Maleagant (alternatively ''Malagant'', ''Meleagan'', ''Meleagant'', ''Meliagant'', ''Meliagaunt'', ''Meliagant'', ''Meliaganz'', ''Meliagrance'', ''Meliagrant'', ''Mellegrans'', ''Mellyagraunce'') is an often

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 ...

ly villain from 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 ...

. In a popular Arthurian episode recorded in several different versions, Maleagant abducts

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

’s wife,

Queen 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 cent ...

, necessitating her rescue by Arthur and his

knights A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

, later notably

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 ...

. The earliest surviving version of this episode names the abductor Melwas in Welsh tales. As Maleagant, he debuts as Lancelot's archenemy 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'' ...

' French romance '' Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart'', where he is son of King Bagdemagus.

Melwas

Roger Sherman Loomis Roger Sherman Loomis (1887–1966) was an American scholar and one of the foremost authorities on medieval and Arthurian literature. Loomis is perhaps best known for showing the roots of Arthurian legend, in particular the Holy Grail, in native C ...

regarded the form Maleagant or Meleagans as directly derivative of the Brythonic Melwas, calling it "a divine title probably meaning Prince Youth" and listing a number of later variants such as ''Melians de Danemarche''. The earliest known account of the popular Arthurian motif of an abduction of

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 ...

appears in the early 12th-century Latin '' Life of Gildas'' by Caradoc of Llancarfan. In that text, Melwas, king of the "Summer Country" (''aestiua regione''; a direct translation of the

Old Welsh Old Welsh () is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic around 550, ha ...

''Gwlad yr Haf'', according to Loomis a name for the

Celtic Otherworld In Celtic mythology, the Otherworld is the realm of the Celtic deities, deities and possibly also the dead. In Gaels, Gaelic and Celtic Britons, Brittonic myth it is usually a supernatural realm of everlasting youth, beauty, health, abundance an ...

), carries Guinevere (''Gwenhwyfar'') off to his stronghold, a "fortification of reed-beds and river and marsh", where she is kept and raped. After a year of searching,

locates her and prepares to storm the castle, but meanwhile Saint Gildas negotiates her safe return. An early 12th-century monumental carving on the

archivolt An archivolt (or voussure) is an ornamental Molding (decorative), moulding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch. It is composed of bands of ornamental mouldings (or other architectural elements) surrounding an arched opening, ...

of Modena Cathedral in Italy shows an apparently related scene where Arthur and his warriors besiege a castle where a character identified as 'Mardoc' sits with 'Winlogee', presumably Guinevere. The fragmentary medieval Welsh poem ''Dialogue of Melwas and Gwenhyfer'' (''Ymddiddan Melwas a Gwenhwyfar'') calls him Melwas of the Isle of Glass (''Ynys Wydrin''), the Welsh name for

Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

' Old French '' Erec and Enide'' (c. 1170) lists Maheloas, the "great" lord of the Isle of Glass (''Ile de Voirre'', described as a magical island where "thunder is not heard, no lightning strikes or tempest blows, no toads or snakes stay, and it is never too hot or too cold"), among the guests at Arthur's court.

Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth (; ; ) was a Catholic cleric from Monmouth, Wales, and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur. He is best known for his chronicle '' The History of ...

in his earlier '' History of the Kings of Britain'' (c. 1136) had him Latinized as Malvasius, similarly mentioned as a guest of Arthur but called the king of Iceland.

Maleagant

Maleagant (spelled ''Meliagant'' or ''Meliaganz'') first appears under that name in Chrétien's '' Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart'' (written after ''Erec''), where he is said to be the son of King Bagdemagus, ruler of the

ly realm of Gorre (the Land of No Return). He brings the abducted Guinevere to his impenetrable castle out of his one-sided love for Arthur's wife. The queen is eventually rescued by

and

Gawain Gawain ( ), also known in many other forms and spellings, is a character in Matter of Britain, Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and one of the premier Knights of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned und ...

in the first major appearance of Lancelot in Arthurian legend. In this story, as finished by Godefroi de Leigni, Maleagant has multiple sisters, one of whom betrays him to save an imprisoned Lancelot, who had earlier helped her by beheading her enemy. Maleagant's role seems to have diminished as

Mordred Mordred or Modred ( or ; Welsh: ''Medraut'' or ''Medrawt'') is a major figure in the legend of King Arthur. The earliest known mention of a possibly historical Medraut is in the Welsh chronicle ''Annales Cambriae'', wherein he and Arthur are a ...

became more popular. Nevertheless, he has continued to appear in most accounts of Guinevere's kidnapping. Notably, he plays that part in the

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 ...

cycle and consequently 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 ''

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 ...

''. In Malory's telling, Maleagant kidnaps Guinevere and her unarmed knights and holds them prisoner in his castle in Gore. After Maleagant's archers kill his horse, Lancelot has to ride to the castle in a cart in order to save the queen. Knowing Lancelot was on his way, Maleagant pleads with Guinevere for mercy, which she grants and then forces Lancelot to stifle his rage against Maleagant. Later, Maleagant learns of Guinevere's unfaithfulness to Arthur and is willing to fight in a duel at Arthur's court in an attempt to prove it to others. After Guinevere makes it known that she wants Maleagant dead, Lancelot kills him even though Maleagant begs for mercy. Maleagant is killed after he agrees to continue fighting with Lancelot's helmet and left side body armour removed and left hand tied behind his back. (Lancelot felt it necessary to finish the bout, but would not slay Maleagant unless Maleagant agreed to continue fighting). In the romance ''Sone de Nansai'', the hero Sone visits an island said to once have been Meleagan's, whose father was Baudemagus; his grandfather was named Tadus. Meleagan's island is perfectly square and its walls are made of crystal; there is a palace at each corner and a fountain wells up through a gilded copper horn at the center. The Sword Bridge connects the island to a causeway, a bowshot away, which leads to the mainland. In Meleagan's times, many men were beheaded there.Loomis, p. 211.

Modern fiction

Maleagant appears in modern retellings like Marion Zimmer Bradley's '' The Mists of Avalon'' and T. H. White's '' The Once and Future King'' (as Sir Meliagrance). * In the aftermath of the desperate battle at the end of

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

's '' A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court'', the protagonist, time traveling American Hank Morgan, tries to help the severely wounded Sir Maleagant, but is stabbed by him. *In '' The Warlord Chronicles'' novels by English author

Bernard Cornwell Bernard Cornwell (born 23 February 1944) is an English author of historical novels and a history of the Waterloo Campaign. He is best known for his long-running series of novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe. He has also writ ...

, based on the Arthurian legend, a secondary character named Melwas is mentioned many times, here as the king of the tribe of the

Belgae The Belgae ( , ) were a large confederation of tribes living in northern Gaul, between the English Channel, the west bank of the Rhine, and the northern bank of the river Seine, from at least the third century BC. They were discussed in depth b ...

, who inhabited the region roughly corresponding to modern

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

with its capital at Venta Belgarum (modern

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

). At first glance, the only similarity between the legendary character and the fictional one seems to be their common name, but, upon closer inspection, we find some clues that indicate a possible intention of the author of having his fictional Melwas to be his own peculiar version of Maleagant. A couple of similarities include the fact that, in the novels, Melwas is a vassal to King

Uther Pendragon Uther Pendragon ( ; the Brittonic languages, Brittonic name; , or ), also known as King Uther (or Uter), was a List of legendary kings of Britain, legendary King of the Britons and father of King Arthur. A few minor references to Uther appe ...

(Arthur's father) and, after his death, to his grandson, the child King

, to whom Arthur serves as Regent during his minority, while Maleagant himself was a vassal to King Arthur. Both became members of the

Round Table The Round Table (; ; ; ) is King Arthur's famed table (furniture), table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status, unlike co ...

in its respective versions in the novels and in the Arthurian legend, and both betrayed their sovereigns by raising arms against them. *In the French TV series '' Kaamelott'', Meleagant is a dark and mysterious entity, either a god or a wizard, portrayed by Carlo Brandt. He seems omniscient, able to predict the future and appear in people's dreams. His goal seems to push Lancelot to explore the darkest sides of his personality. Meleagant also pushes King Arthur and the Roman Emperor to commit suicide. While Caesar dies, Arthur survives his suicide attempt. However, as Arthur is on his death bed, he handles the power to Lancelot, still under Meleagant's influence. Manipulating the knight, Meleagant pushes Lancelot to establish a dictatorship over the Kingdom of Logres, while Arthur flees, with the help of the smuggler Venec, to Rome. *He appears in the 1995 film '' First Knight'' as a murderous renegade knight of the Round Table, portrayed by Ben Cross. *Melwas appears in

Giles Kristian Giles Kristian (born 1975) is an English singer and novelist, known for his action adventure novels in the historical fiction genre. He is best known for his ''Raven'' series, about a young man's coming of age amongst a band of Viking warriors. H ...

’s novel ''Lancelot'' as an antagonist of the title character from boyhood.

References

Bibliography

* Lacy, Norris J. (1991). ''The New Arthurian Encyclopedia''. New York: Garland. . * Loomis, Roger Sherman (1997). ''Celtic Myth and Arthurian Romance''. Academy Chicago Publishers. .

External links

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