I'm alive

Something I've found deeply fascinating with Lancelot lately is his association with leopards. It's primarily within the Vulgate, but there's nods to it in Malory as well;

Because why leopards in particular, out of all animals? It was specific enough that I was curious if I was missing some symbolism there. So, I went over to Medieval Bestiary as a starting point;

So, as it turns out, leopards have been traditionally associated with adultery. With the help of @wandrenowlereacts, I discovered that the association between adultery and leopards extends very far back indeed.

These are from De proprietatibus rerum ("On the Properties of Things") by Bartholomaeus Anglicus and Isidore of Seville’s Etymologiae. Both, in turn, refer to Pliny the Elder, who wrote the Naturalis historia (“Natural History”).

The Pliny segment in particular made me geek out a bit, because of the passage describing leopards and lions. It potentially reads as a reflection of the ending of the Arthurian romances! Why do I say there’s potential Arthurian foreshadowing in Pliny?

The lion’s fury obviously represents King Arthur, while the lioness washing herself can be associated to Queen Guinevere.

Particularly, the lioness washing herself could be taken as Queen Guinevere taking holy orders in order to be purified and redeemed from her past. This would be consistent within the deeply religious context of medieval times.

Now in the Vulgate, this is more of a practical decision on her part. But noticing this, and combining it with her associations with serpents and their symbolism, makes me wonder if it was an intentional nod.

The Beginner's Guide to Medieval Arthuriana is now live at the Arthurian Preservation Project website!

Just starting out and don't know where to begin?

Anyone new to Arthurian Legends will here find guidance on introductory Medieval texts (and some more recently written). The stories are grouped into sections to help you decide where to begin.

🧐 Fascinating... according to the Latin Arthurian 12th century text "Draco Normannicus" by Étienne de Rouen, the following is said:

Mordred's sons are twins.

Morgan is identified as Arthur's sister (for the first time).

Arthur becomes immortal after he's healed from his wounds by his sister, Morgan.

References

I am a stranger in this life, haunted by yesterday's desires (Mordred)

before and afters below the cut (16+hrs)

when you think about it God's punishment of Uther's murder of Gorlois and his rape of Igraine, a crime which is repeated in Arthur's siring of Mordred by his own half-sister Morgause, is almost biblical. It reminds me of the curse laid on King David as punishment for sleeping with Uriah's wife and murdering her husband so he can marry her. In both instances the king’s downfall comes not from foreign enemies but from his own blood: his son. Both tragedies are set in motion by a King coveting another man's wife and both incidents of rapes find a repitition in their children: a rape that coincidentally introduces the theme of half-sibling incest and becomes the catalyst for a war between a father and son.

The prophecy:

"Your family shall never again have rest from the sword"

"I will bring trouble upon you from within your family" = The Rape of Tamar -> Absalom's rebellion / Arthur's Rape of Morgause -> The Battle of Camlann

"the boy born to you shall die" = David loses Batsheba's child / no son of Arthur shall survive his father

"I will take away your wife and give them to another man before your eyes (your son)" = Absalom rapes his father's ten concubines / fulfilled both with Guinevere/Lancelot and Guinevere/Mordred

Structurally both stories share striking similarities: