Sir Gawain & the Loathly Lady, by Selina Hastings

The cover reflects the high level of the
decorative elements.

I will try to copy in some of the illustrations from this gorgeous book because Selina Hastings' retelling of Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady strikes first at the eyes with its lush drawings and its intricate designs. This 9" x 9" (small cake pan!)  24-page picture book is crammed with art--wall to wall. Each page has an intricate border of vines and crests. Each illustration (beautiful in itself) is bordered and framed. Small patches of each page are filled in with a patterned design like a fabric swatch of brocade, silk, or linen. The printer did not use gold ink, but the color scheme gives that effect--the feeling of old gold. In fact, I held the book up to the sunny window to make sure it didn't have gold ink, the feeling was that strong.

The Loathly Lady herself

The illustrations range from the ultra close-up of an old woman's hand to a beautiful distant landscape and tie directly to the action of the story. Each illustration contains patterns and fabrics and rich color. The art in Loathly Lady sets the mood of medievalism--a time of fabric and precious metals and gilt and gem. Everything is drawn and painted to the greater glory of God. The story is much older than medieval times, but it is told in that context.

Loathly Lady is a story of daring and disguise, love and loyalty. King Arthur is challenged to answer a difficult question or to lose his kingdom--What is it that women most desire? An ugly old lady gives him the answer, but in turn requires that Arthur find a husband among his men for her. Sir Gawain steps forward to do his duty by his lord. And, he holds true to his word and marries her. Everyone at court is filled with awe and pity for him. Well, of course, the woman turns out to be bewitched and Gawain breaks the spell through the answer to the question. He gives her what she and all women most desire--to have their own way.

Queen Ann from The Tudors--great costumes

There's a bit of tongue in cheek in this story, but no mockery. The ugly old woman is not mocked or scorned by Gawain. And giving women their own way is truly a sign of trust and love, not just a snarky statement about women being overly demanding.

BBCAmerica has been running a series called "The Tudors." It's a pot-boiler of court intrigue (and sex) set in the 1580s, of course. The costuming and hairdos and sets are sumptuous and exquisite, lavish in fabric and pattern. The series is like the imagery of Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady come to life. Only in atmosphere do they vary. Loathly Lady is atmospheric and moody, dark and mysterious. "The Tudors" is glaring and concrete, exposing all to the camera (and at times, truly ALL). Neither work shows the yucky side of medieval times--the sewage running down the middle of the street, the bad skin from surviving smallpox, the lice and rats, the smell of body odor, and the sheer drudgery of the lives of most people. Both works are fantasy, whether dimly or brightly lit.

Loathly Lady is told consistent with the great Arthurian legends, such as "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" and "Morte d'Arthur." Hastings is true to the conventions of those stories and does not try to reinterpret or bring forth any kind of agenda. I admire that. In a sense, she deeply honors the story telling of the heroic genre. The story is light but it does not poke fun at anyone.

I don't see this book as being necessarily a children's book. The Arthur stories are multi-age and enduring for all of us. However, children would especially appreciate the dilemma of Gawain and Arthur being somewhat painted into a corner. Their honorable behavior makes the ending somehow more satisfying. And of course, there are weddings and journeys and horses and all that art. A treasure for us all.

Me and the Arthur Legend

My first falling in love with the Arthur legend came through Mary Stewart's wonderful book called The Crystal Cave (and its sequels). The Crystal Cave is Merlin's story and is just beautifully done. I still imagine myself sometimes in the cave itself with its glinting light and hard angles. I read this book in middle school and then several times thereafter.

After the imagery of Stewart, I had a hard time appreciating the play/movie "Camelot," another key retelling of the legend. It was just all wrong to me--people looked wrong and were so facile. But now I love it. I love the slyness of the wit and yet its sincere respect for the idea of a Camelot--a beautiful, glowing time of beauty and love and ideals that exists mostly as an inspiration of the imagination--my own imagination.

The Lady of Shalot as I imagined her in Idylls
of the King

Most modern intrepretations (including BBCAmerica's "Merlin") leave me cold. They are too self-centered or too agenda-based. The story fell from Mary Stewart like water in a stream. She just let it flow.

The other telling that figures greatly in my love of the Arthur legend is Tennyson's Idylls of the King, which I read and examined in college (thank you, Professor Susan Lorsch). I fit those stories in with the imagery I had developed from Crystal Cave. Idylls was wonderful and sad and salacious all at the same time--just as the legend should be.

I would say that Peter Jackson's Tokien movies give the best match for the imagery I see in my mind from Crystal Cave. Blend the poignancy of those films with the sensationalism of "The Tudors" and we might just have it--my personal vision of Arthur: Aragorn with better hygiene!