Nov. 19, 2025

The Origin of Weird: Uther Pendragon and Lady Igraine

The Origin of Weird: Uther Pendragon and Lady Igraine
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A dragon-tailed comet blazes across the sky, a king takes it as a sign, and a wizard decides the future is worth a dangerous bargain. We dive into the charged origin of King Arthur—not at the anvil, but at Tintagel—where Uther Pendragon’s obsession, Merlin’s strategy, and a night of disguise set the legend in motion. This is a story about how power, desire, and prophecy can collide, and how the choices of one generation echo into the next.

We unpack Uther’s volatile strengths and flaws, Egraine’s impossible position, and Gorlois’ loyalty in the face of a spiraling siege. Merlin steps in with a plan that puts destiny over decorum: a transformation, a breached gate, and a child conceived as Britain bleeds. From there, secrecy becomes strategy. Merlin claims the newborn, hides him with Sir Ector, and later engineers the sword-in-the-stone reveal to convert scandal into sanctity. Along the way, we explore Merlin’s own strange origin, the meaning of the dragon emblem, and the medieval mindset that read omens as maps.

The circle tightens with Morgan, Mordred, and the unraveling of Camelot. When a realm is founded on deception, does it carry collapse inside it? We connect the myth’s moral core to timeless questions: do ends justify means, can symbols legitimize power, and why do people choose to believe? Whether you cherish Arthurian legend or question its shine, this episode offers a clear, nuanced path through the fog of folklore and the politics of storytelling.

If you enjoyed the journey, follow the show, leave a review, and share it with a friend who loves legends. Have a burning question or a wild historical theory? Message us on social or email us—your idea might shape a future adventure.

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00:00 - Folklore Or History?

00:48 - Uther’s Temper And Forbidden Desire

02:40 - Merlin’s Origins And The Dragon Omen

05:20 - Siege, Split Forces, And Tintagel

08:40 - Merlin’s Bargain For The Future Heir

10:35 - The Disguise At Tintagel

12:20 - Gorlois Falls And Uther Marries Egraine

14:00 - Arthur’s Secret Upbringing And Fate

16:30 - Morgan, Mordred, And The Tragic Circle

18:20 - What’s Legend, What’s Believed

26:52 - Closing And Listener Invitations

WEBVTT

00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:17.199
Oh, hey there.

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Oh, hey there.

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I am Kate.

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And I am Bradley.

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And this is The Origin of Weird by the History Buffons.

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Thanks for joining us.

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How are you today?

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I'm doing pretty good.

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Excellent.

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Excellent.

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How are you?

00:00:31.839 --> 00:00:33.039
I am doing well, thank you.

00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:33.759
Awesome.

00:00:33.920 --> 00:00:34.799
Awesome.

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I have a well, I have a story for you today, and I think you might add your own little flavor to this story as well.

00:00:42.960 --> 00:00:44.479
So I'm just gonna get right into it.

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All right.

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Or I could be making it up.

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We never know.

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So we are gonna go to fifth century.

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Oh, 400.

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Britain.

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Okay.

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And we're gonna tag along with Uther Pendragon.

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Oh, nice.

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You know who that is?

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I sure do, yeah.

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Please tell me.

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He is uh uh um uh King Arthur, King Arthur's father.

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Can I finish?

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He took a big breath.

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I'm sorry, I I thought you were done.

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I was like King Arthur's King Arthur.

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Uther Pendragon is his faja.

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Correct, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

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Good old pen dragon.

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You like this folklore?

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I love King Arthur.

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Um what's it called?

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Our Arthurian, yeah.

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Yeah, right.

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I like all that shit.

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Yeah.

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I grew up liking that stuff.

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Obviously, you know, even completely not related, but kind of you know, like Sword and the Stone by Disney.

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Right.

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I love that movie growing up um because it was just a weird take on it and everything.

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But it's all folklore.

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Like there isn't this isn't these aren't real people.

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It's not, I mean, the you go back then though, they thought they were real people.

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The writers, the the people who wrote about the authorian people, yeah, um, basically made it sound as if they were historical people.

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Correct.

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And they to the point where they even thought um they at one time they found Arthur and Guinevere's grave because they found some a pair of skeletons in a grave, and they're like, it's Arthur and Guinevere.

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You're like, okay.

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Are you sure?

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Yeah.

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Did you DNA test?

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Oh, I'm sorry, it's 900.

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I don't do that.

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Did you carbon date?

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But they full on believed that they were real people, but it was just literally a folklore to try and like bring the British together, more or less.

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Yeah.

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So so we are actually going to um follow Uther Pendragon and how he conceived King Arthur.

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Do you know this story?

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I do actually.

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I remember watching uh I've watched a couple shows and uh read some books because I use I used to read a lot of books on King Arthur and obviously lineage of him and so on.

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So Camelot.

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Yep.

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Um so yeah, I do actually know this.

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So this is this is great because I I do love this stuff.

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Yeah, that's awesome.

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Okay, great.

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So um Uther was considered a high king.

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Um he he's remembered as like a fierce defender of of Britain, yeah.

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Um, but he was also someone with a short fuse, quick temper, and not much in the gratitude department.

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Right.

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Um, so he had his mix of strengths and flaws.

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Most people do.

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Yeah, of course.

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Um, and after a a hard-won battle, one of his loyal allies, Gorlo Gorlois.

00:04:03.680 --> 00:04:04.479
Gorlois?

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Gorlois, maybe Gorlois.

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G-A-R-L-O-I-S.

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Yeah, Gorlois, maybe.

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Sure.

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Um, Gorlois, go Gorlois helped him win this battle.

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Okay.

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Um, and Uther spots Egraine.

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Lady E.

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Grain, yeah.

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This is Gorlois' wife.

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She's described as being so beautiful.

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She outshone every woman in Britain, and Uther falls for her instantly.

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So, despite Gorlois' loyalty, that's such a hard name to say.

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And that's that's the wife again, right?

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Gorlois is the uh the husband, the husband who was a very loyal ally to Uther.

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The wife.

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I just I know Lady Egrain's the fucking god damn it.

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That's okay.

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Yes, I knew that.

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Um, but Uther, of course, can't help himself.

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No, because he's king, so he makes his interest in egrain incredibly obvious at court to the point where writer Jeffrey of Monmouth hints he tries to push his advances far too aggressively.

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Oh, wow.

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And egrain, understandably, um, unsettled in all of this, tells her husband.

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Whoa, whoa, whoa.

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Hey.

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Whoa, whoa, whoa.

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Um hubby, this is happening over here.

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Hey, Garlois.

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Yeah.

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Garlois, I gotta tell you something.

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Exactly.

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All right.

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So Garlois reacts pretty fast and he gets Egrine out of there.

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Well, that's smart.

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And Uther reacts a little bit faster.

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Oh shit.

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And worse.

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And worse.

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He felt insulted and rejected, and he declares that um Garlois' departure is an act of rebellion.

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Oh shit.

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Uh-huh.

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And in no time, he's laying siege to the castles of the very man who saved him in battle.

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All because he wanted to bang this chick.

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Lust, my friend.

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Wow.

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That's just wild.

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It snow this lust literally snowballed into a civil war.

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Right.

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So chronicle writers, chroniclers, writers later wrote that Igring was actually heartbroken at this civil war.

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It was all happening because of and for her.

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Right.

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So she felt so awful about this.

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Well, yeah, because basically people are being killed.

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Yeah.

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In her name.

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Yes, basically.

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But it's not her fault.

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It's no, it's it's it's obviously Uther.

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Yeah.

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Uh so I mean, wow.

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Yeah.

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So enter Merlin.

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Uh, good old Merlin.

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Um, he is part prophet, part trickster, whatever you want to say.

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Magician.

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Magician.

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He's wizard, warlock, mastermind.

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Let's keep going.

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He's the figure who always seems to appear when a king is about to make some terrible decision.

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So he's got this weird origin story as well.

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I'll just kind of do a little bit of him.

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Yeah.

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Um, medieval writers cast Merlin as um kind of a child of a mortal woman and an incubus.

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Oh, really?

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Uh-huh.

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His mother was a noblewoman or nun, depending on the version that you read.

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Okay.

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Insisting that she had never been with a man.

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Oh.

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He's like, he's Jesus.

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Or Shmi Skywalker.

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What?

00:07:51.199 --> 00:07:52.319
Anakin's Mom.

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She didn't he didn't have a dad.

00:07:55.439 --> 00:07:56.879
No, he didn't have a dad.

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He didn't have a dad?

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No, he was born from the force.

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Was he?

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Yeah.

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Have you watched Star Wars?

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Yeah, but I don't remember her part very well.

00:08:05.439 --> 00:08:07.279
Well, she was in the prequel, not the good ones.

00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:07.839
Oh, okay.

00:08:08.160 --> 00:08:09.839
They're better than the sequels, though.

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Okay, so she had insisted that she's never been with a man.

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She only remembered a mysterious spirit visiting her.

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The rest was just like connecting the dots.

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They're like, oh, it was an incubus.

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Okay.

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Better than a succubus.

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So some storytellers even claimed a group of demons created Merlin on purpose as an antichrist figure, only for the plan to backfire completely when his baptism quote unquote canceled out the evil and left him with prophecy and magic instead.

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I gotcha.

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Okay.

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Interesting.

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So by the time I've never heard that explanation for him.

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That's weird.

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Okay.

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So by the time that Uther rose to power, Merlin already had this reputation as a seer.

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Sure.

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So during the struggle against um the Saxons of the time, Uther saw a comet streak.

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How many times have comets come into our stories?

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A few now.

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Yes.

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Honestly.

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And back then it was considered an omen, right?

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100% because they didn't understand it.

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Right.

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Right.

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So Uther saw this comet streak across the sky, and he said it looked like a fiery table, nope, tail shaped like a dragon's head.

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Okay.

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Merlin, um, the interpreter of Cosmic Weird um declared it as a sign.

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According to Merlin, Uther's son would become a great conqueror, and his daughter's descendants would wear crowns of their own.

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That was what this comet implied.

00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:52.480
Wow.

00:09:53.279 --> 00:09:54.480
That seems like a stretch.

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Uther embraced the dragon as his emblem and took the name Pendragon.

00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:01.279
Oh, so that's how that came.

00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:02.720
I never knew that either.

00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:03.600
Okay, cool.

00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:08.399
Um, Pendragon meant chief dragon or superior warrior.

00:10:08.720 --> 00:10:09.039
Okay.

00:10:09.519 --> 00:10:16.720
Uh so because Merlin believed Uther's lineage was destined to shape Britain, right?

00:10:16.960 --> 00:10:20.159
He had a personal stake in how the bloodline unfolded.

00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:21.360
Well, I would think so.

00:10:21.519 --> 00:10:23.360
I mean, he's the one who prophesied it.

00:10:23.679 --> 00:10:31.679
So by the time that Uther's feud with Gorlois over Egrain erupted, Merlin likely already sensed where this was kind of heading.

00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:32.159
Right.

00:10:32.320 --> 00:10:42.639
So the prophecy pointed to a child of great importance, and if that meant helping a king chase a dangerous infatuation, he's like, let's do it.

00:10:42.799 --> 00:10:43.519
Merlin was willing.

00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:43.759
Yeah.

00:10:43.840 --> 00:10:45.120
He's like, I'll help you, banger.

00:10:45.279 --> 00:10:45.840
Exactly.

00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:47.440
So wow.

00:10:47.919 --> 00:10:48.559
Yeah.

00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:58.240
Um, so Merlin isn't helping Uther because he's a romantic at heart, he's doing it because he wants that prophesied child to exist.

00:10:58.480 --> 00:10:58.879
Correct.

00:10:59.039 --> 00:11:05.039
So if a magical deception is required, um, so be it.

00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:06.559
He's he's down to clown.

00:11:06.720 --> 00:11:08.080
Yeah, I mean, his dad was a demon.

00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:08.799
Let's do it.

00:11:09.039 --> 00:11:10.480
His dad was a demon.

00:11:10.639 --> 00:11:11.679
Let's do it.

00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:12.879
Holy shit.

00:11:13.120 --> 00:11:16.480
So, meanwhile, the war with Uther started.

00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:21.279
Um, the war that Uther had started was starting to spiral out of control.

00:11:21.519 --> 00:11:21.679
Right.

00:11:21.919 --> 00:11:27.840
Gorlois um was furious, he was protective, and he splits his forces.

00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:35.759
He sends Egrain to the nearly unassailable fortress of Tintagel.

00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:36.960
Tintagal.

00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:37.600
Okay.

00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:44.559
And it was perched on cliffs that practically was impenetrable.

00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:45.360
Right, yeah.

00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:45.919
Okay.

00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:52.320
Then he holds all of his troops in Dimiloch.

00:11:52.639 --> 00:11:52.960
Okay.

00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:55.200
Dim Dimaliok, pardon me.

00:11:55.360 --> 00:11:56.240
Dimelioch.

00:11:56.480 --> 00:11:59.120
I would have believed you the first time, but yeah, let's correct it.

00:11:59.440 --> 00:12:08.399
So he's gonna defend his honor at Dimelioc, keep his wife safe at Tintigal, and hope Uther like chills the fuck out.

00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:09.919
Chills the fuck out.

00:12:10.159 --> 00:12:11.759
Of course, Uther's not gonna chill the fuck out.

00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:14.320
No, because he wants to bang a lust.

00:12:14.720 --> 00:12:15.759
Bang a grain.

00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:24.559
Oh he besieges Dimeleoc, but he's not thinking like a king or a general.

00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:27.039
He's thinking like a man obsessed.

00:12:27.360 --> 00:12:30.000
Tintacle is unreachable.

00:12:30.240 --> 00:12:30.559
Okay.

00:12:30.879 --> 00:12:33.519
Galor galor Gorlois is headstrong.

00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:35.440
I wish he was just called Steve.

00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:36.320
I know, right?

00:12:36.480 --> 00:12:40.639
And Uther's frustration grows every single day.

00:12:40.879 --> 00:12:41.600
Exponentially.

00:12:41.840 --> 00:12:48.799
So even with Egrain from within Tintacle, said to have been heartsick over all these men dying for her.

00:12:48.960 --> 00:12:49.519
Right.

00:12:50.320 --> 00:12:53.279
Uther has backed himself into a corner.

00:12:53.519 --> 00:12:54.240
Oh dear.

00:12:54.480 --> 00:12:59.200
He can't win Egrain over without defeating Gorlois.

00:12:59.440 --> 00:12:59.679
Right.

00:12:59.840 --> 00:13:04.000
And he can't defeat Gorlois without tearing Breton apart.

00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:05.120
They were allies.

00:13:05.519 --> 00:13:06.480
Do you think it's funny?

00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:09.440
Because, like, I know how I'm gonna get her.

00:13:09.519 --> 00:13:10.720
I'll kill her husband.

00:13:10.960 --> 00:13:11.279
Right.

00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:13.600
And she's gonna be so happy for me.

00:13:13.919 --> 00:13:17.840
She'll just willingly spread her legs for some joy.

00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:29.200
So at this point, Urther, Uther is so far gone that um he started asking for a sorcerer.

00:13:29.360 --> 00:13:29.759
Yep.

00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:31.120
Enter Merlin.

00:13:31.679 --> 00:13:40.080
He sends for uh Merlin and says, I must have e-grained you're clever, fix this, figure it out.

00:13:40.480 --> 00:13:45.840
So Merlin, never one to waste an opportunity, proposes a plan.

00:13:46.080 --> 00:13:46.720
Yeah.

00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:50.480
But before he helps, he names his price.

00:13:50.720 --> 00:13:51.600
Oh dear.

00:13:51.759 --> 00:13:56.960
Any child born from Uther, any grains union must be given to him.

00:13:57.200 --> 00:13:57.519
Right.

00:13:57.679 --> 00:13:59.759
Because he's gonna raise it, basically.

00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:00.240
Yep.

00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:00.960
Yep.

00:14:01.279 --> 00:14:06.960
Merlin is looking past the affair, past the war, straight towards the legend that he had been predicting.

00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:08.000
The prophecy.

00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:10.639
Of course, Uther is blinded by lust.

00:14:10.879 --> 00:14:11.759
So he's like, yeah, sure.

00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:12.720
Yeah, exactly.

00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:13.759
Agrees instantly.

00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:15.440
You can have that in a couple dollars.

00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:16.559
Yeah, I don't care.

00:14:17.200 --> 00:14:23.919
So after all that, what's the harm in promising away like a hypothetical baby?

00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:26.559
They don't know what's gonna end in a child.

00:14:26.799 --> 00:14:27.039
Right.

00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:27.759
You know?

00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:29.279
So the deal is struck.

00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:32.480
Merlin agrees to make Uther's desires possible.

00:14:32.639 --> 00:14:32.879
Yep.

00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:36.559
And in return, he gets the child that will might one day fulfill his prophecy.

00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:37.039
Right.

00:14:37.200 --> 00:14:37.519
Okay.

00:14:38.320 --> 00:14:44.639
What Merlin creates next is basically like a medieval catfish moment.

00:14:46.799 --> 00:14:52.000
Um enchantments, potions, whatever tricks he's got in his back pocket.

00:14:52.159 --> 00:14:52.480
Right.

00:14:52.720 --> 00:14:56.480
He transforms Uther into Garlois.

00:14:57.039 --> 00:14:57.919
Garlois.

00:14:58.240 --> 00:14:58.879
Yep.

00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:04.879
The face, the voice, the body, the presence, the whole package.

00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:05.679
Yep.

00:15:06.080 --> 00:15:15.039
He then disguises himself and another one of Uther's companions as two of Gorlois's knights.

00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:15.840
Oh, okay.

00:15:15.919 --> 00:15:16.879
I didn't know that part.

00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:20.000
And together the trio slips away undercover.

00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:31.120
While Uther's army keeps the real Gorlois trapped in a battle at Demelioc, the disguised party rides straight to Tintacle.

00:15:31.440 --> 00:15:33.519
He's like, honey, I'm home.

00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:34.399
I'm home.

00:15:34.879 --> 00:15:36.720
Right after supper, you want to buy?

00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:39.039
Egrain is anxious.

00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:41.360
She's fearing for her husband's safety.

00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:45.519
Then all of a sudden, Gorlois appears at the gate.

00:15:45.840 --> 00:15:46.559
He is there.

00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:50.399
The guards recognize their lord and let him in without hesitation.

00:15:50.639 --> 00:15:51.120
Yep.

00:15:52.159 --> 00:15:57.759
Uther strolls into Egrane's chambers.

00:15:58.399 --> 00:16:09.919
She sees her husband alive and unarmed and believes every words word he's feeding her about slipping past the siege to and to secure her safety.

00:16:10.159 --> 00:16:10.639
Right.

00:16:10.799 --> 00:16:14.240
Um, she welcomes him without doubt or suspicion.

00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:19.519
And the legend says she gave freely all that he desired.

00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:25.919
Well, yeah, because I was gonna say when you when you got through the gate, I'm like, I wonder if you joked.

00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:28.879
Like, this is no this isn't the only thing I'm gonna penetrate tonight.

00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:30.000
Jesus.

00:16:30.799 --> 00:16:32.320
No, not so good.

00:16:33.120 --> 00:16:37.759
So, as fate would have it, yes, everything also comes to a head that night.

00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:38.320
Oh dear.

00:16:38.480 --> 00:16:43.279
The real Gorlois is killed in the fighting at Dimmeliock.

00:16:43.440 --> 00:16:43.840
Oh no.

00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:46.720
While his double is in Egrine's bed.

00:16:49.039 --> 00:17:01.360
Um, some versions say he died before the baby is conceived, others say afterwards, but by morning he was pretty much dead.

00:17:01.519 --> 00:17:02.080
Yeah.

00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:12.400
So at dawn, Uther slips out of Tentacle with Merlin and the other companion, leaving Egrain thinking her husband has just gone to rejoin the battle.

00:17:12.559 --> 00:17:12.880
Yeah.

00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:18.319
Not long after, um, a messenger arrives to report that Gorlois dies.

00:17:19.279 --> 00:17:20.400
And he's like, wait, what?

00:17:20.559 --> 00:17:21.039
Yes.

00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:22.000
That can't be.

00:17:22.160 --> 00:17:22.880
I was just with him.

00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:24.000
Exactly.

00:17:24.319 --> 00:17:39.119
So still disguised, Uther improvises, claiming the rule the rumors of his death were false, and that he must go make peace with the king before further disaster strikes.

00:17:39.599 --> 00:17:46.319
It buys enough time for him to leave, and once they're safely away, Merlin lifts the spell and restores everyone's two faces.

00:17:46.559 --> 00:17:46.799
Oh.

00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:58.559
So back at camp, Uther returns in his own form and performs um or or he he fakes his astonishment over Gorlois' death.

00:17:58.799 --> 00:17:59.119
Right.

00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:02.799
So with his rival gone, he orders a ceasefire.

00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:03.359
Okay.

00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:15.440
He sends word to Egrain, either coercing her surrender or proposing marriage while she's newly widowed and vulnerable.

00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:18.880
Different varies, um, but the outcome is the same.

00:18:19.119 --> 00:18:23.599
He says Uther secures his death.

00:18:23.680 --> 00:18:26.079
Well, like Uther has caused his death, essentially.

00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:26.559
Right.

00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:35.039
So Egraine later confesses nervously that she's somehow pregnant by a man who looked like her husband.

00:18:35.359 --> 00:18:36.240
Oh dear.

00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:39.519
That's when Uther reveals that was me.

00:18:39.839 --> 00:18:40.480
That was me.

00:18:40.960 --> 00:18:41.920
Did you like that?

00:18:42.480 --> 00:18:43.119
I did.

00:18:44.319 --> 00:18:50.400
The writer, Joffrey, of Monmouth's his versions of the story, skips over her reaction.

00:18:50.640 --> 00:18:51.519
Of course.

00:18:52.079 --> 00:18:56.240
And simply says that the two live together as equals.

00:18:57.519 --> 00:19:00.240
Like just jumping into happily ever after.

00:19:00.400 --> 00:19:01.039
Alright, we're cool.

00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:01.359
Yeah.

00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:02.640
We're gonna have a kid, man.

00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:06.559
Oh, by the way, um, I owe I owe a wizard that kid.

00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:12.559
I forgot, I forgot to tell you that when I was Garlois and undercover.

00:19:13.680 --> 00:19:20.799
So from this night of magic, deception, grief, power, lust, whatever.

00:19:21.039 --> 00:19:25.279
The child Merlin bargained for would eventually be born.

00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:25.920
Yes.

00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:26.880
Arthur.

00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:28.000
Yes.

00:19:28.720 --> 00:19:35.279
So a few months later, Egraine gives birth to the child destined to become King Arthur.

00:19:35.680 --> 00:19:36.640
Only a few months?

00:19:36.880 --> 00:19:38.079
Doesn't it take night?

00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:45.759
After so, with that birth, Uther's bargain with Merlin has to be completed.

00:19:46.079 --> 00:19:46.640
Be completed.

00:19:46.720 --> 00:19:46.960
Yeah.

00:19:47.119 --> 00:19:50.880
So on the very night the baby is born, Merlin arrives to collect what was promised.

00:19:50.960 --> 00:19:51.119
Yep.

00:19:51.279 --> 00:19:55.920
Uther and Egreen's newborn is quietly handed over, just as Uther agreed before.

00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:56.480
Yes.

00:19:56.799 --> 00:20:05.200
Merlin wastes no time to protect the child and to keep the circumstances of his conception safe, safe and under wraps.

00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:09.200
He um whisks the infant away from court.

00:20:09.440 --> 00:20:09.920
Right.

00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:18.799
So if word spread that Arthur came into the world through sorcery and disguise and betrayal and it wouldn't go over well.

00:20:19.039 --> 00:20:19.599
Yep.

00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:23.119
It could easily endanger both the baby and his future claim.

00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:29.119
So Merlin takes Arthur into the night and delivers him to a loyal knight, Sir Ector.

00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:32.720
Yes, who will raise the boy in secrecy as a foster son.

00:20:32.880 --> 00:20:33.440
Right.

00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:38.240
Just like that, Igorine loses not only her first husband, now, but now her newborn child.

00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:38.720
Yep.

00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:42.400
Did they have did her and Garlois have kids prior to this?

00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:42.880
No.

00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:43.440
Okay.

00:20:44.480 --> 00:20:50.640
So in other tellings, the secret upbringing becomes one of the keystones of the legend.

00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:50.960
Right.

00:20:51.119 --> 00:20:56.880
Arthur grows up unaware of his royal blood until Merlin orchestrates the sword and the stone.

00:20:57.039 --> 00:20:57.279
Yep.

00:20:57.440 --> 00:21:00.079
The moment that reveals that he's the hidden heir.

00:21:00.319 --> 00:21:00.960
Correct.

00:21:01.279 --> 00:21:10.880
Merlin, having engineered both Arthur's conception and his disappearance, keeps the boy Tech safely out of reach until Britton is ready for him.

00:21:11.119 --> 00:21:11.519
Correct.

00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:12.079
Okay.

00:21:12.480 --> 00:21:16.400
So meanwhile, Uther and Egrain settled into married life.

00:21:16.880 --> 00:21:17.279
Weird.

00:21:17.519 --> 00:21:20.079
In some accounts, they have a daughter together.

00:21:20.319 --> 00:21:20.559
Oh.

00:21:20.799 --> 00:21:23.680
Um, Jeffrey of Monmouth, a writer, calls her Anna.

00:21:23.839 --> 00:21:24.079
Okay.

00:21:24.319 --> 00:21:26.799
Who late later marries King Lot.

00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:29.039
Who's that?

00:21:29.759 --> 00:21:31.119
Another king.

00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:34.079
Wasn't part of my research.

00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:36.799
Okay.

00:21:37.920 --> 00:21:38.400
Yeah.

00:21:38.799 --> 00:21:39.279
Continue.

00:21:39.519 --> 00:21:39.759
Yeah.

00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:40.720
Wow.

00:21:41.279 --> 00:21:52.000
So in later versions, um Okay, so Anna and King Lot, they have a daughter, Morgace, Morgause.

00:21:52.319 --> 00:21:52.880
Morgan?

00:21:53.119 --> 00:21:53.519
Nope.

00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:54.960
Definitely not Morgan.

00:21:55.119 --> 00:21:55.440
Okay.

00:21:56.079 --> 00:22:06.720
Um, but she is Arthur's half-sister, and they have a child conceived when Arthur unknowingly sleeps with her.

00:22:07.039 --> 00:22:07.759
That's not her.

00:22:07.920 --> 00:22:09.200
Her name's Morgan.

00:22:11.279 --> 00:22:13.680
I don't have an N in this in this name.

00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:14.960
Morgan LeFay?

00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:16.160
I don't know.

00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:17.200
I'd have to look that up.

00:22:17.519 --> 00:22:18.640
I'm pretty sure that's right.

00:22:18.880 --> 00:22:19.440
Maybe.

00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:27.839
Um, so through that daughter's line comes Mordred, the man fated to bring Arthur down.

00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:28.640
Right.

00:22:29.359 --> 00:22:35.200
So Arthur's questionable conception gives rise to a child born from another taboo union.

00:22:35.440 --> 00:22:35.839
Yep.

00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:44.319
Uther's act of deception, uh, deception creates the conditions for Arthur's birth and Arthur's own tragic mistake later.

00:22:44.480 --> 00:22:44.799
Yes.

00:22:45.039 --> 00:22:47.039
Creating his own downfall.

00:22:47.279 --> 00:22:47.920
Yes.

00:22:48.319 --> 00:22:54.240
The sins of the father ripped into the son's legacy, destroying Camelot in the end.

00:22:54.400 --> 00:22:54.960
Right.

00:22:55.519 --> 00:23:04.079
Um, legendary history um shows that the story of Arthur's birth and death forms one giant tragic circle.

00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:04.880
Yeah.

00:23:05.200 --> 00:23:10.880
Set in motion the night Merlin placed a dragon-crowned king into another man's bed.

00:23:11.920 --> 00:23:12.880
With his wife.

00:23:13.279 --> 00:23:14.720
With his wife.

00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:15.519
No.

00:23:15.920 --> 00:23:19.039
Uh look up um Mor Morgan?

00:23:19.440 --> 00:23:20.400
Morgan Le Fay.

00:23:20.960 --> 00:23:21.839
Is it LaFay?

00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:24.000
Or am I shit?

00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:26.160
It's been a minute.

00:23:27.519 --> 00:23:33.359
A powerful enchantress, healer, sometimes villain, sometimes ally.

00:23:34.480 --> 00:23:39.279
Um Morgan the Fairy, Morgan the Enchant Enchanter.

00:23:40.240 --> 00:23:51.039
She first appears in Jeffrey of Mammoth's 12th century writing, where she's described as a magical woman living on the Isle of Avalon.

00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:56.640
Later medieval writers expand her into Arthur's half-sister.

00:23:56.880 --> 00:23:57.359
Right.

00:23:57.599 --> 00:23:58.240
Yes.

00:23:58.640 --> 00:23:58.960
See?

00:24:00.400 --> 00:24:02.559
And she tricked Arthur into banging her.

00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:09.440
So what I have, this is the um Morgace or Morgause, that's another version of this story.

00:24:09.920 --> 00:24:14.079
I had never heard that that uh pronunciation of her name, I guess.

00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:15.920
I just always knew her as Morgan.

00:24:16.079 --> 00:24:16.400
Yeah.

00:24:16.559 --> 00:24:18.400
So I wish it was Morgan.

00:24:18.559 --> 00:24:19.759
Because that would be easier.

00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:20.640
Yeah.

00:24:23.200 --> 00:24:29.359
So some French romances expose she exposes Guinevere's affair.

00:24:29.519 --> 00:24:30.960
She tries to trap Merlin.

00:24:31.200 --> 00:24:31.279
Yeah.

00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:33.119
She steals Excalibur.

00:24:33.359 --> 00:24:35.519
She plots against Arthur.

00:24:35.839 --> 00:24:40.000
Like there they don't exactly paint her into the brightest light.

00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:40.799
Brightest light.

00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:41.200
Yeah.

00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:46.960
Anyway, so that is the awful story of how Arth King Arthur was conceived.

00:24:47.279 --> 00:24:48.240
In storytelling.

00:24:48.400 --> 00:24:49.920
In in fork folklore.

00:24:50.160 --> 00:24:52.079
Because he is It's not real.

00:24:52.319 --> 00:24:52.880
Not real.

00:24:53.119 --> 00:24:53.680
Not real.

00:24:54.160 --> 00:25:03.519
Back then it was a lot easier to obviously tell these stories to like romanticize like our savior.

00:25:03.680 --> 00:25:03.839
Yeah.

00:25:04.079 --> 00:25:05.039
King Arthur.

00:25:05.279 --> 00:25:08.559
But man, people back then, they believed he was a real fucking person.

00:25:08.720 --> 00:25:08.960
Yeah.

00:25:09.119 --> 00:25:12.000
And Guinevere and all that, like I said earlier on.

00:25:12.160 --> 00:25:21.599
They thought they found their grave and they like made this shrine to it and everything, or you know, probably built a church in a uh sarcophagus or whatever the fuck it was.

00:25:21.759 --> 00:25:22.480
I'm not sure.

00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:24.880
But um, no, they all thought it was real.

00:25:25.200 --> 00:25:27.440
So you had said that you knew this story.

00:25:27.680 --> 00:25:28.000
I did.

00:25:28.079 --> 00:25:29.839
I've the most of that you knew.

00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:30.240
Correct.

00:25:30.880 --> 00:25:38.240
A couple of the little details you didn't there was some details I didn't know about like Merlin's upbringing or whatever.

00:25:38.480 --> 00:25:40.160
Yeah, I didn't know anything like that.

00:25:40.240 --> 00:25:44.160
And there's a couple other things, but what the overall story, yes, I did know.

00:25:44.240 --> 00:25:52.160
Because again, I'm a big fan of Arthurian legend, and uh I read a lot of books when I was younger, watched some movies and so on, or whatever.

00:25:52.319 --> 00:25:53.920
There's actually a good series.

00:25:54.319 --> 00:25:58.000
I think it came out in the late 90s, with Sam Neil as Merlin.

00:25:58.799 --> 00:26:03.359
Um and I don't remember who played other people in the show.

00:26:03.440 --> 00:26:04.960
It spent so long since I actually watched it.

00:26:05.039 --> 00:26:06.480
I actually had it on VHS.

00:26:08.160 --> 00:26:12.799
But um it was him recall retelling the story to somebody.

00:26:12.960 --> 00:26:21.359
And I remember there was one line in it, I'm probably gonna butcher this, but it was like basically why don't people believe in a you know, why is magic gone?

00:26:21.440 --> 00:26:23.200
Basically, because people stop believing in it.

00:26:23.759 --> 00:26:34.400
So that for some reason that line always kind of stuck with me, even though I'm probably again getting it not exactly entirely correct, but no, I've always liked King Arthur and that stuff.

00:26:34.720 --> 00:26:42.000
Because even though it's far earlier than medieval time, it's still kind of in that realm, yeah, more or less.

00:26:42.319 --> 00:26:43.759
Uh just kind of style.

00:26:43.920 --> 00:26:44.160
Yeah.

00:26:44.319 --> 00:26:46.960
But um, no, I I did know that story, yes.

00:26:47.119 --> 00:26:48.240
That was very cool.

00:26:48.319 --> 00:26:49.440
I like I like that one.

00:26:49.519 --> 00:26:50.480
So awesome.

00:26:50.640 --> 00:26:51.279
Yeah.

00:26:51.599 --> 00:26:52.079
Well.

00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:52.960
I suppose.

00:26:53.119 --> 00:26:55.519
All right, buffoons, that's it for today's episode.

00:26:55.839 --> 00:26:59.920
Buckle up because we've got another historical adventure waiting for you next time.

00:27:00.160 --> 00:27:02.319
Feeling hungry for more buffoonery?

00:27:02.480 --> 00:27:07.279
Or maybe you have a burning question or a wild historical theory for us to explore?

00:27:07.519 --> 00:27:08.880
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00:27:09.039 --> 00:27:13.759
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00:27:13.920 --> 00:27:18.240
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00:27:18.400 --> 00:27:21.359
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00:27:21.519 --> 00:27:26.240
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Until next time, stay curious and don't forget to rate and review us.

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Remember, the buffoonery never stops.