Cenred

King Cenred was the ruler of the kingdom of the Escetia.

Biography
Cenred thinks so little of towns in the outlying regions of his kingdom that when Ealdor pleaded with him to help them fight Kanen's brigands he refused to send any troops despite his vast military force. (The Moment of Truth) (Note: In this episode, he is referred to as Cendred, but in his subsequent appearances, this is changed to Cenred.) Cenred is also an associate of Morgause.

After she and Morgana caused Uther Pendragon to go mad, she told Cenred that without a leader Camelot was vulnerable. But Cenred was unsure, stating that even with Uther incapacitated, an assault on Camelot could not be taken lightly. Morgause informed him that she had an ally in the court; Cenred doubted that the ally was reliable and feared they might be a traitor. Morgause assured him that Morgana could be counted on until the end, convincing Cenred to take the fight to Camelot. He then gathered his forces, with mercenaries flooding into his kingdom. The invasion force was soon complete and he led his soldiers marching to the weakened kingdom of Camelot in their thousands. Cenred watched the battle but his army was defeated when Merlin thwarted the plans of Morgause and Morgana forcing Cenred to retreat. (The Tears of Uther Pendragon)



Cenred later sent men to capture Guinevere and her brother Elyan in an attempt to lure Arthur into a trap. Once again he was attempting to please Morgause, which provides further evidence that he was attracted to her. Arthur arrives in Cenred’s kingdom along with Morgana, Merlin and Gwen (who Cenred released so that she could tell Arthur about her imprisoned brother). Cenred captured all of them and intended to torture Arthur for information about Camelot but Arthur and Merlin escaped before freeing Gwen and Elyan and going to search for Morgana. Morgana acted as a hostage and when Arthur attempted to rescue her, Cenred held a sword to her throat while Morgause attempted to kill Arthur with magic. Their plan was thwarted once more by Merlin, who sabotaged Morgause' spell causing an explosion which knocked out her and Cenred. (The Castle of Fyrien)



Cenred was involved in getting the Cup of Life for Morgause. He was betrayed by the sorceress who got one of his own men to turn against him. Cenred stabbed the warrior but because he was immortal the man overpowered and apparently killed him. His army was eventually destroyed after Morgana's brief rule of Camelot. (The Coming of Arthur)

Personality
King Cenred was a cautious man and even after Uther Pendragon was driven mad by Morgana he was still hesitant to attack Camelot. Arthur claimed that he was a coward and always had been, though Cenred retorted by saying that a coward was a survivor, indicating that he was not ashamed to be a coward, caring more about his life than about his pride. Cenred preferred to allow others to do the fighting for him watching the siege of Camelot rather than participating in it. He has a deep hatred for Camelot, stating "no friend of Camelot is innocent".



However, despite his cautious and perhaps even cowardly nature, Cenred also lacked patience, a flaw that was pointed out by Morgause. Cenred appeared to have a fairly good relationship with Morgause, until she betrayed him, and complimented her about her courage and he was eager to please her. Cenred was obviously attracted to Morgause, bowing to her at one point and he also told her that she was very beautiful when she was angry. However he also claimed that he would rather fail Morgause than allow countless men to die needlessly. This shows that he does care about his men despite showing little concern for minor villages such as Ealdor.

Abilities
King Cenred was trained in swordplay but due to his preference to stay out of combat, the extent of his sword skills are unknown. However he was skilled enough to fight against one of his men when Morgause turned the man against him, and would have killed him if the man hadn't been immortal. He owned two swords which he kept in a pair of sheaths on his back but only used one of these swords when fighting against his killer.

Appearances



 * Series 1
 * The Moment of Truth (mentioned only)


 * Series 2
 * The Last Dragonlord (mentioned only)


 * Series 3
 * The Tears of Uther Pendragon: Part One
 * The Tears of Uther Pendragon: Part Two
 * The Castle of Fyrien
 * The Coming of Arthur: Part One (dies)
 * The Coming of Arthur: Part Two (mentioned only)


 * Series 4
 * A Servant of Two Masters (mentioned only)
 * Lancelot Du Lac (mentioned only)



Behind the Scenes

 * Cenred's kingdom is actually called Escetia, despite it being called, "Cenred," many times.