Guiomar is the best known name of a character appearing in many medieval texts relating to the

Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain (; ; ; ) is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. The 12th-century writer Geoffr ...

, often in relationship with

Morgan le Fay Morgan le Fay (; Welsh language, Welsh and Cornish language, Cornish: Morgen; with ''le Fay'' being garbled French language, French ''la Fée'', thus meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan , Morgain /e Morgant Mor ...

or a similar fairy queen type character.

In medieval literature

His earliest known appearances are as Graelent, Guingamor and Guigemar, the titular character of three 12th-century

Breton lai A Breton lai, also known as a narrative lay or simply a lay, is a form of medieval French and English romance literature. Lais are short (typically 600–1000 lines), rhymed tales of love and chivalry, often involving supernatural and fairy-wor ...

"fairy lais" (''lais féeriques''): '' Graelent'', '' Guingamor'' and '' Guigemar'', each telling a similar story. There, he is a king's relative or vassal who, after rejecting the advances of the unnamed queen (the king's adulterous and jealous wife), becomes a lover of a fairy queen known only as the Fairy Mistress (a figure considered to represent Morgan) and is taken to an

Otherworld In historical Indo-European religion, the concept of an otherworld, also known as an otherside, is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' (Latin for "other world/side"), a term used by Lucan in his desc ...

(

Avalon Avalon () is an island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appeared in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' as a place of magic where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was made and later where Arthur was taken to recove ...

). All of these texts are related to

Marie de France Marie de France (floruit, fl. 1160–1215) was a poet, likely born in France, who lived in England during the late 12th century. She lived and wrote at an unknown court, but she and her work were almost certainly known at the royal court of Kin ...

's '' Lanval'', where the human queen character is

Guinevere Guinevere ( ; ; , ), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First mentioned in literature in the early 12th cen ...

. His name may have been derived from that of

Gwyn ap Nudd Gwyn ap Nudd (, sometimes found with the antiquated spelling Gwynn ap Nudd) is a Welsh mythological figure, the king of the '' Tylwyth Teg'' or " fair folk" and ruler of the Welsh Otherworld, Annwn, and whose name means “Gwyn, son of Nudd”. D ...

, who in the Welsh Arthurian tales appears as the ruler of the Celtic Otherworld,

Annwn Annwn, Annwfn, or Annwfyn (; ''Annwvn'', ''Annwyn'', ''Annwyfn'', ''Annwvyn'', or ''Annwfyn'') is the Otherworld in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn (or, in Arthurian literature, by Gwyn ap Nudd), it is a world of delights and eternal youth wh ...

. Guinguemar (''Guigomar'', ''Guingomar'', ''Gryngamore'') is one of the vassals of

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

summoned to King Arthur's court for

Erec The Knights of the Round Table (, , ) are the legendary knights of the fellowship of King Arthur that first appeared in the Matter of Britain literature in the mid-12th century. The Knights are a chivalric order dedicated to ensuring the peace ...

's wedding in

Chrétien de Troyes Chrétien de Troyes (; ; 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on King Arthur, Arthurian subjects such as Gawain, Lancelot, Perceval and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's chivalric romances, including ''Erec and Enide'' ...

's '' Erec and Enide'' (c. 1170). Guigomar, the lord of the Isle of Avalon, arrived with his "friend" Morgan the fairy (for the first time established as Arthur's sister later in the same text) and his brother Graislemier (''Greslemuef''). He appears as Gimoers, the ruler of Avalon, in

Hartmann von Aue Hartmann von Aue, also known as Hartmann von Ouwe, (born ''c.'' 1160–70, died ''c.'' 1210–20) was a German knight and poet. With his works including '' Erec'', '' Iwein'', '' Gregorius'', and '' Der arme Heinrich'', he introduced the Arthu ...

's ''

'' (c. 1185), wherein his fairy lover is Marguel and his brother is Gresmurs. In the anonymous First Continuation (Pseudo-Wachier) of Chrétien's ''

Perceval Perceval (, also written Percival, Parzival, Parsifal), alternatively called Peredur (), is a figure in the legend of King Arthur, often appearing as one of the Knights of the Round Table. First mentioned by the French author Chrétien de Tro ...

'', the fairy lover of Guingamuer is named Brangepart. The two had a son, King Brangemuer, who ruled an otherworldly isle until he was slain by the gigantic Little Knight (''Petit Chevalier''). Brangemuer's death is avenged by Gaheries, who then sends his body in a boat to his isle in the Otherworld. As King Guingras (''Gringras'') he also appears, with his daughter, in

Renaud de Beaujeu Renaud de Beaujeuor Renaut de Bâgé or de Baugé is the name of a medieval French author of Arthurian romance. He is known for only one major work, '' Le Bel Inconnu'', the Fair Unknown, a poem of 6266 lines in Old French that was composed in the ...

’s ''Le Bel Inconnu''. As Gvigamiers (''Gwinganiers''), he shows up in connection with Avalon in the German '' Diu Crône''. Guiomar (''Guiamor de Tarmelide'', ''Guyomar'', ''Guyomard'', ''Guyamor'', ''Goimar'') is Morgan's first paramour in the 13th-century French Vulgate Cycle (''

Lancelot-Grail The ''Lancelot-Grail Cycle'', also known as the Vulgate Cycle or the Pseudo-Map Cycle, is an early 13th-century French Arthurian legend, Arthurian literary cycle consisting of interconnected prose episodes of chivalric romance originally writte ...

''). In the Vulgate ''Merlin'', Guimoar of Carmelide ( Cameliard) is 26-years-old and the handsome cousin or nephew of Guinevere. He fights against the Saxons alongside Arthur, Guinevere's father King Leodagan, and his own brother ''Sinados'' (''Sadoine'', ''Sadones''). Guiomar and the teenage Morgan, the wife of King Neutres, first meet when she was weaving a gift for her sister. They begin flirting with each other and quickly become lovers during their first encounter. But Arthur's newly-wed Queen Guinevere eventually discovered their affair and exposed them, which resulted in the banishment of Guiomar from

Camelot Camelot is a legendary castle and Royal court, court associated with King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described ...

. Morgan leaves Camelot of her own volition which marks the onset of her unforgiving hatred of Guinevere. In the versions retold in the Vulgate ''Lancelot'' and in the ''Livre d'Artus'', Guinevere easily convinces Guyamor to abandon Morgan. Morgan later gives birth to his (unnamed) son, who himself becomes a great knight, and eventually uses the magic learnt from Merlin to trap Guiomar and then also many other false-lover knights within the Vale of No Return until they are freed by

Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), alternatively written as Launcelot and other variants, is a popular character in the Matter of Britain, Arthurian legend's chivalric romance tradition. He is typically depicted as King Arthu ...

.Larrington 2014
p. 41
In the German ''Lancelot und Ginevra'' (c. 1230), a knight named Gaimar is an early lover of both Guinevere and Morgan. In the English manuscript ''Merlin'', Gogenar is mentioned fighting against King Ryance alongside his uncle Leodegan. In '' Arthour and Merlin'', a related English romance, Goionard is instead a kinsman of King Rion who fights against Leodegan. In

Thomas Malory Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', the classic English-language chronicle of the Arthurian legend, compiled and in most cases translated from French sources. The most popular version of ''Le Morte d'A ...

's 15th-century ''

Le Morte d'Arthur ' (originally written as '; Anglo-Norman French for "The Death of Arthur") is a 15th-century Middle English prose reworking by Sir Thomas Malory of tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin and the Knights of the ...

'', Sir Gringamore is a knight with all-black

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

, and lives in Castle Perilous in the Isle of Avalon (''Avilion''). He has two sisters, Lynette and Lyonesse (among other spellings), and becomes Gareth's brother-in-law after kidnapping the dwarf servant of "Beaumains" (Gareth) to uncover his true identity and arrange the marriage with Lyonesse.

Other appearances

In a tradition in

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

, France, Morgan is said to have turned her unfaithful lover Guiomar, also known as Guyomarc'h, and the woman he betrayed her with, into a rock known as the Rocher des Faux-Amants (the False-Lovers' Rock). It is located on the ridges of the Val sans Retour (the Valley of No Return, also known as the Perilous Valley or the Valley of False Lovers) within Paimpont forest. Sir Guyon is the protagonist of Book II of

Edmund Spenser Edmund Spenser (; – 13 January 1599 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an English poet best known for ''The Faerie Queene'', an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the House of Tudor, Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is re ...

's 1590 ''

The Faerie Queene ''The Faerie Queene'' is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. Books IIII were first published in 1590, then republished in 1596 together with books IVVI. ''The Faerie Queene'' is notable for its form: at over 36,000 lines and over 4,000 sta ...

''. In a reversal of the legend, it is he who frees the knights held captive by Acrasia, one of the book's Morgan counterparts. Guiomar appears as Guinevere's brother and Morgan's secret lover in Harry Robin's 1995 ''I, Morgain''. In Krystyna Kwiatkowska's 1998 ''Prawdziwa historia Morgan le Fay i Rycerzy Okrągłego Stołu'', Guimoar is an early love of Anna (Morgan's original name here) who plans to poison her husband Uriens to marry him.

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

Guingomar (Gimoers, Gringamore, Gryngamore, Guigomar d'Avalon, Guingamuer, Guinguemar, Gwinganiers)
at Nighbringer.se {{Arthurian Legend Arthurian characters Fictional knights Characters in The Faerie Queene