d thereafter the property of their husband. Theyhad no choice as to whom they married. Anna is shown in Monmouth to be given only asa prize to Loth for his gallantry. Arranged marriages were used almost solely for financialand political gain. After marriage, a women’s place was in her home, a concept whichlasted until the mid-twentieth century. Women were responsible for the smooth runningof household affairs and for the upbringing of children. With this responsibility came littletime for frivolous occurrences such as quests and feasts which consumed so much of thetime of their husbands. Because women were expected to be content with this lifestyle,suggesting that women could be an important and glamorous part of King Arthur’s courtwould be going against all that women were expected to believe and cherish. A majoraspect of the twelfth century view on women was that women were to be chaste andvirtuous, while their husbands were permitted to share their beds with any woman heshould choose. Suggesting a degree of sexual liberation exhibited in most account of theArthurian legend through Morgan would once again to be creating havoc amongst hiscontemporaries. Though most women could not read, the fear of them becoming aware ofthe concept that suggests fulfillment can come outside of marriage in their life wouldundoubtedly been great, thus preventing Monmouth from presenting an interesting anddetails account of the life of Morgan Le Fay.Mort Artu was written in thirteenth-century France, another society that wasrepressive toward women. However, by the time this book was written the ability ofwomen to influence and manipulate political proceedings was widely acknowledged.Phillip II, King of France at the time of this novel’s authorship, declared war on Englandbecause the King of England married a woman engaged to another of Phillip’s vassals.Because of this, the author of Mort Artu can freely write about Morgan because...
