Queen Guinevere 🔒 Members

🔒 Members only: join for £4.99 a month

Age and build

mature woman in her prime

“And round her limbs, mature in womanhood; And slender was her hand and small her shape” (Idylls Of The King, part 9)

Face and hair

golden hair of great beauty

“O golden hair, with which I used to play Not knowing” (Idylls Of The King, part 12)

large violet eyes

“For large her violet eyes looked, and her bloom A rosy dawn kindled in stainless heavens” (Idylls Of The King, part 9)

pale face capable of flushing with emotion

“For here a sudden flush of wrathful heat Fired all the pale face of the Queen” (Idylls Of The King, part 12)

Dress

dressed in stainless white at her wedding

“That morn was married, while in stainless white, The fair beginners of a nobler time” (Idylls Of The King, part 1)

Voice and speech

speaks with authority and directness to her knights

“Then will I ask it of himself,” she said” (Idylls Of The King, part 4)

capable of sharp rebuke and anger

“Such as thou art be never maiden more For ever! thou their tool, set on to plague And play upon, and harry me, petty spy And traitress” (Idylls Of The King, part 12)

Signature words

addresses Lancelot as 'my lord' and 'my Queen'

“To blame, my lord Sir Lancelot, much to blame” (Idylls Of The King, part 7)

uses 'we' and 'our' in royal address

“We marvel at thee much, O damsel, wearing this unsunny face To him who won thee glory” (Idylls Of The King, part 10)

Gait and mannerisms

moves with grace and presence befitting a queen

“Stood by the castle walls to watch him pass” (Idylls Of The King, part 1)

her eyes betray her feelings for Lancelot

“Lifted her eyes, and they dwelt languidly On Lancelot, where he stood beside the King” (Idylls Of The King, part 7)

turns away in anger when provoked

“Glanced down upon her, turned and went her way” (Idylls Of The King, part 10)

Strengths

renowned for her beauty and virtue

“They gazed on all earth’s beauty in their Queen” (Idylls Of The King, part 1)

commands respect and loyalty from her knights

“the queen is not guilty of Sir Patrise’s death, for she owed him never none ill will, nor none of the four-and-twenty knights that were at that dinner; for I dare say for good love she bade us to dinner” (Morte Darthur 2, part 18)

Flaws

her love for Lancelot destroys the Round Table

“And all is past, the sin is sinned, and I, Lo! I forgive thee, as Eternal God Forgives” (Idylls Of The King, part 12)

prone to jealousy and wrathful outbursts

“And when Sir Bors heard that, wit ye well he was an heavy man, and so were all his kinsmen. But when Queen Guenever wist that Sir Launcelot bare the red sleeve of the Fair Maiden of Astolat she was nigh out of her mind for wrath” (Morte Darthur 2, part 19)

her guilt and fear lead her to harsh judgment of others

“Meant nothing, but my own too-fearful guilt, Simpler than any child, betrays itself” (Idylls Of The King, part 12)

Traits

deeply devoted to Lancelot despite her marriage

“Wit ye well, said the queen, I would as fain as ye, that ye might come in to me” (Morte Darthur 2, part 20)

capable of genuine repentance and piety

“But help me, heaven, for surely I repent. For what is true repentance but in thought— Not even in inmost thought to think again The sins that made the past so pleasant to us” (Idylls Of The King, part 12)

imperious and proud in bearing

“Imperious, and of haughtiest lineaments” (Idylls Of The King, part 4)

Lines in their own words

to Pellinore, rebuking his failure to save a lady

“Ah! Sir Pellinore, said Queen Guenever, ye were greatly to blame that ye saved not this lady’s life” (Morte Darthur 1, part 8)

to Sir Kay, praising his deeds

“What lady that ye love, and she love you not again she were greatly to blame; and among ladies, said the queen, I shall bear your noble fame” (Morte Darthur 1, part 8)

to Lancelot, expressing her concern for his reputation

“Why go ye not to these fair jousts? the knights Are half of them our enemies, and the crowd Will murmur, ‘Lo the shameless ones, who take Their pastime now the trustful King is gone” (Idylls Of The King, part 7)

to Arthur, swearing her love at their wedding

“King and my lord, I love thee to the death” (Idylls Of The King, part 1)

to Pelleas, offering royal comfort

“O young knight, Hath the great heart of knighthood in thee failed So far thou canst not bide, unfrowardly, A fall from him” (Idylls Of The King, part 10)