ATC - Lady of the lake

This is going to be an ATC swap based around the "Lady of the lake". Make her your own interpretation or use the original legends. Twist it as much as you'd like.

You'll have 1 partner that you'll send 1 ATC to.

Make sure your cards are the standard 3.5x2.5 inches, and try to put your best effort into the cards you send!

You can either draw, collage, paint, mixed media and even stitch your cards. Anything goes but please don't slap a sticker on it and call it an ATC.

(You must have at least 5 mailed swaps and a rating of no less than 4.7 to join.)

The Lady of the Lake

The lady of the lake is a famous, romantic legend that remains shrouded in mystery today. What is the legend behind the enigmatic lady who captured our hearts and who features so often in art and books?

The Legend

The Lady of the Lake was said to be the foster mother of the Arthurian knight, Sir Lancelot and raised him beneath the waters of her Lake. She is best known for her presentation to King Arthur of his magical sword, Excalibur, as she raised the sword up to the sky from her Lake. It is said that Merlin, King Arthur's advisor, first met the Lady of the Lake at the Fountain of Barenton, in Brittany, and fell so in love with her that he taught her all his magical powers. The Lady soon became not only Merlin's scribe, but his lover too. However, over the years, the Lady's powers grew so great that she outshone even Merlin, and imprisoned him inside the Glass Tower. She stepped into Merlin's old role as King's advisor to some extent, but Merlin's fall contributed to the end of the King's reign, and the Lady reclaimed Excalibur at the Battle of Camlann, where the King was killed. The sword was hurled deep into the murky depths of the Lady's Lake. She returned once more as one of the three Queens to escort her King to Avalon.

Does She have a name?

What makes the Lady of the Lake so attractive is her enigma and mystery. For example, does she even have a name? This question has not gone unanswered, and she's most frequently referred to as Vivienne or Nimue. Nimue is said to be related to Mneme, or Mnemosyne, one of the nine water nymph muses of Greek and Roman mythology who gave swords, rather like Arthur's Excalibur, to the hero Perseus. The name Vivienne drives from the Celtic name, "Vi-Vianna", a variant of "Co-Viana", which is another name for the Celtic water goddess, Coventina. But, bearing in mind Latin pronunciation, the name Vivienne probably relates to Merlin's wife's name, Gwendoloena.

The origins behind the legend

Water deities were very popular in Celtic society because they controlled the essence of life itself. The spontaneous movements of natural water showed, to the Celts, the sheer power of the goddesses, nymphs and faeries that lived within. Offerings to water for good luck were commonplace and even today, we throw coins into wishing wells, and refer to the Lady of the Lake as "Lady Luck". The Lady was most celebrated at her shrine on Brocolitia, on Hadrian's Wall. Here, a temple surrounded a pool fed by a sacred spring. Coins, jewellery and bronze figurine offerings have all been excavated here, as well as many altars dedicated by local soldiers. Morgan le Fay, another water nymph, is largely believed nowadays to have been Merlin's scribe and lover, not the Lady of the Lake, it is believed that these two women are in fact variants of the same person. Especially seeing as Morgan le Fay is also included as one of the three Queens who escorted Arthur to Avalon. Perhaps then, the other Queen is also a variant on the Lady of the Lake, making up the final third of the Celtic Triple Goddess.