The Lady Of The Lake

This mysterious female gave Arthur his sword, Excalibur. She stole Lancelot when he was a child and cured him when he went mad. She may be a Celtic lake divinity in origin, perhaps of the same kind as the Gwagged Annwn - lake fairies in modern Welsh folklore. In Ulrich, the fairy who raised Lancelot is the mother of Mabuz. As Mabuz is probably identical with the Celtic god Mabon, it would seem that the fairy must be Morgan Le Fay who was, earlier, Mabon's mother. Matrona. A lady of the lake, perhaps a different one, was killed by Balin.

Vivien may very well have been the Lady of the Lake in the Arthurian Legends and stories. Vivien, sometimes called Nineve, Nimue, Niniane, etc., is best known as the woman who sealed Merlin in a cave or a tree. Despite foreseeing his fate, Merlin was unable to prevent being captivated and captured by the woman Richard Wilbur has called "a creature to bewitch a sorcerer." Vivien is an ambiguous character. In Malory, for example, even though Nyneve, who is one of the Ladies of the Lake, deprives Arthur of Merlin's service, she rescues him twice, first by saving him from Accolon who has been given Excalibur by Morgan le Fay to use against Arthur, and then by preventing him from donning the destructive cloak sent to him by Morgan. She also uses her enchantments to punish Ettarde for her mistreatment of Pelleas. In the end she and Pelleas "lovede togedyrs duryng their lyfe." (King Arthurs Knights)