Gaunt, Griffith.—Hero of a novel by Charles Reade, of same title.
Gavotte.—Name given to a certain dance common among people in the upper Alps.
Gawain, or Gawayne (gä´wān), Sir.—A nephew of King Arthur, and one of the most celebrated knights of the Round Table; noted for his sagacity and wonderful strength. He was surnamed “the courteous.” His brothers were Agravaine, Gaheris, and Gareth.
Gebir (gā´bēr).—A legendary eastern prince, said to have invaded Africa and to have given his name to Gibraltar. He is the subject of a poem of the same name by Walter Savage Landor.
Gellatley (gel´at-li), Davie.—The name of a poor fool in Sir Walter Scott’s novel of Waverley.
Geneviève (zhen-vyāv´).—(1) The heroine of a ballad by Coleridge. (2) Under the form Genovefa, the name occurs in a German myth as that of the wife of the Count Palatine Siegfried, in the time of Charles Martel. Upon false accusations her husband gave orders to put her to death, but the servant intrusted with the commission suffered her to escape into the forests of Ardennes, where she lay concealed, until by accident his husband discovered her retreat, and recognized her innocence.
Genevra.—A lady in Aristo’s Orlandos’ Furioso. Her honor is impeached, and she is condemned to die unless a champion appears to do combat for her. Her lover, Ariodantes, answers the challenge, kills the false accuser, and weds the dame. Spenser has a similar story in the Faërie Queene, and Shakespeare availed himself of the main incident in his comedy of Much Ado About Nothing.
Geraint (ge-rānt), Sir.—One of the knights of the Round Table. His story is told in Tennyson’s Idylls of the King under Geraint and Enid.
Geraldine.—A name frequently found in romantic poetry, especially Scott’s Lay of the Last Minstrel. The name is said to have been adopted from the heroine connected with Surrey, whose praises are celebrated in a famous sonnet.
Gertrude of Wyoming.—Heroine of a poem by Thomas Campbell.