tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post9175687428785213163..comments2024-03-28T18:32:05.933-04:00Comments on bensozia: Edmund Blair LeightonJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037215533094998996noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-41913205603139391482017-08-08T08:04:47.283-04:002017-08-08T08:04:47.283-04:00A bit more poking around, I'm not so sure now ...A bit more poking around, I'm not so sure now if it was from <i>Le Morte d'Arthur</i> specifically, as I've found conflicting references, but it's certainly from somewhere in the old Arthurian legends of around the 1400s.G. Verlorennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-63944028109233484722017-08-08T07:59:16.572-04:002017-08-08T07:59:16.572-04:00"Elaine (1899); quick, all you medieval buffs..."Elaine (1899); quick, all you medieval buffs: who are these people?"<br /><br />I'm a far cry from a medieval buff, but I tracked this down very quickly. (Thanks be to modern technology and cross referencing for making my job so easy!)<br /><br />This is Elaine of Astolat, a figure from Arthurian Legend, specifically from <i>Le Morte d'Arthur</i>. Also known as Elaine The White, or Elaine The Fair, she was your typical idealized pure maiden who fell in love with Sir Lancelot, but in typical chivalrous fashion he did not return her love and she died of grief. This painting is her floating down the river to Camelot, and being discovered (presumably) by King Arthur, Lady Guinevere, and the Knights of The Round Table. She clutches a symbolic lily, and a scroll containing a final letter to Lancelot.<br /><br />In the 19th century, Lord Tennyson reworked the original story into <i>The Lady of Shallot</i>, which became quite popular and inspired many paintings and illustrations similar to this one before the turn of the 20th century.G. Verlorennoreply@blogger.com