The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers
Chekhov's Arthurian Athame
g33k:
So: Morgana's Athame.
Morgana being one of the very-powerful sorceresses, possibly Faerie or Changeling, associated with Merlin... and with Arthur.
In some versions, Arthur's half-sister.
Interestingly-enough, one of Morgana's sisters was named "Elaine," with all sorts of interesting implications if Elaine Mallory was named "in honor of" that ancient Elaine by her birth-parents (about whom, please note, we have very-little information!).
Indeed: despite the vast powers shown by OG Merlin; and the likely "Amoracchius = Excalibur" theory (do we have WoJ confirming it?); and having her Athame show up so we have traces of Morgana; and the possible "British Prisoner = Arthur" theory ...
... despite all of that, I say: we have remarkably little sense of how the larger Arthuriana corpus (and which version(s) of it) map into (and/or otherwise influence/inform) the Dresdenverse.
Or have I overlooked a bunch of stuff?
Mira:
--- Quote ---Indeed: despite the vast powers shown by OG Merlin; and the likely "Amoracchius = Excalibur" theory (do we have WoJ confirming it?); and having her Athame show up so we have traces of Morgana; and the possible "British Prisoner = Arthur" theory ...
--- End quote ---
Or if you read the Arthurian legend in Bullfinch's Mythology, the British Prisoner actually fits Merlin better than Arthur.
--- Quote ---The Lady of the Lake entangled him in a thorn bush by means of spells, and there he still sleeps, though his voice may sometimes be heard.
--- End quote ---
Further after he was entangled;
--- Quote ---And he awoke, and looked around him, it seemed to him he was enclosed in the strongest tower in the world, and laid upon a fair bed. The said he to the dame: "My lady, you have deceived me, for no one hath power to unmake this tower but you alone."
--- End quote ---
Maybe a stretch, but it does sound like our sleepy British Prisoner don't you think?
g33k:
--- Quote from: Mira on October 03, 2023, 03:17:12 AM --- Or if you read the Arthurian legend in Bullfinch's Mythology, the British Prisoner actually fits Merlin better than Arthur.
Further after he was entangled;
Maybe a stretch, but it does sound like our sleepy British Prisoner don't you think?
--- End quote ---
Oh, yeah; I could see Merlin as the BP, sure!
Dunno that I think it's a better fit, but it's certainly another good fit.
Arthur at the end was seeing his Camelot-centered kingdom, so promising at first, descend into war; and largely because (from his POV) he had an out-of-wedlock child by his own half-sister (so it was his own profound moral failing (this from a man who decreed a Grail-quest!), according to the mores of the time).
The guilt & self-hatred would have been immense; and we know the BP says he "deserves to be there." Then Arthur (mortally wounded) was borne off across the water, to an enchanted sleep until Britain needs him again.
Sometimes this is explicitly to an island, but also sometimes to vague "Western Lands" (to which I say, "Why not both?" ;) ).
So I think we can make either case (Merlin or Arthur) reasonably strongly.
Mira:
--- Quote ---The guilt & self-hatred would have been immense; and we know the BP says he "deserves to be there." Then Arthur (mortally wounded) was borne off across the water, to an enchanted sleep until Britain needs him again.
--- End quote ---
Not so much deserves but unless his mistress, Viviane releases him he will not return or cannot.
Knights go out in search of Merlin on Arthur's orders, they call from him and cannot find him, but then a voice in smoke tells them;
--- Quote ---Merlin then addressed them from out of the smoke, and told him by what misadventure he was imprisoned there. "Ah sir!" he added, "you will never see me more, and that grieves me, but I cannot remedy it; I shall never speak to you, nor any other person,save only my mistress.
--- End quote ---
g33k:
--- Quote from: Mira on October 04, 2023, 03:53:45 AM --- ... Knights go out in search of Merlin on Arthur's orders, they call from him and cannot find him, but then a voice in smoke tells them;
--- Quote ---Merlin then addressed them from out of the smoke, and told him by what misadventure he was imprisoned there. "Ah sir!" he added, "you will never see me more, and that grieves me, but I cannot remedy it; I shall never speak to you, nor any other person,save only my mistress.
--- End quote ---
--- End quote ---
This version of Merlin cannot be the British Prisoner: if he were imprisoned in the Well, he couldn't appear in smoke and speak to questing Knights.
But there are a LOT of versions of Merlin (and of course Jim is free to tweak to fit his own plotline & characters); so this particular detail doesn't really demonstrate anything either direction.
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