The Mists of Avalon (1982) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

Characters edit see section history

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• Morgaine: The heroine of the story, she is the daughter of Igraine and Gorlois. She has been raised as a priestess.
• Arthur: The high king. He is the younger half-brother of Morgaine, and is married to Gwenhwyfar. While he took part in the old kin-making ceremony and has the serpents on his arms, he has become more Christian.
• Viviane: Older sister of Morgaine and Morgause, high priestess of Avalon. Lady of the Lake. Very small of stature with dark hair and eyes.
• Gwenhwyfar: The wife of Arthur, an high queen. A devout and pious Christian, she spent some time in a convent when she was younger. Afraid of the outdoors and the open, she much prefers to stay inside and in enclosed spaces. Very beautiful and fair.
• Morgause: sister of Igraine and foster mother to Gwydion, married to King Lot of Orkney
• Kevin: He is a horribly disfigured hunchback, having been burnt by a fire when he was a child. He can sing like an angel.
• Igraine: She is the mother of Morgaine and Arthur.
• Elaine: Gwenhyfar's cousin, who resembles her greatly in looks.
• Gareth: Morgause's and Lot's other son who is also a knight of Arthur. He is a lot like Gawaine, only more fearsome in battle. Lancelet is his absolute idol.
• Mordred (aka Gwydion): Morgaine's son.
• Galahad: Lancelet and Elaine's son and Arthur's heir to the throne.
• Gawaine: One of Arthur's best knights of the Round Table. Son of Lot and Morgause. He is known for being very kind, compassionate, and devoted to Arthur.
• Taliesin: The old Merlin of Britain, Arch-druid and harpist of Avalon. He is revered by Christian and Pagan alike as a wise, kind old man. He fathered Igraine and Morgause
• Nimue: The beautiful daughter of Elaine and Lancelet.
• Raven: Priestess of Avalon who holds a vow of silence.
• Accolon: He is the second son of King Uriens.
• Ambrosius: The High King before Uther Pendragon.
• Balan: Viviane's son.
• Uriens: He is one of the kings who is loyal to Arthur.
• Pellinore: He is one of the kings who is loyal to Arthur and he is the father of Elaine.
• Niniane: Taliesin's daughter, making her Igraine and Morgause's half sister.
• Gorlois: Igraine's first husband and Morgaine's father.
• Balin: He is the foster brother of Balan.
• Lancelet: Arthur's First Knight, Viviane's son and Morgaine's cousin and first love. He is an extremely gifted warrior and admired for his very handsome appearance, but has a life-long fear of his mother Viviane.
• Uwaine: Uriens' youngest son and a knight loyal to Arthur. He regards Morgaine as his mother.
• Uther: The nephew and War Duke of the dead High King Ambrosius and an ambitious warlord who falls in love with Igraine. Tall and fari-haired.
• Cai: Arthur's disfigured foster brother, son of Ectorius.
• Lamorak: Brother of Elaine, son of King Pellinore.
• Priscilla: Add a description of this character.
• Leodegranz: He is one of the kings who is loyal to Arthur and he is the father of Gwenhwyfar.
• Cormac
• Griflet
• Drustan: He is a young man who falls in love with his Uncle's wife, Isotta.
• Duke Marcus: He is the uncle of Drustan and the husband of the lovely Isotta. He is known to have a short temper and a love for riches.
• Mary
• Lionel
• Maline
• Bors
• Avalloch: He is King Uriens's oldest son.
• Gaheris
• Isotta: She is Duke Marcus's young wife who is in love with his nephew, Drustan.
• Lucan

Quotes edit see section history

• “What good are dreams, except perhaps to you ladies in your great house?”

  Lancelet

• “They lay side by side, barely touching, letting the power of the sun and the earth and the air move through them in harmony... it seemed that some time, a very long time ago, they had lain like this, content, timeless in an endless joyful peace, as if they were a part of the sanding stones which had stood here forever.”

• “The magic of Avalon never changes... the mists and the reeds and the cry of the water birds... and then the barge, like magic, gliding from the silent shore. I know there is nothing for me here, and yet somehow I always return.”

  Morgaine

• “A king must protect his people from outsiders, from invaders, and lead his people to defend themselves. A king must be the first to thrust himself between the land and all danger, just as a farmer stands to defend his fields from any robber. But it is not his duty to dictate to them what thier innermost hearts may do.”

  Arthur

• “We are none of us so young anymore, and are not many of us who remember that time when we were all young together.”

  Arthur

• “Her voice was very clear and low, but, the trained voice of a priestess, it could be heard to the farthest corners of the hall. "My king, I bid you look now on the sword you bear, and think on those who laid it in your hand, and what you swore-" In later years when all that had befallen that day was talked of far and wide, no two of the hundreds in that hall could agree on what had happened first.”

• “There are now two Britains, Igraine: their world under their One God and the Christ; and, beside it and behind it, the world where the Great Mother still rules, the world where the Old People have chosen to live and worship. . . Our world -- ruled by the Goddess and the Horned One, her consort, the world you know, the world of many truths -- is being forced away from the mainstream course of time. Even now, Igraine, if a traveller sets out with no guide for the Isle of Avalon, unless he know the way very well, he cannot come there, but will find only the Isle of the Priests. To most men, our world is now lost in the mists of the Summer Sea.”

  Merlin

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Less Britain
• Tintagel: The castle and lands of Duke Gorlois. Birthplace of Morgaine. On the coast of Cornwall.
• Lothian
• Caerleon: Uther's Court
• Cornwall: A region in the west of Britain
• Lake
• The King Stag
• North Wales
• Glastonbury
• Orkney: a region in the North of Britain, ruled by King Lot and Morgause
• Dragon Island
• Holy Isle: Avalon
• Mount Badon
• Brittany
• Tor
• Holy Regalia
• Pentecost
• Fairies
• Gaul
• Holy Well
• Flavilla

Organizations edit see section history

• The Druids Society: Add a description of this organization.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Religion and spirituality: Throughout the Mists of Avalon the two religions of The Goddess and Christianity where driving forces. Religion was the main force that caused many problems, change of actions, and in all put the whole story into motion. Religion is Christianity side of the story while The Goddess and her teaching come from spirituality side of Mists of Avalon.
• The Goddess: Describe this theme.
• Fate Vs. Free Will: Each main character must contend with both their fate and their free will. The Druids believe in fate the Christians in Free Will.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Followed by The Forest House.

Preceded by The Wind in the Willows, and followed by Ellen Foster.

Preceded by Pawn of Prophecy, and followed by Mistborn.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Marion Zimmer Bradley (Author)

Other Contributors:

1. Braldt Bralds (Cover Artist)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Locus Fantasy Award (1984, Winner)
• Mythopoeic Fantasy Award (Finalist, 1983, Finalist)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PS3552.R228 M5 1982
• Dewey: 813.54

Notes for Parents edit see section history

although this book has some adult themes- mainly sex - many young women read it when they are in high school and find it very interesting and empowering.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy › Epic
• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy › Historical
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Genre Fiction › Historical
• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy › Arthurian

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• wikipedia: character descriptions and a plot summary
• Green Man Review: Has a brief description of the entire Mist of Avalon series and describes the main characters
• Legends: King Arthur & the Matter of Britain: A guide to the historical time period in which The Mists of Avalon takes place. Not directly linked to the book but provides a map.

Movie Connections edit see section history

• The Mists of Avalon (IMDb): 2001

More Books Like This edit see section history