MORGAINE

MORGAINE

I am the half sister of the Great king Arthur Pendragon. History claims I am a witch. On this page I would like to show you another side of my personality. I often am characterised as an evil witch, whose only goal is to ruin Arthur's reign. The only one who really understood me is Marion Bradley. Her book, The Mists of Avalon, is a reliable source of information on my family-history. In this book she tells the true story about me and the other women around Arthur.

These women, Igraine (our mother), Morgause (my aunt), Vivian (my aunt and Lady of the Lake) and me, of course, are the main characters in the book.

I am not an evil witch, but a priestess of the Goddess. Being a priestess, I have great knowledge of herbs and magic; I think it is for this reason that people believe I am a witch. It was during my education that faith (or the Goddess?) brought us together.

Merlin took Arthur right after he was born, to have him raised somewhere else, with Count Ector, a loyal servant to Uther. We did not grow up together. I was brought to Avalon at a rather young age to become a priestess. After Arthur was acknowledged as the successor to the throne, he had to pass a test. As a maiden-priestess I was chosen to sleep with the King of Deer, which was Arthur that night. During this night our son Mordred was conceived. I found out Arthur was my brother the next morning; it took Arthur years to figure that out. I was able to keep Mordred's excistance hidden from Arthur for years. Mordred was raised by my aunt Morgause. I finished my education as a priestess and Arthur became King of All Britons. But I did have my influence on Arthur and on how he gained the throne, as well as on how he lost it. I made his sword Excalibur and put a spell on its sheath, so it would protect Arthur from being hurt too much. Excalibur was made of an meteoric metal and means ’cuts steal’. I also took the sheath away from him when he did not keep his promises to the Goddess. In that way you could say I am responsible for Arthur's downfall. I also was the one who held the Holy Grail when it appeared in the King's Hall at Camelot. Some thought I was an angel, some thought I was another kind of vision, the Goddess caused the people not to recognise me. The quest for the Holy Grail (which of course was at Avalon) made the Round Table fall apart and finally it made Arthur's reign disappear.

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