The Lady of the Lake

The Lady of the Lake Ornament

was considering different subjects that might interest boys. I decided to research medieval characters. That is when I discovered the richness of the characters in the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. A world ruled by queens, kings, wizards, enchantresses and knights is a perfect theme for my ornaments. I embarked on a special journey to the medieval ages researching the design of these figurines. I incorporated many details that make this Lady of the Lake ornament extraordinarily memorable. Pair this ornament with others in this collection like Sir Lancelot and Excalibur!

Lady of the Lake Ornament Design Process

Who is The Lady of the Lake?

The Lady of the Lake is a being of the fae world, she lives in an enchanted realm. An illusion conceals the entrance to this fairy-world. For those in the outside world, all they see is an illusion of a lake. Thus, her name. The Lady of the Lake is who raises Sir Lancelot from infancy after the death of his father. Legend says that she is the one who hands King Arthur the Excalibur sword. Also named Nymue, the Lady of the Lake is most renowned in faerie lore.

The Design

I used Howard Pyle’s book (Pyle, Howard. The Story of King Arthur and His Knights. , 2016. Print.) as reference for my design of the Lady of the Lake ornament. Because this book has very vivid descriptions, it was the perfect source of inspiration.

When King Arthur first meets the Lady of the Lake, he is impressed by her beauty. He describes her as having fair skin, black hair and glistening black eyes “as though they were two jewels set in ivory.” He describes her as cloaked in green with “a fine cord of crimson and gold” woven throughout her hair. So, I designed the Lady of the Lake to have black hair woven with golden thread and black eyes accented with green eyeshadow set on the fairest of faces, with a green medieval dress. Incidentally, this is one of the few characters that Howard Pyle takes careful attention to describe in great detail. So, per the descriptions, I gave her a necklace of “opal and emerald” stones that she wears around her neck.

The Fae

Mesmerized by her beauty, King Arthur can only conclude that he has cross to another realm, entering the land of faeries. The Lady of the Lake acknowledges King Arthur by letting him know that she is indeed a Faerie. Even though Howard Pyle’s illustrations never depict her with faerie wings, I chose to add lacy light green wings to her character so there would be no doubt of her faerie nature. Finally, I gave her a tiara with an emerald stone that represents her ruling of the fae realm.

Specifications

Year Designed

2018

Size

Actual size may vary, approximately 4.0” x 2.25” x 3.5”

Materials

Yarn, fabric, cardboard, ribbons, old jewelry, beads, sequins, plastic gemstones, hair-ties.

Note: Given the handmade nature of the ornament, all ornaments are different. The pictures depict just one sample of the ornament.