Characters
Per the prompt, most of the characters are genderbent. Here is a guide to the transpositions, along with a few who stay the same for dramatic reasons. I have generally favored the older spellings, except where I've gone with modern ones for sake of pronunciation clarity; and favored Welsh or other Celtic roots over later English ones, except where some characters connect with French, German, or other cultures. Some of the names are transmuted by sound, especially where there are masculine/feminine versions of the same name (like Morgaine and Morgan); others are transmuted by meaning (like Arthur and Ursula, both saying bear).
The Royal Couple
King Arthur > Queen Ursula
She is the best strategist of the Round Table, honorable in her dealings with others. In battle, she is skilled with shield, wielding the magical shield Prydwen. She is a good leader both in war and in peace. She is the half-sister of Morgan Tud and the mother of Morwenna.
Queen Guinevere > Prince-Consort Gwynn
He is intelligent and friendly, easily forming connections with other people. As a commoner, he holds no claim to any throne and cannot challenge Queen Ursula, but that also makes him opportunistic. He is handsome, and somewhat of a lecher.
The Knights of the Round Table
Sir Lancelot > Sir Geraldine
She is the best swordfighter, favoring a broadsword. As a knight of the court, she is brave and valorous. However, she has eyes for the handsome Prince-Consort Gwynn. She is the mother of Sir Gail.
Sir Galahad > Sir Gail
As a knight, she is courageous and gentle. Her preferred weapon is the mace. She is the natural daughter of Sir Geraldine.
Sir Gawain > Sir Gwanwyn
She is known for her courtesy and chivalry. She wields the enchanted sword Caliburn (also known as Excalibur). Sir Gwanwyn looks something like this. She has long, straight red-brown hair and blue eyes.
Sir Bedivere > Sir Brandigen
Originally a mercenary, she protected King Uthyr. After she lost her left hand defending him, she tried to resign. Instead Uthyr promised that she would always have a place in his service. Later she came to serve Ursula.
Sir Ector > Sir Electra
Another of King Uthyr's mercenary women was Sir Electra. When Uthyr was poisoned and dying, he gave his daughter Ursula into her care. Although Sir Electra was not married, she had a daughter, Kate, and raised the two girls together. Eventually Sir Electra joined the Knights of the Round Table.
Sir Kay > Sir Kate
The tallest of the knights is Sir Kate, who uses her long reach to good effect in combat with a longsword. However, she is more of an enchantress than an ordinary warrior, skilled in combat magic. She has a rivalry with Falcon the Conjurer. Sir Kate can be vain and cruel, but she is loyal to her foster-sister Ursula. Sir Kate is the natural daughter of Sir Electra.
Sir Bors de Ganis > Sir Bree de Ganis
Swift in battle, she favors a spear. Although Sir Bree owes fealty to Queen Ursula, she loves her cousin Sir Geraldine, and in times of disagreement Sir Bree typically takes Sir Geraldine's side. She is chaste, and in fact asexual, although that does not stop rude men from lusting after her. Vulnerable to magic, she is sometimes the butt of Sir Kate's enchanted pranks.
Sir Lamorak > Sir Lillian
A renowned jouster with a lance, she is physically strongest of the knights. Her big frame and burly muscles make it easy for her to stay ahorse. She rides an enormous dapple grey destrier, Huath (which means terrible-colored in Irish). Sir Lillian is the sister of Sir Paderau.
Sir Percival > Sir Paderau
Raised far from court, she is naive but a natural warrior, able to fight with almost any weapon. She makes a lot of social mistakes that get her and other people into trouble. Sir Paderau is the sister of Sir Lillian.
Sir Tristan > Sir Tess
She is a talented duelist, deft with lighter weapons such as knives or arming swords. Sir Tess enjoys sparring verbally as well as with weapons, and she is a gifted harper. She takes only female lovers.
Sir Rosalind > Sir Ross
Before earning his knighthood, he was a skilled archer, and is merely an average swordfighter. He is a slender, delicate man -- more beautiful than handsome -- who chooses to wear women's clothes. Nevertheless he insists that he is a man, and he takes various female lovers, who are uniformly impressed with his skill in bed. (While there were a handful of female knights in the Arthurian Cycle and other lore, and Sir Rosalind was one of them, it's extremely difficult to find references for any of them. I did find some hits for Sir Britomart, though, and the stories are similar.)
Sir Gaheris > Sir Grainne
She begins as the squire of her sister, Sir Gwanwyn, and later becomes a knight herself. In many ways she serves as a foil to Sir Gwanwyn; Gaheris cools her hot temper, praises her for good deeds, and scolds her for unknightly behaviors. They are staunch companions throughout Sir Gwanwyn's early adventures. Sir Gaheris is adept with the flail, using its flexibility to her advantage. She is the daughter of King Lot and Queen Morgause; sister of Gwanwyn, Melva, and Agravain; half-sister of Morgan Tud.
Sir Gareth > Sir Melva
She upholds chivalry, even to people who mistreat her, and she is a great friend of Sir Geraldine. Sir Melva does not get along with Sir Kate, though. Sir Melva favors an arming sword in combat. She is the daughter of King Lot and Queen Morgause; youngest sister of Gwanwyn, Grainne, and Agravain; half-sister of Morgan Tud.
Others at Court
Merlin the Magician > Falcon the Conjurer
She knows magic and the natural world. She is skilled in divination, summoning, and abjuration. Her rival is Sir Kate the enchantress, who specializes in battle spells. "Falcon" is for the female bird, "tiercel" for the male.
Morgaine le Fay > Morgan Tud
He prefers science to "superstition," and he considers magic to be superstition even though it demonstrably works. Morgan Tud serves as the court physician in Camelot. He is part faerie on his mother's side, but eschews the magic it might have bequeathed to him. He is the half-brother of Queen Ursula, and after sleeping with her (neither of them knowing they were siblings), he became the father of their daughter Morwenna.
Mordred > Morwenna
She is the daughter of Queen Ursula and Morgan Tud, although she doesn't know who her mother is. Sometimes she gets swept up in her parents' intrigue, because the courtiers are always looking for pawns.
Clarence > Clarice
She is friendly, trustworthy, ignorant at first but an excellent student when given opportunity. Her interest in science and technology makes her a good ally for Morgan Tud. Originally, this was the page who befriended the protagonist from A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.
Mysterious Figures
The Fisher King > The Red Queen
She keeps the Holy Grail. She also knows the women's mysteries of the older Pagan traditions. (The Red Queen is a historic euphemism and personification of menstruation.) Knights may meet her during their quests. She is more receptive to women than to men.
The Black Knight
She is enigmatic and stupendously powerful, never seen without her black armor. She speaks in a deep, booming voice. Her preferred weapons are greatsword and lance, but she can also fire eldritch blasts. Her warhorse is a big black stallion.The Black Knight typically shows up when somebody has done something wicked. This makes everyone nervous.
The Green Knight
She is a nature figure with green eyes, skin, and hair. Her armor is green with leaves etched upon it, and her green horse always has leaves vining through mane and tail. Her preferred weapon is the falchion sword, and she can command the plants and animals of the forest. Although friendly in bearing, she is mysterious and terrifying. The Green Knight appears to test the honor of knights, and cannot be killed. She is also a powerful exorcist.
Other Characters
Lady Ragnall > Lord Ragnar
He is the "loathly lord" whose appearance is hideous but whose heart is gentle and kind. He first approaches Queen Ursula, but she loyally points out her marriage to (the unfaithful) Prince-Consort Gwynn. Therefore she redirects Lord Ragnar to Sir Gwanwyn. As the knight in question has had more than her fill of handsome but boorish men, she declares that she cares not how a man looks but how he acts. The question "What do men want the most?" is ultimately answered with "To be themselves." Lord Ragnar and Sir Gwanwyn later have a daughter, Generys.
Gingalain > Generys
She is a talented poet and minstrel, and a great romantic. She grows up the darling of the court at Camelot. Generys is the daughter of Lord Ragnar and Sir Gwanwyn.
Lynette > Lorne
He is an average-looking man who comes to Camelot seeking help for his handsome brother, whose lands are besieged.
Lyonesse > Leon
A classic gentleman in distress, Leon stays to hold down the fort while sending his brother Lorne to find help.
The Unchanged
King Uthyr
He was the father of Ursula (legitimately, with Igraine) and Morgan (illegitmately, with Morgause). Although hoping for a son from Igraine, he got over his disappointment at a daughter and trained Ursula to take the throne after him.
Igraine
She was Ursula's mother. She did not particularly approve of Uthyr's plan to put Ursula on the throne.
Morgause
She was King Uthyr's lover and bore him a son, Morgan. She felt that Morgan had a better claim to the throne than Ursula.
Isolde
She is a skilled healer, well versed in herbalism and midwifery. She is famed for her beautiful golden hair that shines like the sun. It makes men desire her. King Mark seeks to marry her, but she does not want him, because he is effeminate and her interests are masculine. Sir Tess, sent to escort the unwilling bride, is plenty butch enough to turn Isolde's head.
King Mark
He is a court dandy and effeminate in nature. When he falls in love with Isolde, he sends Sir Tess to fetch her, not wanting to undertake the arduous journey himself. He is not best pleased when Isolde falls in love with Sir Tess instead.
Palamedes the Saracen
He is attracted to Isolde, but the feeling is one-sided, and it puts him in conflict with Sir Tess.
Sir Agravain
He is handsome and cunning, a capable fighter who favors the bastard sword. He is also very stern, with a tendency to put the rule of law above ethics, which has earned him the epithet Agravain of the Hard Hand. He is particularly critical of Prince-Consort Gwynn's flirting. Sir Agravain is the son of King Lot and Queen Morgause; brother of Gwanwyn, Grainne, and Melva; half-brother of Morgan Tud, with whom he is particularly close.
King Bohr (mentioned in the Lindersfarne "Chronicle of Kings")
He is considered 'king' of the outer isles, although technically just an elected clan chief. He is 6'7" of greasy muscle only just going to fat. In his late forties, he has been married five times, and the last two overlapped. He has no son but a number of daughters. Politically he has minor importance. Strategically he's important insofar as the outer isles are part of a major trade route through the north sea and act to protect shipping from the sea wolves, who areprecursor Vikings and pirates.
Resources
Supernatural powers were attributed to various Knights of the Round Table in the early historic canon.
Return to the Ursulan Cycle.
The Royal Couple
King Arthur > Queen Ursula
She is the best strategist of the Round Table, honorable in her dealings with others. In battle, she is skilled with shield, wielding the magical shield Prydwen. She is a good leader both in war and in peace. She is the half-sister of Morgan Tud and the mother of Morwenna.
Queen Guinevere > Prince-Consort Gwynn
He is intelligent and friendly, easily forming connections with other people. As a commoner, he holds no claim to any throne and cannot challenge Queen Ursula, but that also makes him opportunistic. He is handsome, and somewhat of a lecher.
The Knights of the Round Table
Sir Lancelot > Sir Geraldine
She is the best swordfighter, favoring a broadsword. As a knight of the court, she is brave and valorous. However, she has eyes for the handsome Prince-Consort Gwynn. She is the mother of Sir Gail.
Sir Galahad > Sir Gail
As a knight, she is courageous and gentle. Her preferred weapon is the mace. She is the natural daughter of Sir Geraldine.
Sir Gawain > Sir Gwanwyn
She is known for her courtesy and chivalry. She wields the enchanted sword Caliburn (also known as Excalibur). Sir Gwanwyn looks something like this. She has long, straight red-brown hair and blue eyes.
Sir Bedivere > Sir Brandigen
Originally a mercenary, she protected King Uthyr. After she lost her left hand defending him, she tried to resign. Instead Uthyr promised that she would always have a place in his service. Later she came to serve Ursula.
Sir Ector > Sir Electra
Another of King Uthyr's mercenary women was Sir Electra. When Uthyr was poisoned and dying, he gave his daughter Ursula into her care. Although Sir Electra was not married, she had a daughter, Kate, and raised the two girls together. Eventually Sir Electra joined the Knights of the Round Table.
Sir Kay > Sir Kate
The tallest of the knights is Sir Kate, who uses her long reach to good effect in combat with a longsword. However, she is more of an enchantress than an ordinary warrior, skilled in combat magic. She has a rivalry with Falcon the Conjurer. Sir Kate can be vain and cruel, but she is loyal to her foster-sister Ursula. Sir Kate is the natural daughter of Sir Electra.
Sir Bors de Ganis > Sir Bree de Ganis
Swift in battle, she favors a spear. Although Sir Bree owes fealty to Queen Ursula, she loves her cousin Sir Geraldine, and in times of disagreement Sir Bree typically takes Sir Geraldine's side. She is chaste, and in fact asexual, although that does not stop rude men from lusting after her. Vulnerable to magic, she is sometimes the butt of Sir Kate's enchanted pranks.
Sir Lamorak > Sir Lillian
A renowned jouster with a lance, she is physically strongest of the knights. Her big frame and burly muscles make it easy for her to stay ahorse. She rides an enormous dapple grey destrier, Huath (which means terrible-colored in Irish). Sir Lillian is the sister of Sir Paderau.
Sir Percival > Sir Paderau
Raised far from court, she is naive but a natural warrior, able to fight with almost any weapon. She makes a lot of social mistakes that get her and other people into trouble. Sir Paderau is the sister of Sir Lillian.
Sir Tristan > Sir Tess
She is a talented duelist, deft with lighter weapons such as knives or arming swords. Sir Tess enjoys sparring verbally as well as with weapons, and she is a gifted harper. She takes only female lovers.
Sir Rosalind > Sir Ross
Before earning his knighthood, he was a skilled archer, and is merely an average swordfighter. He is a slender, delicate man -- more beautiful than handsome -- who chooses to wear women's clothes. Nevertheless he insists that he is a man, and he takes various female lovers, who are uniformly impressed with his skill in bed. (While there were a handful of female knights in the Arthurian Cycle and other lore, and Sir Rosalind was one of them, it's extremely difficult to find references for any of them. I did find some hits for Sir Britomart, though, and the stories are similar.)
Sir Gaheris > Sir Grainne
She begins as the squire of her sister, Sir Gwanwyn, and later becomes a knight herself. In many ways she serves as a foil to Sir Gwanwyn; Gaheris cools her hot temper, praises her for good deeds, and scolds her for unknightly behaviors. They are staunch companions throughout Sir Gwanwyn's early adventures. Sir Gaheris is adept with the flail, using its flexibility to her advantage. She is the daughter of King Lot and Queen Morgause; sister of Gwanwyn, Melva, and Agravain; half-sister of Morgan Tud.
Sir Gareth > Sir Melva
She upholds chivalry, even to people who mistreat her, and she is a great friend of Sir Geraldine. Sir Melva does not get along with Sir Kate, though. Sir Melva favors an arming sword in combat. She is the daughter of King Lot and Queen Morgause; youngest sister of Gwanwyn, Grainne, and Agravain; half-sister of Morgan Tud.
Others at Court
Merlin the Magician > Falcon the Conjurer
She knows magic and the natural world. She is skilled in divination, summoning, and abjuration. Her rival is Sir Kate the enchantress, who specializes in battle spells. "Falcon" is for the female bird, "tiercel" for the male.
Morgaine le Fay > Morgan Tud
He prefers science to "superstition," and he considers magic to be superstition even though it demonstrably works. Morgan Tud serves as the court physician in Camelot. He is part faerie on his mother's side, but eschews the magic it might have bequeathed to him. He is the half-brother of Queen Ursula, and after sleeping with her (neither of them knowing they were siblings), he became the father of their daughter Morwenna.
Mordred > Morwenna
She is the daughter of Queen Ursula and Morgan Tud, although she doesn't know who her mother is. Sometimes she gets swept up in her parents' intrigue, because the courtiers are always looking for pawns.
Clarence > Clarice
She is friendly, trustworthy, ignorant at first but an excellent student when given opportunity. Her interest in science and technology makes her a good ally for Morgan Tud. Originally, this was the page who befriended the protagonist from A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.
Mysterious Figures
The Fisher King > The Red Queen
She keeps the Holy Grail. She also knows the women's mysteries of the older Pagan traditions. (The Red Queen is a historic euphemism and personification of menstruation.) Knights may meet her during their quests. She is more receptive to women than to men.
The Black Knight
She is enigmatic and stupendously powerful, never seen without her black armor. She speaks in a deep, booming voice. Her preferred weapons are greatsword and lance, but she can also fire eldritch blasts. Her warhorse is a big black stallion.The Black Knight typically shows up when somebody has done something wicked. This makes everyone nervous.
The Green Knight
She is a nature figure with green eyes, skin, and hair. Her armor is green with leaves etched upon it, and her green horse always has leaves vining through mane and tail. Her preferred weapon is the falchion sword, and she can command the plants and animals of the forest. Although friendly in bearing, she is mysterious and terrifying. The Green Knight appears to test the honor of knights, and cannot be killed. She is also a powerful exorcist.
Other Characters
Lady Ragnall > Lord Ragnar
He is the "loathly lord" whose appearance is hideous but whose heart is gentle and kind. He first approaches Queen Ursula, but she loyally points out her marriage to (the unfaithful) Prince-Consort Gwynn. Therefore she redirects Lord Ragnar to Sir Gwanwyn. As the knight in question has had more than her fill of handsome but boorish men, she declares that she cares not how a man looks but how he acts. The question "What do men want the most?" is ultimately answered with "To be themselves." Lord Ragnar and Sir Gwanwyn later have a daughter, Generys.
Gingalain > Generys
She is a talented poet and minstrel, and a great romantic. She grows up the darling of the court at Camelot. Generys is the daughter of Lord Ragnar and Sir Gwanwyn.
Lynette > Lorne
He is an average-looking man who comes to Camelot seeking help for his handsome brother, whose lands are besieged.
Lyonesse > Leon
A classic gentleman in distress, Leon stays to hold down the fort while sending his brother Lorne to find help.
The Unchanged
King Uthyr
He was the father of Ursula (legitimately, with Igraine) and Morgan (illegitmately, with Morgause). Although hoping for a son from Igraine, he got over his disappointment at a daughter and trained Ursula to take the throne after him.
Igraine
She was Ursula's mother. She did not particularly approve of Uthyr's plan to put Ursula on the throne.
Morgause
She was King Uthyr's lover and bore him a son, Morgan. She felt that Morgan had a better claim to the throne than Ursula.
Isolde
She is a skilled healer, well versed in herbalism and midwifery. She is famed for her beautiful golden hair that shines like the sun. It makes men desire her. King Mark seeks to marry her, but she does not want him, because he is effeminate and her interests are masculine. Sir Tess, sent to escort the unwilling bride, is plenty butch enough to turn Isolde's head.
King Mark
He is a court dandy and effeminate in nature. When he falls in love with Isolde, he sends Sir Tess to fetch her, not wanting to undertake the arduous journey himself. He is not best pleased when Isolde falls in love with Sir Tess instead.
Palamedes the Saracen
He is attracted to Isolde, but the feeling is one-sided, and it puts him in conflict with Sir Tess.
- Dreamwidth user Zeeth_kyrah notes:
One character I think could still work as their traditional gender is Palomides/Palamedes the Saracen. Being occidental, his cultural context provides a lens by which one can refresh (or affirm) the culture and worldview in the stories... and by keeping him male, we may find someone trying desperately to stay chivalrous while in the midst of serious inner conflict about "these crazy Britons" and his object(s) of affection. I feel it would give a stronger thread of conflict to the story around Isolde, and why Palamedes takes up after the Questing Beast despite knowing he cannot capture it.
Sir Agravain
He is handsome and cunning, a capable fighter who favors the bastard sword. He is also very stern, with a tendency to put the rule of law above ethics, which has earned him the epithet Agravain of the Hard Hand. He is particularly critical of Prince-Consort Gwynn's flirting. Sir Agravain is the son of King Lot and Queen Morgause; brother of Gwanwyn, Grainne, and Melva; half-brother of Morgan Tud, with whom he is particularly close.
King Bohr (mentioned in the Lindersfarne "Chronicle of Kings")
He is considered 'king' of the outer isles, although technically just an elected clan chief. He is 6'7" of greasy muscle only just going to fat. In his late forties, he has been married five times, and the last two overlapped. He has no son but a number of daughters. Politically he has minor importance. Strategically he's important insofar as the outer isles are part of a major trade route through the north sea and act to protect shipping from the sea wolves, who areprecursor Vikings and pirates.
Resources
Supernatural powers were attributed to various Knights of the Round Table in the early historic canon.
Return to the Ursulan Cycle.