Uther Pendragon ( (Y)OO-thər pen-DRAG-ən; Welsh: Uthr Bendragon), also known as King Uther (or Uter), was a legendary King of the Britons and father of King Arthur. A few minor references to Uther appear in Old Welsh poems, but his biography was first written down in the 12th century by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain), and Geoffrey's account of the character was used in most later versions. He is a fairly ambiguous individual throughout the literature, but is described as a strong king and a defender of his people. According to Arthurian legend, Merlin magically disguises Uther to look like his enemy Gorlois, enabling Uther to sleep with Gorlois' wife Lady Igraine. Thus Arthur, "the once and future king", is an illegitimate child (though later legend, as found in Malory, emphasises that the conception occurred after Gorlois's death and that he was legitimised by Uther's subsequent marriage to Igraine). This act of conception occurs the very night that Uther's troops kill Gorlois. Differing versions of the Arthurian story see the theme of illegitimate conception being repeated in Arthur's siring of Mordred by his own half-sister Morgause in the 13th-century French prose cycles. In an alternative telling he is instead the son of an enemy king. It is Mordred who mortally wounds King Arthur in the Battle of Camlann.
Epithet Uther's epithet Pendragon is attested in Middle Welsh poetry as a title meaning 'leader of warriors', a combination of pen 'head; fig. leader' and dragon, a poetic word for warriors derived from the Latin plural dracones. Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae misinterpreted it as "the head of a dragon" and invented an origin to explain it away: Uther acquired the epithet when he witnessed a portentous dragon-shaped comet (see Firedrake (folklore)), which inspired him to use dragons on his standards. According to Robert de Boron and the cycles based on his work, it was Uther's older brother (elsewhere called Aurelius Ambrosius and likely based on Ambrosius Aurelianus) who saw the comet and received the name "Pendragon", Uther taking his epithet after his death.
Early Welsh poetry Though the Welsh tradition of the Arthurian legend is fragmentary, some material exists through the Welsh Triads and various poems. Uther appears in these fragments, where he is associated with Arthur and, in some cases, even appears as his father. He is mentioned in the circa-10th-century Arthurian poem "Pa gur yv y porthaur?" ("What man is the gatekeeper?"), where it is only said of him that Mabon son of Modron is his servant. He is also memorialised with "The Death-song of Uther Pen" from the Book of Taliesin. The latter includes a reference to Arthur, so the marginal addition of "dragon" to Uther's name is probably justified. "The Colloquy of Arthur and the Eagle", a modern manuscript from the 16th century but believed to have originated from the 13th century, mentions another son of Uther named Madoc, the father of Arthur's nephew Eliwlod. In Triad 28, Uthyr is named the creator of one of the Three Great Enchantments of the Island of Britain, which he taught to the wizard Menw. Since Menw is a shapeshifter according to Culhwch and Olwen, it might be that Uther was one as well. If this is so, it opens up the possibility that Geoffrey of Monmouth's narrative about Uther impregnating Igerna with Merlin's help (see below) was taken from a Welsh legend where Uthyr changed his own shape, Merlin possibly being added to the story by Geoffrey. Uthyr's other reference, Triad 51, shows influence from Monmouth's Historia. It follows Geoffrey's description of Uther as brother of both Aurelius Ambrosius ("Emrys Wledig") and Constans II ("Custennin the Younger"). However, its account of Uther's parentage differs; Triad 51 describes Uther's father to be Constantine III ("Custennin the Blessed") son of Elen, while Monmouth describes Uther's father to be Constantine, brother of King Aldroen of Armorica.
Historia Regum Britanniae
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