Talk:Morgan le Fay

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"Because Arthur did not know his sisters, Morgan seduced him and gave birth to their son, the wicked inbreed Mordred. (According to the legend, Mordred grew to manhood away from Arthur's court, and eventually killed his father, bringing an end to the Arthurian age.) "

Originally, that was Morgause (another of Arthur's sisters) not Morgan in the legend (check with Le Morte d'Arthur and Once and Future King). However in more modern works (like Mists of Avalon or the mini-series Merlin), they often combine the 2, possibly to make Morgan's characters seem more maleficent. I'm not sure exactly when this started, but if someone who knows could expound that'd be great. - Jsan 17:25, 6 Jan 2004 (UTC)

Let's see... John Boorman's Excalibur just pips The Mists of Avalon as the earliest thing I know of with that trope in. Maybe it was something in the air in the early 80s, and a bunch of people all came up with it independently. Anybody know of anything earlier? —Paul A 01:42, 7 Jan 2004 (UTC)

This is just a recommendation to whoever has authority, to move the page. Morgan le Fay -> Morgan la Faye, the correct, feminine version of the name, (since Morgana is female and this name is the French version. The equivalent english versions would be Morgan the Fairy or Morgan the Fair.)

"Morgan le Fay" may be bad French, but centuries of usage have given it respectability and a degree of seniority. Nobody writing in English ever uses "Morgan la Faye" (or, for that matter, "Morgan the Fairy"), so it would be incorrect to use that as the name of the article. --Paul A 04:12, 23 Aug 2004 (UTC)

I take umbrage to this line: "As a Celtic woman, Morgana has inherited through her mother a share of the earth magic that Arthur lacks." In no text that I know of do both Morgan and Arthur's mother have magical powers. And what is "earth magic"? Morgan typically learns her magic, from the convent she studies at and from Merlin.

Morgan le Fay has no fay powers? "Morgan" has no connection with an Irish goddess of war: Morrigan? The fay queen is a standard figure of early Celtic mythology. Merlin the magician himself is hard to Christianize, as in Vita Merlini. Have a look at Brian Edward Rise, "Morgan le Fay" HtH. --Wetman 08:22, 21 Feb 2005 (UTC)

The Brian Rise article seems to be entirely conjectural -- at least, he offers no references, and a number of his conclusions are, to say the least, surprising.Martin Turner 13:47, 6 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

That's not what I meant. I don't know of any texts that claim Morgan's powers came from feminine "earth magic" inherited from her and Arthur's mother. She certainly had powers, but their origin was either taken for granted (because she was a fay), or credited to the convent and Merlin. Clearly the character is Celtic in origin but I think we're stretching it a bit to say she got her powers from her mother when none of the major texts say this. - Cuchullain

NOPV?

Does the author who placed "and in recent years has been increasingly seen by feminist revisionists as the human representation of the archetypical goddess element" have any sources to indicate that this is a revisionist statement? Also, the association between feminism and revisionism is of a disputable viewpoint. I would question that the statement is made from an NPOV. --Cgranade 07:31, Mar 10, 2005 (UTC)

I agree. I'll make some small edits... see what you think (if you're still hanging around). :) Janet13 13:48, 9 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Our "feminine archetypes" have always been subject to 'bad press' by the patriarchal, monotheistic revisionism of conquering (his)torians. If it weren't for Marion Zimmer Bradley's feminist re-write, our spiritual connections with, and memories of our more humane ancestors, would have been savaged and lost, beyond reach. Blessed Be, MorganaSage

The above is, in my humble and straining to be objective opinion, an example of extreme POV...I would argue that ancient women were probably no more and no less humane than any women today. That goes for men too. Marion Zimmer Bradley's book, though certainly interesting, probably shouldn't be taken as history. Or, I'm sorry, (her)story. Ryan 20:49, 12 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Why is the Brian Rise quotation included? I've checked his website and he does not seem to offer any evidence for this point of view. If someone does have evidence to support it, could they reference it to a scholarly text or a literary source? I'm not aware of any, but perhaps someone else is.Martin Turner 19:41, 28 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I've always thought that line was nonsense. The character of Morgan le Fay is a medieval Christian creation, though clearly inspired by older Celtic elements, among other things. "Medieval Christianity" had no problem "assimilating" benevolent enchantresses- she is benevolent in a number of works, not to mention the Lady of the Lake. I'll work on it.--Cúchullain ^t/c 20:50, 28 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I replaced the line with more on her actual appearances in literature, rather than conjecture. I hope it's more informative now.--Cúchullain ^t/c 22:49, 28 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Much better. Thank you.Martin Turner 15:01, 29 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Parentage and Decendantry

As far as I have ever known Morgan Le Faye came from a very magical background.How is it that people presume her mother had no magical powers of her own.When her three daughters all held incredibally strong powers.Also MOrgan is a decendent of the Lady of the Lake who is as far as I have ever known is the sister of Vivian. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 210.86.65.132 (talk • contribs)

I'm not sure where you're getting this from, but I've never heard any magical powers attributed to Morgan's mother or siblings outside of modern fiction.--Cuchullain 21:34, 7 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Etymology is not an exact science. As I understand the myths, "morgaine" is a title, as is "merlin", and means "woman from the sea",i.e. Atlantis. 'fey' is an old word that means "touched" as "in the head", and "morgana of the fairie-folk" has become known as Morgana la Fey. I also read in a 10 pound dictionary that "fey" means 'to cleanse', so go figure. MorganaSage says so, says,so. Blessed Be. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Morganasage (talk • contribs)

Morgan is not a title, it's a name, and "Fay" is the French word for fairy. And I very much doubt Atlantis had anything to do with the development of the character.--Cúchullain ^t/c 01:50, 17 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I offer the following excerpts from my blog as request for pardon from any percieved discrepancies of my gnostic beliefs:

Sage's Equation,3/29/06

"Reality" is each Individual's own place in Time. Smallish MINDs (like mine) get boggled by the details, and feel compelled to fabricate myth and fantasy in order to establish a link to the Cosmic Comedy, and find REASON to contemplate tha NATURE of Self-Importance.

Sapho's Reply by Rita Mae Brown, c.1975 My voice rings down thru thousands of years, to coil around your bodies and give you strength, YOU who have wept in direct sunlight, YOU who have hungered for invisible things, YOU who have marched to the cadence of My Legacy: AN ARMY OF LOVERS SHALL NOT FAIL!!!

My point in submitting this content??? We are discussing Legends, Myths, and Fantasies, NOT historical Dogma, and it's my opinion that any insights into "folk-memories" should be valued for the spirit in which they are shared, not criticized by a judgmental *authority". morganasage says so,says so. Blessed Be. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Morganasage (talk • contribs)

This is an encyclopedia, not a discussion group -- the content is supposed to reference actual written works or sources that can be properly referenced. Original insights and interpretations are great but have no place here. If you analyze the literary record of the Morgan le Fay character, you will find that Cuchullain knows what he's talking about. Your assertions about Morgan's family and the Lady of the Lake etc. seem to be a composite of the many modern adaptations of the Arthurian legends in television, film and fiction. TAnthony 21:30, 14 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Morgan LeFay...the Goddess?

I came to this article expecting to learn about Morgan LeFay, as in, the Welsh Goddess of Death, Fate, the Sea and of Curses. Any help? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 143.167.233.7 (talk) 23:55, 28 February 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Sorry, Morgan was not a goddess. She was a fictional magician, as you can read in the article.--Cúchullain ^t/c 23:59, 28 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I believe you're thinking of the Morrígan. TAnthony 00:20, 1 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Genealogy

I think it is notable, though perhaps apocryphal, that today's Rhys/Rice family traces their lineage back through Uryan and Margaret La Faye. This genealogy obviously influenced the claim that Morgan le Fay was wed to a Urien. Here's an interesting URL that describes Lord Rhys, a bit of his genealogy, and Dinefwr Castle. It also mentions Margaret La Faye. There are lots of other references about this genealogy online if you wanted to peruse the entire pedigree. I will leave this to the page author to include as he or she sees fit. The URL to the castle web site is http://llandeilo.org/dp_middle.php. --Pulsadinura 18:30, 5 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Etymology

I've read Morgan = Morgiana (she of Ali Baba fame), i.e., the legend may have come from the East... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 163.1.74.1 (talk) 17:09, 13 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

pop culture

rs, http://runescape.wikia.com/wiki/Morgan_Le_Faye —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.159.63.60 (talk) 13:30, 4 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

A character by the same name, and loosely based on the historical verison of Morgan le Fay, is featured in the Magic Tree House series of children's books written by author Mary Pope Osbourne. Morgan le Fey is referred to as a "magic librarian" in the series, and presents the protagonists with quests to complete that further the narrative. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Proxytoaster (talk • contribs) 13:54, 10 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The Magic Tree House Books also specify that she is an enchantress from Camelot. Other Arthurian characters also make appearances throughout the series. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.166.43.25 (talk) 18:55, 18 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

There is also a character in the Stargate series that, within the series, is the real Morgan le Fay. The series often pulls characters and their backgrounds from our history, and then modifies it on the pretense of "What if they weren't human, but alien?" In the series, she was originally an antagonist to Merlin, but later, his protector. http://stargate.wikia.com/wiki/Morgan_Le_Fay —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.144.85.28 (talk) 04:58, 17 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Merlin

Since a new interpretation of Morgan/Morgana is currently at the centre of a popular TV series airing worldwide, I think it's justifiable to include her in the "later interpretations" section. 68.146.81.123 (talk) 12:29, 24 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I disagree. It's no more notable than the dozens or hundreds of works featuring Morgan that we don't mention - it's just more recent.--Cúchullain ^t/c 12:33, 24 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Well, I'm sure a lot of those other works deserve mention too. I was rather expecting that the article would discuss the diversity of later interpretations and it seems a huge oversight that by and large it doesn't. --85.210.14.252 (talk) 12:21, 21 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]