The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights, John Steinbeck
More character designs for my game. I think every major character is done now (Merlin is a separate, specific design).
Morgause, also known as Morgawse, is a character in later Arthurian traditions.
Her character is fully developed in Thomas Malory’s compilation of Arthurian legends Le Morte d’Arthur, in which Morgause is one of three daughters born to Gorlois of Tintagel, Duke of Cornwall, and the Lady Igraine. According to Malory, her mother is widowed and then remarried to Uther Pendragon, giving birth to his son Arthur, and Morgause and her sisters, Elaine and Morgan "le Fay", are married off to allies or vassals of their stepfather. Morgause is wed to the Orcadian King Lot and bears him four sons, all of whom go on to serve Arthur as Knights of the Round Table: Gawain, one of his greatest knights; Agravain, a wretched and twisted traitor; Gaheris; and Gareth, a gentle and loving knight.
Years later, her spouse joins the failed rebellions against Arthur that follow in the wake of King Uther’s death and the subsequent coronation of his heir. Shortly after her husband’s defeat, Morgause visits the young King Arthur in his bedchamber, ignorant of their familial relationship, and they conceive Mordred. Her husband, who has unsuspectingly raised Mordred as his own son, is slain in battle by King Pellinore. Her sons depart their father’s court to take service at Camelot, where Gawain and Gaheris avenge Lot’s death by killing Pellinore, thereby launching a blood feud between the two families.
Nevertheless, Morgause has an affair with Sir Lamorak, a son of Pellinore and one of Arthur’s best knights. Her son Gaheris discovers them in flagrante and swiftly beheads Morgause in bed, but spares her unarmed lover.
Oh, Merlyn, it has been so miserable since you left! Everything
which you helped to do was wrong. All your teaching
was deception. Nothing was worth doing. You and I will be
forgotten, like people who never were. – The Book of Merlyn, T. H. White
Elaine of Astolat is the cutest character
I found a book at the library about the exact niche subject I think constantly about (Malory’s adaptation of the vulgate cycle grail quest) and no one else has checked it out since 2001… someone took really excited notes in it at some point of its history
Racebent Arthuriana (1/?) : The Principal Characters
Prithviraj as Arthur, the once and future king, trapped as much by his mentor Merlin’s vision for a united kingdom as by his own virtue.
Parvathy as Guinevere, his clever, charming, and competent queen.
Arya as Lancelot, his most famous knight (though whether he’s not the actual best is up for debate). Tragically prone to running mad and roaming around the wilderness.
Prakash Raj as Merlin, his wise but ethically dodgy advisor. Too wily for his own good.
Vidya Balan as Nimue, Merlin’s ambitious student and eventual successor who has had just about enough of his nonsense.
Arthurian Legends 