Morgause- Celtic FigureMortal"Queen of Orkney"
Also known as: Margawse and Anna
Titles & Epithets
Description
She came to the young king's bed not knowing he was her half-brother, and from that one night came Mordred, the son who would bring Camelot to ruin. Queen of Orkney and mother of Gawain and his brothers, Morgause wove herself into every thread of Arthur's fate.
Mythology & Lore
Queen of Orkney
Morgause appears in Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur as the wife of King Lot of Orkney and one of the daughters of Igraine, making her a half-sister of Arthur. She bore King Lot four sons who would become prominent knights of the Round Table: Gawain, the greatest among them; Gaheris; Agravain, whose suspicions would help unravel the court; and Gareth, the gentle knight known as Beaumains. Through these sons, Morgause's bloodline runs through much of the Arthurian narrative.
In Geoffrey of Monmouth's earlier Historia Regum Britanniae, the corresponding figure is named Anna, Arthur's sister who is married to King Lot and mothers Gawain (Walwanus) and Mordred. Malory's elaboration splits the role and gives Morgause a distinct identity from Morgan le Fay, though earlier traditions sometimes conflate or confuse the two sisters.
The Begetting of Mordred
The most consequential event in Morgause's story occurs early in Arthur's reign. In Malory's account, Morgause visits the young king's court, and Arthur, not knowing she is his half-sister, sleeps with her. From this unwitting incestuous union, Mordred is conceived. When Merlin later reveals the truth and prophesies that a child born on May Day will destroy the kingdom, Arthur attempts to avert the doom by setting all noble children born that day adrift at sea. The ship wrecks, but Mordred alone survives.
The incest and its consequences echo through the entire cycle: Mordred grows to manhood, joins the Round Table, and ultimately leads the rebellion that destroys Arthur and Camelot at the Battle of Camlann. Morgause is thus the unwitting instrument of the kingdom's doom, her liaison with Arthur setting in motion the fate no prophecy could prevent.
Death at Her Son's Hand
Morgause's own end is violent. In Malory's telling, she takes the knight Lamorak as her lover. This liaison enrages her sons because Lamorak's father, King Pellinore, had killed King Lot in battle. Gaheris discovers his mother in bed with Lamorak and, in a fury of mingled shame and vengeance, beheads her. The killing deepens the feuds among the knights of the Round Table, adding another fracture to the court that will eventually shatter entirely.