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To: alt.magick
From: tyagi mordred nagasiva 
Subject: The Case of Sir Mordred (LONG) (mordred.tmn)
Date: 49940714

November 1991

The Case of Sir Mordred: Research/Comment 
by tyagi MORDRED nagasiva
_________________________________________

What follows is the result of research into the Arthurian legends 
about the character 'Sir Mordred', who may have been maligned and 
misunderstood for centuries.

Mordred is the son of Arthur and his sister or half-sister, depending 
upon the version of the legend one reads.  The sister's identity is 
probably Morgause or Morgan le Fay, and there are countless references 
to her incestuous encounter with Arthur.  The portrayals, if kind to 
Arthur, often place the 'blame' upon her - sometimes a result of her 
'abilities of enchantment', and sometimes resulting from her deception 
regarding her relationship with Arthur.

Many writers make obvious their distaste for incest.  Their attempts 
to shield Arthur from responsibility for this act by attributing magical 
abilities to his sister remind me of rapists who claim that the victim was 
somehow responsible.

Mordred's motives are seldom addressed, or they are characterized as 
'evil' or unsavory in the extreme.  Mordred is cast as a villain foil to 
a king hero; a rather two-dimensional caricature.  I suggest that 
Mordred is more complex a character than is to be found in tales of 
Christian chivalry.  Malory's Mordred is too shallow, too unknown, too 
inhuman to be believed.

One may imagine countless possibilities that may have been glossed over 
as 'unacceptable' when Malory drew from French romances and other 
sources to compose his 'Le Morte D'Arthur' (late 1400's, early 1500's).  
Of course I have yet to sample much beyond Malory, a few translations of 
the Mabinogion (Irish myths on which some Arthurian tales are based), 
and the opinions of various theorists who have their own interests at 
heart.  It is but the beginning of this research project and the 
possibilities are endless.

Arthur could have raped his sister, whether or not he knew she was 
related to him.  Mordred would then have a motive of revenge which, while 
perhaps not justified by the standards of the tales in question, would at 
least give the reader a context for his actions.  This would also account 
for the lack of acknowledgement which Mordred received from Arthur and 
the sparse mention made of Arthur's relationship with his sister.  Wasn't 
incest considered 'wrong'?  If he wasn't magically raped, then what would 
this say about Arthur's ability to perform as king of the realm?  Would not 
Mordred be in the best position to know this?

Mordred might have seen Arthur as weak and indecisive, and himself as a 
superior warrior and potential king.  As Arthur's sister's son, a matrilinear 
succession which may have presided in the days of the Celtic Arthur might 
prove important. As Arthur's only child, a patrilinear succession beyond 
the laws of clans might also be involved.  The resolution of conflict 
regarding succession of power may be an element of society which 
Mordred symbolizes.

Mordred may indeed have had the well-being of the realm in mind when he 
attempted to sieze power.  Arthur's handling of Guinevere's romance with 
Launcelot seems to validate this hypothesis.  The king quickly condemns 
her in anger, yet later rescinds his judgements.  Is a queen's love 
expressed to a man other than the king something which is treasonous and 
punishable by death?  If so, then the law either needs to be changed or 
enforced to be called 'just'.  Arthur does neither.  Is he somehow above 
his own laws?  This is definitely one of Arthur's key weaknesses - his 
inability to balance his love for his wife and Launcelot with his 
regard for justice.

Mordred may have been opposed to authoritarianism and hierarchical 
control.  He may have seen Arthur as a brash monarch who played out his 
own interests irresponsibly, with a callous disregard for the people.  
Rigid hierarchy and strict moral standards conceal an insecure and
weak social fabric.

Malory's portrayal of Arthur and his knights as 'Christian' and 
Sir Mordred as 'evil' makes sense here.  The establishments at the time 
he wrote 'Le Morte' were the Church and the aristocracy of Europe.  
Mordred may well represent the political factions in favor of 
decentralization and egalitarianism - an end to monarchy.  This 
political position was probably unpopular in Malory's time and his 
characterization of Mordred's "easy and lawless rule" which he 
compared to Arthur's "high service" seems to support this.
	
I put forward, through excerpt, in the following pages, a substantiation 
for the claim that not only is Sir Mordred not 'evil' in the sense of 
serving as a force of irrational malevolence, but that he may function as 
the herald of new political systems - those based not on centralized 
control and monarchic power but on anarchy or popular self-governance.

These political ideas were seen as unmanageable, impossible, and immature 
during the Middle Ages and would have posed a direct threat to the power 
structures of the world in which Mordred was created.  In a world of 
'blacks' and 'whites', 'goods' and 'evils', Mordred would instantly be 
condemned as a scallywag and troublemaker by those who sought to 
promote 'good Christian hierarchy' under a feudal system of government.

Of course I do not mean to imply that Sir Mordred didn't have problems of 
his own or that he didn't have his own best interests in mind in his 
activities.  After all, he was the bastard son of a popular ruler.  This 
would have given him enough to deal with, but tales in which Arthur intends 
to have Mordred killed as an infant to conceal his incestuous shame set the 
stage for a monumental battle which has its climax on the Plain of Camlann.

Something which Mordred certainly represents above ALL other 
considerations is egotism.  By whatever means, he rose to the status of 
knighthood, and for this he must be commended.  Any bitterness his 
mother had concerning her relationship with Arthur might have been bred 
into Mordred as well, and his enthusiasm, considering his denied lineage 
and any actions taken to prevent its fruition, is understandable.  And this, 
egotism, is what Malory condemns as 'evil', not a caricature of a good 
king's rival, but the robust challenge of an enthusiastic, if ill-fated 
young man.  There are times when, although Mordred's acts fall squarely 
within what may be called modern 'justice', Malory describes his actions 
as 'plots' and 'wickedness'.

The real story is that Arthur had his weaknesses and Mordred, whatever 
his motives, sought to capitalize on them for his own ends, bringing truth 
to light as revenge for his sorely bruised ego.  There is no crime in this, 
nor is there 'evil'.  Any such characterization is incomplete at best and 
immature at worst. I hope that these initial excepts, taken from very 
moral and condemning Arthurian legends, makes this very clear.


"...'I am Iddawg son of Mynyo, yet I am better known by my nickname.'  'Will 
you tell us what that nickname is?'  'I will.  I am called Iddawg the Churn 
of Britain.'  'Chieftain, why are you called that?'  asked Rhonabwy.  'I will 
tell you.  I was one of the messengers at the Battle of Camlann between 
Arthur and his nephew Medrawd [Mordred].  I was a high-spirited young man, 
so eager for battle that I stirred up bad feeling between them:  when the 
Emperor Arthur sent me to remind Medrawd that Arther was his uncle and 
foster-father, and to ask for peace lest the sons and nobles of the island 
of Britain be killed, though Arthur spoke as kindly as he could I repeated 
his words to Medrawd in the rudest possible way. Thus I am called Iddawg the 
Churn of Britain, and that is how the Battle of Camlann was woven."

_The Mabinogion_, Transl. by Jeffrey Gantz, pp. 180-1.
_________________________________________________


"Mordred: the incestuously begotten son of Arthur and Morgause.  When 
Arthur realised that he had slept with his half-sister, he attempted to 
kill his son by issuing a Herod-like proclamation that all babies born 
at that time be exposed in an open boat.  Mordred survived to be raised 
by Morgause who eventually sent him to court, though Mordred was never 
openly recognised as Arthur's son or successor.  When the Round Table 
was in collapse, Mordred capitalised on the weakness and Arthur's absence 
to seize command.  He was slain by Arthur, whom he mortally wounded."

_The Elements of The Arthurian Tradition_, by John Matthews, p. 101.
_____________________________________________________________


"When, on their wedding night, Gawain suddenly finds that his hideous 
bride has become a ravishingly beautiful woman, he is given a further 
choice: to have her fair by night and foul by day, or vice versa.  His 
response is to allow her to choose, and the spell is thus broken because 
Gawain gave her 'sovereignty', the right to be herself and to express 
her own nature - a rare enough thing in the repressive Middle Ages.

"Behind this curious tale we catch a glimpse of an age-old theme, where 
the Goddess of Sovereignty herself encounters the new, young king of the 
land and by testing him proves his worthiness to rule.  In the version 
outlined above Gawain acts as Arthur's surrogate, and is, at the same 
time, established as the Champion of the Goddess, who through him offers 
her blessing upon the land.

"Her choice of Gawain, Arthur's nephew, is not out of place, since to the 
Celts the relationship of sister's son was considered of equal or even 
greater worth than patrimony.  We may see in this a natural 
concomitant of the act where Arther begets a child upon his half-sister 
Morgause.  In the romances she is Morgan's sister, but it is easy to detect 
the presence of a single figure behind both - the Goddess of the Land, 
testing the young king.  For whatever reason, in this instance Mordred, the 
offspring of this union, becomes Arthur's nemesis - perhaps because, in his 
pride, Arthur refused to acknowledge the right, by Celtic law, of his 
sister's son to rule.  (In the same way, he ordered the head of the god Bran 
the Blessed, buried under White Mount in London to offer protection 
against invasion, to be dug up, on the grounds that he alone would ward the 
land from its enemies."

Ibid, p. 42.
_________________


"After creating the opportunity for conception through enchantment and 
shape changing, Merlin takes the resulting infant away into seclusion, 
where he protects him and imparts his early education.  It is Merlin, also, 
who arranged the fostering of the secret king, a typically Celtic motif, 
and who subsequently advises Arthur after his ascent to the British throne.  
It is Merlin who makes the Round Table, which leads to the final Quest.

"Sequences of this sort may be fruitfully interpreted upon several levels, 
and it is far from sufficient to read such a pattern as the paradigm of a 
perfect realm and ruler, advised by esoteric wisdom.  Indeed, Arthur's 
realm, created and supported by ancient powers and genetic magic, was 
inherently flawed.  The expression of this flaw, Mordred, the physical 
offspring of incest between Arthur and his sister, is no idle moralistic 
fantasy; it reveals the working of potent forces breaking through into 
an unbalanced generation."

_The Prophetic Vision of Merlin_, by R.J. Stewart, p. 11.
_______________________________________________________________


"It is, of course, the inevitable corruption of the hierarchical power 
(Arthur's incest with his sister) which begets the doom of the Kingdom, 
and which prompts the Quest.

"At certain stages of the cycles of development and decay, Merlin seems 
to stand aside, or disappear.  He initiates a new potential golden age with 
the birth of Arthur, but is absent during his fostering.  He helps Arthur 
gain the Throne and to rule wisely, but cannot prevent the doom of the 
begetting of Mordred.

"He organizes the Round Table, and hence the Quest, yet it is the seeking 
of the Grail that accelerates the closing of the Arthurian age.  At the 
present time, folklore gives us both Arthur and Merlin sleeping, in the 
blessed isles, or in the hollow hills, both being representations of the 
UnderWorld of the Celts.

"From an esoteric and magical viewpoint it should be realized that 
Merlin's apparent periods of imprisonment and inactivity are actually 
more important than his known actions.  If we reconsider the old tale of 
Merlin's enchantment by Nimue, a sorceress or priestess of the Dark 
Goddess, we find that it contains the seed of the old transformative 
magic of the UnderWorld.  When Merlin is asleep or imprisoned, he is 
separated from our surface group consciousness. During these periods, 
which bear no relationship to serial or historic time, Merlin is under the 
power of the Goddess of Taking, and it is his absence from our 
consciousness that allows the breakdown of static and potentially 
corrupt hierarchies or structures of society.  We could just as easily 
observe that it is not Merlin that sleeps but ourselves."

Ibid, p. 15.
___________________


"In the succession of the Celtic kingship, it is the king's nephew, not 
the king's son, who has precedence.  The blood of the mother, not the 
father, confers royalty status, hence the king's sister produces the 
heir.  Matrilinear succession is clearly an ancient practice which is 
still observable with Arthurian tradition and within the Mabinogion, 
long after the introduction of primogeniture among the Norman kings 
governing England and Wales.  As we will see, it is Arthur's nephews who 
figure largely in the heroic stories of his court, while his son, 
Medraut or Mordred, is his opponent."

_Mabon and the Mysteries of Britain_, by Caitlin Matthews, p. 77.
__________________________________________________________


"The triple geise or prohibition upon Llew strongly prevents his 
acknowledgement among society since without a name, arms or a wife, 
he would be a non-entity.  Since Gwydion has taken away her own reputation 
or name, Arianrhod refuses to name Llew.  Her reluctance to name him is 
perhaps also due to the fact that he is the child of her brother.  The 
incestuous parentage of the hero is well-attested in Celtic folklore. 
(Note: Rees, A. and Rees, B., Celtic Heritage, London, Thames and Hudson, 
1961).  Such a union produces a special child with superhuman abilities: 
yet he is generally outcast by being thrown into the sea, as in the case 
of Mordred or Taliesin.  Here, of course, it is Llew's brother, Dylan, who 
takes to the sea."

Ibid, p. 80.
_______________


"And the Queen noticed that Launcelot avoided her now and rode away 
from Camelot on every quest that offered, and one day she sent for him 
and said:

"'Sir Launcelot, I see and feel daily that your love for me grows less, 
and you ride ever to help damsels and gentlewomen.  Have you perhaps 
found one of them who is dearer to your heart than I am?'

"'Ah madam,' said Launcelot sadly, 'I love you only and no other woman in 
all the world.  But for many reasons I strive to flee your presence.  Lately,
when I followed the Quest of the Holy Grail, it was shown me how sinful was 
my love for you - for you, the wife of my dear lord King Arthur: and had it not 
been for this love I would have seen what Sir Gawain saw, and partaken from 
the Grail itself with my son Sir Galahad and with Sir Percivale and Sir Bors: 
and that I may not lightly forget.  Moreover I think also of your good name - 
for there are those about the Court who wait only some such chance as this 
to bring sorrow to King Arthur, and shame and dissension to the whole realm 
of Logres [Arthur's Britain].'...

"Then all the fellowship of the Round Table, one hundred and ten of them, 
laid hands in turn upon Sir Urry; but none might heal him.

"'Where is Sir Launcelot of the Lake?' asked King Arthur then.  'For if he 
cannot do this thing, then surely there is no knight worthy enough.'

"And while they stood speaking of this things Launcelot came riding 
back to Camelot.  Arthur told him what had chanced and begged him to 
attempt the cure of Sir Urry.

"'Not so,' exclaimed Sir Launcelot.  'It were but evil pride in me to think 
that I might succeed where so many noble knights have failed.'

"'You shall not choose,' said King Arthur, 'for I lay my command upon you.'

"'Then, my most noble lord,' answered Launcelot, 'I will not disobey you.'

"So Launcelot knelt down beside Sir Urry, and when he had prayed a while 
he laid his hands on the three cruel wounds: and at once Sir Urry was as 
whole and as well as if he had never been wounded at all.

"All the knights, and King Arthur among them, shouted aloud for joy and 
thanked God for His mercy.  But Launcelot wept as if he were a little child 
that had been beaten.  Then King Arthur grew silent too, for he remembered 
how upon the day when he first came to Camelot, Launcelot had healed a 
wounded knight in the very same way, and how Nimue, the Lady of the Lake 
of Avalon, had prophesied that Launcelot would do just such another deed, 
his very last before the passing of Logres....


"...King Arthur thanked Launcelot before all the court for rescuing his 
Queen.  Guinevere, however, said little, only she looked upon Launcelot 
with shining eyes, and she whispered to him: 'Come to me in my garden at 
sundown, for I would thank you alone.'

"It chanced that Agravain, Sir Gawain's brother, heard her words.... Agravain 
told Sir Mordred, his cousin....

"Mordred... and Agravain hid themselves in the Queen's garden that evening 
when the sun was casting long shadows under the apple trees...

[Queen Guinevere:]
"'Oh Launcelot, Launcelot,' she said softly, 'since the first day that you 
came to Camelot, when I was little more than a girl, the bride of King Arthur, 
I saw you and loved you.'

"'I loved you that day also,' said Launcelot, 'and all these years I have 
striven against that love - in vain.'

""Launcelot,' said Guinevere, her voice trembling, 'I wish above all things 
in the world that you would be my lord and my love, even though it must be 
in secret.... I would that you might come and visit me secretly in my room 
this evening...'

"'My lady and my love,' said Launcelot in a strained voice, 'wish you that 
with all of your heart?'

"'Yes truly,' answered the Queen.

"'Then for your love, it shall be so!' cried Launcelot.

"Guinevere drew near to him and kissed him on the lips: then she turned and 
glided away through the twilight....  But Launcelot stood quite still with 
the last sunbeam on his face, and he trembled from head to foot, and sighed 
with joy as he remembered Guinevere's kiss.

"Presently he also turned and went out of the garden in the gathering 
darkness.

"'And now,' said Sir Mordred, 'my time has come.  These two have given the 
whole realm of Logres into my hands.'...

[King Arthur:]
"'Take twelve knights and do what must be done,' said King Arthur when he 
had heard all the tale.  'But woe to you if you have come to me with lies 
and slanders in your mouths - for this is the saddest night's work that ever 
has been in this land.

"Sir Launcelot sat up late in his room with Sir Bors; and at last he rose to 
his feet and said:

"'I bid you good night, fair cousin.  I go to speak with the queen.'

"'Sir,' said Bors, 'I counsel you not to go this night.'

"'Why not?' asked Launcelot.

"'I fear Sir Mordred,' answered Bors, 'for he and Sir Agravain are ever about 
to do you shame and bring ruin upon us all.'

"'Have no fear,' said Launcelot, 'I shall go swiftly and silently, and return 
at once.'...

"Then Launcelot took his sword under his arm, wrapped his long furred gown 
about him, and went through the dark castle to Queen Guinevere's room.

"And they had not been together for many minutes when Sir Mordred and 
Sir Agravain, with their twelve knights, came to the door and cried:

"'You traitor, Sir Launcelot, now are you caught!'  This they shouted with a 
loud voice so that all the castle might hear.

"'Alas!' sobbed Queen Guinevere, 'now are we both betrayed!'

"'Madam,' said Launcelot, 'is there any armour here that I can put on?  If so, 
these cravens shall not take me easily.'

"'Alas, no,' said Guinevere, 'I have no armour, nor a helmet, nor even a 
shield: wherefore I fear that our long love is come to a sad end.'

"But Launcelot turned to the door and shouted: 'Fair lords, cease from all 
this noise and I will open the door quietly.'

"'Come quickly, you traitor knight!'  they shouted back.  'If you yield 
yourself quietly we will take you prisoner and bring you before 
King Arthur.'...


"...Sir Mordred came, all wounded, to Arthur where he sat with Gawain in 
the great hall.

"'How comes this to be?' asked the king.  'Did you not take him in the 
queen's chamber?'

"'He was there indeed,' gasped Mordred, 'and all unarmed.  But he slew first 
Sir Colgrevaunce, armed himself in his armour, and killed all those who 
came against him, except for me, who escaped thus wounded.' 
[Accurately portrayed]

"'Ah,' said the king sadly, 'he is indeed a marvellous knight!  Alas that 
ever Sir Launcelot should be against me, for now I am sure that the noble 
fellowship of the Round Table is broken for ever, for many knights will 
side with him.'

"'What of the queen?' asked Mordred.  'She is guilty of high treason, and by 
the law she must die at the stake!'...

"'The queen must die according to the law,' said King Arthur.  'But if 
Launcelot comes here again he shall suffer a shameful death.

"'Then God forbid that ever I be by to see it!' exclaimed Gawain.

"Yet he slew your brother Agravain,' said King Arthur.

"'Often I warned Agravain,' answered Sir Gawain, 'for I knew what his plots 
would bring him to.  Moreover he was one of fourteen armed knights attacking 
a man unarmed...Therefore I pardon Sir Launcelot his death.'

"'Make you ready in the morning to lead my queen to the fire,' said King Arthur.

"'Not so, my most noble King,' cried Gawain, 'it shall never be said that 
I was of your counsel for her death.'...


"So Guinevere was led to the stake, dressed only in her smock, and many 
followed her in mourning garments.  But Sir Mordred was there fully armed 
and with a band of knights armed also.

"But when the torch was already lit, suddenly Sir Launcelot came, with his 
followers, cut his way to the stake, slaying many knights as he went, and 
carried off Queen Guinevere.  But, without knowing it, Launcelot killed both 
Gaheris and Gareth who stood near the stake unarmed and in mourning costume.

"Then Sir Launcelot and all those who favoured his cause rode away into his 
own lands of Gwynedd in North Wales and fortified themselves strongly in 
his Castle of Joyous Garde.

"Now indeed the realm of Logres was broken, for Britain was split with civil 
war, and there was hatred where of old love and faith had been.  When his 
anger passed, King Arthur repented sorely that he had condemned Queen 
Guinevere to the flames so speedily, and rejoiced that Launcelot had saved 
her.  But now the lifelong friendship between Gawain and Launcelot was 
ended, and a sudden hatred and a desire for revenge grew in its place."

"'I swear before God that I will never rest,' cried Sir Gawain, 'until 
Launcelot and I meet face to face and one of us is slain.  For never can I 
forgive him for slaying my dear brothers Gaheris and Gareth the good 
knight - slaughtering them unarmed and defenceless.  And you, my uncle, 
I charge by the sacred order of knighthood, and as you are true king of 
this land, to make war forthwith against Sir Launcelot, both to avenge my 
brother and rescue your queen.'

"All the knights who remained faithful to him also begged King Arthur to 
make war; and at length he gathered together his forces and marched north 
until he came to Joyous Garde and laid siege to it."

_King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table_, by Roger L. Green, 
pp. 251-66.   [This and those selections which follow are taken almost 
verbatim from Malory.]
_______________________________________________________________


"And when all was agreed, Launcelot came unarmed before the king, 
leading Queen Guinevere by the hand, and he said:

"'My most noble lord, I bring hither your queen.  And if there is any knight 
who dares say that she is false to you, then I will fight with him to the 
death.  Whatever I have done, or sought to do, this lady is innocent: but you 
have listened to liars and quarrel-makers,' and as he said this he turned 
and looked towards Sir Mordred, 'and by their evil mischief-making the 
goodly fellowship of the Round Table is broken in sunder.'"

Ibid, p. 267.
______________________


"Peace reigned in Britain for a little while after this, but it was a 
broken and a troubled peace.  For ever Sir Gawain brooded on his brothers' 
deaths, and ever Sir Mordred stirred up hatred against Sir Launcelot.  And 
at length so many knights sided with Sir Gawain that Arthur was forced to 
declare war on Sir Launcelot; and he gathered together a great army and 
went into France, leaving Mordred to rule Britain while he was away....

"...in Britain Sir Mordred continued with his plots.  And when he had won 
enough knights to his side, he announced that King Arthur had been killed 
in the French wars, and he persuaded the people to choose him as their king, 
and even had himself crowned at Canterbury.

"Then he seized Queen Guinevere and tried to force her to marry him.  But she 
managed to escape from him and came to London.  Thence she sent messengers 
to find King Arthur and meanwhile she and those who remained faithful to her 
retreated into the Tower of London and fortified it.

"Presently Sir Mordred came and tried to force his way into it, but it was 
too strong.  He tried to persuade Queen Guinevere to come out, but she 
answered him bravely: 'I would rather die by mine own hand than be wife 
to you!'

"Then the Archbishop of Canterbury, the same who had crowned King Arthur so 
many years ago, and who was now a very old man, came and warned Sir Mordred:

"'Do you not fear the vengeance of God?' he cried.  'King Arthur is not slain - 
and you do great harm to the queen and to all this land.'

"'Peace, you false priest!' shouted Mordred, 'for if you anger me more I will 
strike off your head!'

"'Sir,' answered the archbishop, 'if you leave not your sin, I WILL CURSE YOU 
WITH BELL, BOOK AND CANDLE!' [My emphasis - Tyagi]

'Do your worst,' cried Mordred, 'I care not for you our your curses!'  So the 
archbishop left Sir Mordred and gathered the clergy together and cursed 
Sir Mordred, putting him outside all the rites and blessings of the Church.

"Then Mordred sought to kill the archbishop; but he fled away to 
Glastonbury in Somerset and there became a hermit at the abbey.

"Queen Guinevere's messenger had reached King Arthur by this time, and 
swiftly he marched to the sea coast with all his men, and set sail for 
England.  But Mordred was waiting for him at Dover, and a terrible battle had 
to be fought before he and his men could land.  At length, however, they were 
all ashore; and then they charged the rebels, and sent them flying over the 
downs, Sir Mordred leading the flight...."

Ibid, p. 269.
_________________________


"King Arthur and his army were encamped upon the Plain of Camlann not many 
days later, and scarcely a mile away Mordred waited for him with a great 
gathering of knights and men-at-arms who had thrown in their lot with him, 
choosing rather his easy and lawless rule than the high service of Arthur 
the good King of Logres.

"After the Battle of Dover, Mordred had fled away defeated; but in a very 
little while news came that he was marching into the west country, harrying 
the lands of all those who would not fight for him.  Then Arthur marched 
swiftly towards Cornwall and Lyonesse, and came one night to Camlann near 
where, so many years before, Merlin the good enchanter had brought him to 
receive his sword Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake.

"That night Arthur could not sleep: for he knew that on the morrow there 
would be a great battle in which many more of his knights would fall, and he 
feared that this was the last of all his battles, which Merlin had foretold, 
when the realm of the realm of Logres should pass into darkness.  
For already the Saxons, hearing of the strife and civil war, were pouring 
into Britain from the north and east - for the first time since the battle 
of Mount Badon twenty-one years before - and now there was no fellowship 
of the Round Table ready to ride behind King Arthur at a moment's notice and 
drive out the barbarians wherever they might chance to land.

"Arthur tossed and turned upon his bed in the royal tent until, near morning, 
he grew still.  And then, neither sleeping nor waking, he beheld a strange 
thing. For suddenly it seemed to him that Sir Gawain, who lay buried in 
Dover Castle, came to him attended by a train of fair ladies...

[Gawain:]
'...I come to warn you, by God's grace, not to fight this day, but to make a 
truce with Sir Mordred, whatever his terms - a truce for one month.  For within 
a month Launcelot will come with all his noble knights, and you and he 
together will slay Mordred and overcome all that hold with him.'

"Then Sir Gawain and the ladies vanished away, and in a little while 
King Arthur arose from his bed and called to him Sir Lucan and Sir Bedivere.  
And when he had told them of how Sir Gawain had visited him, and what his 
counsel had been, he bade them take two priests with them and go to make 
a month's truce with Sir Mordred.

"'And spare not,' added the king, 'but offer him lands and goods and as much 
as you think reasonable.'

"So they came to where Mordred was with his great host of a hundred 
thousand men, and they treated with him for a long time.  And at last he 
agreed to have Cornwall and Kent to be his at once, and the rest of Britain 
after King Arthur's death.

"It was arranged that Arthur and Mordred were to meet midway between the 
two armies each attended by fourteen men only.  Then King Arthur gave 
orders to his men: 'If you see any sword drawn, charge fiercely, and slay 
the traitor Sir Mordred, for I do not trust him.'

"And Sir Mordred spoke likewise to his army: 'If you see any sword drawn, 
come on and slay them all!  I do not trust this treaty, and I am sure that 
King Arthur is eager to be revenged on me.'

"So they met as had been arranged, and the agreement was drawn up and 
signed by both of them.  Then wine was brought and they drank together.  
But while this was happening an adder came out of the heather, as evil as 
the serpent which tempted Eve, and stung one of Mordred's knights on 
the heel.  When the knight felt himself stung he looked down and saw the 
adder; and then, without thinking, he drew his sword and killed it.

"But when the two armies saw the light flashing on the drawn sword, 
a great shout arose from either side, and in a minute they were charging at 
one another across the plain of Camlann."

Ibid, pp. 271-3.
____________________________


"'Let him be, my lord,' answered Sir Lucan,...for God in His great goodness 
has preserved you through this battle.  By His blessing you have won the 
field - for there are three of us, while Sir Mordred stands alone.  If you 
leave him now this wicked day of destiny is safely past.'

'Come life or death,' cried King Arthur, 'I will do justice upon this man 
who has brought destruction upon the realm of Logres.'

"'God speed you well,' said Bedivere.

"Then the King took his spear Ron in both his hands and ran towards 
Sir Mordred shouting: 'Traitor, now is your death upon you!'

"And when Mordred saw King Arthur, he ran at him with drawn sword; but the 
king smote Sir Mordred under the shield with a feint of his spear and ran 
him through the body.  But when Mordred felt that he had his death-wound, 
in his hatred and fury he thrust himself forward upon the spear and 
gripping his sword in both hands smote King Arthur upon the head so hard 
that it cut through the helmet and deep into the head beneath.  Then Sir 
Mordred fell to the ground and died screaming."

Ibid, p. 274.
_____________________________

A sad day.

And something I have only discovered after the above was complete:

"Even if you have read it twice, like something in a history lesson, this 
pedrigree [of Mordred's relation to Arthur] is a vital part of the tragedy 
of King Arthur.  It is why Sir Thomas Malory called his very long book the 
DEATH of Arthur.  Although nine tenths of the story seems to be about 
knights jousting and quests for the holy grail and things of that sort, 
the narrative is a whole, and it deals with the reasons why the young man 
came to grief in the end.... That is why we have to take note of the parentage 
of Arthur's son Mordred, and to remember, when the time comes, that the king 
slept with his own sister.  He did not know he was doing so, and perhaps it may 
have been due to her, but it seems, in tragedy, that innocence is not enough."

_The Once and Future King_, by T.H. White, Putnam, 1939; p. 302.
_______________________________________________________


Epilogue

When I'd found this, I had done it by scanning the text for the name Mordred,
and so I had yet to experience the very wonderful prose of T.H. White.  I had
procured the tome from a local used book store, never read it, and thought it
might be something odd, but it wasn't until after this research project that
I got my first taste of its beauty.

I had idolized Myrddin/Merlin/Merlyn, and White's Merlin was unquestionably 
the most fabulous portrait I've stumbled across.  I'm still enchanted by the
work, and hope there are more of its quality available.

tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com
tyagi MORDRED nagasiva
(c) 1991