Morgan le Fay

Morgan le Fay, the sorceress of Arthurian legend, was King Arthur’s jealous half-sister, resentful of the power and devotion he inspired. Consumed by envy of his moral strength, she sought again and again to undermine both his life and his reign. In this scene, she stands before a loom where she has woven an enchanted robe meant to engulf Arthur’s body in flames. As she waves a lamp back and forth in her hands, she chants her spells. Fortunately, Arthur commanded his messenger to don the garment first—thus escaping her deadly trap.

Her appearance here—with loosened hair, forceful gestures, and a leopard skin draped across her body—conveys an image of dangerous, untamed female sexuality. Edward Burne-Jones created a gouache study of Morgan le Fay in 1862, yet it is Sandys’s rendering that remains the most iconic Victorian portrayal of the sorceress.

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