Arthurian legend Characters
Meet the main characters of the Arthurian legend, focusing on those who appear in Episodes 1–6 now available. Who was the boy king Arthur who drew the sword from the stone? Who were Merlin the prophet, Launcelot the greatest knight, Queen Guinevere, and the enchantress Morgan le Fay, and what did they do? Here is a clear guide to each of them, following Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.
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Arthur King Arthur
The boy who drew the sword from the stone and became king of the Round Table
Arthur is the legendary king of Britain at the center of the Arthurian legend. Born to King Uther Pendragon and Igraine, he was handed by the wizard Merlin to the…
Appears in 7 episodes: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7Merlin
The far-seeing wizard and prophet behind King Arthur
Merlin is the wizard and prophet of the Arthurian legend. Able to see the future and change shapes, he secretly guided Arthur from his birth to his crowning. He became…
Appears in 5 episodes: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5Sir Launcelot du Lake Lancelot du Lac
The peerless knight of the Round Table
Sir Launcelot du Lake (Lancelot) is the strongest and most renowned Knight of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. He is the son of King Ban, who rules Benwick…
Appears in 2 episodes: Episode 6, Episode 7Guinevere
King Arthur's queen, who brought the Round Table
Guinevere is King Arthur's queen. She is the daughter of King Leodegrance of Cameliard, and in Malory's original text her name is spelled "Guenever." She is known as…
Appears in 2 episodes: Episode 4, Episode 6Gawain Sir Gawain
King Arthur's nephew, who learned his oath through failure
Gawain is King Arthur's nephew and one of the leading Knights of the Round Table. He is the eldest son of King Lot of Orkney and Morgause, and the older brother of…
Appears in 2 episodes: Episode 4, Episode 7Morgan le Fay
Arthur's sorceress half-sister, who plots against his life
Morgan le Fay is King Arthur's half-sister and a powerful sorceress. She is the daughter of Igraine and the Duke of Tintagel, and in Malory's original text she became…
Appears in 2 episodes: Episode 5, Episode 6Nimue
The lady of the lake who imprisoned Merlin
Nimue is one of the Ladies of the Lake in the Arthurian legend. She was loved by the wizard Merlin and learned magic from him. In some versions of the story she is…
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 5The Lady of the Lake
The mysterious maiden who gave Arthur Excalibur
The Lady of the Lake is the mysterious woman living in a lake who gave King Arthur the holy sword Excalibur. She holds the magic of the lake and appears in many…
Appears in 2 episodes: Episode 2, Episode 3Sir Kay
Arthur's foster brother and the king's seneschal
Sir Kay is King Arthur's foster brother, a Knight of the Round Table who later became the king's seneschal (the officer who runs the royal household). He is the true…
Appears in 4 episodes: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 4, Episode 7Sir Ector
The faithful knight who raised Arthur
Sir Ector is King Arthur's foster father and the father of Kay. He took the newborn Arthur from Merlin and had him nursed by his own wife.
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 1Uther Pendragon
The former king and Arthur's true father
Uther Pendragon is King Arthur's true father and the king who ruled Britain before him. "Pendragon" is said to be a title meaning "chief dragon" or "head of the dragons."
Appears in 2 episodes: Episode 1, Episode 2Igraine
Mother of Arthur and of Morgan and her sisters
Igraine is King Arthur's mother. She was first the wife of the Duke of Tintagel in Cornwall, and she is also the mother of three daughters: Morgause, Elaine, and Morgan…
Appears in 2 episodes: Episode 1, Episode 2Morgause
Arthur's sister and the mother of Mordred
Morgause is the wife of King Lot of Orkney and King Arthur's half-sister. She is the daughter of Igraine and the Duke of Tintagel, and the mother of Gawain, Gaheris,…
Appears in 2 episodes: Episode 2, Episode 7Mordred
The king's son prophesied to destroy the kingdom
Mordred is the son born to King Arthur and his half-sister Morgause. He is the knight who later rebels against his father and brings about the fall of Arthur's kingdom.…
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 2Balin le Savage
The tragic knight who drew a cursed sword
Balin le Savage is the tragic knight of the Arthurian legend known as "the Knight with the Two Swords." A poor knight from Northumberland, he is extremely brave, yet…
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 3Balan
Balin's brother, who fought him unknowing
Balan is the younger brother of Balin, "the Knight with the Two Swords," and a knight who fought alongside him.
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 3King Pellinore
The mighty king who hunts the Questing Beast
King Pellinore is a powerful knight who endlessly hunts the "Questing Beast," and a king who later becomes one of Arthur's Knights of the Round Table. In Malory's…
Appears in 2 episodes: Episode 2, Episode 4King Pellam
The wounded king struck by the Dolorous Stroke
King Pellam is the king of the castle of Listeneise who received a wound that would not heal for many years from the knight Balin's "Dolorous Stroke." He is the older…
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 3Garlon
The invisible knight who strikes unseen
Garlon is the "invisible knight" who attacks other knights while unseen. He is the younger brother of King Pellam of Listeneise.
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 3Sir Accolon of Gaul Accolon of Gaul
Morgan's knight, armed with the stolen Excalibur
Sir Accolon of Gaul is a knight from Gaul (roughly modern-day France) and the lover of Morgan le Fay. Through Morgan's scheming, he ends up fighting King Arthur in a…
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 5Sir Turquine (Tarquin) Sir Tarquin
The knight who hated Launcelot above all others
Sir Turquine (Tarquin) is a powerful knight who defeated Knights of the Round Table one after another and locked them in his castle. He is known as the enemy who hated…
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 6King Lot of Orkney
The king who led the rebel kings against Arthur
King Lot of Orkney is the king who rules Orkney in the far north of Britain and the husband of Morgause. He is the father of Gawain and Gaheris. Though married to…
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 2