Again: Morgan and Morgause

Aug 16, 2011 08:31


Rewriting this post because I've read more books!

Who is Mordred's mother? This is a list of ancient books I read and the parentage of Mordred.

HISTORIA BRITONUM: No Mordred.
ANNALE CAMBRIAE: There is Mordred/Medraut but there is nothing about his parents.
HISTORIA REGUM BRITANNIAE: Mordred is the son of Anna and Lot. Anna is Arthur's sister.
CHRETIEN DE TROYES: No Mordred. But we have a Morgana and no telling about her children.
CULHWICH AND OLWEN: Nothing of Mordred, Morgause or Morgana.
LANCELOT-GRAIL: I've read a modernization and Morgause was Mordred's mother.
ALLITERATIVE MORTE ARTHURE: Reading it : D I'll let you know.
MORTE d'ARTHUR: Mordred is the son of Morgause and Arthur

And now the modern books. In this color  the books with Morgana as the mother; in red the book with Morgause as Mordred's mother and dark blue for everything else. In this list there are the books with some informations about Mordred's mother. I didn't add books that have Mordred as a character but tell nothing about his family (es. Mordred tragedy by Campbell - we only know that he is Arthur's son).
(CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER)

1938 - The once and future king (T. H. White)
1963 - Sword at Sunset (Rosemary Sutcliff) (Mordred is the son of Arthur and Ygraine, but Ygrain is the daughter of another Ygraine, Arthur's mother.)
1970 - The Wicked Day and the Merlin triology (Mary Stewart)
1976 - Steinbeck's version
1979 - The mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
1980 - Firelord (Parke Godwin) (for the information thanks to scarfman)
1980 - Down the Long Wind (Gillian Bradshaw)
1982 - Idylls of the Queen (Phyllis Ann Karr)
1987 - Guinevere series (Persia Woolley)
1987 - Knight Life series (Peter David)
1988 - The book of Mordred (Peter Hanratty)
1988 - The Road to Avalon (Joan Wolf) (Morgan is Mordred's mother but he is adopted as Morgause's son)
1992 - Camulod Chronicles (Jack Whyte) (Mordred is the son of Arthur and Uther's daughter: Morgas)
1993 - The Winter Prince (Elizabeth Wein)
1993 - Forever king (Cochran Molly & Warren Murphy)
1994 - Queen of Camelot (Nancy McKenzie)
1995 - Warlord Chroncles (Bernard Cornwell) (Mordred is Uther's son but he dies at the beginning. He has a son named Mordred. So there are two Mordred)
1996 - Mordred's Curse and Mordred's Gift (Ian McDowell)
1998 - I am Mordred (Springer Nancy)
1998 - The Squire's Tales (Gerald Morris)
1999 - Morgana (Michael Rio)
2000 - The Legend of Camelot (Wolfgang Hohlbein, Heike Hohlbein)
2000 - Quando eravamo cavalieri della Tavola Rotonda (Renato Giovannoli) (Mordred is Arthur's son but the book tells nothing about his mother. However, the mother is not Morgan because she is one of the protagonists and has a different role)
2001 - Exiled from Camelot (Cherith Baldry)
2002 - Corbenic (Catherine Fisher)
2006 - Mordred, bastard son (Douglas Clegg)

Of 26 books, there are 8 with Morgan as Mordred's mother, 14 with Morgause as Mordred's mother and 4 with another woman (or unknown) as Mordred's mother.
What can we say?
We may notice that all books with Morgan as Mordred's mother are published after The Mists of Avalon but I think there are not enough books published before it to say that the success of The Mists of Avalon is one of the reason for the popular idea of Morgan as Mordred's mother. Maybe it was a combined influence of that book and the movies (after 1981, with the famous Excalibur most movies have Morgan as Mordred's mother).
In a previous discussion, sigune pointed out that:

according to my Oxford Guide to Arthurian Literature and Legend, Morgana is also Mordred's mother in C. J. Riethmüller's Launcelot of the Lake (1848) and Francis Coutts's The Romance of King Arthur (1907). I confess I haven't read either. Maybe this is the time to start looking for them... ;-)
I think that we get more "Morgana is Mordred's mother" in television and film because script writers like to keep the cast small. They then conflate the characters of Morgana and Morgause. For me, Mordred's mother is and always will be Morgause. The fact that I hate Mists of Avalon may or may not have something to do with that

And the movies also in CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER. The movie with * are adaptations from modern novels that have the same parenthood for Mordred.

1953 - The Knights of the Round Table(Mordred is Morgana's husband)
1960 - Camelot musical and the movie Camelot (1967)*
1963 - Sword of Lancelot
1974 - Lancelot du Lac
1981 - Excalibur
1989 - Doctor Who's episodes
1989 - A connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's court*
1998 - Merlin
2000 - Merlin- the return
2001 - Mists of Avalon*
2008 - Merlin (BBC) - tv show
2010 - Merlin and the book of Beasts
2011 - Camelot (Starz) - tv show

Of 13 movies/tv shows, there are 7 with Morgan as Mordred's mother, 1 with Morgause as Mordred's mother and 5 with another woman (or unknown) as Mordred's mother.
What can we say?
Well, there aren't a lot of movies with Mordred but most of them have Morgan as Mordred's mother and some of them instead have different mothers (and sometime even fathers) for Mordred. The only movie with Morgause as Mordred's mother is the book adaptation of The Once and Future King.
I think this is the main reason for a lot of people to believe Morgan is Mordred's mother. Also, as I previously pointed out, Excalibur is one of the most famous arthurian movies and after the 1981 a lot (most of them) of movies/tv shows have Morgan as Mordred's mother.

Also, I would love to write something similar about Bedivere and the idea of Bedivere-as-the-original-Lancelot so if you have some informations or titles of books with Bedivere as the main character, please, write to me.

[character] mordred (medraut), [topic] books and novels, [topic] tv and movies, [fandom] arthurian legends

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