The fairy Viviane or Lady of the Lake is the name of a character from Arthurian legends. This character plays several roles; she gives the sword Excalibur to King Arthur, guides the dying king to Avalon after the Battle of Camlann, enchants Merlin or raises Lancelot from the Lake after the death of his father.
The various authors and copyists have given the Lady of the Lake various names:Viviane, Niniane, Nyneve....
Viviane living in the forest of Brocéliande (in which live many magical species such as fairies or dragons), kidnapped the young Lancelot, while he was still a child, after the death of his father King Ban de Bénoic; (died of sadness on learning that his kingdom had been burned by his enemy Claudas of the Desert Land). She took him to the depths of a very large lake from which he thought he would never be able to come out, unaware that this was the obligatory "passage" to reach the marvelous and hidden kingdom of Avalon, the sacred island, ultimate refuge of the Celtic tradition. In other texts it is not Avalon but Lake Diana (see Le Merlin Huth, a 13th century novel) His mother, Queen Helena later retired to a convent until the end of his life. Viviane taught arts and letters to Lancelot, instilling in him wisdom and courage, making him an accomplished knight. She then took him to Arthur's court, to Camelot, to be dubbed there, and presented him to the Knights of the Round Table, of whom he became the most famous representative.
According to one of the many variants of the legend, Merlin succumbed to Viviane's charms and she asked him to teach her her secrets. Merlin taught Viviane almost everything he knew. Later, Viviane made turn nine times a magic veil around her sleeping lover. He thus became her “eternal lover”. Eventually, Vivian locked Merlin in a glass tower (or cave, according to various legends). Another variant makes Viviane responsible for Merlin's death. Indeed, wanting to preserve her virginity from the repeated assaults of the old Enchanter, Viviane asks him to introduce her to magic. For the sole purpose of conquering her, Merlin accepts, knowing (thanks to his prophetic gift) that she will cause his downfall. Viviane buries him alive in a grave thanks to an enchantment. (cf The Lancelot in prose or the Merlin Huth, 13th century novels for example).
After the death of her mother Ygraine, Viviane took care of Morgane, making her a magician, while Merlin the magician took care of the education of his half-brother, the future King Arthur. According to other texts, Morgane is not Arthur's half-sister but his sister and she was not raised by Viviane but she too learned her magic from Merlin. On the contrary, both of them confront each other with the help of their magic. Viviane protects Arthur, his court and the courtly and chivalrous ideal he embodies, while Morgane wants the loss of her brother and sister-in-law, Queen Guinevere. (cf The Lancelot in prose, the Merlin Huth and Death King Artu for example). In his Pendragon Cycle, Stephen Lawhead takes up the figure of the Lady of the Lake under a different name:Charis, daughter of the Supreme King of Avalon (better known as Atlantis). Married to the Breton prince Taliesin, in Brittany long before Pendragon, they would have given birth in pain to Merlin the Enchanter. After the death of Taliesin, Charis will take care of Merlin and she will go to rest in the lake of Logres, hence her name Lady of the Lake.