Plot
The Ursulan Cycle draws many of its storylines from the Arthurian Cycle. However, genderbending the characters does more than just change their names! Pregnancy and childbirth have a huge impact on people's lives, and a lot of these characters have kids, so that influences the plot. Political intrigue also shifts because women who insist on being knights and rulers make men uncomfortable; it's a lot harder to get anything done when some people refuse to acknowledge your right to be doing it in the first place. Arguments over inheritance change too.
Here are some of the plotlines ...
Uthyr Pendragon thinks he is infertile, so later in life when his wife Igraine conceives, it comes as a surprise. At first they are thrilled, then disappointed by the birth of a daughter instead of a son. Uthyr switches the name from Arthur to Ursula and decides to raise her as his heir anyhow. Igraine is unwell after the difficult pregnancy, and busy with the young Ursula. Uthyr therefore takes his celebration of his renewed virility elsewhere, to Morgause. He begets a son, Morgan Tud, who arrives when Ursula is five. The courtiers exhort Uthyr to disinherit his legitimate daughter in favor of his natural son, but Uthyr refuses.
When Uthyr gets wounded in battle, he insists on fighting through the pain and nearly dies. Upon returning home, Uthyr finds that the courtiers are stirring trouble. He hires mercenaries for protection, only to have the new men also try to take advantage of his weakness. Alone among the mercenaries, two women whom Uthyr reluctantly hired to fill out the numbers -- Sir Brandigen and Sir Electra -- remain loyal to him. Sir Brandigen loses her left hand fighting to protect the king, and tries to resign, but instead he offers her a permanent position for her valor. Uthyr hires more female mercenaries when he can find them, gaining more appreciation for women's strength. When the Saxons poison Uthyr, he manages to smuggle Ursula out of the castle and hand her off to Sir Electra to be raised in secret so the courtiers will not assassinate the rightful heir. Meanwhile Morgause has fled with the young Morgan.
Sir Electra raises Ursula alongside her own daughter Kate. One year, Ursula becomes the May Queen, and to everyone's surprise the position of May King is won by an even younger boy, lovely and sweet. The two of them celebrate the May together, and Ursula gets pregnant, giving birth to their daughter Morwenna. Leery of the scorn heaped on unwed mothers, Ursula does not want to keep the baby, so Morgan decides to raise Morwenna himself.
Kate is set to compete against the Falcon the Conjurer in a magical duel, but has forgotten her mirror. She sends Ursula to find one. Ursula comes across a round silver mirror protected by the flame of Brigid. She reaches through the fire, unharmed, and brings down the mirror -- which turns out to be a shield. When Kate sees it, she shouts for Sir Electra, who identifies it as the shield Prydwen, one of the Twelve Treasures. It identifies the rightful ruler, thus making Ursula the Queen.
Ursula begins the Round Table with people she already knows: Sir Electra, Sir Kate, and Sir Brandigen. She adds more allies as she finds them, such as Sir Geraldine, Sir Bree de Ganis, and Sir Tess. Morgan Tud arrives at court, with an adorable Morwenna in tow, now having completed his training. Ursula makes Morgan the court physician. Not wanting to risk marrying a contender for the throne, Ursula selects a common boy she likes, the handsome and charming Gwynn, who becomes the Prince-Consort.
The Chronicle of Kings says of King Bohr that 'no woman could stay a single night in his castle' ... or more precisely, would stay. King Bohr and his men are basically everything bad in misogynistic over-the-hill frat boys. His daughters reside in a separate tower or bothie he keeps locked (or maybe they keep locked), watched over by his latest wives Fryja and Branwen (a Celt, not Norse).
He isn't keen on Queen Ursula and refuses to acknowledge her. This being early in her reign, Falcon persuades her to try diplomacy instead of force to bring him to heel. (Clearly Falcon
has not met King Bohr.) This is largely because the kingdom couldn't sustain a war, and the Outer Isles would be hard to attack even if they weren't defended by a bunch of crazy warriors whom had spent most of their lives fighting pirates. It doesn't go very well.
LJ user Siege writes:
I rather suspect King Bohr would do the chivalrously boorish thing and try to Big-Daddy her, presuming he knows better how to rule than she ever will (and sadly, on the initial meeting, he will know more about leadership though Ursula has good advisers). Maybe he'll even suggest she marry one of his knights in order to put a Proper Man on the throne and "gain the respect of the people" (plus a voice like his in her ear). And of course, with self-confidence backed by knowing he's better at everything due to age, experience, and gender, he'll just steamroll Ursula and force Falcon and Sir Electra to intervene for her. At which point it's a "damnable gaggle of ____ women, conspiring against me" to take control of the isles. Which they really aren't, but why else try to match his power? Facing a man, he'd respect hierarchy and evidence so long as they can joke with him -- a woman, she's an upstart challenger.
So, already accused of conspiracy, what do the women do? Go talk with the other women, get a proper accounting of what goes on in the Outer Isles. Celts would normally not stand on letting the men run everything.. you can trust that! So even if restricted from managing the treasury and the household (possible, if no woman can stand the place), Bohr's wives would at least have friends who know household and regional affairs, "all the better to protect our girls from those brutes and their piratical sabers."
Trouble comes when someone reveals that Morgan Tud is the son of Uthyr. Some of the courtiers again rally behind him and start pushing for him to take the throne. Meanwhile Morgan and Ursula are horrified to find out that they are half-siblings, and hope desperately that nobody will reveal the truth about Morwenna. While Ursula is thus distracted, Gwynn proceeds to amuse himself with other women, including Sir Geraldine. When Ursula finds out, she scolds Gwynn and points out that his behavior weakens both of their positions.
Sons occasionally attributed to Guinevere include Melehan and Loholt. Stories almost never posit sons from Guinevere and Arthur, but sometimes do from Guinevere and Mordred. Gwynn's indiscretion is likely to result in bastards.
DW user Stardreamer writes:
I also have a prompt idea for that universe -- inverted Red Sonja. A wandering fighter arrives at Ursula's court and challenges one of the lady knights to a match; she defeats him roundly, at which point he announces that he has sworn to wed no woman save one who can best him on the field, and proposes then and there. Only she's not having any of that crap, and he becomes a minor pest, hanging around making mooncalf eyes at her!
(Sir Geraldine or Sir Bree de Ganis might suit this storyline.)
Here are some of the plotlines ...
Uthyr Pendragon thinks he is infertile, so later in life when his wife Igraine conceives, it comes as a surprise. At first they are thrilled, then disappointed by the birth of a daughter instead of a son. Uthyr switches the name from Arthur to Ursula and decides to raise her as his heir anyhow. Igraine is unwell after the difficult pregnancy, and busy with the young Ursula. Uthyr therefore takes his celebration of his renewed virility elsewhere, to Morgause. He begets a son, Morgan Tud, who arrives when Ursula is five. The courtiers exhort Uthyr to disinherit his legitimate daughter in favor of his natural son, but Uthyr refuses.
When Uthyr gets wounded in battle, he insists on fighting through the pain and nearly dies. Upon returning home, Uthyr finds that the courtiers are stirring trouble. He hires mercenaries for protection, only to have the new men also try to take advantage of his weakness. Alone among the mercenaries, two women whom Uthyr reluctantly hired to fill out the numbers -- Sir Brandigen and Sir Electra -- remain loyal to him. Sir Brandigen loses her left hand fighting to protect the king, and tries to resign, but instead he offers her a permanent position for her valor. Uthyr hires more female mercenaries when he can find them, gaining more appreciation for women's strength. When the Saxons poison Uthyr, he manages to smuggle Ursula out of the castle and hand her off to Sir Electra to be raised in secret so the courtiers will not assassinate the rightful heir. Meanwhile Morgause has fled with the young Morgan.
Sir Electra raises Ursula alongside her own daughter Kate. One year, Ursula becomes the May Queen, and to everyone's surprise the position of May King is won by an even younger boy, lovely and sweet. The two of them celebrate the May together, and Ursula gets pregnant, giving birth to their daughter Morwenna. Leery of the scorn heaped on unwed mothers, Ursula does not want to keep the baby, so Morgan decides to raise Morwenna himself.
Kate is set to compete against the Falcon the Conjurer in a magical duel, but has forgotten her mirror. She sends Ursula to find one. Ursula comes across a round silver mirror protected by the flame of Brigid. She reaches through the fire, unharmed, and brings down the mirror -- which turns out to be a shield. When Kate sees it, she shouts for Sir Electra, who identifies it as the shield Prydwen, one of the Twelve Treasures. It identifies the rightful ruler, thus making Ursula the Queen.
Ursula begins the Round Table with people she already knows: Sir Electra, Sir Kate, and Sir Brandigen. She adds more allies as she finds them, such as Sir Geraldine, Sir Bree de Ganis, and Sir Tess. Morgan Tud arrives at court, with an adorable Morwenna in tow, now having completed his training. Ursula makes Morgan the court physician. Not wanting to risk marrying a contender for the throne, Ursula selects a common boy she likes, the handsome and charming Gwynn, who becomes the Prince-Consort.
The Chronicle of Kings says of King Bohr that 'no woman could stay a single night in his castle' ... or more precisely, would stay. King Bohr and his men are basically everything bad in misogynistic over-the-hill frat boys. His daughters reside in a separate tower or bothie he keeps locked (or maybe they keep locked), watched over by his latest wives Fryja and Branwen (a Celt, not Norse).
He isn't keen on Queen Ursula and refuses to acknowledge her. This being early in her reign, Falcon persuades her to try diplomacy instead of force to bring him to heel. (Clearly Falcon
has not met King Bohr.) This is largely because the kingdom couldn't sustain a war, and the Outer Isles would be hard to attack even if they weren't defended by a bunch of crazy warriors whom had spent most of their lives fighting pirates. It doesn't go very well.
LJ user Siege writes:
I rather suspect King Bohr would do the chivalrously boorish thing and try to Big-Daddy her, presuming he knows better how to rule than she ever will (and sadly, on the initial meeting, he will know more about leadership though Ursula has good advisers). Maybe he'll even suggest she marry one of his knights in order to put a Proper Man on the throne and "gain the respect of the people" (plus a voice like his in her ear). And of course, with self-confidence backed by knowing he's better at everything due to age, experience, and gender, he'll just steamroll Ursula and force Falcon and Sir Electra to intervene for her. At which point it's a "damnable gaggle of ____ women, conspiring against me" to take control of the isles. Which they really aren't, but why else try to match his power? Facing a man, he'd respect hierarchy and evidence so long as they can joke with him -- a woman, she's an upstart challenger.
So, already accused of conspiracy, what do the women do? Go talk with the other women, get a proper accounting of what goes on in the Outer Isles. Celts would normally not stand on letting the men run everything.. you can trust that! So even if restricted from managing the treasury and the household (possible, if no woman can stand the place), Bohr's wives would at least have friends who know household and regional affairs, "all the better to protect our girls from those brutes and their piratical sabers."
Trouble comes when someone reveals that Morgan Tud is the son of Uthyr. Some of the courtiers again rally behind him and start pushing for him to take the throne. Meanwhile Morgan and Ursula are horrified to find out that they are half-siblings, and hope desperately that nobody will reveal the truth about Morwenna. While Ursula is thus distracted, Gwynn proceeds to amuse himself with other women, including Sir Geraldine. When Ursula finds out, she scolds Gwynn and points out that his behavior weakens both of their positions.
Sons occasionally attributed to Guinevere include Melehan and Loholt. Stories almost never posit sons from Guinevere and Arthur, but sometimes do from Guinevere and Mordred. Gwynn's indiscretion is likely to result in bastards.
DW user Stardreamer writes:
I also have a prompt idea for that universe -- inverted Red Sonja. A wandering fighter arrives at Ursula's court and challenges one of the lady knights to a match; she defeats him roundly, at which point he announces that he has sworn to wed no woman save one who can best him on the field, and proposes then and there. Only she's not having any of that crap, and he becomes a minor pest, hanging around making mooncalf eyes at her!
(Sir Geraldine or Sir Bree de Ganis might suit this storyline.)