Morgause
Morgause , also known as Morgawse or Margawse (rarely Gwyar or Anna ) is a character from the legend about King Arthur . In some variants she is the half-sister or the aunt (mother sister) of King Arthur and either mother or tutor of his son Mordred , whom Arthur is said to have fathered in the sibling incest. Perhaps, historically, it is about a 'split off' or doubling of the figure of Morgan le Fay , whose sister or aunt she is. As Queen and consort of King Lot of Orkney , she is in many traditions the mother of Gawan , Gareth , Gaheris and Agravaine.
Medieval literature
In the Mabinogion , Arthur's sister and Queen of Orkney is called Gwyar. In the Historia Regum Britanniae, Geoffrey of Monmouth mentions Arthur's sister, who married Lot of Orkney, Anna. She is not just the half-sister here, but like Arthur, the child of Igraine and Uther Pendragon.
Morgause plays an active role in Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory . She is the daughter of Igraine and Gorlois, the Duke of Cornwall and has two sisters, Elaine and Morgan le Fay. After Uther Pendragon defeats her father and marries her mother, Morgause is married to King Lot of Orkney and has four sons with him. When her previously unknown half-brother Arthur ascends the throne, Morgause comes to Camelot to spy on the new king. Unaware that they are siblings, the two begin an affair and Morgause becomes pregnant with Mordred, who is sent to him after his birth on the orders of the king. However, an accident happens on the way to him and Mordred is found and raised by a common man.
After her husband is killed in the war against Arthur, Morgaus' sons enter Arthur's service. She herself begins a relationship with the young knight Lamorak. Unfortunately, he is the son of the knight Pellinore, who killed Lot in battle, causing a blood feud between him and her sons. When Gaheris finds her with Lamorak, he kills his own mother in a blind rage, whereupon Arthur banishes him from the court. Since her other sons believe that Lamorak killed their mother, they set a trap for him and kill him too.
Representation in film and television
In the two-part television film The Mists of Avalon , Joan Allen played the role of Morgause. She is Arthur's and Morgan's aunt and plans to take control of Britain with the help of her foster son Mordred. She has a rudimentary knowledge of Avalon magic and herbalism.
Morgause was played by Emilia Fox in the second and third seasons of the TV series Merlin - The New Adventures . She is the magical, combative trained half-sister of Morgana, but not related to Arthur. As Morgana suffers from Uther Pendragon's tyrannical rule and, as a magician, is increasingly estranged from her friends, Morgause quickly becomes her closest confidante. Morgause's great hope is to overthrow Uther by intrigue and enthrone her sister as Queen of Camelot.
literature
- Thomas Malory: Le Morte D'Arthur. Volume I. Penguin Books 1986: London, New York
- Thomas Malory: Le Morte D'Arthur Volume II. Penguin Books 1969: London, New York
Web links
- Morgause in the Camelot Project at the University of Rochester (English)