The Mammoth Book of King Arthur (88 page)

Whether by design or fortune Spenser drew upon an interesting name. Geoffrey of Monmouth, who muddled most names, refers to Artegall twice in two different ways. During Arthur’s reign he
is Artgualchar, the Earl of Guerensis (which Geoffrey says is now called Warwick), who attends Arthur’s first council at Caerleon. Geoffrey had referred to the same individual earlier under
the name Archgallo. He was one of the sons of Morvidus and had succeeded his elder brother Gorbonianus. Archgallo proved a ruthless, grasping king and was deposed, his brother Elidurus becoming
king in his place. Five years later Elidurus encountered Archgallo wandering in the Forest of Calaterium and took pity on him. By subterfuge he convinced the peers to accept Archgallo as king
again. He was crowned at York and this time his reign was glorious. He died after ten years and was buried in Leicester.

Although jumbled by Geoffrey, all of these names appear in Table 3.3. Gorbonianus is Germanianus, the son of Coel. Morvid is Mar (or Maeswig), Elidurus is Eliffer or Elidyr, and Archgallo is
Arthwys. Folktale or garbled history, Geoffrey seems to be retelling a long-remembered story of the North which may bear a grain of truth about Arthwys. Geoffrey had mentioned the Forest of
Calaterium earlier, placing it in Albany (Scotland), so it sounds
the same as the Forest of Celidon, but J.A. Giles and others have suggested it was the Forest of Galtres, an
old Royal Forest north of York, now long gone. Artegall/Archgallo may therefore be a manifestation of Arthur of the Pennines.

Arthur’s sons.
One of the tragedies of the Arthurian story is that Arthur and Guenevere had no children of their own and thus there was no line of succession.
Nevertheless, Arthur is attributed with several sons, all presumably illegitimate, and each has their separate entry. See Amhar, Borre, Cydfan, Gwydre, Llacheu/ Loholt, Merbis and Mordred.

Bagdemagus, Bademagus
or
Bademagu.
We first meet him in Chrétien’s
Lancelot
as Bademagu, the King of Gorre, a rather mysterious land regarded
as something of an Otherworld. Bademagu’s son Meleagaunt abducts Guenevere, but despite his rebellious son Bademagu remains courteous and keeps Guenevere safe as well as attending to the
wounds of Kay and Lancelot. By the time we encounter him again in Malory, though, he has become more haughty. He storms off when Arthur makes Tor a knight of the Round Table instead of Bagdemagus.
He calms down later, however, and is involved in the Grail Quest. In the original
Quest of the Holy Grail
Bagdemagus takes the Adventurous Shield from the White Abbey at Galahad’s
encouragement, even though he knows that anyone who does so shall die or be maimed. He is later defeated by the White Knight. It is evident that Bagdemagus does not survive the Quest, as his grave
is seen and Arthur mourns his loss but Malory must have forgotten, for Bagdemagus speaks in support of Lancelot during the final days.

Chrétien placed Bademagu’s capital at Bade or Bath, and as his name contains the same word it is likely that Chrétien believed he was a King of Bath.
Magu
may mean
“magus” as in magician, or it could be a contraction of “magis” as in magistrate, so that the name means simply “Lord of Bath”. Bagdemagus is made the nephew of
Urien, who is also called King of Gorre, but was the king of Rheged. There is no name amongst his relatives or the later rulers of the Isle of Man close enough to have mutated into Bademagu.

Balin.
With friends like Balin who needs enemies? Though able and courageous Balin is also impetuous and causes many problems, usually by killing
first and thinking later. Already in trouble for having killed Arthur’s cousin, and accused of killing the Lady of the Lake’s brother, Balin promptly decapitates the Lady of the Lake
and is consequently banished. He works his way back into Arthur’s favour by capturing the rebellious king Ryons. He is also suspected of having killed the rebel king Lot (whose death is
usually attributed to Pellinore). Balin’s main role, though, is creating the Waste Land. In avenging the death of Sir Herlews he chases the invisible Sir Garlon back to King Pellam’s
castle, where he kills him. Pellam pursues Balin who grabs the Spear of Longinus in self-defence and wounds Pellam. This is the Dolorous Stroke that lays the land to waste and inaugurates the Grail
Quest. Balin’s death comes about when he fights his brother Balan and, in true Arthurian tradition, both knights are in different armour so neither recognises the other, and they kill each
other. Balin was known as the Knight of the Two Swords and Merlin reforged one of these swords and set it in a marble slab to await Galahad. Loomis and others suggest that Balin’s name,
originally spelled Balaain, was derived from the same common source as Galahad’s, originally spelled Galaad. Whether or no, there is the obvious balance between the two, with Balin creating
the Waste Land and Galahad healing it. So, although Balin is called the son of the King of Northumbria, we need not seek a real Balin any more than we’ll find a real Galahad.

Ban.
King of Benwick or Benoic, brother of Bors and father of Lancelot and Ector de Maris. He supports Arthur in his battle against the rebellious kings but later loses
his own lands to King Claudas and dies of a broken heart. Loomis has suggested that Ban of Benoic is a corruption of Bran the Blessed, which may explain the name but not the character. Claudas is
almost certainly a memory of Clovis, and Gregory of Tours reported that “he encompassed the death of many other kings and blood-relations of his whom he suspected of conspiring against his
kingdom.” The original Ban was probably one such victim.

Baudwin.
One of the few characters to survive from the original Celtic stories right through to Malory. Malory has him as the Constable of Britain
who serves as governor while Arthur is in Europe at war against Rome. He accompanies Gawain on a number of exploits where they are all tested (
see
Chapter 14). He becomes a physician and
retires to a hermitage. We meet him in all the Welsh tales and Triads as Bedwin or Bedwini, the Bishop of Gelliwic (
see
Chapter 8). Unlike many Celtic holy men, Bedwin does not seem to have
left his mark on history. He was believed to be a Bishop of Llandaff but exactly when we don’t know. Bedwin Sands off the coast of Gwent in the Severn are supposed to be named after him.

Bedivere or Bedwyr.
In the Celtic tales Bedwyr was Arthur’s constant companion, counted second only to Cei for valour. He was particularly noted for his skill with
a spear. According to the poem
Pa Gur
, he fought at the battle of Tribruit. In
Culhwch and Olwen
, where he is involved in the quest for the Cauldron of Dwrnach, there is a reference
to him being “one-handed”. Geoffrey of Monmouth calls him Bedivere and makes him Arthur’s Cup-bearer. He accompanies Arthur when he fights the giant at Mont-St-Michel. Arthur
grants him the territory of Neustria (Normandy). He is killed at the battle of Saussy and buried at Bayeux. Surprisingly, despite his profile in the Welsh tales, Bedivere did not translate to the
French romances, where most of his key tasks are assigned to others. Lucan becomes Arthur’s cup-bearer and it is Griflet whom Arthur charges with returning Excalibur to the lake. However, the
Stanzaic
Morte Arthur
grants that to Bedyvere, as does Malory, and as a consequence Bedivere remains one of the best known of Arthur’s knights. Although he features so prominently in
the Welsh tales, little else is said of him. He has no pedigree, though his father is sometimes noted as Bedrawt or Pedrawc. The best known Pedrawc was the son of Glywys, who became St. Petroc, so
famous in his day that if Bedwyr were his son it would have been noted. There was, of course, Peder, the father of Artúir of Dyfed. This would make Arthur and Bedwyr brothers, which might
account for why they were constant companions, but it is unusual that such a relationship is not mentioned when so many others seem to
be Arthur’s cousins. This very
paucity of data seems to underline Bedwyr’s historicity, in that he was remembered for what he was and did not mutate into legend. He was purportedly buried at Tryfan Hill in Gwynedd, near
Bethesda. Bedwyr’s Well or Spring, Ffynnon Fedwyr, is near Pontarddulais in Glamorgan, where there is also a Craig-y-Bedw.

Bertilak
or
Bercilak.
The real name of the Green Knight in the story
Gawain and the Green Knight
, who was in league with Morgan le Fay. Something of a
“jolly green giant”, he’s clearly a trickster, and a similar name, Bertilay, is given to the old knight who accompanies the False Guenevere in the Prose
Lancelot.
Loomis
believes the name was derived from the Irish
bachlach
, meaning “churl” or “herdsman”, which may be true for the name but it doesn’t explain the trickster or
challenger motif. Malory reinvents him as Pertolepe, one of four brothers (each associated with a different colour), who challenges Gareth after learning that Gareth had killed his brother Percard
(the Black Knight). Gareth defeats him and Pertolepe pledges himself to Gareth thereafter, later becoming a Knight of the Round Table. He is killed during Lancelot’s rescue of Guenevere.

Blaise.
Confessor to Merlin’s mother and Merlin’s own mentor. He settled in Northumberland and there records Arthur’s adventures as told him by Merlin.
He was probably derived from the storyteller Bleheris.

Blamore,
see
Bleoberis.

Blanchefleur.
The name used for both Tristan’s mother and for Perceval’s true love. Apparently the name “White Flower” was common in early French
romances, presumably to signify purity. Tristan’s mother died in childbirth. Perceval vows his love for Blanchefleur but has to leave her because of his concern for his mother. In
Gerbert’s
Fourth Continuation
, he does return to her and they marry. In Wolfram’s
Parzival
her name becomes Condwiramurs.

Bleoberis
or
Blubrys.
Brother of Blamore and cousin of Lancelot. Blamore is the more chivalric of the two. Bleoberis appears something of a
rogue, demanding Sir Segwarides’ wife as a boon, but he is defeated by Tristram. In the Vulgate
Mort Artu
, Bleoberis survives all perils and retires to a monastery with Bors, last of
the Round Table knights. In Malory, both Blamore and Bleoberis end their days on Crusade. It has been suggested that the name Bleoberis (and that of Brandelis) is derived from the storyteller
Bleheris, whose name was also rendered as Bledericus and who appears in Geoffrey’s
History
as the Duke of Cornwall who defeated Athelfrith after the Battle of Chester.

Bohort,
see
Bors.

Borre,
also known as Bohart le Cure Hardy (“the Strong Heart”). Arthur’s illegitimate son by Lisanor or Lionors, and probably identical to Loholt
(
see entry
). The name is so similar to Bohort that clearly at some stage it and Loholt became merged.

Bors
or
Bohort.
Son of the Elder Bors, king of Gannes (or Ganis), brother of Lionel and cousin of Lancelot. Bors is one of the great knights and features heavily
in the Prose Lancelot (
see
Chapter 17). He is also one of only three knights who succeed in the Grail Quest. The name is spelled as Bohors in some of the early texts and Loomis has deduced
that it mutated, via Gohors, from the same original Celtic hero, Gwri Goldenhair, who inspired Gawain (
see
Chapter 14). Indeed, as the Grail romance developed Bors supplants Gawain, who
might otherwise have become one of the Grail knights.

Brandelis.
A popular name that crops up several times in the romances, also as Brandiles, Brandles, Brandilias, Brandis, Branduz and, via the last, as Brandin of the
Isles. They are not necessarily always the same character, but they may have come together from two separate sources. He is probably best remembered from the First
Perceval
Continuation, in
which he proves a match for Gawain. Malory serves him less well and has him trounced by Tristram and other knights in various jousts. He
later declares himself hostile to
Arthur and is killed in the fracas when Lancelot rescues Guenevere. The name is suggested as deriving from the Celtic deity Bran mac Lyr which became Bran de Lis > Brandelis. This same
derivation points to Brandin/Brandus/Brian of the Isles being somehow connected. Brandin of the Isles was the Master of Dolorous Garde who was ousted by Lancelot. As Brian of the Isles he turns up
in Malory as the Lord of Pendragon Castle whom Lancelot once again defeats. Like Brandiles, Brian becomes hostile to Arthur, even treacherous. He also has an affair with Niniane and learns some
magic arts. This character is almost certainly based upon the historical Brian De Lisle (d.1234) who was one of King John’s cronies. He held several castles throughout England, including
Knaresborough and Peveril, and was forced to give them up after the death of King John. This same Brian is one of the likely candidates for the Sheriff of Nottingham in the Robin Hood story (he was
the Forrester of Nottingham), thus providing an interesting link between Britain’s two great legendary heroes.

Breuse Saunce Pyté,
see
Brunor.

Brian of the Isles,
see
Brandiles.

Bron.
The original name for the Fisher King.
See entry and also
Chapter 16.

Brunor
or
Breunor la Cote Male Tailée,
“the badly cut coat”, also known as Brunor the Black. Brunor turns up at Arthur’s court wearing
the very coat in which his father had been hacked to death by Tristram (others say by Gareth). Kay, with his usual belligerence, gives him the nickname. His father was also called Brunor or Breuse
and was so evil and violent that he was known as the Brown Knight Without Pity (Saunce Pyté). The son turns out to be very different from his father, bold, brave and bright. He saves the
queen from a lion and undertakes a quest to help the lady Maledisant who first mocks him and then confesses her love for him; they later marry. After ousting Brian of the Isles, Lancelot makes
Brunor Lord of Pendragon Castle. Brunor is the brother of Dinadan. Brunor’s father is something of
an enigma. In
Palamedes
he becomes confused with the knight
known simply as Le Bon Chevalier, sometimes with the epithet “san Peor”. He is an elder knight of the previous generation, highly regarded by Uther Pendragon, but he is held captive by
the giant Nabon and loses his wits. There is a curious episode in which he explores a cave and finds the remains (plus a survivor) of the kings of old, all of whom seem to be giants. Although he
recovers his wits he is later murdered by Briadan and Ferrant. Briadan is yet another version of Brandiles/Brian of the Isles, whilst Ferrant is almost certainly Alan Fergeant, Duke of Brittany
(d.1112).