Everything about Laudine totally explained
Laudine, also known as the
Lady of the Fountain, is a character from
Arthurian legend who appears in
Chrétien de Troyes' poem
Yvain, the Knight of the Lion and all works based on it, such as the
Welsh tale
Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain and the
German Iwein by
Hartmann von Aue. She marries the hero of the tales (
Sir Ywain) after he's killed her husband, but spurns him when he neglects her for knightly adventure, only to take him back in the end.
In Chrétien's
romance, Laudine is the ruler of the mystical Castle of Landuc located near a spring in
Brocéliande Forest. Her husband
Esclados guards the magical spring, which generates a huge storm when water from it's poured onto a nearby basin.
Yvain's cousin
Calogrenant had once done this and been attacked and beaten for it, so Yvain sets out to avenge him. Yvain mortally wounds Esclados and follows him back to the castle, where he espies Laudine and falls instantly in love with her. Though she's distraught by her husband's death, her vassals, especially her servant
Lunete, talk her into marrying him so the land won't go unguarded.
Things go well for a while until
Sir Gawain invites Yvain to seek chivalric adventure with him. Laudine doesn't want him to go, but relents when he agrees to return after a set number of days. She provides him with a magic ring that protects true lovers from bodily harm, and warns him not to be late. Yvain gets caught up in his exploits, and doesn't come home. Laudine sends a messenger to reclaim her ring and inform her husband he won't be allowed back. After a period of madness, Yvain engages in new adventures, fighting to aid others (such as the Lion that gives him his nickname), rather than to gain glory for himself. Eventually he proves himself to his wife, and she accepts her husband back into her castle.
The Welsh story
Owain, one of the
Three Welsh Romances associated with the
Mabinogion, Laudine isn't given a name other than her title, Lady or Countess of the Fountain.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Laudine'.
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