2. Igraine

Heller, Julek. Igraine. 1990. Illustration from King Arthur and His Knights. Timeless Myths. JPEG file.

Igraine was the wife of Duke Gorlois of Cornwall, with whom she had a daughter named Morgan le Fay. After Gorlois' death, Igraine married Uther Pendragon and gave birth to Arthur, the future king of England. However, Igraine conceived Arthur while she was still married to Gorlois. In many Arthurian legends, the obsessed Uther convinces the wizard Merlin to make him look like Gorlois in order to seduce Igraine. In these tales, Igraine thinks she is sleeping with her husband (Timeless Myths). In Bradley's book Mists of Avalon, however, Gorlois is a bit of a brute, and Igraine's marriage to him is based on forming political alliances, not on true love. In this version of the legend, Igraine falls in love with Uther. Indeed the pair feel as though they have loved each other over many incarnations, and Igraine gives herself to Uther freely. In this way her character is afforded more agency than she is in the original Arthurian tales. In most visual depictions of Igraine, she is a red-haired woman of Celtic descent. In the Mists of Avalon miniseries, for example, Igraine is portrayed by actress Caroline Goodall, who has flowing, copper-colored hair and often wears a green velvet gown to accent her Irish coloring.