Editing Lady of the Lake (section)

===Giver of Excalibur===
{{Further|Excalibur}}

[[File:Third panel on Frampton Door.JPG|thumb|"The Lady of the Lake", [[George Frampton]]'s feature low relief at [[2 Temple Place]] in London]]

Another, unnamed Lady of the Lake appears in the Post-Vulgate tradition to bestow the magic sword [[Excalibur]] from Avalon to Arthur in a now iconic scene. She is presented as a mysterious early benefactor of the young King Arthur, who is directed and led to her by Merlin. Appearing in her lake, she grants him Excalibur and its special scabbard after his original (also unnamed) sword breaks in the duel against King Pellinore. She is a mysterious character who is evidently neither Morgan nor the Damsel Huntress, but may possibly have a connection to the Lady of Avalon (''Dame d'Avalon'') from the ''Propheties de Merlin''.<ref name=ladies/> Later in the Post-Vulgate ''Suite du Merlin'', this Lady of the Lake is suddenly attacked and beheaded at King Arthur's court by [[Sir Balin]] as a result of a kin feud between them (she blames Balin for the death of variably either her brother or her lover, while he blames her for the death of his mother, who had been burned at the stake) and a dispute over another enchanted sword from Avalon; her body later vanishes.

All this takes place during the time when Merlin is still at Arthur's side and prior to the introduction of the young Viviane in the same branch of the Post-Vulgate Cycle. Modern retellings, however, usually omit the episode of her apparent killing by Balin and at the same time often make her the same character as Viviane.