This study re-examines Morgan le Fay in early medieval and contemporary Arthurian sources, arguing that she embodies the concerns of each era even as she defies social and gender expectations. Hebert uses leFay as a lens to explore traditional ideas of femininity, monstrousness, resistance, identity, and social expectations for women and men alike.

This study re-examines Morgan le Fay in early medieval and contemporary Arthurian sources, arguing that she embodies the concerns of each era even as she defies social and gender expectations. Hebert uses leFay as a lens to explore traditional ideas of femininity, monstrousness, resistance, identity, and social expectations for women and men alike.

"Shapeshifter: The Manifestation of Morgan le Fay" focuses on the roles of Morgan le Fay in selected medieval through contemporary Arthurian works. Morgan's ever-changing portrayals employ and confound dichotomies and archetypes that attempt to restrict identity. The term "shapeshifter" evokes Morgan's ability to evade the shape(s) others--authors, critics, and characters--attempt to impose upon her, to use the expectations of others against them, and to move among, outside of, and around assumptions as necessary. This versatility also demonstrates by comparison how culturally determined definitions of identity inhibit other characters (such as knights) with whom she interacts. Traditionally, Morgan's character is viewed as devolving from a benign or even positive role in Latin sources such as the Vita Merlini to a malicious one in the Vulgate and Malory. A careful look at the Vita and similar sources reveals, however, that complexity infuses her character from the beginning. Morgan's representations, rooted in Celtic and Greco-Roman mythology and folklore, create ambiguities that remain evident in later medieval sources. Morgan and her analogues, the Loathly Lady and fairy mistress, teach knights such as Gawain and Sir Launfal more complex lessons about themselves and their world than life at a rigid court allows. Fluid and variable, her "marginalized" position as denizen of the forest grants her the power and freedom to critique social strictures; her ability to ignore the constraints placed on women enables her to show knights how their identities restrict them. In Malory, she extends this role by acting as political advisor to Arthur, reminding him of his own self-imposed limits created by his refusal to address the damaging disloyalty endangering his rule. Enticing hints of Morgan's multivalence appear in the Renaissance and following eras, even as representations of female characters retreat to archetypes such as the femme fatale in Spenser's Faerie Queene and Romantic and Victorian poetry and art. In the modern and contemporary eras, Morgan's roles in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court and three fantasy novels suggest a tantalizing potential for mutability that is simultaneously undercut by societal and authorial concerns.

Descended from Celtic goddesses and the fairies of folklore, the literary character of Morgan le Fay has been most commonly perceived as a witch and a one-dimensional villainess who plagues King Arthur and his court, rather than recognized as the legendary King's enchanted healer and otherworldly guardian. Too often the complexity of Morgan le Fay and her supernatural abilities are lost, her character neglected as peripheral. As a literary figure of imaginative design this thesis explores Morgan le Fay as a unique "window" into the medieval mindset, whereby one can recover both medieval understandings of magic and female magicians. By analyzing her role in key sources from the twelfth to fifteenth century, this thesis uses Morgan le Fay to recover nuanced perceptions of the supernatural in medieval England that embraced the ambiguity of a pagan past and remained insulated from continental constructions of demonic witchcraft.

Invoke the Morrigan—the Celtic embodiment of the victory, strength, and power of the Divine Feminine—and be transformed by her fierce and magnificent energy. In this comprehensive, hands-on guide to Celtic Witchcraft, Stephanie Woodfield invites you to explore the Morrigan's rich history and origins, mythology, and magic. Discover the hidden lessons and spiritual mysteries of the Dark Goddess as you perform guided pathworkings, rituals, and spells compatible with any magical path. Draw on the unique energies of the Morrigan's many expressions—her three main aspects of Macha, Anu, and Badb; the legendary Morgan Le Fay; and her other powerful guises. From shapeshifting and faery magic to summoning a lover and creating an Ogham oracle, the dynamic and multifaceted Dark Goddess will bring empowering wisdom and enchantment to your life and spiritual practice.

'I am Morgan the Fay. The wicked witch, the embodiment of evil. And yet. I am the queen who takes Arthur in my arms for healing. Some editing of the story will clearly be necessary.' Morgan stands by Dozmary Pool after the Battle of Camlann, pleading with the dying Arthur to trust her. Only she can heal him. Is her price too high? As she retraces the bitterness and misunderstanding between them, she throws new light on the tales which the first four narrators have told. But that's not all. There have been countless other versions of her story, from prehistoric myths to contemporary novels. With scornful irony Morgan show us how their authors have changed her from a wise and healing ruler to a malignant sorceress and derided temptress. Can Arthur see the truth in time?

Vita Merlini, or The Life of Merlin, is a work by the Norman-Welsh author Geoffrey of Monmouth, composed in Latin around AD 1150. It retells incidents from the life of the Brythonic seer Merlin, and is based on traditional material about him. Merlin is described as a prophet in the text. There are a number of episodes in which he loses his mind and lives in the wilderness like a wild animal, like Nebuchadnezzar in the Book of Daniel. It is also the first work to describe the Arthurian sorceress Morgan le Fay, as Morgen. Geoffrey had written of Merlin in his two previous works, the Prophetiae Merlini, purported to be a series of prophecies from the sage, and the Historia Regum Britanniae, which is the first work presenting a link between Merlin and King Arthur. The Vita Merlini presents an account of Merlin much more faithful to the Welsh traditions about Myrddin Wyllt, the archetype behind Geoffrey's composite figure of Merlin. Whereas the Historia had Merlin associating with Arthur, his father Uther Pendragon, and his uncle Ambrosius in the 5th century, the Vita's timeframe is during the late 6th century, and includes references to various figures from that period, including Gwenddoleu and Taliesin. Geoffrey attempts to synchronize the Vita with his earlier work by having Merlin mention he had been with Arthur long before.