Arthurian Medievalism and Disney Princesses

 Arthurian Stories and Disney Fairytales

Just how alike are they...

It is no surprise that the most famous fairy tales in our culture today took inspiration from the chivalric period of the Middle Ages. From the damsels in distress to the knights in blazing armor to the wicked stepmothers and magical helpers. All influenced by the medieval times.

The Medieval castle Neuschwanstein depicted in the movie Tangled (1)

Common Elements from Arthurian Literature

Damsels in Distress

Oftentimes in Arthurian literature, numerous damsels are riddled throughout the text often in need of help from a brave and honorable knight. Women are often held captive by some wicked individual and need rescuing. For instance, in the romance, The Knight of the Cart(7), Queen Guinevere is held captive by the evil Meleagant and is rescued by Lancelot. Moreover, in Mallory's The Tale of Sir Gareth of Orkney, Gareth rescues Lyoness from the evil Red Knight who kept her trapped in a tower while he murdered innocent knights. As well as this, knights are frequently seen performing acts of chivalry and bravery for multiple damsels throughout their stories. In Mallory's A Noble Tale of Sir Lancelot du Lake, Lancelot takes a vow to help a damsel at the beginning of the story whenever she needs it. For example, he fights in a tournament to save her father, King Bagdemagus. 

The tapestry Shepherd and Shepherdess Making Music was made in 
1500-1530 and is said to be the visual template for "Sleeping Beauty"(4)

Like Queen Guinevere, Rapunzel is also trapped in a tall tower against her will, and is rescued by a handsome prince whom she later marries. Sleeping Beauty, Aurora, is also trapped in an enchantment that curses her to sleep for 100 years. She is rescued by her true love's kiss which happens to be a prince who she also ends up marrying. Lastly, Snow White is poisoned by her evil stepmother, and as a result, looks dead with skin as fair as snow. She is placed in a glass coffin by the dwarves in a forest in which a prince stumbles upon it. He rescues her by giving her a kiss and the story ends with them marrying one another which seems to be a very common thread in these Disney fairytales apparently. 

Knights and Princes

Knights are often the focal point of many Medieval texts. They revolve around their quests, chivalric duty, and sometimes their love for a certain fair maiden. For instance, many stories containing the knight Lancelot frequently come into conflict with his duty to the chivalric code and his duty to courtly love. Queen Guinevere and him are more times than not written to be in love but Lancelot still has his duty to protect and serve King Arthur. In Yvain's story, The Knight with the Lion(8), he is seen picking chivalric duty and building his prowess over courtly love, and as a result almost loses Laudine as a lover. Despite this conflict, knights are often seen displaying acts of honor and bravery towards maidens, and most times the maiden they are rescuing are the ones they end up marrying. 

In many Disney fairytales, a knight, or prince in most cases, rescues his future wife with a true love's kiss or an act of bravery. For instance, in "Sleeping Beauty" the prince is seen fighting and killing a deadly dragon that is guarding the tower the princess is trapped in. Additionally, in "Tangled", Flynn fights and attempts to kill Mother Gothel in order to try and save Rapunzel. Lastly, in "Snow White" the first written record by the Brothers Grimm the prince orders the Evil Queen to wear hot iron slippers and to dance until she dies at their wedding. 

Evil Stepmothers/Witches 

Image of Gawain, Guinevere, and Arthur with the
decapitated head of the Green Knight sent by Morgan Le Fay
 to trick King Arthur and his court (5)

In the Medieval romance, Cheuelere Assigne, the grandmother captures her seven grandchildren and replaces them with seven puppies so she can accuse Queen Beatrice, wife of King Lot, of adultery and bestiality and resume ruling. She then sends her own grandchildren to be killed so no one can take her place(3).  As well as this, the character Morgan Le Fay is often depicted as evil in many of the Arthurian texts, especially in the later centuries. She often plots King Arthur's downfall and death like she did in Mallory's text or in the story Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. 

In Disney princess fairytales, women are often the villains of the story. In "Tangled" Mother Gothel captures Rapunzel as a baby to use her hair's magic healing ability as a way to keep her young. When Flynn tries to rescue her Mother Gothel almost murders him as a result. In "Snow White", her stepmother, the Evil Queen, tries to kill her multiple times throughout the fairy tale by poisoning her. She succeeds at last when Snow White falls for her disguise and eats a poisoned apple which makes her look and appear dead. In "Sleeping Beauty" Maleficent curses Aurora/Princess Rose upon birth that she will enter a 100-year sleep upon pricking her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel. Lastly, in "Cinderella" her Evil Stepmother enlists her to a life full of chores and treats her as a servant rather than a daughter. 

Magical Elements 

In Arthurian literature, it is often common to have some sort of magical presence. Take the character Merlin for example, he is a prevalent character in King Arthur's court and frequently helps Arthur as well as many knights from the Round Table out of tricky situations. For instance, in Mallory's segment of From the Marriage of King Uther unto King Arthur, Merlin experiences prophecies in which he informs King Arthur that his destruction will be brought upon by a child born on May Day. As a result, King Arthur sends out a ruling that all children born on May Day throughout the land will be shipped out to King Arthur and killed. Additionally in the medieval romance The Knight with the Lion a lion magically appears to help Yvain(2) throughout his quests and saves him from death numerous times. As well as magical helpers, magical items are also dominant throughout Arthurian texts. Again, in The Knight with the Lion, Yvain is gifted a ring by Laudine that protects him from blood loss which is a very common magical item mentioned. 

An illustration of Cinderella with her fairy godmother 
a medieval fairytale (6)

In "Cinderella" she is gifted a fairy godmother who helps her go to the Prince's ball where she meets him and ends up falling in love. Without the fairy godmother, Cinderella would have never met the Prince and would have been stuck as a maid for the rest of her life. As well as this, in "Snow White" the Evil Witch utilizes the Magic Mirror that is able to answer any question she has. She frequently asks, "Mirror Mirror on the wall who's the fairest of them all?" In which the mirror answers Snow White which catalyzes the whole story and begins the main conflict. Lastly, in "Tangled" Rapunzel's hair can heal any injuries due to her mother eating a magical healing flower while she was pregnant. Yet again the movie revolves around the importance of Rapunzel's magical hair and starts many of the problems within the movie. 

Medieval Analysis 

As you can see, many Disney princess fairytales share numerous elements with Arthurian literature but not any specific characters. However, I do not find that to be the main fault within these texts. Since many Disney princess stories originate from fairytales, also known as folktales, we often have no idea where or when they originated. It is very possible many of these fairytales were in circulation during the Middle Ages, but we cannot say with 100% certainty this is the case other than the few exceptions of "Cinderella" and "Sleeping Beauty." Most folk tales and fairy tales were circulated within the lower class and were thought to not be important enough to be written down until the 17th century by the Brothers Grimm and Perrault. So, specific Disney fairytales cannot be traced directly to the Middle Ages, but as you can see they share many elements. Ultimately, there is no doubt that these Disney fairytales took inspiration from the Middle Ages and some of its most common components of storytelling. In my opinion, it is safe to say that without Arthurian texts, some Disney fairytales would not hold the charm they do today. 

If you are interested the following link discusses Medieval Sleeping Beauty and where the tale originated from: https://www.medievalists.net/2015/06/the-medieval-sleeping-beauty/ 

Resources

1. “Read All about It: Rapunzel, the Middle Ages: Medieval Castles, & Neuschwanstein a Fairy Tale Castle: Milford Library |.” Milford Library, milford.lib.de.us/2020/05/30/read-all-about-it-rapunzel/. Accessed 05 Oct. 2023.

2. Manuscript Miniatures: Yvain, manuscriptminiatures.com/4945/14929. Accessed 05 Oct. 2023.

3. Walton, Kathryn. “The Wicked Grandmas of Medieval Literature.” Medievalists.Net, 8 May 2022, www.medievalists.net/2022/05/wicked-grandmas-medieval-literature/. Accessed 05 Oct. 2023.

4. Ingram, Anna. “How Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Was Inspired by the Late Medieval Tapestry.” DailyArt Magazine, 4 Nov. 2022, www.dailyartmagazine.com/sleeping-beauty-medieval-tapestry/. Accessed 05 Oct. 2023.

5. “Tag: Morgana Le Fay.” Medieval Studies Research Blog Meet Us at the Crossroads of Everything, 30 Jan. 2022, sites.nd.edu/manuscript-studies/tag/morgana-le-fay/.

6. Artist, Unknown. “Cinderella & the Fairy Godmother.” World History Encyclopedia, Https://Www.Worldhistory.Org#organization, 2 Oct. 2023, www.worldhistory.org/image/10120/cinderella--the-fairy-godmother/.

7. Image 243 of Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart. | Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_14424/?sp=243.

8. “Click the Dragon to Begin the Tale.” The Knight with the Lion, www.abdn.ac.uk/sll/disciplines/english/lion/index.shtml.