Vivien

What does this mean for you? You are a person devoted to enhancing your intellect and craft, coveting knowledge above all else. You have an ambition that defines you and your determination is seen by all of those around you. There is also a sly cleverness to you that keeps others on their toes. You may often be thought of as the smartest person in the room and you take pride in that. 

The legend of Vivien goes something like this: During the reign of King Arthur there lived a daughter of a lord across the seas that would someday be known as the English Channel. Merlin, famous wizard and advisor of King Arthur, was on one of many ventures into the isolation of nature and this time he sailed to Brittany, a southwestern region of France. Upon arriving, he traveled to the legendary forests of Broceliande, said to be home of beautiful fauna and flora. 

In the midst of the seclusion of the forest, leaves rustling in the trees from a warm breath of wind, Merlin finds Vivien there, sitting upon a small fountain that pours forth a small spout of purest water. She is beautiful and has a shrewd look in her eye, learned and well educated, but thirsty for more. It would not be hard to imagine a book or manuscript in her hands when Merlin found her there, but a young woman alone in the forest. 

It is this moment that Merlin falls desperately in love with her. 

Before she could see him, Merlin transforms himself into a young man and approaches her. They strike up a conversation and Vivien asks the disguised Merlin about his trade. She seemed to see partly through some part of the master illusion, as if aware the youth was not all that he seemed. They talk, and Merlin says that he is a wandering manservant searching for his master and claims to know mysterious arts otherwise thought to be impossible. He recites various examples as being able “to lift up a castle if it were surrounded by men attacking it and full of men defending. Or to walk on a lake without getting one’s feet wet, or to make a river run where none has ever been seen…” Vivien is struck by this, and aware that the youth quite obviously likes her, says that if he could become her teacher she would give him her love. 

With love in his heart, Merlin takes out a rod and strikes the fountain. A grand sight appears before them both. A castle erupts from the ground with an entire court living within its walls. Men and courtiers and knights and ladies and all. A celebration ensues, but as night falls, Merlin makes the knights and ladies, courtiers and men, and the castle in all its glory, disappear. It all happens in but an instant, leaving them standing back in the clearing with a simple fountain between them. 

Vivien is somewhat put out by this, and asks Merlin to return one aspect of the grand display — the beautiful orchard that stood at the backdrop of the castle. This orchard would be known as the Haven of Joy, and it is here that the pair would meet wherever Merlin would return to Broceliande. And return he would, for Vivien was there, but Merlin, always on the move, had to return to Camelot for a while. Before his departure, however, Vivien demanded to learn a few of his tricks. 

So he taught her several spells, activating the fantastic powers that dwelled deep with her. Thrilled, she could only want more. The knowledge of Merlin was said to be boundless. There was so much she could learn from him; certainly more than what she could learn on her own. Merlin’s magic was esoteric and otherworldly, beyond anything she could possibly imagine. It is said that Merlin only ever had two students in his lifetime, and both became powerful magicians indeed.

 Vivien practiced while Merlin was away, but unfortunately needed his books and teaching to continue her training. She grew rather restless with her lack of progress whenever he went away, for he often was. Camelot and King Arthur were always on his mind, but wherever he returned to Broceliande, he returned to Vivien. In the Haven of Joy, he taught her all he knew, magic and spells and potions never heard of. Time past, and eventually, Vivien became satisfied with her magic, goddess-like in all her power and knowledge. It could very well be said that she became Merlin’s equal. 

One day, however, Vivien asks him about a certain spell. “‘Sweet lovely friend,’” she says, “‘won’t you teach me some new tricks? For example, how can I make a man sleep without awakening for as long as I wish?’” Merlin, the omniscient, knows all that she plans, but nonetheless asks why she requested this. She claims that she wants to put her father to sleep so Merlin can have access to her bedchamber, but he refuses. This goes on for several days until eventually he caves to her wishes. The spell is but three words and she memorizes this, but also refuses Merlin’s advances afterward. 

He teaches her some more tricks and spells when he returns after another venture with King Arthur. While walking together towards a great crystal lake, Vivien asks Merlin to recreate the castle he made before. He does and of course Vivien is delighted by this display meant just for her. She has the man completely wrapped around her finger. She’d written all that she learned from him, including this spell and so many others, but has one more request from him. “How could I imprison a man without a tower, walls, or irons,” she asks, only to add, “in such a way that he could never escape without my consent?” Merlin hesitates but says that he will tell her on his next visit. 

When he goes back to Camelot after this encounter, he tells King Arthur that this will be the last time they meet. Knowing all, Merlin is aware of how his story ends, but does not tell the king, or the newly established Round Table what is to become of him when he leaves. Instead he returns silent to Broceliande, the Haven of Joy, and the love of his life, Vivien. It is upon his return that he discloses the words to the spell. It was a moment meant to happen, fated since the start. 

Amid their shared land, Vivien speaks the words while he sleeps, imprisoning Merlin forever more. It is a prison that cannot be seen by anyone but her, and Merlin awakes to her lying beside him. “‘Oh, Lady,’” he says to her, “you have deceived me. What will become of me now if you do not stay here with me?”

“Sweet lovely friend, I will be here often and you will hold me in your arms, for henceforth you will find me available for your pleasure,” she says, and although he can never leave, Vivien is always with him, his lady love and magical equal. 

Later in life, she would become known as the Lady of the Lake and stepmother of Lancelot, esteemed knight of the Round Table. But these are legends for another day. 

So ends the myth.

Other sources have Vivien trap Merlin under a boulder of stone, while others have Vivien entangle his body and power within the sacred oak tree, forever a part of the forest. In none of the versions do we have Vivien’s perspective. As modern readers, we can merely assume. Perhaps one day we shall have a multifaceted and sympathetic take on the character of Vivien, but that has yet to be. Unfortunately, her character has been written by men with no love of women with ambition and clever intellect. At the same time, Merlin is always aware of his fate. Despite it all and maybe even because of it all, he loved Vivien exactly as she was. 

Merlin’s love of her, notwithstanding, Vivien’s reputation in history is hardly laudable. Rather, Merlin is thought a fool because of his love for Vivien. Historically, the ambitions of women have often been scorned as inappropriate and even immoral, and it’s certainly something that stems from our patriarchal institutions. Men who have ambition are instead seen as righteous and proper by contrast. Ambition should ultimately be considered a virtue when accessed properly for all sexes and genders. It can bring about great things. That in mind, Vivien’s ambition often made her take advantage of Merlin’s teachings for her own gain. She used the very knowledge he gave her against him. It is good to realize when ambition can turn into corruption, not just for women, but for all peoples. Absolute power corrupts absolutely as they say. 

It should be noted that Vivien has many names that change throughout time and place. The Irish sometimes knew her as the goddess Boinn or Brigit, the Welsh sometimes referenced her as a legendary queen named Ganieda or Gwendydd, and the continental romances recognized her as the Lady of the Lake, Vivien, Nymenche, and Nimue depending on the story! Undoubtedly this is not the end of the list either, but a brief selection of the names and faces this goddess has worn. What often connects these names and faces are the references to a Merlin or Merlin-like character that similarly changes names and face, as well as the element of water which seems to surround her in various motifs that change by the location and story. Fountains and lakes seem to be the most common symbols attributed to her character, however. 

But what does this mean for you, dear reader and established Vivien? You are a champion of magic. What magic, you may ask? Why, wherever you set your mind to! Wit defines you, hardworking and clever as you are. You desire nothing more than knowledge, be it knowledge for knowledge’s sake, or knowledge of a particular craft or field. You demand nothing less than great teachers and have high standards for those around you. In the end, dear Vivien, nothing can stop you who demands more not just of others, but yourself.