Uther Pendragon

Also known as: King Uther / King Uther Pendragon / Uther / king Uther · Family: England · Role: king · First appears: Book I, Chapter I

In Book I, Chapter I, Uther Pendragon’s prolonged war with Duke of Tintagil ended briefly through the mediation of great lords, but Igraine refused Uther’s advances and secretly departed with her husband. Uther then ordered Duke of Tintagil to prepare for war, threatening to take his strongest castle, and besieged Terrabil, where many were slain. He placed his trust in Ulfius to deal between them, while Merlin agreed to grant Uther’s desire if he swore to fulfill Merlin’s request.

In Book I, Chapter II, Duke of Tintagil was slain while attacking Uther’s host. That night, Uther came to Igraine in the likeness of her dead husband and fathered King Arthur; soon afterward, Uther and Igraine were married with great celebration. At St. Albans in Chapter IV, Uther’s forces defeated the Northern host, with Ulfius and Brastias doing great deeds of arms. Within two years Uther fell gravely ill, and, urged by Merlin to appear in the field despite his sickness, he confirmed King Arthur as his son and rightful successor: “I give him God’s blessing and mine.” Uther then died and was buried with the honors due to a king.

After Uther’s death, King Arthur succeeded him. In later chapters, Merlin, Sir Ector, and Ulfius publicly confirmed that Uther was Arthur’s father and Igraine his mother, while Igraine recounted how Uther had come to her in her dead husband’s likeness. Arthur had been delivered to Merlin and raised by Sir Ector under Uther’s command. Uther had also loved and trusted Sir Baudwin, Sir Kay, Ulfius, and Brastias among his knights, and in Book III Merlin again made Arthur’s parentage openly known; Leodegrance remembered the Table Round as something Uther Pendragon had given him.