Maleagant
Encyclopedia
Maleagant is a villain from Arthurian legend. In a number of versions of a popular episode, Maleagant abducts Guinevere
, necessitating her rescue by King Arthur
and his knights. The earliest surviving version of this episode names the abductor Melwas. Maleagant debuts in Chrétien de Troyes
' French romance Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart
, where he is said to be the son of King Bagdemagus
, ruler of the otherworldly land of Gorre. However, all surviving versions seem to be later adaptations of a stock narrative of significantly earlier provenance.
Life of Gildas
by Caradoc of Llancarfan
. In that text Melwas king of the "Summer Country" carries Guinevere off to his stronghold of Glastonbury
. Arthur locates her after a year of searching and prepares to storm the castle, but Gildas
negotiates her safe return. Melwas also appears in a fragmentary Welsh
dialogue, indicating that this story was widely known in Wales
. A monumental carving on the archivolt of Modena Cathedral in Italy
contains a related scene, in which Arthur and his warriors besiege a castle where a character identified as "Mardoc" sits with "Winlogee", presumably Guinevere.
Roger Sherman Loomis
regarded the form Maleagant or Meleagans as directly derivative of the Brythonic
Melwas. He listed a number of variants, including along with Mehaloas, Melians and Malvasius.
by Chrétien de Troyes
, where he brings Guinevere to his impenetrable castle. The queen is rescued by Lancelot
and Gawain
; this is the first major appearance of Lancelot
in Arthurian legend. If he was ever more than an obscure villain, Maleagant's role seems to have diminished as Mordred
became more popular; however, Maleagant appears in most accounts of Guinevere's kidnapping. He plays that part in the Lancelot-Grail
cycle and Thomas Malory
's Le Morte d'Arthur
.
In the romance Sone de Nansai, Sone visits an island said to have been Meleagan's. Meleagan's father was King Baudemagus
and his grandfather Tadus. Meleagan's island is perfectly square and its walls are made of crystal. There is a palace at each corner and at the center, a fountain wells up through a gilded copper horn. The Sword Bridge connects the island to a causeway, a bowshot away, which leads to the mainland. In Meleagan's day, many men were beheaded there.
's The Mists of Avalon
, T. H. White
's The Once and Future King
(as Sir Meliagrance), and the film First Knight
.
In the Warlord novels
, by English author Bernard Cornwell
, based on the Arthurian legend, a secondary character named Melwas is mentioned many times, here as the king of the tribe of the Belgae
, who inhabited the region roughly corresponding to modern Hampshire
with its capital at Venta Belgarum
(modern Winchester
). At first glance, the only similarity between the legendary character and the fictional one seems to be their common name, but, upon closer inspection, we find some clues that indicate a possible intention of the author of having his fictional Melwas to be his own peculiar version of Maleagant. A couple of similarities include the fact that, in the novels, Melwas is a vassal to King Uther Pendragon
(Arthur's father) and, after his death, to his grandson, the child King Mordred
, to whom Arthur serves as Regent during his minority, while Maleagant himself was a vassal to King Arthur. Both became members of the Round Table in its respective versions in the novels and in the Arthurian legend, and both betrayed their sovereigns by raising arms against them.
In the French TV series Kaamelott
, Meleagant is a dark and mysterious entity. He is either a god or a wizard. He seems omniscient, able to predict the future and appear in people's dreams. His goal seems to push Lancelot to explore the darkest sides of his personality. Meleagant also pushes King Arthur and the Roman Emperor to commit suicide. While Caesar dies, Arthur survives his suicide attempt. Meleagant is portrayed by Carlo Brandt.
Guinevere
Guinevere was the legendary queen consort of King Arthur. In tales and folklore, she was said to have had a love affair with Arthur's chief knight Sir Lancelot...
, necessitating her rescue by King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
and his knights. The earliest surviving version of this episode names the abductor Melwas. Maleagant debuts in Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes was a French poet and trouvère who flourished in the late 12th century. Perhaps he named himself Christian of Troyes in contrast to the illustrious Rashi, also of Troyes...
' French romance Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart
Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart
Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart is an Old French poem by Chrétien de Troyes. Chrétien probably composed the work at the same time as or slightly before writing Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, which refers to the action in Lancelot a number of times...
, where he is said to be the son of King Bagdemagus
Bagdemagus
Bagdemagus is a character in the Arthurian legend, normally depicted as king of the land of Gorre and a Knight of the Round Table. He chiefly figures in literature the father of the knight Maleagant, who abducts King Arthur's wife Queen Guinevere in several versions of a popular episode...
, ruler of the otherworldly land of Gorre. However, all surviving versions seem to be later adaptations of a stock narrative of significantly earlier provenance.
Origins
The earliest version of the popular abduction of Guinevere episode appears in the early 12th-century LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
Life of Gildas
Gildas
Gildas was a 6th-century British cleric. He is one of the best-documented figures of the Christian church in the British Isles during this period. His renowned learning and literary style earned him the designation Gildas Sapiens...
by Caradoc of Llancarfan
Caradoc of Llancarfan
Caradoc of Llancarfan was a Welsh cleric and author who was associated with Llancarfan in Wales during the 12th century. He is generally accepted to be the author of a Life of Gildas and of a Life of Saint Cadog in Latin....
. In that text Melwas king of the "Summer Country" carries Guinevere off to his stronghold of Glastonbury
Glastonbury
Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...
. Arthur locates her after a year of searching and prepares to storm the castle, but Gildas
Gildas
Gildas was a 6th-century British cleric. He is one of the best-documented figures of the Christian church in the British Isles during this period. His renowned learning and literary style earned him the designation Gildas Sapiens...
negotiates her safe return. Melwas also appears in a fragmentary Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
dialogue, indicating that this story was widely known in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. A monumental carving on the archivolt of Modena Cathedral in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
contains a related scene, in which Arthur and his warriors besiege a castle where a character identified as "Mardoc" sits with "Winlogee", presumably Guinevere.
Roger Sherman Loomis
Roger Sherman Loomis
Roger Sherman Loomis was an American scholar and one of the foremost authorities on medieval and Arthurian literature.-Biography:...
regarded the form Maleagant or Meleagans as directly derivative of the Brythonic
Brythonic languages
The Brythonic or Brittonic languages form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family, the other being Goidelic. The name Brythonic was derived by Welsh Celticist John Rhys from the Welsh word Brython, meaning an indigenous Briton as opposed to an Anglo-Saxon or Gael...
Melwas. He listed a number of variants, including along with Mehaloas, Melians and Malvasius.
Arthurian romances
Maleagant first appears under that name in Lancelot, the Knight of the CartLancelot, the Knight of the Cart
Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart is an Old French poem by Chrétien de Troyes. Chrétien probably composed the work at the same time as or slightly before writing Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, which refers to the action in Lancelot a number of times...
by Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes was a French poet and trouvère who flourished in the late 12th century. Perhaps he named himself Christian of Troyes in contrast to the illustrious Rashi, also of Troyes...
, where he brings Guinevere to his impenetrable castle. The queen is rescued by Lancelot
Lancelot
Sir Lancelot du Lac is one of the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. He is the most trusted of King Arthur's knights and plays a part in many of Arthur's victories...
and Gawain
Gawain
Gawain is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table who appears very early in the Arthurian legend's development. He is one of a select number of Round Table members to be referred to as the greatest knight, most notably in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight...
; this is the first major appearance of Lancelot
Lancelot
Sir Lancelot du Lac is one of the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. He is the most trusted of King Arthur's knights and plays a part in many of Arthur's victories...
in Arthurian legend. If he was ever more than an obscure villain, Maleagant's role seems to have diminished as Mordred
Mordred
Mordred or Modred is a character in the Arthurian legend, known as a notorious traitor who fought King Arthur at the Battle of Camlann, where he was killed and Arthur fatally wounded. Tradition varies on his relationship to Arthur, but he is best known today as Arthur's illegitimate son by his...
became more popular; however, Maleagant appears in most accounts of Guinevere's kidnapping. He plays that part in the Lancelot-Grail
Lancelot-Grail
The Lancelot–Grail, also known as the Prose Lancelot, the Vulgate Cycle, or the Pseudo-Map Cycle, is a major source of Arthurian legend written in French. It is a series of five prose volumes that tell the story of the quest for the Holy Grail and the romance of Lancelot and Guinevere...
cycle and Thomas Malory
Thomas Malory
Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author or compiler of Le Morte d'Arthur. The antiquary John Leland as well as John Bale believed him to be Welsh, but most modern scholars, beginning with G. L...
's Le Morte d'Arthur
Le Morte d'Arthur
Le Morte d'Arthur is a compilation by Sir Thomas Malory of Romance tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, and the Knights of the Round Table...
.
In the romance Sone de Nansai, Sone visits an island said to have been Meleagan's. Meleagan's father was King Baudemagus
Bagdemagus
Bagdemagus is a character in the Arthurian legend, normally depicted as king of the land of Gorre and a Knight of the Round Table. He chiefly figures in literature the father of the knight Maleagant, who abducts King Arthur's wife Queen Guinevere in several versions of a popular episode...
and his grandfather Tadus. Meleagan's island is perfectly square and its walls are made of crystal. There is a palace at each corner and at the center, a fountain wells up through a gilded copper horn. The Sword Bridge connects the island to a causeway, a bowshot away, which leads to the mainland. In Meleagan's day, many men were beheaded there.
Modern literature and fiction
Maleagant appears in modern retellings like Marion Zimmer BradleyMarion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley was an American author of fantasy novels such as The Mists of Avalon and the Darkover series. Many critics have noted a feminist perspective in her writing. Her first child, David R...
's The Mists of Avalon
The Mists of Avalon
The Mists of Avalon is a 1983 novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley, in which she relates the Arthurian legends from the perspective of the female characters.-Plot introduction:...
, T. H. White
T. H. White
Terence Hanbury White was an English author best known for his sequence of Arthurian novels, The Once and Future King, first published together in 1958.-Biography:...
's The Once and Future King
The Once and Future King
The Once and Future King is an Arthurian fantasy novel written by T. H. White. It was first published in 1958 and is mostly a composite of earlier works written in a period between 1938 and 1941....
(as Sir Meliagrance), and the film First Knight
First Knight
First Knight is a 1995 American medieval film based on Arthurian legend, directed by Jerry Zucker. It stars Richard Gere as Lancelot, Julia Ormond as Guinevere, Sean Connery as King Arthur and Ben Cross as Malagant....
.
In the Warlord novels
The Warlord Chronicles
The Warlord Chronicles is a trilogy of books about Arthurian Britain written by Bernard Cornwell...
, by English author Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell OBE is an English author of historical novels. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe which were adapted into a series of Sharpe television films.-Biography:...
, based on the Arthurian legend, a secondary character named Melwas is mentioned many times, here as the king of the tribe of the Belgae
Belgae
The Belgae were a group of tribes living in northern Gaul, on the west bank of the Rhine, in the 3rd century BC, and later also in Britain, and possibly even Ireland...
, who inhabited the region roughly corresponding to modern Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
with its capital at Venta Belgarum
Venta Belgarum
Venta Belgarum was a town in the Roman province of Britannia Superior. Today it is known as Winchester and is situated in the English county of Hampshire.-Development:...
(modern Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
). At first glance, the only similarity between the legendary character and the fictional one seems to be their common name, but, upon closer inspection, we find some clues that indicate a possible intention of the author of having his fictional Melwas to be his own peculiar version of Maleagant. A couple of similarities include the fact that, in the novels, Melwas is a vassal to King Uther Pendragon
Uther Pendragon
Uther Pendragon is a legendary king of sub-Roman Britain and the father of King Arthur.A few minor references to Uther appear in Old Welsh poems, but his biography was first written down by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae , and Geoffrey's account of the character was used in...
(Arthur's father) and, after his death, to his grandson, the child King Mordred
Mordred
Mordred or Modred is a character in the Arthurian legend, known as a notorious traitor who fought King Arthur at the Battle of Camlann, where he was killed and Arthur fatally wounded. Tradition varies on his relationship to Arthur, but he is best known today as Arthur's illegitimate son by his...
, to whom Arthur serves as Regent during his minority, while Maleagant himself was a vassal to King Arthur. Both became members of the Round Table in its respective versions in the novels and in the Arthurian legend, and both betrayed their sovereigns by raising arms against them.
In the French TV series Kaamelott
Kaamelott
Kaamelott is a French television series running originally 2005–2009. It combines medieval fantasy and comedy to present a new "realistic epic" version of the Arthurian legend....
, Meleagant is a dark and mysterious entity. He is either a god or a wizard. He seems omniscient, able to predict the future and appear in people's dreams. His goal seems to push Lancelot to explore the darkest sides of his personality. Meleagant also pushes King Arthur and the Roman Emperor to commit suicide. While Caesar dies, Arthur survives his suicide attempt. Meleagant is portrayed by Carlo Brandt.