Mordred, son of Arthur

Mordred, son of Arthur (orig. I Am Mordred) is a Camelot novel by the American writer Nancy Springer . In 2004 the German edition was published by dtv- Verlag.

action

The Mordred saga is told by Mordred himself, who was resurrected as a raven .

The reader learns that once the magician Merlin Arthur prophesied that a child would be chosen to kill Arthur and become ruler of Camelot. Arthur gave orders to collect all babies born on May 1st, put them in basket boats and leave them to the sea. As King Arthur was not allowed to show any remorse for Merlin's advice. All the babies die in the floods except one: Mordred, son of Arthur.

A fishing couple takes Mordred into their home and names him Kaul. As a fisherman's son, Kaul had a carefree childhood and his fishermen's parents told him that he was a gift from the sea god Llŷr . The beach, the fish and the seagulls are his home for him and he loves his parents.

But then the fine lady Nyneve appears and Kaul learns from her that his real name is Mordred. Mordred is accepted into the court of his mother Morgause and his stepfather, King Lot of Orkney and his half-brothers Gawain and Gareth , but instead of love and appreciation, Mordred earns hatred and contempt. He learns that King Arthur is his biological father and that his mother is Queen Morgause, the older half-sister of King Arthur. Arthur unknowingly slept with his sister, so Mordred is the result of inbreeding . Mordred begins to hate his own father for wanting his death. Nyneve had brought him to court to prove that you can determine your own fate. Mordred's only friend becomes a white dog he calls the Seagull.

Mordred is trained to be a page, and later comes to King Arthur's court as a squire after King Lot's death. Arthur meets Mordred as King Lot's stepson and doesn't know that he has taken in his own son. Mordred sets out on a search for his identity and wants to prove that he wasn't destined to become the hated regicide. But Merlin and Mordred's aunt Morgan LeFay pull the strings of fate.

effect

Mordred is not portrayed in the book as the villain, but as a young man who tries to escape his fate and win his father's love through bravery. Nancy Springer's book for young people is a psychological portrait of adventure, magic, fate and the search for identity.

Awards

The book was named Best Book for Young Adults and made it on Booklist Top Ten Fantasy Novel