Uther Pendragon
Uther Pendragon ( pen-dragon or ben-dragon = "supreme leader; supreme warrior") is the father of King Arthur in the Arthurian legend , first mentioned by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain). At Geoffrey he impregnates Igraine , wife of Gorlois , Duke of Cornwall , while he appears to her by magic as her husband . The theme of illegitimate birth is repeated later when Arthur is conceiving Mordred .
The legendary figure of Uther could be based in part on the Anglo-Roman warlord Ambrosius Aurelianus . Geoffrey names Uther's older brother and predecessor on the British throne Ambrosius, together with a brother of Konstans, whom Vortigern made his puppet king, all three sons of a great king Constantine. This legendary great king could either be based on the historical Roman emperor Constantine III. based, who ruled between 407 and 411 and had a son Konstans († 411), or on King Constantine of Dumnonia , who lived in the 6th century; but this would mean that Arthur's origin was close to incest , since Igraine is also said to come from the house of Dumnonia . Geoffrey mixes fiction and reality in his story.
Modern adaptations
A largely free adaptation of the subject can be found in Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon .
Uther Pendragon has a leading role in the British television series Merlin - The New Adventures , played by Anthony Stewart Head .
In his novel The Last Legion (“L'ultima legione”, 2004, filmed in 2007 ), the writer Valerio Massimo Manfredi proposes the thesis of Romulus Augustulus , the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire , as Uther Pendragon.
Uther Pendragon also plays an important role in the US television series Cursed, which will be released on Netflix in 2020 .
See also
Web links
- Uther and Igraine in the Camelot Project at the University of Rochester (English)
- A detailed study of Uther Pendragon from EarlyBritishKingdoms.com (Engl.)