Who was Nimue, the Lady of the Lake?

Netflix’s series Cursed is centered around Nimue, the Lady of the Lake from the King Arthur legend. But who was Nimue in the real legend, and what role did she play in the stories of over 800 years ago? Read on and find out.

The Nimue of Netflix’s Cursed
If you’ve been on this site at all, you know that The Swithen book series is faithful to the real Arthurian legend, and that most of the King Arthur stuff we see in books, movies and TV are remixes of the legend in order to make it fit more conventional narratives. The Middle Ages had a whole different manner of storytelling that doesn’t have the kind of character beats, action setpieces and climaxes that we expect from “peak TV” entertainment today. From the description of the show and the novel by Thomas Wheeler with illustrations by Frank Miller that it’s based on, Netflix’s Cursed is one of these remixes. The characters may have the same names as those in the Arthurian legend, but that’s where the similarity ends.

So although Netflix’s Cursed has about as much in common with the actual Arthurian legend as a rusty tin can does to a hoot owl, it makes us ask; what isin the actual legend? Let’s dive into it.

The Ladies of the Lake
In the actual legend, there are two major ladies of the lake. The first is Viviane (pronounced Viv-e-ah-nay) and the second is Nimue (pronounced Nim-e-you-e, although odds are they won’t pronounce it that way on Netflix’s Cursed). One isn’t really the successor of the other, it’s really a matter of different versions of the King Arthur legend being folded into one. What we do know is that they live in a valley where they project the illusion of a lake in order to keep mankind out. We also know that they give King Arthur the sword Excalibur, but… well, let’s get into that.

Viviane, Nimue and Excalibur
In the legend, it is actually Viviane who gives Excalibur to King Arthur. Or at least, she is there on shore, and when he goes out into the lake, a hand holds the sword above the water—so we don’t actually know who literally handed it to him. Could be some sort of lake-based assistant. Maybe even an intern. In the next chapter of Le Morte D’Arthur by Thomas Malory—the most popular telling of the legend—Viviane comes to Arthur’s court and demands the head of Balin, who has just pulled a sword that only the most worthy knight can pull. He chops off her head with it and, well, no more Viviane. PS: That sword later becomes the one Galahad will carry on his quest for the Holy Grail.

Nimue and Merlin
One of the most well-known things about Nimue is that she is the one who enchants and entraps Merlin. The famed wizard falls head over heels in love with her, and agrees to teach her all of his magic, while she can’t stand him and thinks he smells. In the Vulgate Cycle,which tells the longest and most detailed version of the legend, she even casts a spell that makes him think that he is having sex with her, while he’s not with her at all. Then eventually he teaches her how to trap someone eternally, and next thing you know—no more Merlin. This happens only a third of the way through the story, too, like not long after Arthur marries Guinevere.

If you’re reading Le Morte D’Arthur or one of the other versions of the real legend for the first time, you might find yourself, like me, saying “Okay, so he’ll come back sometime.” And then later, “All right, Merlin is going to come back any time now, because I know he’s by Arthur’s side and helps him out, right? Right?” Well, no. That is one of the main things from the real legend that has been changed in almost every popular version of the story—Merlin actually vanishes a third of the way through, and never comes back. Doesn’t make for very good television, however.

This is one of the most fascinating aspects of the real legend, however, because it leaves that unanswered question: if Merlin is all knowing, how could he not have known what was in store? There’s no answer, but the question is one of the most intriguing mysteries the legend leaves for us to contemplate.

Nimue and Lancelot
Another thing about Nimue that is not widely known outside of Arthurian circles is that she (or Viviane, hard to tell sometimes) is the woman who raises Lancelot as her son (and also his fellow knights Lionel and Bors). Another thing not widely known is that she raises Lancelot… after kidnapping him from his real mother. Here’s the deal.

Lancelot’s father was King Ban, who came to help Arthur during the first part of his reign, when the other kings of the land were mad they had to hand the country over to a teenage king. He went back to Benwick afterward, but when he needed help because King Claudas was besieging his city, Arthur was nowhere to be found. King Ban fled and when he went to the top of a hill and looked back, he saw his city in flames and died on the spot. His wife put the newborn Lancelot down and ran to him at the top of the hill. When she remembered the baby and ran back, she found him being carried away by a mysterious young woman—our Nimue. She took Lancelot into the lake, and he didn’t emerge until he was eighteen. This leaves another intriguing mystery in the heart of the Arthurian legend… is Lancelot’s affair with Guinevere and eventual war on Arthur the result of Arthur’s failing to help his father?

The legend gives almost no information about Lancelot’s childhood and how he came to his incredible prowess, but one of the interesting underplayed aspects of the story is… if Nimue is in charge and men are her servants, then she presides over a matriarchal society—and this is where Lancelot was raised. When Lancelot turns eighteen, Nimue tells him that King Arthur has a stable of the most noble knights in all the land, and he should go to join them. She then leads him there in a huge procession and requests that Arthur take him in. And the rest—is legend.

Nimue and Morgan Le Fay
After Nimue entraps Merlin, she then takes on the role of primary supernatural figure in the legend. Still, she remains mostly on the sidelines, dropping in here and there. She first appears in King Arthur’s court just after his marriage to Guinevere. After that is when Merlin falls in love with her, and one of her most prominent appearances comes after Morgan Le Fay’s big moment in the legend; her attempt to kill Arthur and claim the throne for her lover.

Arthur entrusted Morgan with Excalibur for safekeeping and—maybe not so smart on his part. But he’s a trusting soul, and she ishis half-sister, after all. She makes a copy of it and gives the real one to her lover, Accolon, then arranges for Accolon to kill Arthur with it. Those familiar with the legend know that Excalibur is good, but the sword’s scabbard is actually better, because anyone who wears it will not bleed from any wound—which is a big help in a battle! When things are going poorly for Arthur, Nimue shows up and makes Accolon drop the sword and scabbard—at which point he starts bleeding profusely—and Arthur picks them up and wins the battle. Accolon soon dies, and Arthur sends his body to Morgan with the message that he’ll be coming after her next. So you see, the real legend is so boring, we all but have to change it!

Nimue makes only a few cameo appearances in the legend after this, and apparently has made up with Morgan by the end, because the two of them are on the boat that takes the dying Arthur to Avalon at the very end of the whole thing.

Nimue in The Swithen
Since The Swithen series is committed to remaining faithful to the actual Arthurian legend as laid down between 1136 and 1485, Nimue will not appear until much later in the series. We’re up to Book 4, Arthur’s childhood, but Nimue will not appear until Book 10 or so. We have seen Viviane, however, who makes cameo appearances in Books 1 and 3, and who has a nice scene with Arthur in Book 4.

When Nimue does arrive, her story will follow the actual legend, including all of the episodes that you’ve read about above. We may lose something in TV-ready moments, Girl Power battles and camera-ready reveals, but we will gain the eerie, uncanny and lasting resonance that only real legend can provide.