Web of Deceit (72 page)

What can be said of Uther Pendragon? In modern times, his lack of conscience would mark him as a sociopath or a high-functioning psychopath whose excesses are kept in check by his obsessive love for his brother. But that love becomes a two-edged sword, and Uther would have considered it a weakness. An oath can be manipulated, so that he feeds his demons while, ostensibly, remaining true to his promises to his brother. His
one saving grace as a monarch is his brilliance in warfare and his steadfast hatred of the Saxons. Ultimately, because of his childhood banishment and the travails in his youth, Uther becomes the man he is because he has grown stunted and angry.

Today, we recognise the damage done to children if security and love are taken from them at an early age. They never recover from this early loss. Uther is as he was made by Vortigern when he lost his mother and his brother at one fell swoop and was cast away from his home, left only with another brother to provide any sense of stability. The same could be said of Myrddion Merlinus, but the healer is loved passionately by his grandmother, Olwen, who is a grown person rather than the child Ambrosius is when he becomes Uther’s sole support. Just as Myrddion grows to be assailable because he needs friends, so Uther turns more brutal as he actively rejects the need for a companion. Under his vices, Uther is an impotent figure, like Morgan, because he rejects love and beauty.

The problem of his hatred of any heir is another odd part of the legend, in that transference of power from father to son was of paramount importance in those dark and unpredictable ages. Uther seems to hate the very thought of being replaced by anyone, least of all a child who is a tangible reminder of his murder of Gorlois and his treatment of Ygerne. Even Uther was capable of shame, and the birth of such an heir at such an inopportune time would have opened him to suspicion and ridicule. Besides, my Uther is a megalomaniac who hates the idea of a son who is as capable and competent as he is. He aspires to being remembered as the greatest of the Celtic war chiefs, one who can rival the feats of his ancestors. No one, not even a child of his own blood, can be permitted to eclipse or weaken his reputation. Today, he would be diagnosed as a dangerous narcissist: but then he was a man of the times, ideally suited to keeping the Saxons at bay.

Andrewina Ruadh is a complete invention sparked by a woman I saw modelling nude for a room of painters at an artists’ colony is Montville, Australia. I have rarely met anyone who embodies the Celtic look so accurately. This woman also radiated an aura of steadfast loyalty and strength of
character. We met briefly and, if she should read this book, I hope she recognises something of herself in the character. Unfortunately, I can’t remember her name.

Ultimately, Andrewina Ruadh, the ultimate tragic outsider and heroine, has her opposite: the fragile and sometimes irritating Ygerne.

Ygerne’s beauty is a vital part of the legend, for Uther Pendragon becomes obsessed with possessing her. He risks his throne to murder her husband, and uses a disguise to breach her fortress, thereby also risking his life. I once knew a woman who was very beautiful, but utterly ignorant of the nature of her looks or the effect they had on others. I confess I used this woman as a starting point in my descriptions of Ygerne.

Ygerne is not totally weak and helpless. In fact, despite appearances, she has considerable fortitude, although her relatively charmed life becomes less so when she accompanies her husband to Venta Belgarum. After all, because she is certain that her new husband has killed her son, she aborts three other unborn children. This is a mortal sin that she knows will weigh heavily on her soul. Nor does she kill herself, although she longs for death.

Sometimes it takes more courage to live.

How such a pious woman could produce Morgan and Morgause seems impossible, but the girls have certainly been spoiled by their parents. She also tries to accept her
gift of the Sight, although she is appalled by it. Ygerne, in my Arthurian world, is a special innocent who is also a very tragic figure.

Men ruled the Dark Ages; women could only hack out a place for themselves if they were very beautiful or very skilled. But great, good or infamous, time washed over them and they vanished from the pages of history. Only the odd, old name remains to remind us of the faint perfume of their skins, or the sheen of their hair by torchlight.

Vale, brave hearts.

GLOSSARY OF PLACE NAMES

The following is a list of place
names in post-Roman Britain with their present-day equivalents.