| Guinevere | |
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 | |
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Real Name |
Guinevere, Gwenhwyfar, Gwenivar, or Gwynnever |
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First Appearance |
Arthurian Legend |
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Created by |
English Myth |
Origin[]
Guinevere was according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First mentioned in popular literature in the early 12th century, nearly 700 years after the purported times of Arthur, Guinevere has since been portrayed as everything from a fatally flawed, villainous and opportunistic traitor to a noble and virtuous lady. Many records of the legend also feature the variably recounted story of her abduction and rescue as a major part of the tale.
The earliest debatable appearance of Guinevere is in Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudo-historical British chronicle Historia Regum Britanniae, in which she is seduced by Mordred during his ill-fated rebellion against Arthur. In a later medieval Arthurian romance tradition from France, a prominent story arc is the queen's tragic love affair with her husband's chief knight and trusted friend, Lancelot, indirectly causing the death of Arthur and the downfall of the kingdom.
Upon arriving in Camelot, Lancelot quickly fell in love with Arthur's queen, Guinevere. After being rescued by Lancelot, she began to have feelings for him as well, and they began an affair which was ultimately responsible for the discord which led to the fall of Camelot, and the death of Arthur. Afterwards, Guinevere became a nun and asked Lancelot to never show his face to her again.
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
All literary works featuring Guinevere published before January 1, 1929 are in the public domain in the US.
A list of notable works can be found here.
Public Domain Comic Appearances[]
- Star Comics #1
- Top Notch Comics #6
- Boy Comics #4
- Atomic Comics #1
- Famous Funnies #171-172
- Knights of the Round Table #10