The Mammoth Book of King Arthur (92 page)

Lucan.
Arthur’s butler, the son of Duke Corneus, cousin of Griflet and possibly brother of Bedivere. Although he tends to remain in the background the frequent
references to his name show that he is at most major battles in the early days and is involved in the tourneys. He fights at Camlann and is severely wounded. When Arthur gives him his final embrace
the wounds split and Lucan dies. His name, though not his character, is probably derived from the Celtic hero Llwch Lleminawc.

Lunette, Luned
or
Lynet.
A cousin of Niniane, and sister of Lyones. She creates a fountain that causes storms. She becomes the wife of Gareth in Malory’s
version. Her story is told in Chrétien’s
Yvain
and in the Welsh
The Lady of the Fountain.

Mabon.
As Mabon ap Modron he is listed amongst Arthur’s counsellors in
Culhwch and Olwen.
However, he had also been spirited away at birth and his skills as
a hunter are needed for Culhwch’s series of tasks, so Arthur and his men track down Mabon in a prison approachable only by water. Mabon, or his mother, is also described as Uther
Pendragon’s servant. In the Prose
Tristram,
Mabon is seen as a sorcerer and student of Merlin and is called “le Noir”. He is drawn from Maponus, the Celtic god of youth and
music. Mabon probably equates to Mabuz whom Lanzelet aids in von Zarzikhoven’s romance.
See also
Morgan.

MacArthur, Clan.
The Scottish Clan MacArthur, also represented today by the Clan Campbell, claims descent from King Arthur through a son called Merevie or Smerbe or
Smerevie or Merbis. This is almost certainly from Artúir mac Aedan of Dál Riata, who lived from 560–596
AD
. The line of descent to the earliest historical
attested name runs Merevie > Ferrither > Duibne Mhor > Arthur OgFerrither > Duibne Fait Dhearg > Ferrither
> Duibne Dearg > Duibne Donn > Diarmind
O’Duibne, who lived in the early tenth century. These eleven generations span about 300 years, and therefore this descent fits the time scale. Nothing is known of Merevie, whose name
corresponds to the Welsh Meurig.

Mador
or
Amador de la Porte.
One of Arthur’s longest serving knights, since we are told in the Vulgate
Mort Artu
that he had served Arthur for
forty-five years. Yet he is virile enough to fight Lancelot in single combat for an hour. This comes about because Mador’s cousin Gaheris (Patrise in Malory) dies after eating a poisoned
apple and Mador accuses the Queen of murder. Loomis suggests that Mador is drawn from the character of Mardoc, Gatekeeper to the Other World, but that role better suits Maduc le Noir, a knight who
refuses to pay homage to Arthur but instead builds a fortress in the Forest of Sarpenic from where he strikes at and kills any of Arthur’s company who pass. Intriguingly there is a Madog
amongst the princes of Powys (
see
Table 3.9
), who is named as one of the “Three Gate-Keepers” at the Battle of Perllan Fangor (believed to be the slaughter at Chester in
615).

Maduc le Noir,
see
Mador.

Maelgwyn.
The king of Gwynedd who was considered by Gildas to be the most evil of the rulers he castigated. He is discussed in detail in Chapter 5. He was adopted into
the later French romances as Malaquin le Gallois.

Malahaut, Lady of.
From the same land as the King of the Hundred Knights, the Lady (rarely named but once called Bloie) appears in several romances but primarily the
Vulgate
Lancelot. See
Chapter 17 for details.

Marc, March
or
Mark.
Tristan’s uncle and husband of Iseult.
See
Chapter 13.

Margawse,
see
Morgause.

Meleagaunt
or
Melwas.
The son of Bagdemagus of Gorre who abducts Guenevere. This story first appeared in Caradog of
Llancarfan’s
Life of Gildas
(
see
Chapter 11) and was rapidly drawn into the burgeoning Arthurian romance as the launchpad for Lancelot (
see
Chapter 17). Geoffrey of Monmouth had referred to
Melwas as Malvasius, king of Iceland, though Iceland is a corruption of the Isle of Glass, regarded as Glastonbury. However, the few surviving fragments from earlier Welsh tradition that refer to
him make him a Prince of North Britain, but he is not otherwise known.

Menw.
An enchanter who is listed in the Twenty-Four Knights of Arthur’s Court and amongst his Counsellors. He is involved in the hunt for the Boar Trwyth in
Culhwch and Olwen,
during which he became permanently scarred. He may be the prototype for Merlin.

Merbis
or
Smerbe,
see
MacArthur.

Merlin
or
Myrddin.
See
Chapter 15 for full discussion.

Mordrain,
see
Evelach.

Mordred.
Originally treated as a legitimate son of Lot and Arthur’s sister (
see
Anna
and
Morgause), but usually regarded as the illegitimate and
incestuous son of Arthur and his half-sister. Mordred’s story was developed in full in the Vulgate Cycle. Both versions of his conception and how Arthur tries to kill him as an infant are
covered in Chapter 15, whilst his role in usurping the throne and his war with Arthur are covered in Chapter 17. Geoffrey’s earlier version is in Chapter 9. Most romances show Mordred as a
good knight in his youth, but once the truth of his birth is revealed he becomes troubled and his evil side takes over, especially once he pairs up with Agravaine. Mordred is credited with two sons
but in the romances his wife is not named. In later Welsh tradition she is Gwenhwyfach, sister of Gwenhwyfar, and it is Mordred’s reaction to an argument between the sisters that leads to
Camlann, rather than him usurping the kingdom. Later tradition has the war arise because Arthur refuses to recognise Mordred as his heir. In Welsh he is called Medraut or Medrod. Only one other
Medrod is listed in
the pedigrees, and he is the grandson of Caradog Vreichfras and the father of St. Dyfnog. There is no reason to link the two, but tradition did because
Dyfnog’s mother is sometimes recorded as Gwenhwyfach. Both Mordred’s children were murdered, probably by Constantine as implied by Gildas, though in the romances they are killed by Bors
and Lancelot.

Morfran.
According to
Culhwch and Olwen,
one of the three knights who survives Camlann, apparently because of his extreme ugliness as no one would approach him.
Even so he is one of Arthur’s counsellors and listed amongst his twenty-four knights. This may be the knight that Chrétien calls “the Ugly Brave”.

Morgan, Morgain
or
Morgen le Fay.
The enchantress of the Isle of Avalon who is shown throughout the legend as Arthur’s adversary. Originally she is seen as
Arthur’s saviour, appearing only at the end of the story, along with her maidens, to bear Arthur away to Avalon and tend his wounds. She is sometimes called Argante, and was regarded as
related to Arthur. Later texts, including Malory, make her his half-sister, along with Morgause and Elaine, and even contrive to have her seduce him to become the mother of Mordred. It is the
Vulgate Cycle, particularly the Prose
Lancelot,
that introduces her as the beautiful but deadly fey who works through others to seek Arthur’s downfall. These others include Accolon,
Bertilak, Guingamor and Karados. Her main opponent is the Lady of the Lake, though before that role developed Morgan, as the Mistress of Avalon, was the prototype Lady of the Lake. Morgan became
the fusion of several early myths and traditions. She is usually seen as a representation of the Morrigán, one of a group of Irish war-goddesses who seek to influence the outcome of battles
by indirect means. These goddesses often appear in threes, as with Morgan and her two sisters. Morgan is also associated with the Nine Sisters of Avalon, though the only ones named are Moronoe,
Mazoe, Gliten, Glitonea, Gliton, Tyronoe and Thiten.

The Morrigán also uses her sexual charms to achieve her plans. In the Irish legend of Cú Chulainn she seeks to allure the hero but when he spurns her she uses every means possible to
destroy him. Morgan is also associated with the concept of the Divine Mother
known as Modron. Later romances have Morgan as the wife of Urien of Rheged, and early Welsh
tradition relates how Urien was beguiled by Modron ferch Afallach who bore him two children, Owain and Morfudd. Modron is also the mother of Mabon (
see entry
) who, in the early story
Lanzelet
appears as Mabuz, son of the Lady of the Lake.

In that last role Morgan is also seen as a healer. She provides a salve to help cure Erec in Chrétien’s story, and in the equivalent Welsh story of Geraint she is shown in male
aspect as Morgan Tud, Arthur’s chief physician. Morgan’s first lover Guingamor was called Lord of Avalon and is almost certainly based on Gwyn ap Nudd, whose lover was Creiddylad,
mentioned in
Culhwch and Olwen
as the “maiden of most majesty” in all of Britain. Creiddylad was betrothed to Gwythyr but abducted by Gwyn, and this led to a war between the two
which Arthur had to stop. More importantly, Creiddylad was regarded as the daughter of Llud Llawereint or Llud of the Silver Hand, the Welsh equivalent of the Irish Nuada Argatlam. Nuada is seen as
a manifestation of Nodens, the British god of healing. There was a magnificent healing sanctuary dedicated to Nodens at Lydney in Gloucestershire, which was still in use into the early fifth
century. It may be that the historical character upon which Morgan is based was a female healer at Lydney. We may even venture to conjecture whom this was. Vortimer had a daughter, Madrun, who may
have retired to the sanctuary after her father’s death. Later Welsh legend makes Madrun the founder of a church in Ardudwy while she was on a pilgrimage to Bardsey, and Bardsey, like Lydney,
has a reputation as a healing sanctuary.

Morgause
or
Margawse.
The half-sister of Arthur, who seems to have replaced Anna in the later narratives. She is the wife of Lot and mother of Gawain, Agravain,
Gaheris and Gareth but, as revealed in the Vulgate Cycle, she sleeps with Arthur and becomes the mother of Mordred. After Lot’s death she becomes the lover of Lamorak and is killed by her own
son, Gaheris. In
Diu Krône
she is called Morchades, which links her name to Lot’s kingdom of the Orkneys.

Morrigán,
see
Morgan.

Myrddin,
see
Merlin.

Nascien.
The baptismal name of Seraphe, brother-in-law of Evalach/Mordrain. In the Vulgate Cycle, he is blinded when he looks too closely at the Grail but is healed by
the Bleeding Lance. Nascien’s later adventures involve Solomon’s Ship and the Sword of David. His misuse of the latter causes it to break and Nascien to be wounded. Nascien is the
ancestor of Lancelot and Galahad. One of his descendants is Galahad’s guardian. The name also appears on the list of Arthur’s twenty-four knights.

Nimuë,
see
Lady of the Lake.

Niniane,
see
Lady of the Lake.

Octa,
see under
Oisc.

Oisc
or
Aesc.
The founder of the first Saxon dynasty in Kent, which was known as the Oiscingas. The
ASC
treats him as the son of Hengist. He may have
fought at Badon and therefore may be the same as Osla Bigknife, but this is not definite. Bede has Octa as Oisc’s son, but Nennius states that he was Hengist’s son, so Octa may be Osla,
and Oisc may have succeeded him. Osla might also be Esla, Cerdic’s grandfather.
See
Chapters 4, 7, and 8.

Osla Bigknife,
see under
Oisc.

Owain, Owein, Ivain or Yvain.
The son of Urien of Rheged who may have lived long enough to inherit the kingdom but who died soon afterwards, possibly at Catraeth. He is
renowned in the battle poems of the North for having defeated the Angles (
see
Chapter 8). He is usually treated as the father of St. Kentigern. Owain mutated into the Arthurian romances, via
Geoffrey’s
History,
as Yvain, the Knight of the Lion (
see
Chapter 18). He is closely associated with Gawain and it is possible that the historical originals were cousins. He is
the original tutor of Lancelot in the Vulgate version.

Palamedes
or
Palomides.
A Saracen knight who is besotted with Iseult but never gains her hand. As a consequence, he ends up in various
fights and altercations with Tristram. He also takes over from Pellinore in the never-ending pursuit of the Questing Beast. Palamedes has several brothers, including Safere and Segwarides. With
Safere he helps rescue four brothers from Karados’s Dolorous Tower. In the Prose
Tristram
Palamedes is wounded by Lancelot and later killed by Gawain, but Malory has him as an ally of
Lancelot who accompanies him to France and becomes Duke of Provence. That last may have been a token gesture to Edward, Prince of Wales, son of Henry VI, who was still alive at the time Malory
wrote
Morte Darthur.
Edward’s mother Marguerite was the daughter of Rene the Good, King of Naples and Sicily, King of Jerusalem, Duke of Lorraine and, as it transpired, the last Count
of Provence. Edward, as his eldest male grandson, might have succeeded him in that title had he not been killed at the Battle of Tewkesbury in May 1471.

Pellam
or
Pellehan.
The king of Listinoise and both the Fisher King and the Maimed King. In the Post-Vulgate and Malory he is wounded by Balin with the Dolorous
Blow. In some texts he is made the father of Perceval, but that is probably an error for his son Pelles (
see entry
)
.
Loomis suggests that the name is a mutation of Beli, but all of
the other Fisher King names are derived from the Biblical patriarchs, and Pellam could be derived from Peleg whose name means “division”, as in his day the peoples of the Earth were
divided.

Pelleas.
A knight whose story seems an image of Tristan and Isolde. Pelleas is in love with Ettard but she does not return it. Gawain promises to win her over but
instead takes the lady himself. Nimuë makes Pelleas fall in love with her and Ettard now becomes enamoured of Pelleas, but it’s too late. Ettard dies of a broken heart.