Editing The Morrígan (section)

==Arthurian legend==
{{further|Morgan le Fay}}

There have been attempts by some modern researchers and authors of fiction to link the Morrígan with the character of Morgan, the latter often being depicted in the legend as a [[fairy]] or otherwise supernatural sister of [[King Arthur]]. Morgan first appears in literature in [[Geoffrey of Monmouth|Geoffrey of Monmouth's]] 12th-century ''[[Vita Merlini]]'' as a goddess-like figure in no blood relation to Arthur, whom she takes to her Otherworld style land of [[Avalon]] following his mortal wound in a battle. In some Arthurian texts, such as ''[[Sir Gawain and the Green Knight]]'', Morgan is portrayed as a hag whose actions set into motion a bloody trail of events that lead the hero into numerous instances of danger. Morgan is also depicted as a seductress, much like the older legends of the Morrígan, and has numerous lovers whom she might even abduct for this purpose (as in some stories of [[Lancelot]] and [[Ogier the Dane]], among others). The character is frequently depicted as wielding power over others to achieve her own purposes, allowing those actions to play out over time, to the benefit or detriment of other characters.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Morgan le Fay in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight|url = http://www.shmoop.com/sir-gawain-green-knight/morgan-le-fay.html}}</ref>

However, while the creators of the literary character of Morgan may have been somewhat inspired by the much older tales of the goddess, the relationship likely ends there. Scholars such as Rosalind Clark hold that the names are unrelated, the Welsh "Morgan" (Wales being the original source of the [[Matter of Britain]]) being derived from root words associated with the sea, while the Irish "Morrígan" has its roots either in a word for "terror" or a word for "greatness".{{sfn|Clark|1990|pp=21–23, 208n.5}}