Egyptian Maid


Subject of a poem by Wordsworth in which Merlin, his jealous ire provoked by its splendor, blasts a glorious ship called the Water Lily out of the sky.

The ship had come from Egypt, and was bearing the Egyptian Maid, a princess sent by her father, the King of Egypt, to marry one of Arthur’s knights. At the command of Nina, the Lady of the Lake, Merlin brought her body to Arthur’s court, where a succession of knights tried to resurrect her but failed.

Finally, the pure Galahad touched her hand and restored her life. The two married.