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Male Arthurian Legend Names
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HODAIN: Name of
Tristan's dog.
HOEL: Legendary king of Brittany. Son
of King Budic or Emhyr of Brittany, and vassal and ally to King
Arthur. Either
Arthur's nephew or cousin. Father of Iseult/Isolde and Saint
Tudwal.
HOUDAIN:
Variant of Hodain.
HOUDENC:
Variant of Hodain.
HOWEL:
Variant of Hoel.
HUARWAR: "The Hungry." Son of
Halwn in Culhwch and Olwen. Called one of the three plagues of Cornwall.
HUARWOR:
Variant of Huarwar, meaning "the hungry."
HYWEL:
Variant of Hoel.
IRONSIDE, SIR: The knight who
slaughtered all the knights except Gareth who came to save
Lyonesse. Said to
have the strength of seven men. Also known as the Red
Knight of the Red Launds.
ISLE OF GLASS: A teardrop-shaped hill
at Glastonbury, Somerset, England whose Celtic name was Ynis Witrin, "Isle
of Glass." It was given this name because it rose out of the fenland
(wetland) like an island. The Tor has been associated with the name Avalon, and
identified with King
Arthur. Remains of a 5th century fort were found on the Tor,
but it was replaced by the medieval St. Michael's church which remained there
until 1275. A second church was built on the site in the 1360s which remained
until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539 at which time the Tor was being
used as a place of execution by hanging by the Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey.
ITHER, SIR: See
Red Knight of the Heath.
JOYOUS GARDE: Name of
Lancelot's
castle.
KAY, SIR: One of the first
Knights of
the Round Table. Son of Sir
Ector. Foster brother to King
Arthur. Noted for
having an acid tongue and boorish behavior, but mostly for trying to take credit
when Arthur pulled the sword from the stone.
KILYDD: Son of Prince Kelyddon. Husband
to Goleuddydd. Father of Culhwch. He loses Goleuddydd after a difficult
childbirth.
KNIGHTS CODE OF CHIVALRY: As described
by Sir Thomas Malory:
- to never do outrage nor murder;
- always to flee treason;
- to by no means be cruel but to give
mercy unto him who asks for mercy;
- to always do ladies, gentlewomen and
widows succor;
- to never force ladies, gentlewomen or
widows; and
- not to take up battles in wrongful
quarrels for love or worldly goods.
KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE: Men who
were awarded the highest order of Chivalry at the Court of King Arthur were
called Knights of the Round Table. Depending on which story one reads, their
number ranged from 12 to more than 150. In the Welsh Mabinogion, Arthur's
knights are attributed with superhuman abilities; some of these extraordinary
knights appeared in later romances under altered names, such as Sir
Bedivere,
Sir Gawain, and Sir Kay.
KYNTHELIG: Myth name of
Arthur's
guide in The Wooing of Olwen.
LAMORAK, SIR: A
Knight of the Round Table. Son of
King Pellinore. Brother of Aglovale,
Dindrane the Grail maiden,
Percival, and Tor. Noted for his affair with
Lot's widow Morgause.
Gaheris
catches them together at Gawain's estate and promptly beheads her after which
Lamorak goes on the lam. He is later ambushed by Gawain, Agravaine, Gaheris, and
Mordred who delivers the death-blow.
LAMRI:
"The curveter." In Arthurian Legend, this was
the name of a steed belonging to King
Arthur.
LANCELOT, SIR: A
Knight of the Round Table. Also called "Lancelot of the Lake," "The Knight of the
Cart," and "White Knight." Son of King Ban of Benoic.
Half-brother to illegitimate Hector de
Maris. Nephew to King
Bors. Cousin to Sir
Bors and Sir Lionel. He fathers Galahad via the
Fisher King's daughter
Elaine. Said
to be the greatest and most trusted of King
Arthur's knights. Still, Arthur's
downfall was brought about in part by Lancelot who had an affair with Queen Guinevere, destroying the unity of Arthur's court.
LAUDEGRANCE:
Variant of Leodegrance.
LAUNCELOT:
Variant of Lancelot.
LEODEGRANCE: King of Cameliard and
father of Guinevere. Served under
Uther and was entrusted with keeping the Round
Table at Uther's death. When Arthur married Guinevere, he gave the table to
Arthur as a wedding present.
LEODEGRANS:
Variant of Leodegrance.
LIONEL, SIR: A
Knight of the Round Table. The younger son of
King Bors. Brother of Bors the Younger. Cousin of
Lancelot and Hector de
Maris. When King Bors dies in battle, Lionel and Bors are
rescued by the Lady of the Lake and raised, along with Lancelot, in her
underwater kingdom.
LLYR:
Welsh myth name of a god of the sea, meaning "the sea." Equivalent
of Irish Lir.
LOGRES: "England." The word
derives from Welsh Lloegr, meaning "England."
LOHENGRIN: In some German Arthurian
stories, Parzival (Percival) has twin sons named Loherangrin (Lohengrin) and
Kardeiz. Kardeiz inherits their father's lands, while Lohengrin remains in
Munsalvaeshe as a Grail Knight.
LOHOLT, SIR: A
Knight of the Round Table. In the German tale Diu Crone, he is the illegitimate son of
King Arthur by Lady Lisanor of Cardigan, with whom he had a brief fling prior to his marriage. He helped his father rescue Queen
Guinevere when kidnapped by
King Valerin of the Tangled Wood; and fought and killed a giant named Logrin in the Perilous Forest. Sir Loholt fell in love with Lady Florie of Kanadic and died while in her service. He was captured by
Sir Caradoc of the Dolorous Tower (or Sir Brian of the Isles) and incarcerated in his
prison where he contracted a disease and died soon afterward.
LOT, KING: King of Lothian, Orkney, and
sometimes Norway. King
Arthur's uncle and enemy in early stories. Husband of Morgause/Anna. Father of
Agravain, Gaheris,
Gareth, Gawain, and in early
literature, Mordred. Also known as Lot Luwddoc, meaning
"Lot of the Host."
LUAGOR: "Host splitter." In
Arthurian Legend, this was the name of Sir
Caradoc's horse.
LUCAN, SIR: "Joins." A
Knight
of the Round Table. Brother of Sir
Bedivere. Son of Duke Corneus. Cousin to Sir
Griflet. Known as Lucan the Butler, he was a servant of Arthur's before being
knighted. In those days, however, being a butler meant being in charge of the
royal court; and so he was, along with Bedivere the Marshal and
Kay the
Seneschal. He remained one of Arthur's most loyal companions throughout his
life. He was one of the last knights at Arthur's side at the Battle of
Camlann.
LUCIUS TIBERIUS: The Roman Emperor who
demands that Arthur pay him tribute and recognize him as his sovereign. When
Arthur refuses, a battle ensues. Arthur defeats Lucius.
LYONESSE: The sunken land of legend
believed to lie off the Isles of Scilly to the south-west of Cornwall, possibly
meaning "lion island." Sometimes
associated with Avalon. As the legend goes, "when Lyonesse sank beneath the
waves only a man named Trevelyan escaped by riding a white horse." This was
said to be the birthplace of Tristan, son of King Meliodas/Rivalen. It is also
said that one of the sign's of King
Arthur's return will be the rising of the
sunken Lyonesse. Tennyson describes Lyonesse as the site of Arthur's final
battle with Mordred. Note:
See Lyonesse on the female names page for the sister of
Lynette.
MABON ap MODRON: In the Welsh Culhwch
and Olwen story, Mabon ("divine
son") was the son of Modron ("divine mother").
He was a hunter god who was stolen by Annwn from his mother three days after his birth.
He was rescued by Culhwch, but because of the time he spent with Annwn, he
remained young. He later assisted Culhwch in his search of Olwen.
MAHELOAS: Name of the lord of the
Isle
of Glass.
MAIMED KING: see
Fisher King.
MALEAGANT: Originally a
Knight of the
Round Table, he later becomes a villain when he abducts Guinevere. She is
rescued by Lancelot and Gawain. Maleagant is the son of King
Bagdemagus of
Gorre.
MARK OF CORNWALL: King of Kernow
(Cornwall). Tristan's uncle. Husband of Iseult who has a secret affair with
Tristan. In the Prose Tristan, he is a terrible villain who rapes his
niece and then murders her for producing a son, Meraugis. He also murders his
brother Baldwin.
MARROK, SIR: Name of a knight who was
also a werewolf. In Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, "Death of
Arthur," (1469-1470), there is a single line mentioning this knight; it
reads as follows: "Sir Marrok the good knyghte that was betrayed with his
wyf for she made hym seven yere a werwolf."
MAY DAY: The significance of May Day
lies in the prophecy that a child born on that day would destroy King Arthur and
his kingdom. On hearing this, King Arthur rounded up all the noble babies born
during May and sent them away on a rickety ship. The ship sank, and the only
child to survive was Mordred who was rescued and eventually returned to his
parents.
MEDRAUT:
Another name for Mordred.
MEDROD:
Another name for Mordred.
MELIADUS: Name of
Sir Tristan's father, the king of Lyonesse.
MELIODAS:
Variant of Meliadus.
MENW: Character from Culhwch and
Olwen. Son of Teirgwaedd. He is wounded by Twrch's venom.
MERLIN:
Name of the famous wizard of
Arthurian legend. The original Welsh form of the name, Myrddin, was derived from Celtic Mori-dunum,
meaning "sea-fort." Mori-dunum was a place in Wales later called Carmarthen.
Merlin was introduced into the Arthurian legend by Geoffrey of Monmouth. Because
of its close resemblance to the French word merde, meaning
"excrement," the name was changed from Myrddin to Merlin. According to
Geoffrey, Merlin was the son of a demon and a princess. He became known for his
prophetic abilities at a very young age and was consulted by King Vortigern to
explain why his castle kept collapsing. Merlin revealed that there was an
underground lake in which two dragons slept, a white one and a red one,
representing the Saxons and Britons, and this was the portent for things to
come. Also known as Myrddin Emrys, meaning "Merlin the
Immortal."
MONS BADONICUS, BATTLE OF: The twelfth
battle of King Arthur. This actual battle took place around the year 500. The
earliest source does not name the commanders of the opposing forces, but the
victory was attributed to King Arthur by the polemical monk Gildas, who states
in his essay, De Excidio Britanniae (The Ruin of Britain) that the battle
occurred in the year of his birth.
MORDRED, SIR: A
Knight of the Round Table. Illegitimate son and traitor to
King Arthur. Brother (or half-brother) to
Agravain, Gaheris,
Gareth, and Gawain. He is noted for having crowned himself
and married Guinevere while Arthur was waging war on Emperor
Lucius of Rome. He
was killed by Arthur at the Battle of
Camlann.
MORHOLT, SIR: Irish
Knight of the Round Table. Noted for his battle with
Tristan on a remote island in order to release
his people from debt. He is mortally wounded but stabs Tristan with a poisoned
spear before escaping to Ireland with a piece of Tristan's sword still embedded
in his skull.
OCTHA: A son of
Hengist and enemy of Arthur. Nennius states: "When Hengist was dead Octha, his son, passed over
from the Northern part of Britain to the kingdom of the Kentishmen. Then Arthur
fought against them in those days."
OWAIN: see
Ywain.
PALAMEDES, SIR: A
Knight of the Round Table. A Saracen pagan who converted to Christianity. He is known for his
unrequited love for Iseult which brought him into conflict with
Tristan.
PALUG'S CAT:
See Cath Palug.
PELLAM: see
Pellehan.
PELLEAS, SIR: A very young
Knight of
the Round Table. Noted for his deep love and devotion to the insensitive maiden
Ettarre. She lies to him in order to receive a golden arm circlet, a tournament
prize won by Pelleas and given to her as a symbol of his love. He is betrayed
by Gawain, as well, who sleeps with Ettarre himself instead of speaking to her
on behalf of Pelleas. When Pelleas catches them together he merely leaves his
sword lying across their chests. Impressed and intrigued by this behavior,
Nineve, the Lady of the
Lake, enchants both Ettarre and Pelleas, causing Ettarre
to fall in love with Pelleas, but Pelleas to fall out of love with Ettarre.
PELLEHAN: Father of
King Pelles. Also
see Fisher King.
PELLES, KING: Maimed king
(Fisher King)
and son of Pellehan in some versions of Arthurian legend. He was one in a long
line of Grail-keepers established by Joseph of Arimathea. Father of Eliazer and
Elaine. He resides in the castle of
Corbinec in Listenois.
PELLINORE, SIR: A
Knight of the Round Table. King of the Isles, or Listinoise. Father of
Aglovale,
Dindrane, Dornar, Lamorak,
Percival, and Tor. Most noted for his unending hunt of the
Questing
Beast which he is tracking when King Arthur first meets him. They fight at
first, but soon become friends and Arthur later knights him.
PENDRAGON: "Chief dragon."
Said to refer to a battle standard. It is a Celtic title and the name of several
kings of the Britons, and King
Arthur's father Uther.
PERCIVAL, SIR:
"Pierced valley." A Knight of the Round
Table. Known as "the Welshman." Son of King
Pellinore. Brother to
Dindrane and Sirs Aglovale, Dornar,
Lamorak, and Tor. After the death of his
father, his mother raises him in the forest away from the ways of men. When he
is 15 a group of knights pass through the forest and Percival is awe-struck by
their appearance. He then traveled to Arthur's court in hope of becoming a knight
himself. He is most noted for having succeeded in the Quest for the Holy
Grail.
It is a French name based on Celtic/Welsh Peredur, but
composed of the Old French elements perce(r) "to
pierce" and val "valley."
PEREDUR:
Old Celtic/Welsh Arthurian romance name of unknown meaning, mentioned in the
Mabinogion, identified with a historical Brythonic king. It is the name on
which the drastically altered French Percevel was
based.
PRYDWEN: Name of
Arthur's ship in Culhwch
and Olwen.
QUESTING BEAST: see
Beast Glatisant.
RED KNIGHT OF THE HEATH:
This knight's name was Ither. He stole a cup
from Arthur and was killed by
Percival.
RED KNIGHT OF THE RED LAUNDS: See
Ironside.
RHONGOMIANT: Name of a spear belonging
to King Arthur.
RIENCE: Said to be the king of
"many isles." He is famous for having trimmed his robe with the beards
of eleven kings that he conquered, and for wanting to make Arthur's beard the
twelfth; for this reason he is identified with Geoffrey of Monmouth's giant
Ritho who had the same modus operandi and who was also killed by Arthur.
RITHO: see
Rience.
RIVALEN: Another name for King
Meliodas,
father of Tristan, husband of Blanchefleur.
ROUND TABLE: When
Guinevere married
Arthur, her father,
Leodgrance gave the young king the table as a wedding
present. It was made to have no head or foot, representing the equality of all
the members. See Knights of the Round
Table.
SAFIR, SIR: A
Knight of the Round Table. Youngest son of the Saracen king Esclabor. Brother to Sirs
Palamedes and Segwarides. A famous incident involving Safir has him disguising himself as
Sir
Ector de Maris and fighting with Sir Helior le Preuse, defeating him and winning
Sir Espinogres's lady. To defend her honor, Palamedes locks sword with Safir,
not realizing it is his own brother.
SAGRAMOR, SIR: Name of a
Knight of the Round Table. Grandson of Adrien, Emperor of Constantinople.
SCABBARD: When
King Arthur received
Excalibur from the Lady of the
Lake, she also gave him a scabbard that would
protect anyone who wore it from physical damage. Both Excalibur and the scabbard
were stolen by Morgan le
Fay; though Arthur later found the sword he never
regained the scabbard which would have protected him from the mortal wound he
received at the Battle of
Camlann.
SCILTI: In Culhwch and Olwen,
this was the name of a messenger of Arthur's. The name is a form of Irish
Cailte,
meaning "the thin man." Cailte was a character from the Fenian cycle.
SECACE: Name of Sir
Launcelot's sword.
SEGWARIDES, SIR: A
Knight of the Round Table, and a Saracen Knight. Son of Esclabor. Brother to Sirs
Palamedes and Safir. He is made Lord of Servage by
Tristan. He is later killed while trying to
repel Sir Launcelot's rescue of Guinevere from the stake.
SONS OF MORDRED: Though not named, they
appear in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae. The Lancelot-Grail
names the elder son Melehan, while another source dubs the younger son Melou.
They are also known as Melechan and Melyon.
SPUMADOR:
"The foaming one." Name of a horse belonging to King
Arthur.
STONEHENGE: Said to be the burial place
of Uther Pendragon.
SWORD IN THE STONE: The story of the
Sword in the Stone appears in Robert de Boron's poem Merlin, which states
that only the rightful heir to the throne will be able to draw the sword from
the stone. This sword, called Clarent, is not the same sword as
Excalibur.
Excalibur was given to Arthur by the
Lady of the
Lake.
TEITHI: Myth name of the son of
Gwynham.
TIBRUIT, BATTLE OF: The 10th battle of
King Arthur.
TINTAGEL: Once known as Trevena, the
modern day village of Tintagel was originally cited by Geoffrey of Monmouth as a
place of origin for King
Arthur. Later it was the site of Gorlois and
Igraine's
fortress.
TOM a'LINCOLN: The illegitimate son of
King Arthur by a girl named Angelica. He was raised by a shepherd. Later made an
army commander by his father. He himself fathered the Black Knight and the
Faerie Knight. Also known as the Red Rose Knight.
TOR, SIR: A
Knight of the Round Table.
Adoptive son of King Ars/Aries, natural son of King (or shepherd) Pellinore.
Brother to Sir
Aglovale, Sir Lamorak, Sir Domar, Sir
Percival, and Dindrane.
Tor
and his twelve half-brothers are raised as shepherds, but Arthur later makes him
a knight.
TREVRIZENT: In the German poem Parzival,
Percival is a Red Knight who fights for "the other side." He fights
for good, but suffers distance from God. After many years of wandering a new
horse, once owned by a Grail Knight, leads him to Trevrizent who teaches him
about the true meaning of the Grail.
TRISTAN, SIR: A
Knight of the Round Table. Son of
Blancheflor and
Rivalen (Isabelle and
Meliodas in later versions).
Nephew of King Mark of Cornwall. He is the hero of the story Tristan and
Iseult, in which he is sent to Ireland to fetch Isolde to wed the king but
falls in love with her on their return.
TRISTRAM:
English form of Welsh Drystan.
TURQUINE, SIR: Name of a rogue knight
who whips Sir Lionel with briars and thorns and throws him into a dungeon.
TWRCH TRWYTH: "Trwyth's
Boar." In the Welsh tale of Culhwch and Olwen, the name of a
terrible wild boar Culhwch must hunt as one of the
nearly impossible tasks he must
complete in order to marry the giant Ysbaddaden's daughter
Olwen. Twrch is
actually a cursed
son of Prince Tared. It has poisonous bristles and carries a comb, a pair of
scissors, and a razor on its head. Ysbaddaden later calls on Culhwch to seek out
Arthur, Culhwch's cousin, to help him hunt Twrch.
UCHDRYD:
Myth name of the son of Erim, from Culwch and Olwen.
URIEN, KING OF GORE: A
Knight of the
Round Table. Historical king of Rheged who came to be incorporated in Arthurian
legend. Father of Morvydd,
Ywain/Owain mab Urien, and Ywain the
Bastard.
Sometimes said to be brother to King Lot and King Auguselus. Initially opposes
Arthur, but later becomes an ally.
UTHER PENDRAGON: "Uther, head of
the dragons." Youngest son of King
Constantine. Brother to Aurelius
Ambrosius and Constans, and father of King
Arthur. According to Geoffrey of
Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britonniae, Uther impregnated
Igraine
while magically disguised by Merlin as her husband Gorlois. He also fathered
Anna by Ygraine, and had another son named Madoc who was the father of Arthur's
nephew Eliwlod.
VALERIN, KING: In the German tale Diu
Crone, he is the king of the Tangled Wood who claims the right to marry
Guinevere and carries her off to his castle.
VORTIGERN: Name of the king who allowed
the Saxons to settle in Britain in return for the hand of Hengest's daughter. It
was his castle, Dinas Emrys, which kept collapsing. In attempting to resolve
this problem he consulted Aurelius Ambrosianus, whom Geoffrey of Monmouth,
identified with Merlin in his retelling of the story.
VORTIMER: Name of a son of
Vortigern who succeeded him for a brief time.
WIGAR:
King Arthur's armor.
WOUNDED KING: see
Fisher King.
YSBADDADEN: Name of the giant father of
the beautiful Olwen. He is cursed to die if his daughter ever marries. He
lives in a magic castle that seems to get farther away the closer one gets to
it. When Culhwch comes to seek her hand, Ysbaddaden requires that he complete a
series of nearly impossible tasks before he will grant permission for them to marry.
YWAIN, SIR: A
Knight of the Round Table. "The Knight to the Lion." Son of
Urien. Sometimes said to be
the son of Morgan le
Fay, making him Arthur's nephew. He has a half-brother
named for him, and a twin sister named Morvydd.
YWAIN the BASTARD: A
Knight of the
Round Table. Son of King Urien of Gore. He is sometimes confused with his half
brother Sir Ywain, after whom he was named. He is killed by his cousin
Gawain
during the Quest for the Holy
Grail.
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