The Lady of the Lake

The Lady of the Lake is the name of a character, a poem, an opera and various plays

The character

"The Lady of the Lake" is an enchantress, a character in the Arthurian legends. She is a central figure in many of the stories, being the one who gives Arthur his sword Excalibur, enchants Merlin, and raises Lancelot after the death of his father. Given many names by various writers and copyist (e.g. Nimue, Nymue, Nimueh, Viviane, Vivien, Vivienne, Ninianne, Nivian, Nyneve, or Evienne), she is more generally known simply as "The Lady of the Lake".

She also appears as a character in both the film and stage play of Monty Python's Spamalot

The poem by Sir Walter Scott

The Lady of the Lake is a narrative poem by Sir Walter Scott, written in August 1809 while he and his family were holidaying in the Trossachs and along the shores and islands of Loch Katrine, which would provide the poem's setting.

While Scott drew on the romance of the legend, he told an entirely different story, focuses on the struggle between King James V and the powerful clan Douglas.

The poem was first published in 1810 as The Lady of the Lake; A Poem in Edinburgh by John Ballantyne and Co. and in London by Longman, Hurst, Rees and Orme, and William Miller. The poem was tremendously influential in the nineteenth century, inspiring what is known as the Highland Revival.

Dramatised versions of the tale and the poem

A number of theatrical versions have been done of it over the years.

Gioachino Rossini’s opera La donna del lago (1819)[1] has a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola and is based on the French translation of Scott's poem. It was first performed in Naples at the Teatro San Carlo on 24 September 1819.

The Lady of the Lake is a stage play by Benjamin Askew. It opened at the Theatre by the Lake, Cumbria, playing from 13 June - 6 November 2015.