But morgause, not knowing that king arthur was her halfbrother, had an affair with arthur and they produced one son named mordred. King arthur pendragon 46016 feb 537 was a legendary british leader who led the defense of great britain against the saxon invaders in the late 5th and early 6th centuries. As the war rages on in england, lot s sons, gawaine, gaheris, gareth, and agravaine, compete for the affections of their mother, the beautiful but cruel morgause. His brothers or halfbrothers are gawain, agravain, gaheris, and gareth. Tradition varies on his relationship to arthur, but he is best known today as arthurs illegitimate son by his half sister morgan le fay. Arthur, son of igraine and uther, is morgan s half brother. The name from either old welsh medraut, cornish modred, or old breton modrot is. Medraut mordred is an exception to this tradition of a childless death for arthur s sons. If youre familiar with sir gawain, then its probably from the 14th century romantic epic poem sir gawain and the green knight. Gawain was mordred s half brother and the son of morgause and king lot. According to modern writers, morgan had a son named mordred, by her own half brother, arthur, but most say that mordreds mother was arthurs other half sister, named morgawse, morgans younger sister. This author presents mordred and lancelot as openly gay. Described as arthur s nephew by some, while many stories cite mordred as being arthur s bastard son by his half sister morgause, the wife of king lot.
Son and nephew because king arthur made the mistake of having sex with his own sister. It was a mistake committed by king arthur before his father and mordred s mother got married. Mordred quondam et futurus fandom king arthur wiki. Merlin and the book of beasts 2009 laura harris plays the daughter of guenevere and arthur. Queen morgause anna is the sister to king arthur, thus making sir agravain king arthurs nephew, brother to sir gawain, gaheris, and mordred as his half brother. Tradition makes him the youngest son of queen morgause of orkney. In edison marshall s novel the pagan king 1959, mordred is arthur s half brother. Of the men rebelling against arthur, his most notable enemy is king lot of orkney. When arthur discovered the whole truth, in an attempt to kill mordred he had all children born on the day of mordred s birth set adrift.
Mordred and the king by john michael curlovich goodreads. He is mordred, the bastard son of arthur pendragon and his half sister, the witchqueen morgan le fay, and he now awaits trial for murder and treasonhow excellent. When i came to this land, this kingdom was mired in chaos, uther continued. Unfortunately, arthur has gotten his half sister pregnant who gives birth to mordred, the one who is destined to kill arthur. Morgan and her fellow cultists have for years nurtured a plan to regain control of england, the christian country ruled by morgans brother, king arthur, and. In malory s version, arthur slept with his half sister morgause, not knowing they were related and, as a result, mordred was born. Sir mordred appears to have been an historical personage. Mordred is usually a brother or half brother to gawain, however his other family relations as well as his relationships with arthur s wife guinevere vary greatly. Upon the death of king lot, gawain became the head of the orkney clan, which includes in many sources his brothers agravain, gaheris, and gareth, and his half brother mordred. He was raised as a son of her husband, king lot, but due to an unfortunate and uninformed encounter his real father was. In clegg s ambitious reimagining of camelot, mordred, the traditional villain of arthurian legend. She becomes an apprentice of merlin, and a capricious and vindictive adversary of some knights of the round table, all the while harbouring a special. Jun 25, 20 prince mordred is the son of morgan le fay, the witchqueen devotee of the great goddess, who rules wales.
They cant know were magic just by looking at us, merlin reassured. And were going to live there, merlin replied in the same manner, smiling at his brother. When he grew up, mordred became a knight of king arthurs roundtable. Anna, king arthurs sister, geoffrey of monmouth text. It is supposed to uncover the background story of mordred, which was never revealed by sir thomas malory in his book le morte d arthur. Bibliography of 230 novels with arthurian characters and themes an asteriskafter a book s title indicates that it earns extra credit for students in eng 215 because of its length or its complexity. In this case mordred has a daughter, but she is not king arthur s direct descendant as a result. Launcelot kills thirteen knights of the round table during his escape, including agravaine, king arthurs nephew. Mordred, born bastard and heathen of an incestuous coupling of the bloodline pundragon and the bloodline of the fay, conceived from the brutal rape of arthurs half sister morgan lefay, will be the instrument of the kings great unmaking. Medrautmordred is an exception to this tradition of a childless death for arthurs sons. Her interest in magic continues in the merlin novels written by mary stewart. This time he s gay and instead of being the villain of the piece, he s the hero. Dec 03, 2009 but in no existing medieval tale is mordred said to be morgana s child. She either eagerly agreed or fled to london and barricaded her self in the tower.
Left with no one to stop him, mordred crowns himself king and seizes arthur s throne for himself. Sir mordred, in his father king arthur s absence, was temporary ruler of all england. According to modern writers, morgan had a son named mordred, by her own half brother, arthur, but most say that mordred s mother was arthur s other half sister, named morgawse, morgan s younger sister. And they have a child, mordred, though arthur does not know it. Mordred king arthur and assosiates forum fictionpress. He betrayed king arthur and helped destroy king arthurs reign at camelot. In marshalls opinion, it must have seemed easier to combine the two into one character. In the prince valiant comic strip, begun by hal foster in 1937 and still running in more than 300 newspapers each sunday, mordred is also arthur s half brother. Lancelot hits him there in two duels 6 sir gareth, gawains brother. When he grew up, mordred became a knight of king arthur s roundtable. If mordred is all that is evil, then gawain is all.
Mordred can be found in the lowest circle of hell, set apart for traitors. Sir mordred, arthur s evil incest son 1, very pale, in the habit of wearing black and toying with a peacock feather 2 sir gawain, arthur s nephew, leader of the older and loyal knights 2. The story begins with his mother morgan le fay fleeing for her life because arthur wants to kill her before his bastard son s born. His story is one of ambition, power, and betrayal, and it will change the monk s life forever.
He is subsequently banished from king arthurs court as king riences forces entered england and began to ravage its land and people, king arthur gathered his council and knights. Upon his coronation a dramatic turn of events saw he and morgause share an incestuous night together a night that resulted in the birth of a son, mordred. Mordred s 18th birthday a smile both proud and sad graced morgana s lips as she tightened the final strap on her sons armor, preparing him to head into battle against arthur, the king of camelot, morgana s half brother, and mordred s father. Morgan unhappily marries urien with whom she has a son, yvain. Following his world saving feat with his fellow league heroes, he does his best to use his natural abilities for the good of humankind. Arthur, being raised away from the court and his heritage, was unaware that he had any half sisters. By the time of the vulgate cycle, morgan was arthurs half sister, and the sister of morgawse and elaine. The annales cambriae mention battle of camlann, in which arthur and medraut fell in the year 537, and gives no details about their relationship, nor on whether they were fighting on the same side. By the time of the vulgate cycle, morgan was arthur s half sister, and the sister of morgawse and elaine. Gawains parents were king lot of orkney and morgause though his mother is said to be anna in geoffrey of monmouths history of the kings of britain.
Mordred, bastard son the mordred trilogy, book 1 pdf. In other works, mordred has been depicted as arthurs brother, which may be another confusion with modron, but more likely authors just taking license with the story. Booklist douglas cleggs stunning mordred, bastard son will inspire and refresh michael rowe, advocate magazine. Lancelot hits him there in two duels 6 sir gareth, gawain s brother. In this narrative, he eventually becomes the main actor in arthurs downfall as he helps his halfbrother agravain to expose guineveres and lancelots affair and. In cleggs ambitious reimagining of camelot, mordred, the traditional villain of arthurian legend. Mordred s daughter maeve marries arn, the son of prince valiant. Tradition varies on his relationship to arthur, but he is best known today as arthurs illegitimate son by his half sister morgause, though in many modern. The books of le morte darthur each center on a particular character form the arthurian legends. King arthurs enchantresses, by carolyne larrington the. Enter captivating, fierce merlin, a prince of the seas, who insists on arthurs help to stop his power hungry half brother king mordred from forcefully uniting the oceanic people to conquer the surface world. As a baby, mordreds father, king arthur, tried to kill him, by sending him, and a. Mordred murdered or helped murder two of arthur s knights, sir lamorak as part of a family feud. The reason for arthurs downfall at the end of book 2 is given as his incest with morgause.
Ebk home kingdoms royalty saints pedigrees archaeology king arthur mail david. Le morte darthur book 24 summary and analysis gradesaver. Mordred, like amr, is killed by arthur at camlann according to geoffrey of monmouth and the postgalfridian tradition but, unlike the others, he is ascribed two sons, both of whom rose against arthur s successor and cousin constantine iii with the. Mordred, a notorious traitor, fought king arthur at the battle of camlann where he was killed and arthur fatally wounded, he is best known as arthur s illegitimate son with half sister morgause or arthur s half brother by scifi and fantasy art mordred s curse by scifi and fantasy art see more. Mordreds 18th birthday a smile both proud and sad graced morganas lips as she tightened the final strap on her sons armor, preparing him to head into battle against arthur, the king of camelot, morganas half brother, and mordreds father. He was a friend of the great witch merlin, and was also an acquaintance of morgen le. But the old order is threatened with collapse as val, deprived of his singing sword, is enslaved in the berber salt mines, a death watch has begun for the bedridden king arthur, and the monarch s half brother mordred plots to usurp the throne.
King arthur all the tropes wiki fandom powered by wikia. Mordred isnt morganas son, he is morgauses her half sister. Tradition varies on his relationship to arthur, but he is best known today as arthur s illegitimate son by his half sister morgause, though in many modern adaptations. A deceitful damosel arrives in camelot with a powerful sword. In the early accounts, and in many late accounts, mordred is the son of an entirely different sister of arthur by king loth of lothian and orcanie and the brother of gawain. Unfortunately for king arthur, mordred survived and was trained to be a knight along with his half brother gawain. Why would arthur have both a treacherous brother and nephew. However, arthur takes the crown and established order in the realm with his knights of the round table. By a twist of fate, morgause is also arthur s half sister, though he does not know it. Mordred, a notorious traitor, fought king arthur at the battle of camlann where he was killed and arthur fatally wounded, he is best known as arthurs illegitimate son with half sister morgause or arthurs half brother by scifi and fantasy art mordreds curse by. The book of mordred by vivian vande velde goodreads. Which means mordred was only half brother of gawain. According to the later versions like the merlin continuation postvulgate and malorys morte darthur, mordred was the son of arthur and morgawse, half sister of arthur. When the king died she was unaware that he had sired her half brother, arthur.
Prince mordred is the son of morgan le fay, the witchqueen devotee of the great goddess, who rules wales. According to the later versions like the merlin continuation postvulgate and malory s morte darthur, mordred was the son of arthur and morgawse, half sister of arthur. Mordred had never known that arthur had a sister so when arthur introduced her to his new knights, once could imagine what sort of impact the beautiful young princess had on the men. Gawain is mordred s brother already in the historia as well as in layamon s brut. Arthur finds the sword, blahblahblah, becomes king. When your father was still alive he pretty much kept you hidden save certain occasions. Camelot type books and began writing a series of young adult mystery novels. Satiric treatment of the legends, especially harsh on merlin. In earlier stories, he s simply arthur s nephew, which also makes him arthur s successor given that either arthur or guenevere are barren. Enter captivating, fierce merlin, a prince of the seas, who insists on arthur s help to stop his power hungry half brother king mordred from forcefully uniting the oceanic people to conquer the surface world. Mordred x arthurs sister reader it gets old bbc merlin. Romances which happen to mention both gawains mother and morgain never identify the two. Mordred was allegedly killed with arthur in the battle of camlann in 539, though early records such as the annales cambriae do not discern whether the men.
According to most legends, sir agravain is the second oldest son of king lot of orkney and his wife morgause, the sister of king arthur. Mordred was born on may day, the first day of summer according to celtic calendar, often known to the celtic people. But with the peoples help, magic was driven from the realm. King nantres is one of the eleven kings who are hostile to arthur. Described as arthurs nephew by some, while many stories cite mordred as being arthurs bastard son by his half sister morgause, the wife of king lot. Wace first names mordred only when arthur makes mordred his regent, when arthur sets sail to fight the romans, and just calls mordred arthur s nephew. Mordred is half brother to gawain, gareth, gaheris, and aggravain. May 28, 2012 in other works, mordred has been depicted as arthur s brother, which may be another confusion with modron, but more likely authors just taking license with the story. Sir balin le savage, the most powerful knight in the world, takes the sword and kills the lady of the lake. Carolyne larringtons scholarly and fascinating study of arthurian.
This novel focuses on keira, a young girl with a touch of magic that spends time with the arthur and mordred clans. Merlin, mordreds tutor, also suffers morgauses enmity at the end of this novel. By a twist of fate, morgause is also arthurs half sister, though he does not know it. If youre familiar with sir gawain, then it s probably from the 14th century romantic epic poem sir gawain and the green knight. Morgan le fay, arthurs lover and nemesis the circle cast. Mordred murdered or helped murder two of arthurs knights, sir lamorak as part of a family feud. There is an abundance of time, character, and location jumps in the novel that often left me trying to figure out what was going on. It was a mistake committed by king arthur before his father and mordreds mother got married. Upon the death of king lot, gawain became the head of the orkney clan, which includes in many sources his brothers agravain, gaheris, and gareth, and his half brother. Booklist douglas clegg s stunning mordred, bastard son will inspire and refresh michael rowe, advocate magazine. Le morte darthur book 2021 summary and analysis gradesaver.
The closest original canonical version is malorys morte darthur. He is gentle, not like his half brothers gawain and garet who enjoy killing. Lamoraks father, king pellinore, had slain king lot in battle, and lamorak had been having an affair with morgause and sir dinadan who had unhorsed mordred in a joust once, in partnership with his half brother sir agravain. Mordred was allegedly killed with arthur in the battle of camlann in 539, though early records such as the annales cambriae do not discern whether the men were fighting on the same side or were opposed. It was morgause who supposedly enjoyed an incestuous night of passion with her half brother, arthur, and thus begat their son, mordred. But in no existing medieval tale is mordred said to be morganas child. Nov 22, 2015 unfortunately, mordred gets his chance to overturn the order of things when arthur leaves him in charge while the king wages war far away sometimes this war is upon lancelot and his army, since arthur finally discovered the betrayal of his knight. Then theres arthur, who comes off as an abusive, incestuous and incoherent lout, accusing morganna, his half sister, of guile, deceit and treachery, and mordred arthurs unacknowledged son by. As the war rages on in england, lots sons, gawaine, gaheris, gareth, and agravaine, compete for the affections of their mother, the beautiful but cruel morgause. In later versions of the story, to add more angst, mordred is both son and nephew of king arthur. Be the first to ask a question about mordred and the king.
The prisoner is mordred, bastard son of king arthur pendragon and his half sister morgan le fay, who has been arrested for murder and treason. List of works based on arthurian legends wikipedia. Why would arthur have both a treacherous brother and. A young monk becomes enthralled by the story a mysterious prisoner begins to tell as he tends to his wounds. Mordred, bastard son the chronicles of mordred volume 1. Of arthurian legend, mordred is the son and nephew of king arthur. Nantres a king married to one of uther pendragon s daughters. His story is one of ambition, power, and betrayal, and it will change the monks life forever. Most sources from this period identify mordred as the son of arthur s sister, anna, and as the brother of gawain. Mordred is wounded, and reports to the king of launcelot and gunevers betrayal. In malory, if i remember correctly, arthur has three half sisters. He was a friend of the great witch merlin, and was also an acquaintance of morgen le fay. Mordred, the arthurian villan king arthur, the legend of.
Lamorak s father, king pellinore, had slain king lot in battle, and lamorak had been having an affair with morgause and sir dinadan who had unhorsed mordred in a joust once, in partnership with his half brother sir agravain. Avalon high 2010 britt robertson is cast as arthur as the setting of this disney channel original movie is a mix of battle sequences and a high school setting. Sir gawain was generally said to be the nephew of king arthur. Along with being a nephew of the king, he was the brother of sir gawain, gaheris, and gareth, and a half brother of mordred. Gawain was mordreds half brother and the son of morgause and king lot. Mordred, like amr, is killed by arthur at camlann according to geoffrey of monmouth and the postgalfridian tradition but, unlike the others, he is ascribed two sons, both of whom rose against arthurs successor and cousin constantine iii with the. Arthur, morgan le fay, how mordred came to be, the widening gulf between the old faith and the.
In edison marshalls novel the pagan king 1959, mordred is arthurs half brother. Merlin flinched, and mordred was suddenly very glad that his own head was safely buried in his brothers chest. She had been sent to the highkings court at caerleon in order to assess his intentions after her. Sep 12, 2005 unfortunately, velde s trademark dialogue, writing style, and maybe most importantly brevity are completely lacking from the book of mordred. In a popular telling originating from the french chivalric romances of the th century, and made prominent today through its inclusion in le morte d arthur, mordred is knighted by. He was the son of king uther pendragon and igraine, the husband of guinevere griffbyrne, and half brother of elaine and anna. Medrautmordred is an exception to this tradition of a childless death for arthur s sons. Sir mordred, arthurs evil incest son 1, very pale, in the habit of wearing black and toying with a peacock feather 2 sir gawain, arthurs nephew, leader of the older and loyal knights 2. Sir agravain is the second and most unpleasing son of king lot of orkney and queen morgause. Perhaps wace intends it to be understood that gawain and mordred were brothers, but in the early romances, except in the story of merlin which is a special case, mordred is not mentioned, and gawain has other brothers, usually agravain, guerrehet, and gaheriet.
When your father was still alive he pretty much kept you hidden save certain occasions and even sent you away. Mordred modred, medrawd, or medraut has become the traitor and the villain in the king arthur legends. He was knighted in king arthurs court because of his bravery in the saxon war and for liberating. She must defeat mordred her half brother and his book of beasts. Romances which happen to mention both gawain s mother and morgain never identify the two. It was a mistake committed by king arthur before his father and mordred s. Agravaine and mordred confront launcelot and guenever while they are together in bed. After all, if they hadnt had their little affair, none of mordreds brothers would have died, since he killed gareth and agravaine to save guinevere. Of course that makes arthur into a medieval christian king, because malory is writing in the middle ages about king from legendary times.
Most sources from this period identify mordred as the son of arthurs sister, anna, and as the brother of gawain. Gawain s parents were king lot of orkney and morgause though his mother is said to be anna in geoffrey of monmouth s history of the kings of britain. The book is split into three parts, one told by merlin s lover nimue and the other two by the random characters alayna and her daughter kiera, the latter of whom has inherited magical ability from her late father. He declared his intention to take queen guinevere as his wife, but the queen s reaction is in dispute. In edison marshall s novel the pagan king 1959, mordred is arthurs halfbrother. Morgan, morgause, mordred, and the fall of king arthur. But the old order is threatened with collapse as val, deprived of his singing sword, is enslaved in the berber salt mines, a death watch has begun for the bedridden king arthur, and the monarchs half brother mordred plots to usurp the throne.