Uther Pendragon - Modern Literature

Modern Literature

Uther Pendragon remains a widely used character in modern Arthurian literature. In T.H. White's The Once and Future King, Uther the Conqueror is the Norman King of England. Mary Stewart's first two books in her Arthurian saga, The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, feature Uther Pendragon. Notably, he is Merlin's uncle, since in this version the latter is his brother Ambrosius' illegitimate son. In Bernard Cornwell's The Warlord Chronicles, Uther is the King of Dumnonia as well as the High King of Britain. In Jack Whyte's The Camulod Chronicles, Uther is King of the Pendragon, the Celtic people of South Cambria, cousin to Caius Merlyn Britannicus and Ambrose Ambrosianus Britannicus. Whyte's novel "Uther", written in 2000, revolves around a fictionalized version of Uther's life. In contrast to traditional versions, Stephen R. Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle makes Uther's brother Aurelius, whose widow (Ygerna) he marries, Arthur's true father. In Marion Zimmer Bradley's Mists of Avalon, Uther is the nephew of Aurelianus instead of his brother; while Aurelianus is the son of a Roman Emperor, Uther has no Roman blood. In Valerio Massimo Manfredi's The Last Legion, Uther is himself a Roman Emperor - the last, Romulus Augustus. While the real Romulus Augustus disappeared from history after being deposed by Goths, in the novel he escapes to Britain, where he adopts the name Pendragon and eventually sires Arthur. In D. J. MacHale's Pendragon series, the main character, Bobby Pendragon, is the reincarnation of either Uther or his son Arthur.