Reading Notes: Britomart, Part B

One of the most interesting things about Arthurian lit for me is the multitude of magic items. I considered writing a post like this for the King Arthur unit, but decided on other things. This post will focus on three major magic items in Britomart's story: the magic mirror, Britomart's spear, and the golden girdle.

The mirror spurs Britomart into beginning her quest. The mirror itself was enchanted by Merlin, and by description sounds more like a large crystal ball. It's round and hollow, like "a great globe of glass." The mirror has the power to show any person looking into it anything the looker wants to see; the power "of showing perfectly whatever thing the world contained, between heaven and earth, provided it had to do with the person who looked into it. Whatever a foe had done, or a friend had feigned, was revealed in this mirror, and it was impossible to keep anything secret from it." Knowing this, Britomart looks into the mirror and deliberately wishes to see the person who she would marry some day. The mirror, of course, shows her Sir Artegall, and, immediately falling in love, she sets out to find him.

The spear is Britomart's weapon of choice. Sir Guyon encounters it within the first few paragraphs of the reading. When he rides towards Britomart to joust her off her horse, he's thrown to the ground instead because of the spear. The narration assures us that, despite his shame, "it was no fault of his own... the spear that brought him to the ground was enchanted, and no one could resist it."

The golden girdle is the prize given for the tournament in the second part of the reading--sort of, because it's supposed to be given to the most beautiful lady. I'm not sure how this works. If I understand correctly, the girdle chooses the most beautiful lady, while the knights compete for the hand of the lady who is chosen, and who is thus the most beautiful. It's not just a prize, it's a magic item which gives "the gift of constant and loyal love to all who wore it, but whosoever was false and fickle could never keep it on, for it would loosen itself, or else tear asunder." Personally, I like the idea that the girdle is like Thor's hammer or Excalibur--it's sentient, and chooses its master.

Source: Mary Macleod: Stories from the Faerie Queene
Image: Public Domain Pictures: Crystal Ball