Mordred / Modred / Medraut

Mordred was the youngest son of Arthur's sister Morgause. One of the Orkney brothers, Mordred was the brother of Gawain, Agravain, Gaheris and Gareth all of whom perished before the Battle of Camlann.

In  some early societies, like the Picts and pre-Christian Celts, descent was frequently traced thru the women ( paternity can be questioned, maternity less so ). Mordred, as Arthur's sister's son, was his heir; regardless of his paternity.   Whether or not Arthur was his father, Mordred was the heir at the time of that 'Last Weird Battle in the West.'

Unlike his brother Gawain Mordred took no part in the Grail Quest. Mordred and Agravain brought Guinevere's adultery with Lancelot in to the open, starting the chain of events which eventually brings down the realm of Arthur. Arthur leaves Mordred in charge while he pursues Lancelot and in varying versions Mordred usurps the crown, kidnaps an unwilling Guinevere, marries a willing Guinevere, or some other permutation. Whatever, the end result was the Battle of Camlann between Arthur and Mordred where Mordred died and Arthur was mortally wounded.

note  --  the earliest mention of Mordred comes in a reference to 'the Battle of Camlann where Arthur and Medraut fell.

note  --  It is quite possible that Mordred = Owain = Mabon from variant versions of the histories separating from and then being reincorporated in the whole.

related pages

Owain

Mabon