#brangaine

This version of the love potion (of what is considered the earliest Tristan text) is horrifying as hell. This potion is scary. FOUR YEARS! It is four years where you can't practically do anything, because one wrong move means death. This is essentially a horror story rather than a romantic one.

References

Happy Valentine’s Day to BrangainexPalomides my beloved. I’m so pleased with how this turned out, because just two years ago I couldn’t have made this and now I can indulge my favorite ship’s official meet cute.

Hello there, Arthuriana fandom! I'm mostly on Instagram and post a lot of art, but I decided I will be posting only my Arthurian art here, so let's start off with the Cornwall Gang: Tristan, Isolde, Palamedes, Brangaine and Dinadan. I know their interactions and attitudes are different in the texts but screw it so here are my characterizations for each of them:

Tristan: He's very kind, helpful, and chivalrous. He's known to be a romantic and protective soul who loves to sing and play the harp for Isolde, and he even leaves her his harp whenever he has to go somewhere or on quests or visit his mother in south Cornwall (ik his mother is dead in the myths but screw it, i want to see Tristan being a mama's boy so bad). And like Dinadan, he has a trickster side and loves pulling mischief and pranks, but don't worry they are harmless. Despite his friendly nature, he's known to be brash, hotheaded and can easily lose his temper, especially whe his friends are hurt or when he is provoked.

Isolde (ik the fandom typically refers to her as Queen Isolde, but I prefer calling her by her true title, Princess Isolde): like Tristan, she's a good woman always willing to help, but she's not your typical princess. She's sassy and isn't afraid to stand up for herself and fight back. She's usually not interested in Tristan and Dinadan's pranks, but there are moments where she joins them. When they are in Camelot, in secret they especially love causing mischief on Guinevere (Arthur doesn't know about this lol). She ofc balances love and duty, but she loves going out with Tristan on romantic nights and moments together, and their love is genuine and real, so no love potions are involved.

Palamedes: Moved to Camelot to start a new life. Due to his history of trusting phonies and being betrayed, he starts out pessimistic and fearful at first, avoiding contact especially when he first meets Tristan. But after spending moments with him, Palamedes begins to slowly soften and starts giving others in Camelot a chance. Unlike the rest of the gang, he and Brangaine are no-nonsense people, often questioning their friends' schemes and antics, but nevertheless enjoy their company and interactions.

Brangaine: She's very loyal to her mistress and will do anything to protect her at all costs, so be careful how you behave or she will smack you with a broom. She likes spending time with Dinadan, chatting and telling some jokes to eachother. Despite her protective nature, she's very easy going and gives excellent advice to her friends and others.

Dinadan: Much like his myth version, he is cynical, a prankster and loves teasing other in a harmless way. Unlike Tristan's more calmer pranks, his ideas are much more bizarre yet still entertaining, even Palamedes sometimes finds them amusing. He loves to sing about mocking courtly love songs, especially about Tristan's love for Isolde, and Tristan really hates these.

What do you think of my versions? Enjoy and have a lovely day ❤️

Galahad, the Grail Heroine, and Bors: They generally have no apparent trouble or qualms with the eternal chastity thing (except Bors when he gets cursed, but he gets cursed).

Brangaine: In La Tavola Ritonda, she tells Gouvernail that she never wants to have sexual relationships, and in a text I haven't yet read or been able to identify, she apparently stops Kahedin from sleeping with her by using a magic pillow to make him fall asleep, a role which is Camille's in Kaherdin and Camille.

Dinadan: In LTR, they call him the Wise Man Who Does Not Love, and while he has a romantic interest in LTR, their relationship isn't sexual. To the best of my knowledge, he has no other romantic interest and no sexual relationship in all of medlit and pretty much always scorns both concepts. Usually aro, demiromantic in one text, and always ace.

Lucan: It's not anything he says or does, but unless you count the actions of Lucano the evil half-giant half-lion in LTR, he doesn't have any romantic and/or sexual relationships in any medlit I know of. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, but in my mind, he's on the aro and ace spectrums.

Happy Ace Week to all who celebrate!

[...]

(Source: Trystan ac Essyllt)

Sooo... Golwg Hafddydd is implied to be the welsh version of Brangaine. (Which is weird when you think Brangaine could easily just be "Branwen" in welsh, but I digress)

The curious bit here is Golwg's admirer Cai Hir (Kay the Tall), obviously, the original Sir Kay

This has some implications since Brangaine's traditional courtier is Kahedins, brother of Iseult White Hands

But what I could find out, it would seem that Kahedins' very name is a corruption of Cai Hir.

So, yeah. Sir Kay is Brangaine's original love interest and may not have been a sibling of Iseult of Brittany (who in turn may be just a literary clone of regular Iseult from a different continuity)

on Brangaine, Constance Bonacieux, and devotion