Discussion: How did Igraine die?
I was thinking about this the other day, and was wondering about other's thoughts on the subject. How did Igraine die?
I've always assumed that she died in childbirth, and in fact, in episode nine, Gaius tells Merlin, "Igraine died in childbirth, he [Tristan du Bois] blamed Uther". But after thinking about this, I decided that Gaius may have been less than truthful. We know from the same episode that he made an oath to Uther never to reveal the true circumstances of Arthur's birth. He doesn't want to reveal those circumstances to Merlin who, even as of the series finale, knows nothing about Nimueh's involvement in Arthur's birth and Igraine's death. So I think Gaius may be lying about Igraine dying in childbirth.
Why? Because if Igraine did die in childbirth, how on earth would either Gaius or Uther know that it was Nimueh/Magic that killed Igraine? It was the middle ages. Women dying in childbirth was extremely common. Wouldn't Gaius and Uther simply think that she died of complications of the birth? For this reason, I theorize that something else must have happened to Igraine. Something that indicated to Gaius or Uther that her death was the work of sorcery instead of "natural" death as a result of childbirth. I think it's quite possible that Igraine horribly died of the same condition that Merlin's mother almost died of in episode thirteen.
If you think about it, it would explain a lot. Watching your beautiful wife slowly and painfully die with horrible boils all over her body would unhinge anyone, so it would explain how bitter and angry Uther is. It would also explain why Tristan blamed Uther for Igraine's death, especially if Tristan somehow knew that Uther had used witchcraft to achieve Igraine's pregnancy. If Igraine died in childbirth or if it appeared that way to outsiders, why would Tristan blame Uther for that? I suppose it's possible that Tristan was just a completely unreasonable jerk, but I don't think so. It would also explain why when Merlin's mother showed up in Camelot in episode thirteen, Gaius immediately knew that her condition was the result of magic. When Merlin begs Gaius to do something to help his mother, Gaius responds, "If I could. This is no ordinary illness." In the next breath he asks, "Who did you meet at the Isle of the Blessed?" I believe Gaius had seen this very condition before with Igraine when she died, which made him immediately suspect that Nimueh was involved.
Thoughts anyone?
I've always assumed that she died in childbirth, and in fact, in episode nine, Gaius tells Merlin, "Igraine died in childbirth, he [Tristan du Bois] blamed Uther". But after thinking about this, I decided that Gaius may have been less than truthful. We know from the same episode that he made an oath to Uther never to reveal the true circumstances of Arthur's birth. He doesn't want to reveal those circumstances to Merlin who, even as of the series finale, knows nothing about Nimueh's involvement in Arthur's birth and Igraine's death. So I think Gaius may be lying about Igraine dying in childbirth.
Why? Because if Igraine did die in childbirth, how on earth would either Gaius or Uther know that it was Nimueh/Magic that killed Igraine? It was the middle ages. Women dying in childbirth was extremely common. Wouldn't Gaius and Uther simply think that she died of complications of the birth? For this reason, I theorize that something else must have happened to Igraine. Something that indicated to Gaius or Uther that her death was the work of sorcery instead of "natural" death as a result of childbirth. I think it's quite possible that Igraine horribly died of the same condition that Merlin's mother almost died of in episode thirteen.
If you think about it, it would explain a lot. Watching your beautiful wife slowly and painfully die with horrible boils all over her body would unhinge anyone, so it would explain how bitter and angry Uther is. It would also explain why Tristan blamed Uther for Igraine's death, especially if Tristan somehow knew that Uther had used witchcraft to achieve Igraine's pregnancy. If Igraine died in childbirth or if it appeared that way to outsiders, why would Tristan blame Uther for that? I suppose it's possible that Tristan was just a completely unreasonable jerk, but I don't think so. It would also explain why when Merlin's mother showed up in Camelot in episode thirteen, Gaius immediately knew that her condition was the result of magic. When Merlin begs Gaius to do something to help his mother, Gaius responds, "If I could. This is no ordinary illness." In the next breath he asks, "Who did you meet at the Isle of the Blessed?" I believe Gaius had seen this very condition before with Igraine when she died, which made him immediately suspect that Nimueh was involved.
Thoughts anyone?