.gif)
Gabrielle (Xena)
Encyclopedia
Gabrielle is a fictional character
played by Renée O'Connor
in Xena: Warrior Princess
. She is referred to by fans as the Battling Bard of Potidaea
. Her trademark weapons are the Amazon
fighting staff and later, the sais
. She was also an Amazon
Princess
and later an Amazon
Queen
.
The dwarf planet Eris
and its moon Dysnomia
had the interim names "Xena" and "Gabrielle" until they were officially named.
television movie
The Lost Kingdom
.
In the two musical episodes, Gabrielle's singing voice was mainly provided by Susan Wood. In the episode "Lyre, Lyre, Hearts on Fire
", O'Connor sang the chorus in "War" and the rap lead in "Gettin' Ready".
Gabrielle is the French
feminine form of the given name
Gabriel
, the Archangel, from the Hebrew meaning "messenger of God". The Greek transliteraion of "Gabrielle" would be Γαβριήλα, (Gavrila).
When Gabrielle first meets the Warrior Princess, Xena, she is a farm girl living in the village of Potidaea
. She and her sister Lila, along with several other village girls, have been kidnapped by the men of the warlord, Draco, to be sold as slaves
. Xena intervenes and rescues them. Awed by her fighting skills, Gabrielle decides that she wants to become a warrior too. She also wants to avoid the marriage that her parents, Herodotus and Hecuba, have arranged for her with her childhood friend Perdicas. Gabrielle insists on following an initially reluctant Xena on the road. The two women soon develop a strong bond of love and friendship. Over the six years of the series, Gabrielle evolves from a naive, idealistic teenager into a fully fledged, but deeply conflicted warrior fighting alongside Xena.
Gabrielle starts the series as a young adult who more or less stands behind Xena, and relies on Xena to protect her. Later on in the series, she acquires a fighting staff from the Greek Amazons and starts to use it as both a defensive and offensive weapon, displaying some skill in using the staff. As the series goes on, Gabrielle's skills with the staff continue to develop. In one episode, Gabrielle takes on numerous soldiers and single-handedly attempts to rescue Xena's presumably dead body. Two episodes later she is seen blocking an arrow in flight with her staff. Later on, Gabrielle also adds kicks and minor acrobatics
to her fighting abilities. With her teachings of Xena warrior princess
she was worthy of many foes.
While in India, Gabrielle is thrown through time by a Darsham to save Xena's soul. It is said that their souls are together throughout time
. In this next life Xena is the Mother of Peace, Arminestra and Gabrielle is Shakti, a Warrior Prince of India
. At the end of season 4, Gabrielle shows a leap in her warrior abilities. After months of following her path of the Way of Love, Gabrielle picks up the sword of a paralyzed Xena and fights off a large group of Roman soldiers, killing several of them.
By season 5, Gabrielle starts to fight with her sais, incorporating more acrobatic abilities, such as performing a wall run and back flip. In addition to sais
and sometimes a new casual staff, she can use a large array of weapons with proficiency. Gabrielle also fights against warriors with notable skill; she defeats the warrior Mavican and stands against Ares and Hades (two gods) in battle for a period of time, before they defeat her. She also fights in a sword duel with Brutus, Caesar's former right hand and one of the leaders of Rome, eventually killing him. Gabrielle's abilities throughout the series are noticed by the God of War who seeks her out as his new protégée. It is mentioned later by Gabrielle that Xena trained her throughout the years, although there have only been a few episodes that actually show Xena giving her any sort of martial arts training.
One of Gabrielle's biggest fights in the series is her fight against fellow Amazon queen, Varia
. They fight in an enclosed arena in a match in which Eve's life is at stake, and they appeared to be at a stand-off before she is beaten by Varia. Gabrielle takes the loss graciously and continues to grow in skill over the remaining season.
out of eating her, and makes an ally of him; talks an old man into giving her a lift; talks a violent crowd out of killing Xena; and talks her way into joining Xena as her traveling partner.
Besides her persuasive ability, she also reads and writes - rare skills for that time, loves to tell stories, and has some musical ability. As she travels with Xena, she records their adventures on a series of scrolls, with an eye for flair and drama. Occasionally her tendency to exaggerate and glamorize the facts gets her into trouble. She is also shown telling stories for money in an inn. In other episodes she wins a place in the Athens City Academy for Performing Bards, is a famous playwright, is a theatrical director, plays the pan pipes
with considerable skill, and is the only person able to recite a magical scroll with the correct accents.
Despite Gabrielle's ascendancy as a warrior, her role as a bard remains important. About a year into her travels with Xena, her scrolls about Xena's exploits begin to gain popularity, apparently helping, according to Ares, turn Xena into a legend. After their 25-year sleep, Gabrielle finds out that her stories had been read as far away as North Africa where they were popular among nomad tribes.
According to an episode set in modern times, Gabrielle's scrolls were preserved for thousands of years and discovered during World War II
by modern archeologists who were descendants of Xena, Gabrielle, and Joxer
. The scrolls found their way to Hollywood, where they formed the basis of the television series. This leads into an entire small story-arc in which the modern-day reincarnations of Xena, Gabrielle and Joxer meet and interact. Xena and Gabrielle's reincarnations get married; Joxer is a fan of the show.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
played by Renée O'Connor
Reneé O'Connor
Renée O'Connor is an American actress, producer and director best known for playing the role of Gabrielle on the TV series Xena: Warrior Princess from 1995 to 2001.-Early career:...
in Xena: Warrior Princess
Xena: Warrior Princess
Xena: Warrior Princess is an American–New Zealand supernatural fantasy adventure series that aired in syndication from September 4, 1995 until June 18, 2001....
. She is referred to by fans as the Battling Bard of Potidaea
Potidaea
Potidaea was a colony founded by the Corinthians around 600 BC in the narrowest point of the peninsula of Pallene, the westernmost of three peninsulas at the southern end of Chalcidice in northern Greece....
. Her trademark weapons are the Amazon
Amazons
The Amazons are a nation of all-female warriors in Greek mythology and Classical antiquity. Herodotus placed them in a region bordering Scythia in Sarmatia...
fighting staff and later, the sais
Sai (weapon)
The sai is a traditional Okinawan martial arts weapon. The basic form of the weapon is that of a pointed, dagger-shaped metal truncheon, with two curved prongs called yoku projecting from the handle...
. She was also an Amazon
Amazons
The Amazons are a nation of all-female warriors in Greek mythology and Classical antiquity. Herodotus placed them in a region bordering Scythia in Sarmatia...
Princess
Princess
Princess is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters....
and later an Amazon
Amazons
The Amazons are a nation of all-female warriors in Greek mythology and Classical antiquity. Herodotus placed them in a region bordering Scythia in Sarmatia...
Queen
Queen regnant
A queen regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right, in contrast to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning king. An empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right over an empire....
.
The dwarf planet Eris
Eris (dwarf planet)
Eris, formal designation 136199 Eris, is the most massive known dwarf planet in the Solar System and the ninth most massive body known to orbit the Sun directly...
and its moon Dysnomia
Dysnomia (moon)
- References :...
had the interim names "Xena" and "Gabrielle" until they were officially named.
Creation and production
O'Connor was chosen to play the role after she impressed producers with her performance in the HerculesHercules: The Legendary Journeys
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys is a television series, filmed in New Zealand and the United States. It was produced from 1995, and was very loosely based on the tales of the classical Greek culture hero Heracles...
television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
The Lost Kingdom
Hercules And The Lost Kingdom
-Overview:Hercules comes to the aid of a young woman who is seeking the lost city of Troy. Eventually, Hercules leads her to a camp of refugees from the city, which has been taken over by Hera's Blue Priests. Hercules helps the refugees take back the city....
.
In the two musical episodes, Gabrielle's singing voice was mainly provided by Susan Wood. In the episode "Lyre, Lyre, Hearts on Fire
Lyre, Lyre, Hearts on Fire
"Lyre, Lyre, Hearts on Fire" is the tenth episode of the fifth season of the syndicated television series Xena: Warrior Princess. It was written by Adam Armus and Nora Kay Foster, directed by Mark Beesley, and first aired on January 17, 1999....
", O'Connor sang the chorus in "War" and the rap lead in "Gettin' Ready".
Gabrielle is the French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
feminine form of the given name
Given name
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
Gabriel
Gabriel
In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an Archangel who typically serves as a messenger to humans from God.He first appears in the Book of Daniel, delivering explanations of Daniel's visions. In the Gospel of Luke Gabriel foretells the births of both John the Baptist and of Jesus...
, the Archangel, from the Hebrew meaning "messenger of God". The Greek transliteraion of "Gabrielle" would be Γαβριήλα, (Gavrila).
Gabrielle - from farm girl to warrior
Potidaea
Potidaea was a colony founded by the Corinthians around 600 BC in the narrowest point of the peninsula of Pallene, the westernmost of three peninsulas at the southern end of Chalcidice in northern Greece....
. She and her sister Lila, along with several other village girls, have been kidnapped by the men of the warlord, Draco, to be sold as slaves
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
. Xena intervenes and rescues them. Awed by her fighting skills, Gabrielle decides that she wants to become a warrior too. She also wants to avoid the marriage that her parents, Herodotus and Hecuba, have arranged for her with her childhood friend Perdicas. Gabrielle insists on following an initially reluctant Xena on the road. The two women soon develop a strong bond of love and friendship. Over the six years of the series, Gabrielle evolves from a naive, idealistic teenager into a fully fledged, but deeply conflicted warrior fighting alongside Xena.
The Battling Bard of Potidaea
Gabrielle starts the series as a young adult who more or less stands behind Xena, and relies on Xena to protect her. Later on in the series, she acquires a fighting staff from the Greek Amazons and starts to use it as both a defensive and offensive weapon, displaying some skill in using the staff. As the series goes on, Gabrielle's skills with the staff continue to develop. In one episode, Gabrielle takes on numerous soldiers and single-handedly attempts to rescue Xena's presumably dead body. Two episodes later she is seen blocking an arrow in flight with her staff. Later on, Gabrielle also adds kicks and minor acrobatics
Acrobatics
Acrobatics is the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility and motor coordination. It can be found in many of the performing arts, as well as many sports...
to her fighting abilities. With her teachings of Xena warrior princess
Xena
Xena is a fictional character from Robert Tapert's Xena: Warrior Princess franchise. She first appeared in the 1995–1999 television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, before going on to appear in Xena: Warrior Princess TV show and subsequent comic book of the same name...
she was worthy of many foes.
While in India, Gabrielle is thrown through time by a Darsham to save Xena's soul. It is said that their souls are together throughout time
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
. In this next life Xena is the Mother of Peace, Arminestra and Gabrielle is Shakti, a Warrior Prince of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. At the end of season 4, Gabrielle shows a leap in her warrior abilities. After months of following her path of the Way of Love, Gabrielle picks up the sword of a paralyzed Xena and fights off a large group of Roman soldiers, killing several of them.
By season 5, Gabrielle starts to fight with her sais, incorporating more acrobatic abilities, such as performing a wall run and back flip. In addition to sais
SAIS
SAIS can refer to:* Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, part of The Johns Hopkins University.* Sharjah American International School* Southern Association of Independent Schools...
and sometimes a new casual staff, she can use a large array of weapons with proficiency. Gabrielle also fights against warriors with notable skill; she defeats the warrior Mavican and stands against Ares and Hades (two gods) in battle for a period of time, before they defeat her. She also fights in a sword duel with Brutus, Caesar's former right hand and one of the leaders of Rome, eventually killing him. Gabrielle's abilities throughout the series are noticed by the God of War who seeks her out as his new protégée. It is mentioned later by Gabrielle that Xena trained her throughout the years, although there have only been a few episodes that actually show Xena giving her any sort of martial arts training.
One of Gabrielle's biggest fights in the series is her fight against fellow Amazon queen, Varia
Varia (Xena)
Varia is a fictional character in the television series Xena: Warrior Princess. She is portrayed by Tsianina Joelson.-Character history:...
. They fight in an enclosed arena in a match in which Eve's life is at stake, and they appeared to be at a stand-off before she is beaten by Varia. Gabrielle takes the loss graciously and continues to grow in skill over the remaining season.
Characterization
Gabrielle's bardic skills appear to be natural and self-taught. In the opening episode, she displays a remarkable ability to talk her way out of fearsome or difficult situations: she talks a cyclopsCyclops
A cyclops , in Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, was a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his forehead...
out of eating her, and makes an ally of him; talks an old man into giving her a lift; talks a violent crowd out of killing Xena; and talks her way into joining Xena as her traveling partner.
Besides her persuasive ability, she also reads and writes - rare skills for that time, loves to tell stories, and has some musical ability. As she travels with Xena, she records their adventures on a series of scrolls, with an eye for flair and drama. Occasionally her tendency to exaggerate and glamorize the facts gets her into trouble. She is also shown telling stories for money in an inn. In other episodes she wins a place in the Athens City Academy for Performing Bards, is a famous playwright, is a theatrical director, plays the pan pipes
Pan flute
The pan flute or pan pipe is an ancient musical instrument based on the principle of the closed tube, consisting usually of five or more pipes of gradually increasing length...
with considerable skill, and is the only person able to recite a magical scroll with the correct accents.
Despite Gabrielle's ascendancy as a warrior, her role as a bard remains important. About a year into her travels with Xena, her scrolls about Xena's exploits begin to gain popularity, apparently helping, according to Ares, turn Xena into a legend. After their 25-year sleep, Gabrielle finds out that her stories had been read as far away as North Africa where they were popular among nomad tribes.
According to an episode set in modern times, Gabrielle's scrolls were preserved for thousands of years and discovered during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
by modern archeologists who were descendants of Xena, Gabrielle, and Joxer
Joxer
Joxer is a fictional character in the syndicated television series Xena: Warrior Princess, played by American actor Ted Raimi. He is a comical wanna-be warrior who styles himself "Joxer the Mighty", and later "Joxer the Magnificent"....
. The scrolls found their way to Hollywood, where they formed the basis of the television series. This leads into an entire small story-arc in which the modern-day reincarnations of Xena, Gabrielle and Joxer meet and interact. Xena and Gabrielle's reincarnations get married; Joxer is a fan of the show.
External links
- Gabrielle at the Xena and Hercules Wiki.