‘That is luf paramour, listes and delites, that has me light and laft logh in a lake’

: An exploration of watery women and liminality in The Awntyrs off Arthure and The Lord of the Rings

Abstract

Amidst the many examples of watery women that can be found in literature and modern popular culture, the most compelling, magical and complex examples are the women that reside in lakes, tarns, ponds and pools. This thesis focuses on the evolving representation of lake-ladies in medieval romance and contemporary works of Medievalism, exploring the ways in which the medieval watery woman is shrouded in mystery, much like the waterbodies she inhabits. Although the legendary figure of the watery woman has been traced to insular Celtic tradition, which then informed late medieval romance, there is a noticeable gap in research when it comes to the particular literary functions of the medieval watery woman. Her ambivalence, rooted in late medieval cultural and religious anxieties surrounding femininity and sin, transforms in function when studied in conjunction with the land she inhabits. This thesis opens with a reading of The Awntyrs off Arthure, which offers a particularly compelling example for analysis, owing to its setting of the Cumbrian borderland and presentation of female figures. I then contrast the medieval treatment of the watery woman as a liminal figure subjected to punishment with J. R. R. Tolkien’s reimagining of the convention in The Lord of the Rings. While maintaining key elements of the medieval convention such as the watery woman’s border environment and liminality, Tolkien transforms the figure from one of suspension to one of agency and authority. I argue that Tolkien’s adaptation positions the watery woman as a figure who gains power and authority in her ability to navigate the threshold between the natural world and the Otherworld. Overall, the thesis demonstrates that while the watery woman of Awntyrs may reveal commonplace attitudes towards women during the late medieval period, Tolkien’s reimagining of the convention makes her both relevant and accessible to a modern audience, all while preserving her medieval heritage.

Date of Award	17 Mar 2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bristol
Supervisor	Ad Putter (Supervisor), Kate A McClune (Supervisor) & Steve De Hailes (Supervisor)