The Four Arthurian Warrior Women

What distinguish the four warrior women of Arthurian times described here are their extraordinary virtues of nobility, bravery, selflessness, and drive. Knightly deeds are as natural to them as they are to any male warrior in the legends, but these women warriors do not necessarily have characteristics stereotypically attributed to masculinity in order to be successful as knights. While Bradamante and Britomart eschew traditionally “feminine” pursuits, being trained in the use of weapons and combat from an early age, Dindrane and Melora have no such grounding before they embark on their adventures, the former being closeted in a hermitage and the latter being a princess, the daughter of King Arthur himself. None of them are queens like Guinevere, none of them are sorceresses like Morgan le Fay, none of them are damsels in distress like Elaine. They show us that, if we delve deeper into the legends and off the more famous beaten tracks, there is a wider spectrum and more diversity of female characters than we might previously have expected to discover.