Editing Uther Pendragon
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A few minor references to Uther appear in [[Old Welsh language|Old Welsh]] [[Medieval Welsh literature|poems]], but his biography was first written down in the 12th century by [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] in his ''[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]'' (''History of the Kings of Britain''), and Geoffrey's account of the character was used in most later versions. He is a fairly ambiguous individual throughout the literature, but is described as a strong king and a defender of his people. |
A few minor references to Uther appear in [[Old Welsh language|Old Welsh]] [[Medieval Welsh literature|poems]], but his biography was first written down in the 12th century by [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] in his ''[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]'' (''History of the Kings of Britain''), and Geoffrey's account of the character was used in most later versions. He is a fairly ambiguous individual throughout the literature, but is described as a strong king and a defender of his people. |
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According to [[Matter of Britain|Arthurian legend]], [[Merlin]] magically [[Shapeshifting|disguises]] Uther to look like his enemy [[Gorlois]], enabling Uther to |
According to [[Matter of Britain|Arthurian legend]], [[Merlin]] magically [[Shapeshifting|disguises]] Uther to look like his enemy [[Gorlois]], enabling Uther to sleep with Gorlois' wife Lady [[Igraine]]. Thus Arthur, "the once and future king", is an illegitimate child (though later legend, as found in [[Thomas Malory|Malory]], emphasises that the conception occurred after Gorlois's death and that he was legitimated by Uther's subsequent marriage to Igraine<ref>{{Cite book|last=Malory|first=Thomas|url=http://name.umdl.umich.edu/MaloryWks2|title=Le Morte dArthur|date=1997}}</ref>). This act of conception occurs the very night that Uther's troops dispatch Gorlois. The theme of [[illegitimacy|illegitimate conception]] is repeated in Arthur's siring of [[Mordred]] by his own half-sister [[Morgause]] in the 13th century French prose cycles, which was invented by them; it is Mordred who mortally wounds [[King Arthur]] in the [[Battle of Camlann]]. |
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