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Celtic Analogues and Boudicca As Influences on Nenive in Le Morte Darthur

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Celtic Analogues and Boudicca As Influences on Nenive in Le Morte Darthur ABSTRACT A WATERY WARRIOR QUEEN: CELTIC ANALOGUES AND BOUDICCA AS INFLUENCES ON NENIVE IN LE MORTE DARTHUR The Lady of the Lake in Arthurian legend has become more popular in recent scholarship, but still lacks a substantial amount of critical analysis of potential influential figures. Particularly, Sir Thomas Malory’s chief Lady of the Lake Nenive is dismissed as a fractured character from Morgan le Fay’s origins, or a chivalrous character to counterbalance Morgan’s evil presence in the text. Research into druidism, certain motifs within Arthurian legend as a whole, and Celtic/European mythological or divine figures reveals many points of connection to Nenive’s characterization. One historical queen, however, permeates all these influences, as well as Nenive’s actions and behaviors in the narrative: the Iceni warrior queen Boudicca from the first century A.D. Malory could have used Boudicca to mold his original character into a just, independent, and victorious leader, and an ally worthy of the legendary hero King Arthur. Samantha Rose Meroney August 2016 A WATERY WARRIOR QUEEN: CELTIC ANALOGUES AND BOUDICCA AS INFLUENCES ON NENIVE IN LE MORTE DARTHUR by Samantha Rose Meroney A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English in the College of Arts and Humanities California State University, Fresno August 2016 APPROVED For the Department of English: We, the undersigned, certify that the thesis of the following student meets the required standards of scholarship, format, and style of the university and the student's graduate degree program for the awarding of the master's degree. Samantha Rose Meroney Thesis Author Lisa Weston (Chair) English Steve Adisasmito-Smith English Laurel Hendrix English For the University Graduate Committee: Dean, Division of Graduate Studies AUTHORIZATION FOR REPRODUCTION OF MASTER’S THESIS X I grant permission for the reproduction of this thesis in part or in its entirety without further authorization from me, on the condition that the person or agency requesting reproduction absorbs the cost and provides proper acknowledgment of authorship. Permission to reproduce this thesis in part or in its entirety must be obtained from me. Signature of thesis author: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I’d like to thank all the professors I’ve met during my graduate studies for their unfailing patience and encouragement, my entire thesis committee for their invaluable insights and support, Dr. Weston in particular for listening to my ramblings over and over again and still considering this a good idea, and my fiancé Kevin for tolerating the mounds of papers and books that (still) tower over all our furniture in every room of our apartment. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE OVERVIEW ................... 1 CHAPTER 2: DRUIDISM AND THE NINE MAIDEN ISLE MOTIF IN MALORY’S ARTHURIAD ....................................................................... 22 CHAPTER 3: BOUDICCA’S PRESENCE IN NENIVE’S INFLUENCES AND CHARACTERISATION ................................................................... 42 WORKS CITED ..................................................................................................... 64 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE OVERVIEW What little we know about Sir Thomas Malory tells us that he was writing his Arthuriad, Le Morte Darthur, during the War of the Roses, a fiercely unstable time in English history. Compiling his Arthurian tales in what we can only surmise is a medieval jail cell, Malory very clearly had a purpose behind writing not just the stories themselves, but the way in which he was writing them. As Rosalind Elizabeth Clark reminds us in a study focusing on Irish supernatural women, writers in the medieval period “…had their own literary conventions and standards and crafted with the greatest skill at their command. To reduce their creations [to historical or anthropological texts]…implies contempt for them as art” (39). Rather than reducing, this study is an attempt at expanding— specifically, exploring the “conventions and standards” of Malory’s Chief Lady of the Lake from Le Morte Darthur, Nenive. Nenive’s analogues and influences vary widely with regards to different mythological and historical origins; by surveying some of the most prominent influences, similarities appear within them all which could arguably point toward a specific figure as the defining inspiration for Malory’s unique character—that of Boudicca, the Iceni warrior queen of the Britons from the first century A.D. The Lady of the Lake has been depicted in a variety of ways throughout Arthurian texts. Tracing these varying depictions, one can almost see an evolution of this character, linking historically to respective events, figures, and cultural shifts within Celtic Europe, and dating from as far back as Ancient Greece in some instances. Whether she is one or several characters within a particular Arthurian text, the Lady of the Lake is always associated with a few specific, evident points: her water connection, her supernatural or Otherworldly orientation, and her 2 2 counter-relation to Morgan le Fay, arguably the most well-known woman figure in Arthurian legend next to Guinevere. Analyzing the character of the Lady of the Lake throughout different Arthurian texts, scholars have taken a variety of approaches, and Malory’s chief Lady Nenive gets the least amount of scholarly attention, leaving us with a lack of varied analytical opinion regarding her characterization and purpose. Malory utilized these rather common attributes and conventions, stated above, which were already associated with the Lady of the Lake, but also built upon them as well as other, lesser known influences. The result makes Nenive not just a unique depiction of this well-known character, but one who exudes confident nationalism and integrity as a victorious leader, harkening back to an historical queen who fought desperately for her people and, like Arthur, died in her attempts. Very often, analysis of Nenive alone takes the route of chivalric societal criticism within the texts, expounding how she represents a more dominant and independent woman in the courtly realms of knights and kings. Any critical look into Nenive’s supernatural aspects is very often fleeting, brief, and dismissive; after all, she clearly aligns herself with the interpretation of some sort of water- deity, what more particulars are needed? Drawing on a multitude of research, this study will attempt to show many more particulars which are, arguably, required to fully appreciate the nuanced, intricately crafted character by Sir Thomas Malory, as well as her relevant and widely varying influences. Much of the Nenive material in Le Morte Darthur appears to be entirely created by Malory himself (Holbrook 766), supporting the theory that Malory had a particular purpose in mind for this character. Amy S. Kaufman describes Nenive as “Malory’s most original creation” (56), someone whose story “arguably parallels Arthur’s own upward trajectory” (57). Indeed, the links between Nenive and Arthur show this 3 3 to be truer than initial inference would conclude—the values which Arthur represented as a figure, whether historical or mythical, kept European minds and hearts alive for centuries, inspiring hope that there was a true Celtic-British hero out there, waiting to return and liberate the country from the oppressive rule of others, whether tyrannical monarchies or the Roman empire. This visage of a true liberator for Celtic-British peoples wasn’t just a factor in the crafting of Arthur’s character, however, but also of Nenive’s; “the Romanization of the Celts…the missionizing campaign of Rome…these factors [also] bore influence upon Malory’s interpretation of the magical characters” (Choronzy 2). What Jessica A. Choronzy says here is vital to understanding Nenive’s characterization, for her influences go beyond simple water-deity associations, from goddesses and fairy brides, through war-hungry banshees, to even an historical British warrior priestess and queen. All these components express themselves in Nenive’s name, attributes, and actions throughout the narrative. It is Boudicca’s particular influence that comes forth the most in Nenive’s characterization, as Boudicca’s connections with every other influential aspect of the character shows her pervasive presence not just in Malory’s text, but in many other varying Celtic legends and myths. Amanda Marie Ewoldt tells us that medieval writers “enjoy playing games with their audience,” interlacing different themes and “hid[ing] mythical, ethical, or supernatural motifs in their work” (36-37). The audiences of these works were “expected to rely on their own cultural knowledge to understand the references and solve the riddles the author presented” (Ewoldt 37). This study accepts the theory, as Ewoldt does, that Malory was “willing to experiment” with regards to his characters (21), and was able to make connections between themes, motifs, and figures from both literary and historical sources in order to create a truly unique 4 4 and independent Lady of the Lake, one evoking a kind of British nationalism which permeated the centuries before her and likely inspired it anew in all Malory’s readers. After covering the historical influences of druidism and Christian/Roman indoctrination on Celtic Britain, outlining the specific motif throughout Celtic myths of the ever-interfering women from the Nine Maiden Isle, and acknowledging the other literary influences
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