I'm sold, my head canon is now Bismuth from Steven Universe handing King Arthur a sword fit for one of the Crystal Gems

https://steven-universe.fandom.com/wiki/Bismuth_(character)

We also visualize her emerging from the lake as though she lives at the bottom of it, with the sword fully formed. If she's smithing the sword she needs fire, so does she live next to the lake, or does myth magic allow her to do metalwork underwater?

Once we start applying reality there are a lot of questions. Does she have a full smithing career and trade, or does she only ever make the sword? Because that means that either Excalibur isn't as unique as we were led to believe, or her entire existence is about that one sword handoff, which is somehow more objectifying than thinking of her as some kind of water nymph, slender and graceful or not, who makes or acquires the sword magically, and spends most her time doing mysterious but unrelated magic.

otoh...

If she's a 'Lady' she's an aristocrat, not a commoner.

It makes more sense to think of her as a Queen giving a present to a fellow monarch instead of a smith who happened to come up with a great weapon.

I always figured she was the ruler of the fae who lived in the other dimensional version of England. She wanted peace and harmony in the human realm because conflict would spill over into her possessions.

President Kennedy made a joke that he'd go down in the history books as the man who brought Jackie Kennedy to Paris. We think of the Lady in relation to Arthur because that's the only reference we have. She had a life long before and long after she met him.

Look, strange women lying in ponds is no basis for a government!

I like this take, and now I want a full film and TV franchise about the Fae Queen.

There's a famous play called 'Brief Encounter,' and one of the aspects of it is that the hero borrows a friend's apartment for the afternoon so he can see his married lover. Director Billy Wilder was intrigued by the idea of someone lending out their home for trysts and wrote 'The Apartment' which is considered one of the best movies ever made.

https://youtu.be/OcslkrBMLGc

'Tom Brown's Schooldays' was one of the most widely read books in British history. There's a beastly bully in the books, a rogue by the name of Harry Flashman. Flashy gets thrown out of the school for drunkenness. Another writer came along a few decades later and wondered whatever happened to the scoundrel.

https://youtu.be/jdJGRKBPhPw

Courage. You might have a shot!

I'm sorry, are these about the Fae Queen? Did you maybe reply to the wrong comment?

So "lady of the lake" being a buff smithy lady, living in a hut near a swamp? I can live with that.

They are about minor characters in other books that were reinterpreted to great success. The Flashman novels are great picaresques.

Thank you.

I thought it was clear, and apparently you understood.

Many people consider the lady of the lake to be Morgana La Fae, and that Arthur's entire life was just one of her little schemes.

Oh I see, thanks for the explanation. My focus is more on female leadership representation in a medieval setting, less on spinoffs in general.

England

Wales. Arthurian legend was Welsh.

I just assume it was a royal family with the “royal sword” hidden out in the swamps.

What about if she were a God? Because the Celtic God Brigid's domain includes smithing

Edit: just realised the post already mentioned Brigid. I didn't read it properly. But Brigid is really cool — way cooler than the Saint that Christianity superimposed upon Brigid's feast day

Not jacked. Us smiths are actually kinda lithe. We're strong and have endurance for days, we don't have bulk because that would make our jobs harder.

You could try the Mists of Avalon, it’s a book about the Arthur legend, magic and all, told from the perspective of the women involved. I enjoyed it, but admittedly I read it decades ago.

It’s maybe not exactly what you are looking for, but might scratch the itch all the same :)

Maybe she's the kind that makes the iron hot by striking.

my headcannon:

Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government!

Damn, I should've read the comments before posting mine

Thanks :) my hunt is specifically for respected female leadership at the center of the narrative. It's hard to find, especially done very well. I like Joan of Arc stories, for example.

Then you might like mists of Avalon :) it’s about powerful women and their role in common lore, though it’s fiction :) it was written by a woman if that helps, Marion zimmer Bradley (why I remember that is unknown, but I do. I misplaced my copy many many moves ago)

Either way I wish you luck on your hunt! That’s the only thing I know of that might work, sorry I can’t suggest further!

"You can't expect to wield supreme executive power just 'cause some watery tart threw a sword at you!"

OTOH, maybe she was just taking a bath in the lake she lived beside when Arthur rocked up asking for a kickass sword?

And even now, the quality of the sword is often determined by how much you’re willing to pay for it. It’s possible she just gave him the most expensive, high-quality sword she’d ever made, because as the local king he was the only one who could afford it.

now all i can imagine is a scene in monty python and the holy grail where torbjorn from overwatch dressed in python-esque drag emerges from a sad little pond holding the sword, covered in various plants and detritus, and looking like a completely normal person.
Meanwhile everyone else treats her with reverence, like she's radiating dignity.