King Arthur's History Finally Explained

May 2024 · 2 minute read

All the best fantasy stories begin with an ominous prologue, and the Arthurian legends are no exception. Basically, according to Hero of Camelot, this whole shebang begins when the mighty king Uther Pendragon is busy doing a great job ruling over his subjects, but having problems with the whole "heir" thing. Adoption wasn't an option, apparently. Because soap opera triangles were just as popular in the Dark Ages as they are now, Uther's situation is further complicated by the fact that he has the hots for a woman named Ygraine ... who is, unfortunately, the Duke of Tintagel's wife. Off limits, dude. Anyhow, King Pendragon decides to vent these adolescent frustrations to his trusted adviser, a dusty old fella named Merlin. 

Now, if Merlin were a good friend, he would've offered to be Uther's wingman on a tour through Camelot's local dive bars. Instead, the wizard casts a spell that transforms Uther into the duke for a night, thereby allowing him to secretly sleep with Ygraine — without telling her, mind you — and conceive a son. Uh, sketchy ethics? No kidding. Some versions of the story try to clean up the overall griminess a bit by having Ygraine secretly in love with Uther, as well, but the whole situation is rather icky.

Following Arthur's birth, according to PBS, Merlin whisks the cursed (or prophesied?) baby away, to have him raised as a peasant. 

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