fair maidens
Beautiful young women
Fair maidens is a stock phrase from fairy tales, ballads, and fantasy literature, referring to young, beautiful, unmarried women—often in need of rescue or worthy of a knight's devotion.
The phrase sounds deliberately archaic or ironic in modern use: The dragon had captured three fair maidens.
Fair here means beautiful, and maiden means young unmarried woman.
- damselsYoung unmarried women
- damsel in distressWoman needing rescue
- princessesRoyal family daughters
- ladiesWomen, respectfully addressed
- beautiesExceptionally attractive ones
enchanted · castles · towers · knights · chivalry · courtly · golden-haired · innocent · virtuous · gentle · rescue · white knight · ballads · gowns · roses · beloved · suitors · romance
- medieval romancechivalric romance, courtly love, Arthurian legends, Arthurian legend, knightly quests
- chivalryknighthood, knights, chivalry, medieval knights, honor
- medieval knightsknight, knights, armor, sword, swords
- chivalric romanceknights, quests, Lancelot, chivalry, Gawain
fair maidenstemptresses
Women who entice
fallen women · harlots · scarlet women · jezebels · seductresses
fair maidenssorceresses
Female practitioners of magic
enchantresses · she-devils · harridan · dragon ladies · evil stepmothers
fair, maiden, fairly, fairness, fairer, fairest, unfair, unfairly, unfairness