Nimue

The Lady of the Lake is the name of several related characters who play integral parts in the Arthurian legend. These characters' roles include giving King Arthur his sword Excalibur, taking the dying king to Avalon after the Battle of Camlann, enchanting Merlin, and raising Lancelot after the death of his father. Different writers and copyists give her name variously as Nimue, Viviane, Niniane, Nyneve, and other variations.
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The lady who, in numerous Arthurian romances , is often attached to Merlin in various ways, and who in gives Excalibur to King Arthur, and in some stories, receives it back from him before his death.

[Arthurian] One of several ladies known as the Lady of the Lake or the Dame du Lac. There are many variants on her name from text to text - Viviane, Eviene, Niviene; other places she is Nimue or Nina (as in Wordsworth). In Malory, she is the companion to a previous lady and takes over in that role. Also in Malory, she is the one who bestows Excalibur upon Arthur and receives it back from him in the end. She is in the barge that bears Arthur to Avalon. She also travels with Merlin, who has fallen in love with her, through Brittanny and Cornwall, learning his arts but never consenting to be his mistress. Other works have her as the woman responsible for Lancelot's upbringing. In Malory, the Vulgate Cycle and other settings of the tale, she casts a spell over Merlin with the very magic he has taught her. Some texts have her kill him but usually Merlin is imprisoned in a cave or a tomb, never to return to court. Later she uses magic in a less evil way to separate Pelleas and Ettard so that Pellea...
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