Reading Notes: King Arthur, Part A

I have been looking forward to this unit for a long time. I'm taking a class over Arthurian Literature this semester, so I've read a lot of these stories already. In Part A, they all seem to be adapted from Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, so I may use background information from Malory's stories in my notes.

One day, I'd really love to try re-writing a few Arthurian stories in my own style, especially those surrounding Merlin's birth and childhood, the Lady of the Lake, Lancelot, Gawain, Enide, or Balin. This set of stories features the Lady of the Lake a few times, so I may write a story about her. Supposedly, she has a handful of different names, including Nimue, Viviane, Vivien, Elaine, Ninianne, Nivian, Nyneve, and Evienne. This is because of the way her name was written in middle English, where the figurative hills and valleys of specific cursive letters would mimic each other. For example, an N could look like "Vi" and "mu" could look like "ine." I'll refer to her as Nimue.

The Lady of the Lake from Wikimedia Commons

I love the scene in The Sword Excalibur where Arthur and Merlin approach the lake in hopes of finding the sword. The Lady of the Lake appears to them and agrees to give Arthur the sword in exchange for a favor. Once she disappears, Merlin points out that the sword is valuable, but not as much so as the scabbard, which magically keeps Arthur from bleeding out as long as he has it on his person, no matter how much he's wounded. I like the idea that the sword and scabbard have  to be together in a set, otherwise they don't work.

Many depictions of this scene are set in spring and summer, with flowers and long green grass sprouting at the edge of the lake, but what if it were set in winter? The surface of the lake would be frozen over, with a single frostbitten arm sticking up from the middle of the water clutching a frosty sword. Arthur and Merlin would have to bravely creep out onto the frozen surface to retrieve Excalibur.

Nimue also appears in The Passing of Merlin, where she is responsible for his death, which really complicates her character. In the story, it seems to be because Merlin had an irritating crush on her and wouldn't leave her alone.

I'm interested in writing a story where the Lady of the Lake becomes an antagonist. I have a lot of stories so far with female main characters, but none I can think of with a female villain. This would be an excellent reversal because the Lady of the Lake is so often depicted as a force of good. In Malory's work, however, she is actually part of a cycle of revenge that kicks off Balin's story. Maybe I could write a story revolving around her plot to kill Merlin. She could wield Excalibur, too.

I'd like to preserve Malory's characterization of her, too. She's pragmatic, knowledgeable, clever, strong-willed, and unflinching. My goal would be to make her a sympathetic antagonist.

Sources:
King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang
Wikipedia: Lady of the Lake