User blog comment:DragonsHaveMoustaches/Why did Gaius take Morgause to the High Priestesses?/@comment-5191335-20120625061807

This is a great question! I've thought a great deal about it myself and I think I've come to a few conclusions that makes some sense.

I think that perhaps Gaius was trying to protect Morgause and, being a practitioner of magic/the Old Religion himself at the time, believed that the High Priestesses were good and trustworthy (kind of like people tend to trust pastors). Furthermore, the High Priestesses were very likely the most qualified to protect a magical child. Not only were they extremely powerful, being the leaders of the Old Religion, but they seem to have no qualms about using their magic to achieve violent ends if they believed it was for the greater good. The Druids were extremely peaceful in nature, as evident in: 1- Mordred does not cause actual harm with magic to anyone who pursued and persecuted him, despite being more than capable of doing so, until The Witch's Quickening, when he is no longer a member of the Druid camp and has joined a sect of radical sorcerers (The Beginning of the End and The Nightmare Begins), 2- the Druids welcomed Morgana to their camp even though she was the King's ward (The Nightmare Begins), 3- they saved Sir Leon (The Coming of Arthur), 4- they let Arthur take the Cup of Life even though they probably could have turned the table on him with their combined magic (The Coming of Arthur), 5- even the vengeful ghost of the Druid boy was forgiving (A Herald of the New Age). For this reason, they wouldn't have been as effective at protecting Morgause as the High Priestesses apparently were.

Also, if Morgause was already showing evidence of inate magical abilities as a baby, like Merlin did, then the High Priestesses would have been the logical gaurdians for her. They could have trained her properly and could use their own powers to balance out hers and fix any accidental spells she might casts as she developed her skills. It is also possible that children born with great magical gifts were typically sent to the Isle of the Blessed to be trained as High Priests and Priestesses. In Ancient Rome, young girls suspected to have the gift of prophesy were sent to live in convent-like temples to be trained as Priestesses (like the Vestal Virgins), so this part of the myth/show may be based on these types of historical facts. This type of thing still happens. In my religion, this is sort of how Priestesses are chosen (children are selected for training based on their possession of characteristics believed to make for strong religious leaders, not all of which are mystical in nature). I was one of those children, selected for what me High Priestess termed "keen insight and foresight", so I can understand how this might be what happened in the show.

Also, on another note, I think that perhaps Vivienne, the mother of Morgause and Morgana, was a High Priestess, herself. We know that she had magic and that she owned a bracelet forged on the Isle of the Blessed, which may show that she had strong  connections to the High Priests and  Priestesses. Furthermore, since Morgana seems to have little knowlege of her and Morgause claims that she knew their mother well, it is possible that at some point (most likely during the Great Purge) Vivienne joined her elder daughter amongst the High Priestesses. Also, it is interesting to note that in a lot of the classic legends Vivienne annd Nimueh were the same person. In the show, Nimueh is a High Priestess, but does not look old enough to be Vivienne. However, there could be a magical explanation for her young appearance, like a youth charm - essentially the opposite of the spell Merlin uses to become Dragoon the Great. (Though, admittedly, this is a bit far fetched, even for a show about magic .) If Vivienne was, in fact, a High Priestes (whether or not she and Nimueh are one and the same), then it would make sense for the  High Priestesses to take in and protect her daughter. If Vivienne had asked Gaius to help smuggle her daughter to the other High Priestesses, I know he would have helped and probably wouldn't have questioned the mother as she did what she thought would be best to protect her daughter.

In some tellings of the myth, Morgause was a sickly baby and the High Priestesses healed her and brought her back from thhe cusp of death with magic known only to them (like the Cup of Life. If the show follows this scenario, then it would make even more sense for Gaius to have taken her to the High Priestesses. It also explains how the baby's disappearance, her "death", didn't  raise any suspicions.

--

Okay, I'm done with my really long thoughts on the matter... Sorry that I practically wrote a novel! Lol!

On another note, I saw in a comment to this blog somebody say something about Morgause being illegitimate. Was she really? I know Morgana was (Uther, who was, depending on how old Morgana is, either married or widowed, had an affair with Vivienne, who's husband, Gorlois, was off at war. This affair resulted in an illegitimate child, Morgana.) However, I don't remember Morgause  being illegitimate. It is clear that Morgana and Morgause share the same mother, Vivienne. However, since they are half-sisters, they do not have the same father. So, if Morgause is illegitimate, then Vivienne had an affair with another man as well. Given the half-sister relationship between Morgause  and Morgana, it is possiple that Morgause's father is Gorlois, Vivienne's husband. So, am I missing something? Did I fail to notice a detail or piece of dialogue which manifested that Morgause is illegitimate?