Ygraine

Ygraine, or Igraine, is commonly known as the wife of Uther Pendragon and mother of the legendary King Arthur. However, there is more to the story of Ygraine than what is told in modern adaptations.

 

Ygraine enters the “history” books as the wife of Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall. In different versions of the story, she had children by Gorlois; in Le Morte d’Arthur, she had 3 daughters, called Elaine, Morgause and Morgana (AKA Morgan le Fay), while in the Welsh adaptation of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s book, Ygraine had a son by the name of Cador.

 

As the most popular story goes, Ygraine was a great beauty and Uther Pendragon, the King of Briton, fell in love with her. However, this version of “love” is not what we would call love today. Uther tried to force himself on Ygraine while she was at his court, but Gorlois protected his wife and took her home to Cornwall. Since Gorlois had not asked permission to leave court, this gave Uther all the excuse he needed to make war on Cornwall. Ygraine was said to be deeply troubled by all the lives lost on her behalf.

 

While the war raged on, Ygraine was kept safely at Tintagel Castle. However, Uther disguised himself as Gorlois with the aid of Merlin (yes, that Merlin!) and entered Tintagel to see Ygraine. Through deceit he raped her, leading her to become pregnant with the future King Arthur. The very same night that she lay with Uther, believing him to be her husband, the real Gorlois died in battle.

 

With her husband and protector dead, a pregnant Ygraine was left with no choice but to marry Uther. According to most accounts, it was a happy marriage and whether or not she knew that Uther had deceived her is unmentioned. In fact, it is never told whether she ever found out the truth.

 

There are differing accounts of how far Ygraine knew her children by Uther. One account states that she didn’t meet Arthur until he was a main grown, as he was taken away by Merlin as soon as he was born. Most tales say that she had died soon after he was born. Other accounts suggest she had a daughter, Anna, by Uther, who later became the mother of Mordred and Gawain.

 

There are also differing accounts regarding her lifespan. Most suggest she passed before Uther, but others state that she was present at Uther’s death.

 

While Ygraine is a figure of British legend, along with Uther and Arthur, recent archaeological evidence suggests that there could actually be some truth to the tales, though not quite the magical stories we are told today.

A BBC2 documentary from 2018 revealed the five-year dig site which archaeologists now believe could have been the site of the real Tintagel. Not quite the grand castle one would expect, it was more the size of a house, though a large one for the times.

There is also evidence of a Knight named Arthur, who lived during the British Dark Ages and was the son of a warlord named Uther. The history of these people is very similar to that of the legend of King Arthur, as Arthur’s father raped his mother, also named Ygraine, who was at the time married to another. Uther then murdered her husband and took Ygraine as his own wife. Far from being the “Kingly figure” in the legend, this Uther was a tyrannical warlord who pillaged villages and towns along Briton.

 

Whichever story you read, whether she was indeed a real woman in history or not, Ygraine’s is a tragic tale which bears striking similarities to other women of history.