeed. As the daughter of Queen Igraine of Cornwall, she is sister to Morgause and half sister to Arthur. Sometimes presented as villainous (as is nearly everyone whose name begins with Mor-; ever notice that?), but occasionally is painted in more sympathetic colors. In my series, most important in ST, SK, SD, PC, and SQ. |
| Nimue | A standard Arthurian character, the Lady of the Lake. Her name is often given as Vivian, which may actually be the original name. In my series, Nimue is one of the great ladies of the Isle of Avalon in ST and SK and the mother of Ariel in PP and PC. |
| Palomides | A Moorish (i.e., Muslim from Spain or North Africa) knight who appears in Malory's version of the Tristram and Iseult tale. In this series, plays a significant role in BD. |
| Parsifal | The original Grail knight of Arthurian legend. The name is spelled Perceval in Chrétien de Troyes's unfinished tale Perceval, and Parzival in Wolfram von Eschenbach's brilliant retelling and completion. In the Squire's Tales, appears first in SK, then as the knightly hero of PP. |
| Piers | A blacksmith who appears first in my series acting as a page boy to Parsifal on his quest in PP. Plays a significant role later in PC. |
| Rhience | Â A former knight and seminarian, who accompanies Ywain and Luneta, in fool's clothes, on their quest in LK. |
| Robin | An elfish sprite (and spritely elf), close friend of Terence. Also Robin Goodfellow and Puck. Not, strictly speaking, a traditional character in Arthurian lore, but familiar from legend and from Shakespeare, which is close enough. Appears in ST, SK, SD, PC, LK, and SQ. |
| Sarah | Lady Sarah of Milrick, niece of Morgan and Morgause and kinswoman of Arthur. Heroine of PC. I've identified her with an obscure lady of Arthurian lore named Alcina, but allowed her to choose her own name, which is where we get Sarah. Also appears in SQ, my retelling of Chrétien de Troyes's romance Cligés, where I've assigned her the role played in the original by a character named Soredemors. |
| Terence | Ultimately the hero of the Squire's Tales. For most of the series, acts as squire to Gawain, though he is also the son of Ganscotter the Enchanter and half brother of Lorie, which makes him an august personnage in the World of Faeries: the Duke of Avalon. Marries Eileen. Appears in every volume of the series except BD, which is set during a time when he and Gawain were absent from court. |
| Tor | One of Arthur's early knights, son of Aries the Cowherd. Appears in ST and SK. |
| Ywain | Cousin to Gawain and his brothers, hero of Chretién's Yvain: The Knight with the Lion, which forms the basis for LK. |