In the past, I'd treated of the Lancelot and Galahad - of Galaad - names are French forms derived from the names for the god Lugh/Lleu and the saint Gildas/Gweltas. My pattern for Lancelot followed a logical development from the theory first proposed (?) by Roger Sherman Loomis. I have elsewhere detailed the steps necessary to make this work. I identified the -celot potion of Lancelot's name as standing for Welsh caled, 'hard'
But for years I've remained uneasy of this theory. Why? Because of what I had discovered independently regarding the name Lanval in the lais of Marie de France. What follows is my article on that subject:
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LANVAL OF AVALON: A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY IN MARIE DE FRANCVE’S ARTHURIAN LAI?
According to THE NEW ARTHURIAN ENCYCLOPEDIA, Marie de France was “a French poet who may have lived in England and who dedicated her Lais to a king presumed to be Henry II of England. She wrote during the second half, and before the last decade, of the twelve century… “
Only two of Marie’s lais are Arthurian in nature. Of these, the longer and more famous, is “Lanval”. This poem may be summarized as follows (from the Wikipedia article):
“Lanval” is one of the Lais of Marie de France. Written in Anglo-Norman, it tells the story of a knight at King Arthur’s court who is overlooked by the king, wooed by a fairy lady, given all manner of gifts by her, and subsequently refuses the advances of Queen Guinevere. The plot is complicated by Lanval’s promise not to reveal the identity of his mistress, which he breaks when Guinevere accuses him of having “no desire for women”. Before Arthur, Guinevere accuses Lanval of shaming her, and Arthur, in an extended judicial scene, demands that he reveal his mistress. Despite the broken promise, the fairy lover eventually appears to justify Lanval, and to take him with her to Avalon.
For Arthurian scholars, the question has always been: Who is Lanval? The name is found only once in the Vulgate MERLIN, and the lai or its source was not adapted until the early fourteenth century (see the entry for “Lanval” in THE ARTHURIAN NAME DICTIONARY). The poem’s protagonist has often been associated with Lancelot, and some authorities have guessed that the Fairy Lover of Avalon may be none other than Morgan le Fay. But beyond this little progress has been made in shedding light on the origin of the name Lanval and why he was ultimately placed in Avalon.
I would make the case for Lanval not being a mythical figure or even an actual hero of Arthur’s time, but instead a contemporary of Marie de France. We might compare him in this regard with Fergus of Galloway (d. 1161), who was made into an Arthurian era hero by the romance writer Guilluame de Clerc.
Lanval is recorded as a spelling variant of Lanvallay, Breton Lanvalae, a commune in the Cotes-d’Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. Other spelling variants include Lanvelay, Lanvalay, Lanvalai, Lanvalei. There were ‘de Lanvallays’ who came over to England with William the Conqueror. In MAGNA CARTA ANCESTRY: A STUDY IN COLONIAL AND MEDIEVAL FAMILIES, 2nd Edition, 2011, by Douglas Richardson, we learn of one William de Lanvallay, who succeeded his father as a minor in 1204 and died shortly before 3 October 1217. This William held land in Kingstone, Somerset – a fact which we will examine more closely in a moment. He was excommunicated by the pope in 1215 for joining a confederacy of barons against King John, the son of Henry II. As a consequence, he lost his Somerset property. When he returned to obedience to the king in 1216, his lands were restored. His most noteworthy accomplishment appears to have been his inclusion among the 25 barons elected to guarantee the observance of Magna Carta, signed by John on 15 June 1215.
De Lanvallay’s ownership of land at Kingstone supplies us with an unexpected explanation of why Lanval was so intimately involved with the Fairy Lover of Avalon. From ANGLO-SAXON GLASTONBURY: CHURCH AND ENDOWMENT by Lesley Abrams (Boydell and Brewer, 1996), and THE CHRONICLE OF GLASTONBURY ABBEY: AN EDITION, TRANSLATION AND STUDY OF JOHN OF GLASTONBURY’S ‘CRONICA SIVE ANTIQUITATES GLASTONIENSIS ECCLESIE’ by James P. Carley (Boydell and Brewer, 1985), we learn that land at Kingstone was granted to Glastonbury as early as the 10th century. Some of this land was still in the abbey’s hands in 1066 (at least 8 hides worth), but was lost to the count of Mortain before 1086.
Glastonbury was first overtly identified with King Arthur’s Avalon during the reign of Marie de France’s probable patron Henry II (1133-1189). According to the story told by Gerald of Wales in both his LIBER DE INSTRUCTIONE PRINCIPIS (c. 1193) and SPECULUM ECCLESIAE (c. 1215), King Henry “disclosed to the monks [of Glastonbury Abbey] some evidence from his own books where the body was to be found” and “strenuous efforts were made in Glastonbury Abbey to locate what must have been the splendid tomb of King Arthur. It was the king himself who put them to this…”
There are, of course, problems with the chronology of William de Lanvallay. These are best expressed in Chapter 6 of UNTITLED ENGLISH NOBILITY (http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLISHNOBILITYMEDIEVAL3L-O.htm#_Toc351361220 ):
LANVALAY
Successful reconstruction of the following family is complicated by the duplication of the names William, Ranulf and Geoffrey, and the indication in the records, at least in the case of William and Geoffrey, of more than one individual with the same name at the same time. The following is an attempt to reconcile the information available, but is not necessarily the final answer to the reconstruction of the family.
[Two possible brothers]:
1. WILLIAM [I] de Lanvalay (-before 1185). “Manasse Biset dapifero, Henrico de Oilleo, W[illelmo] de Lanvaleio…” witnessed the charter dated [Jan 1158] under which King Henry II confirmed the donation to the nuns of Neasham, Durham made by “Emma de Teisa”[333]. The Rotuli de Dominabus of 1185 records that “Clementia de Sancto Claro” held “Haiam” from “Willelmo de Lanvalei”[334]. m GUNNORA de Saint-Clair, daughter of HUBERT de Saint-Clair & his wife Clementia — ([1140/50]-before 1185). Domesday Descendants names “Gunnora daughter and heiress of Hubert de St Clair” as the wife of William de Lanvallay, but does not cite a specific source reference for this information[335]. The primary source which confirms her parentage and marriage has not yet been identified. Her birth date is estimated on the assumption that the age of her mother is accurately stated in the Rotuli de Dominabus of 1185. William [I] & his wife had [three] children:
a) WILLIAM [II] de Lanvalay of Walkern, Northamptonshire ([1168/73]-[20 Jun 1207/1209]). The Rotuli de Dominabus of 1185 records “Willelmus de Lanvalle…in custodia domini Regis” and holds all his land, of unknown value, in “Hundredum de Lexedene” in Essex and “in Hallingeburia” in Essex[336]. King John confirmed “villam de Bromeleg cum advocatione ecclesie”, donated by “Willelmus de Lanval…in maritagium cum Gunnora sorore ipsius Willelmi de Lunval”, to “Willelmo de Bello Campo” by charter dated 20 Jun 1207[337]. The Testa de Nevill lists knights who held land in Northamptonshire, dated to [1208/09], including “heres Willelmi de Lanvelay tenet Wakerle”[338]. m HAWISE de Bocland, daughter of HUGH de Bocland & his wife Matilda — (-before 19 Jul 1233). Her parentage and marriage are shown in The Complete Peerage[339]. The primary source which confirms her parentage has not yet been identified. Bracton records a claim, dated 1232, by “Johannes de Burgo et Hawisia uxor eius” against “Willelmum de Bello Campo” claiming the return of “manerium de Brumlegha…hereditatem ipsius Hawisie” which had not been transferred to her after the death of “Gunnoram de Lanualay quondam uxorem suam” and which “Hawisia de Lamualay quondam uxor Willelmi de Lanualay…avie ipsius Hawisie” was granted as “dotem…de dono ipsius Willelmi quondam viri sui”[340]. Christine de Mandeville Countess of Essex granted her lands in Westley, Cambridgeshire to Geoffrey de Lanvalay and his mother Hawise by charter dated 1227[341]. William [II] & his wife had [two] children:
i) WILLIAM [IV] de Lanvalay ([after 1190]-[1214/18 May 1216]). The Testa de Nevill lists knights who held land in Northamptonshire, dated to [1208/09], including “heres Willelmi de Lanvelay tenet Wakerle”[342]. Although he is not named in this record, it must refer to William [IV] who was presumably still a minor at the time. William Reedy, in the introduction to his collection of Basset charters, states that Alan Basset paid a fine to marry his daughter to the son and heir of William de Lanvalay in [1212/14][343]. The Patent Roll 1217 records an order to “baillivis suis in quorum bailliis Willelmus de Lanvalay terras habuit” in respect of the lands “que fuerunt Willelmi de Lanvalay”[344], which is consistent with the recent death of William [IV]. The Testa de Nevill includes a list of landholdings in Somerset, dated 1219, which includes “filia et heres Willelmi de Lamvale est in custodia H. de Burgo justiciarii…et terra sua de Kingestan valet x.l…”, in Kent “in hundred de Schamele dominus H. de Burgo habet custodiam cuiusdam puelle que est heres Willelmi de Lanvalai cum maneriis de Chauk et de Henneherst…”, and in Essex “terra…in hundredo de Lexeden”[345]. m ([1212/14]) [MATILDA] Basset, daughter of ALAN Basset of Wycombe & his second wife Aline de Gai. William Reedy, in the introduction to his collection of Basset charters, states that Alan Basset paid a fine to marry his daughter to the son and heir of William de Lanvalay in [1212/14][346]. Her name is suggested by two orders: firstly, King Henry III ordered the sheriff of Northamptonshire “to place in respite the demand of 29s that he makes from Matilda de Lanvallay for her assets in Wakerley”, dated [Apr] 1223[347], and secondly the king ordered the sheriff of Northamptonshire “to place in respite the demand for 29s that he makes by summons of the Exchequer from Matilda de Lanvallay”, dated 11 May 1226[348]. The references to Northamptonshire suggest a connection with the family of William [IV]. No other individual named Matilda has yet been identified in his family, which suggests that the debtor may have been his widow of whose name no record has been found. William [IV] & his wife had one child:
(1) HAWISE de Lanvalay ([1213/16]-after 1235). The Testa de Nevill includes a list of landholdings in Somerset, dated 1219, which includes “filia et heres Willelmi de Lamvale est in custodia H. de Burgo justiciarii…et terra sua de Kingestan valet x.l…”, in Kent “in hundred de Schamele dominus H. de Burgo habet custodiam cuiusdam puelle que est heres Willelmi de Lanvalai cum maneriis de Chauk et de Henneherst…”, and in Essex “terra…in hundredo de Lexeden”[349]. The Pipe Roll 1223 includes land of “Huberto de Burgo cum herede Willelmi de Lanvalet…in Schaftebir” [Shaftesbury] in Dorset[350]. King Henry III ordered the sheriff of Dorset “to take into the king´s hands the lands of Emedeswurth and Morden which Peter Russell holds of the fee of William de Lanvallay”, dated [Mar] 1224[351]. Bracton records a claim, dated 1232, by “Johannes de Burgo et Hawisia uxor eius” against “Willelmum de Bello Campo” claiming the return of “manerium de Brumlegha…hereditatem ipsius Hawisie” which had not been transferred to her after the death of “Gunnoram de Lanualay quondam uxorem suam” and which “Hawisia de Lamualay quondam uxor Willelmi de Lanualay…avie ipsius Hawisie” was granted as “dotem…de dono ipsius Willelmi quondam viri sui”[352]. A charter dated 1235 records a dispute a claim “Johannem de Burgo et Hawisiam uxorem eius” against the abbot of Colchester relating to revenue from “molendino de Nordmilne” and the agreed settlement which refers to “Johannes et Hauuisia et heredes ipsius Hauuisie”, the latter being unnamed[353]. A writ dated 1 Dec “3 Edw I”, after the death of “John de Burgo the elder”, names “Sir John de Burgo the younger…aged 40 and more is his next heir”, records “Hallingebyri…manor…held of the king in chief of tyhe barony of Launvaly…of the inheritance of Hawis his wife”, and names “Sir Hubert de Burgo father of Sir John de Burgo the elder”[354]. m (before 1232) JOHN de Burgh, son of HUBERT de Burgh Earl of Kent & his first wife Beatrice de Warenne (-before 1 Dec 1274).
…
b) WILLIAM [III] de Lanvalay (-after 29 Sep 1223). An order dated 3 Sep 1199 relates to land of “Willo de Lanuallai et Rad de Lanualai” in Huntingdonshire and Berkshire[373]. His parentage is confirmed by the Testa de Nevill which lists landholdings in Berkshire, dated 1212, including “Willelmus de Lanvalei tenet c solidatas terre in Blacgrave sine servicio nominato quam Rex Henricus pater dedit Radulfo avo suo”[374]. The Pipe Roll 1223 includes “Willelmus de Lanval” among those owing “de prestito Pictavie” in Essex and Hertfordshire, and land of “Ricardo Walensi…in Estbir cum filia et herede Radulfi de Lanvalet. Et Willelmo de Lanvalet…in Blakegrave…” in Berkshire[375].
The chronology for the various Williams therefore extends roughly from the mid 12th century to the first quarter of the 13th. This period overlaps both that of Marie de France, author of Lanval, and Henry II, who not only had dealings with at least one of the de Lanvallays, but who chose to identify Glastonbury with Avalon (doubtless for political reasons that have been stated elsewhere). Furthermore, Kingstone, in possession of the de Lanvallays, had a long history with Glastonbury/Avalon.
It is for these reasons that I would identify Marie’s Lanval with one of the William de Lanvallays. It is likely that the lai is a symbolic representation of the life of one of these de Lanvallays, or is a symbolic commemoration of an important event in the life of one of these men. As “going to Avalon” in Lanval’s case means dying and being taken to the Otherworld that is Glastonbury, we must select a William who had died before the last decade of the 12th century or thereabouts – which is the usual terminus for Marie’s writing of the lai.
I think we are dealing with the Magna Carta episode here. Lanval’s rejection of the queen’s advances leads to the loss of his Fairy Lover; she will not come to him anymore. The barons become involved in the judicial proceedings, and the hero is not declared innocent until the Fairy Lover makes an appearance and offers testimony on his behalf. This sounds suspiciously like William de Lanvallay’s loss of the Somerset lands when he joined the barons in opposition to the king. Once he had reconciled with the king, his lands – with their ancient tie to Glastonbury/Avalon – were restored to him. William died the year following, a passing which may have been depicted by Marie as Lanval’s journey to Avalon.
Whether that is the ‘secret code’ lurking within Marie’s lai is impossible to say with any certainty. But it is the only episode in a life of a de Lanvallay that has a demonstrable connection to “Avalon”.
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I began to wonder if Lancelot, like Lanval, might have as its first component the same Lann- as Lanvallay. The element if the standard Breton word lann:
Proto-Celtic *landā-, SEMANTIC CLASS: nature, British Vindo-landa ‘white-land’, Gaulish *landa > Fr. lande ‘moor, open land’, Early Irish land, lann ‘free space’, Scottish Gaelic lann ‘inclosure, land’, Welsh lann (Old Welsh), llan ‘(parish) church, churchyard, enclosure’, Cornish *lann ‘enclosed cemetery’, Breton lann ‘area, sacred place of a village’
If the Lan- of Lancelot is lann, what then are we to make of -celot?
Chretien de Troyes places Lancelot of the Lake at Glastonbury in place of Gildas in the story of Melwas' (= Meleagant) abduction of Guinevere. The tale had first been told in Caradog of Llancarfan’s “Life of Gildas”. I'd always wondered: why the substitution?
Our first clue to -celot is in Lancelot's first appearance in a cart. This is an odd motif. But I happened to remeber that Welsh clud - which could easily have become celod in the French - meant carriage. And this would nicely explain why the author so situated his hero. It's just a standard folk etymology.
However, there is another clud - the Clud of Alclud and Arecluta. According to Caradog's Life of Gildas, Gildas came from Arecluta/Arglud! The name means "next to/by/alongside the (river) Clyde." Alclud of the "Rock of Clyde" was the ancient fort of Dumbarton Rock on the Clyde. Strathclyde or Ystrad Clud was a powerful British kingdom in the North.
A Lann (W. Llan) + Clud would be the "area/sacred place of the Clyde", not properly the name of a person, but that of a person being designated by the name of the place he came from.
If I'm right about this, then the reason Lancelot is substituted for Gildas in the Melwas/Meleagant story at Glastonbury is because Lancelot IS Gildas.
Now what about Galahad or, more accurately, Galaad? There have been a lot of theories, none of them very good.
I once proposed W. gwlad, 'prince', cognate with Irish flaith (an early meaning preserved in a few cases in the Welsh, although the word came to mean only 'land, kingdom'. W. gwledig now means 'prince, ruler.'). But it made no sense in the context of Gildas - or so I thought. I instead suggested the gwledig epithet given to Ambrosius ('divine/immortal one') in Welsh tradition.
I then read the Second Life of Gildas, which contained some fascinating material (the following outline is taken from P. C. Bartrum's A WELSH CLASSICAL DICTIONARY):
Gildas, being bothered by pirates from the Orcades, went to Glastonia where king Melvas [Melwas] was reigning in aestiva regione, ‘the Summer Country’ [GWLAD yr Haf, Somerset]. The abbot received him with welcome. Here Gildas wrote Historias de Regibus Britanniae, ‘Histories of the Kings of Britain’. Glastonia, that is Urbs Vitrea, ‘Glassy City’, was besieged by Arthur on account of his wife Guennuvar [Gwenhwyfar], whom the aforesaid wicked king had violated and carried off. [See further s.n. Melwas]. Arthur prepared for war.
11. Seeing this, the abbot of Glastonia, attended by the clergy and Gildas Sapiens, stepped in between the contending armies and advised Melwas to restore the ravished lady. This was done and the king gave the abbot many lands.
12. Gildas lived as a hermit near Glastonia. 13. He died there and was borne to the abbey
for burial.
14. Glastonia was of old called Ynisgutrin [Ynys Wydrin] by the British, that is the Isle of Glass. But when the English came they called it Glastigberi and later Glastiberia, that is the City of Glass.
Galaad for 'land' is, like Lancelot, not a proper name, but a term used for the region of Summer, i.e. Somerset. Which means that the pure son of Lancelot is Gildas once again.
NOTE:
The notion (promoted by Dr. Linda A. Malcor) that Lancelot's name should be derived from the Breton name Alan is untenable. Furthermore, Alan itself is not from the name of the Alan tribe, but is a purely Celtic word that can be related either to Proto-Celtic *el-lant-ī- (?), *el-an-ī, Celtiberian Elandus (?) ‘PNm (?)’, Gaulish , Early Irish elit ‘roedeer’, Scottish Gaelic eilid ‘hind’, Welsh elain ‘young deer, doe, hind-calf, fawn, fig. of young man or woman’, Cornish *elen ? ‘fawn’. The word is found in Old Welsh as 'alan' (see, for example, Line 949 of THE GODODDIN:
Gnawd yn llwrw alan buan byddai,
"It was usual that on the track of the deer he was swift"
(A.O.H. Jarman ed. and trans.)
Alain son of Bron the Grail King does not, however, appear to be from Alan. Instead, it is a reflection of Heilyn son of Gwynn the Old, who is one of the followers of Bran the Blessed in 'Branwen D. of Llyr.' Alain in the romances has a wide range of spellings, including those beginning with H- (e.g. Helain). The name Heilyn, appropriately enough, means in Welsh (see GPC) dispenser, provider; servitor, waiter, cup-bearer, butler. Obviously, the cup he was thought to bear was the Grail, which in later sources tended to be identified with the Christian chalice.
Long ago I discussed Amalek, another Grail King. This is a Christian substitution for Aballach, a Welsh rendering of Ablach, the name of the Otherworld island in Welsh tradition that corresponds to Geoffrey of Monmouth's Avalon. Aballach is personified in Welsh tradition. His father Beli Mawr became Pellinore in the Grail romances. Here is the entry on Aballach from P.C. Bartram's A CLASSICAL WELSH DICTIONARY:
AFALLACH ap BELI MAWR. (Legendary). The name appears in the ancestries of Cunedda Wledig and Coel Hen. See HG 1 and 10 in EWGT pp.9, 11, and later versions: Aballac in the latter, but reduplicated to Aballac map Amalech in the former. In the first he is father of Owain and in the latter, of Euddolen. He also appears as the father of Modron, the wife of Urien Rheged, and of Gwallwen, a mistress of Maelgwn Gwynedd. Ynys Afallach is the common Welsh name for what is otherwise known as the Isle of Avallon. See Avallon. Sir John Rhys believed that Ynys Afallach was named after Afallach, son of Beli Mawr, whom he regarded as an ‘Otherworld’ divinity inhabiting the island. (Arthurian Legend, pp.324, 335 ff). In support of this is the story that Urien's wife was a daughter of the king of Annwn (see s.n. Modron), and there is further corroboration in the legend recorded by an interpolator in William of Malmesbury's De Antiquitate Glastoniensis Ecclesiae (ed. Hearne p.17), who states that Avallon may be named ‘from a certain Avalloc who is said to have lived there with his daughters, owing to its being a solitary place’. Giraldus Cambrensis also says that Avallonia may get its name ‘from a certain Avallo’ (Speculum Ecclesiae, Ch.IX). Sir John Rhys also believed that the name, Evalac(h), of a heathen king, who figures in L'Estoire del Saint Graal, a part of the ‘Vulgate’ Cycle of Arthurian Romances, is derived from Afallach (Arthurian Legend, p.337). But apart from the similarity of names there is nothing to support this (PCB). See also TYP pp.266-8.
Perceval is a departure from the list of purely mythological entities. He represents a French attempt at Brochfael (BROCHMAIL), a name found on the Eliseg Pillar hard by Castell Dinas Bran in northern Wales.
Robert de Boron, the first writer of an Arthurian Grail romance, properly hints that the Grail was conveyed to the ‘vales of Avaron’, i.e. to Avalon. By this time Glastonbury was meant as Avalon. Subsequent Grail romances soon altered Robert’s story, having the precious object housed instead in the Castle of Corbenic. From Corbenic the Grail or actual cup of Christ is returned to the Holy Land, the land of ‘Sarras’ or the Saracens from which it originally came. Once in Sarras it ascends into heaven and is never seen again by mortal men. Even earlier versions of the story, like that of the Manessier Continuation of Chretien’s Conte Du Graal, inform us that the Christian Grail was taken up to heaven. Yet modern-day questors continue to look for Christ’s cup!
Of Corbenic itself, I am in total agreement with the very old theory that this word derives from the French word corbin, ‘raven’ or ‘crow’. Long ago it was suggested that Castell Dinas Bran in northern Wales might be meant, the Castle of the Fort of the Raven, this place being associated by the romance writers with the pagan Bran of cauldron fame. I am now able to prove conclusively by analysis of place-names found in the romances that Corbenic is, in fact, Dinas Bran.
Corbenic is in Listenois or Listinois, which itself is either in or the same as La Terre Foraine, the ‘Land Beyond’. In the Land Beyond is a city called ‘Malta’. Corbenic has a church of ‘Notre Dame’, i. e. of ‘Our Lady’ St. Mary.
‘Malta’ was the clue to unraveling this mystery. This is Mold in Flintshire, Wales. As Corbenic is founded for Alan son of Bron or Brons (= the Welsh Bran), it is surely not a coincidence that Mold is encircled on three sides by the Afon Alun or Alyn (from Celtic *alauna). Le Terre Foraine or the ‘Land Beyond’ is this part of Wales to the west of the March of Wales, or Marchia Wallia, as it was called. For most of the period when the March of Wales (the boundary between England and Wales) existed, the fringe of Flintshire was ‘beyond’ it to the west, in Pura Wallia. Listinois is a slightly corrupt form of the Welsh Dinas, preceded by the Old French definite article. Hence the ‘isle of Listinois’ (isle being, in the French medieval sense, ‘valley’) is the valley of the dinas. The dinas or ‘fort’ in question is Dinas Bran.
Notre Dame is a reference to Valle Crucis Abbey hard by Castell Dinas Bran. In 1200 Madog ap Gruffydd, Lord of Powys Fadog, established Valle Crucis Abbey. It was this same Madog or his son Gruffydd Maelor II who built the medieval castle of Dinas Bran.
Originally the Church at Chirk was regarded as a chapel attached to the Llangollen Church. The benefice was said to be under the control of the abbey by Bishop Anian II when he visited Oswestry in 1275.
In the Taxation of Pope Nicholas in 1291 the Church at Chirk is reported as Eglwys y waen (‘Church of the Moor’) and with the appropriation of the Church by Valle Crucis Abbey it was re-dedicated to St. Mary.
