Ygraine Pendragon

"You showed yourself to be a man of honour. You inherited that trait from your mother."

- Morgause to Arthur Ygraine Pendragon (née de Bois) was Queen of Camelot through her marriage to King Uther Pendragon, but died giving birth to their son, Arthur Pendragon. She unknowingly became the stepmother of Uther's secret daughter Morgana Pendragon whether Uther's affair was before or after her death is unknown. She was the sister of Tristan and Agravaine and posthumously became the mother-in-law of Guinevere Pendragon through her son's marriage.

Early Life
She presumably grew up with her brothers, Agravaine and Tristan, it is also presumed that she was close friends with Vivienne who likely her Lady-in-Waiting. Sometime in her early life she met Uther, and fell in love with him.

Queen of Camelot
Sometime after Uther became King of Camelot, he married Ygraine de Bois, thus making her his queen. A traditonal jousting tournament was held in Camelot before Uther's marriage to Ygraine.

Ygraine and Uther were friends with the sorceress Nimueh. After discovering Ygraine was unable to have children, Uther asked Nimueh to help them. Nimueh agreed and used magic to allow Ygraine to conceive a child, thus producing a son and heir, Arthur Pendragon. Although Nimueh knew that by using magic to create a life, another life had to be taken in exchange, she claimed that she did not foresee that Ygraine's life would be the price. Ygraine died in childbirth and because of the loss of his beloved wife, a grief-stricken Uther turned on Nimueh, accusing her of treason and banishing her from Camelot. He then began the Great Purge, ordering the execution of hundreds of sorcerers, both good and evil.

After Death
After Ygraine died in childbirth, her brother Tristan blamed Uther for her death and challenged him to a duel to the death. Uther won the duel but, before he died, Tristan swore that he would rise from the dead and have his revenge. Now having lost two siblings to the Pendragons, Ygraine's second brother Agravaine hated both Uther and Arthur and began to foster a grudge that would last throughout the rest of his life.

A brooch engraved with her sigil belongs to the sorcerer Merlin, given to him by her Arthur in a gesture of his respect and gratitude.

Apparitions
Morgause later used a spell to make Ygraine appear when Arthur wished it as a reward for passing her test, and Ygraine then told Arthur about his past. However, the apparition of Ygraine was part of Morgause's plot to turn Arthur against his father and claimed that Uther went to Nimueh with full awareness that Ygraine's life would be sacrificed for Arthur to be born which would be contradictory to Uther's subsequent hatred towards magic due to the death of his wife. It was unclear if the Ygraine that appeared was the true Ygraine, but given Morgause's treachery it may have been a false representation of her that meant that Arthur returned to Camelot and nearly slaughtered his father. Only when Merlin told Arthur that Morgause had lied did Arthur cease his attack on Uther, leading him to believe that his father was not to blame for Ygraine's death (The Sins of the Father).

Later, when Morgana used a Mandrake Root to make Uther lose his mind, he hallucinated Ygraine calling to him for help from inside a well. He continuously saw his dead wife on several future occasions until Merlin removed the Mandrake Root from under his bed (The Tears of Uther Pendragon).

Personality
It appeared that Ygraine was a much loved queen when she was alive. She was potentially more tolerant with magic-users than her husband ended up being because of the statement that Morgause made about Ygraine being a woman of honour. Morgause also claimed that she knew her very well and seemed to think well of her, which would suggest Ygraine was not adverse to magical beings. Ygraine also seemed selfless, devoted and loving towards her family since when Arthur finally met Ygraine after Morgause conjured her spirit to speak with him, she told him that she was very proud of him and that she would willingly give her life for him again (although this implies that she died unwillingly to begin with). However, Ygraine claimed that Uther knowingly sacrificed her to get a son, and whether Ygraine honestly believed this or not is unknown since Morgause's ulterior motive was to get enrage Arthur and cause him to kill Uther Pendragon. Therefore, it is unclear whether the summoned version of Ygraine was a genuine representation of her as she was in life.

Appearances

 * Series 1
 * The Dragon's Call
 * The Mark of Nimueh
 * The Poisoned Chalice
 * Excalibur
 * Le Morte d'Arthur


 * Series 2
 * The Sins of the Father


 * Series 3
 * The Tears of Uther Pendragon: Part One
 * The Tears of Uther Pendragon: Part Two


 * Series 4
 * The Darkest Hour: Part One
 * The Wicked Day
 * A Servant of Two Masters

Trivia

 * Her surname De Bois means of the wood in French.
 * Her engagement ring may have been given to Arthur by Uther for his future wife to be given when Arthur was ready to marry. The ring was given to Guinevere when Arthur decided to propose to her the first time. It was lost in the forest when Morgana tore it from Gwen's neck after Arthur had her banished. Arthur returns the ring to Gwen after he forgives her for any wrong doing due to her 'affair' with Lancelot. It can be seen when Arthur crowns Gwen his queen.

Historicity
Ygraine is classically portrayed as the wife of Gorlois prior to her marriage to Uther. With Gorlois, she has three daughters: Elaine, Anna-Morgause, and Morgan le Fey. Through Anna-Morgause, the Igraine of legend is the grandmother of Gawain, Gaheris, Gareth, Agravain, and Mordred, and, through Gawain, the great-grandmother of Florence, Lovell, and Gingalain.