Leon

Sir Leon is a knight of Camelot who has shown himself to be loyal and trustworthy towards both Uther and Arthur Pendragon.

Early Life
Not much is known about Leon's early life. However it is known that he grew up with Guinevere as her mother worked as a maid in Sir Leon's household. (The Coming of Arthur) He eventually joined the Knight of Camelot.

Knight of Camelot
When Leon revealed that he let Arthur win the jousting tournament. This annoyed the Prince, who later defeated Leon in the tournament masked as "Sir William". (The Once and Future Queen)

When Uther was bewitched by the troll disguised as Lady Catrina, Leon was doubtful of his king's magically influenced decisions and appeared disapproving when Arthur's title as Crown Prince was stripped away (Beauty and the Beast). He was amongst those who attempted to tell Uther that his wife was a troll, and had to endure several councils with her stench.

When Arthur sent his men to attack The Great Dragon in his Attack on Camelot, Leon and various other knights were attacked by the Dragon in battle. When the beast unleashed its fiery breath on the group, Leon was injured by the flames but survived. (The Last Dragonlord)

He led the border patrols which spotted Cenred's army and reported it to the court. He later fought in the Great Battle for Camelot against both the army of Cenred and the skeleton soldiers raised by Morgana. (The Tears of Uther Pendragon)

When in The Rising Sun, Gaius, while possessed by a Goblin, Gaius insulted Leon and spat beer in his face. He quickly apologised when the enraged knight challenges him to a battle and offered to buy him and his friends a drink. However, the Goblin spiked the drink with a magical potion, which causing warts to grow on their faces. Leon and his friends went to Gaius, desperate, and Gaius charged coins for an antidote, satisfying the Goblin's thirst for gold. (Goblin's Gold)

Knight of the Round Table
Leon later led a patrol that accidently stumbled past Cenred's borders, and Cenred had them made into an example for tresspassers. They were all attacked and killed except for Leon, who had enough life left in him for him to be saved by a group of Druids, who took him to their camp and ressurected him using the Cup of Life. He then went back to Camelot and informed Arthur and Uther of this, Uther decided that the Cup must be recovered before Cenred found it. Arthur obtained it temporaily but it was taken by Cenred's men, allowing Morgause to turn his army into immortals. As they marched into Camelot, Leon's border patrol spotted them. The patrol was slaughtered except for Leon, who fled when he discovered their power when he mortally wounded one of them, but he did not die. Leon then informed Uther of the invasion.

After Morgana took over, Leon and the surviving Knights refused to pledge their loyalty to her. With the help of Guinevere, he managed to escape and reunite with Arthur. He watched Arthur knight Gwaine, Elyan, Lancelot and Percival. When they attacked Camelot, to save Uther and the other Knights, Leon fought with the rest of them and survived long enough for the enchantment to be broken. He later went out riding with the new Knights to bring Guinevere back to Camelot.(The Coming of Arthur)

Personality
Leon was very loyal to the Pendragon family. However because of this loyalty he refused to do his best when jousting against Arthur out of fear that he would injure the prince. He also tried to stop Merlin from interfering with a meeting between Arthur and Uther but Merlin convinced him to let him in by telling Leon that Arthur was trying to kill his father. Leon refused to pledge himself to Morgana thinking that she was not a true Pendragon and had no right to be queen. Even when Morgana had him and his men at the mercy of crossbowmen, saying they would be spared if they pledged to serve her, he and his men proudly refused.

Leon was very courageous even when faced with overwhelming odds or magical opponents and helped defend Camelot from the Great Dragon as well as fighting against Cenred's warriors and some skeleton warriors during the seige of Camelot. However Leon knew the difference between bravery and foolishness and therefore fled from Morgause's immortal army when he realised that they couldn't die, thinking that he should warn Camelot instead of fight to what would have been certain death. He was also a skilled leader and during Arthur and Merlin's search for Balinor he took command of the knights of Camelot. He was also shocked and horrified when Morgana ordered her soldiers to attack innocent people showing that he cared about the citizens of Camelot.

Abilities
Sir Leon was one of Camelot's most skilful warriors and was Arthur's second in command. He was a highly skilled swordsman surviving many battles where many other knights were slain. Leon was also skilled with a lance and when practicing against Arthur he would have defeated him if not for the fact that he was worried about injuring the prince. However it should be noted that Arthur had the sun in his eyes during the practice session.

Leon also displayed remarkable survival skills, being able to recover from the wounds inflicted on him by the Great Dragon, survive a battle with Cenred's men long enough to be revived by druids who made him drink from the Cup of Life and escape from a group of immortal soldiers unscathed. On the last two occasions he was the only person to survive.

Behind the Scenes

 * Originally Leon was only supposed to be a character in The Once and Future Queen but he received such a good reception that the producers brought him back again and again. Currently he is the only named knight of Camelot to have appeared in more than one episode.
 * When Leon was injured by the Great Dragon in The Last Dragonlord, some believed he was killed. However, in spite of the belief that he had died in the battle, he returned in Series 3.

In the Legends
While Leon appears to be a completely original character, it is possible he may also be based on or around King Leondegrance.

King Leondegrance, or King Leodegrance, was the father of Queen Guinevere and his kingdom was Carmelide (or Cameliard. He served Uther Pendragon, King Arthur's biological father and regnal predecessor. Leondegrance was entrusted with the keeping of the Round Table at Uther's death. When Guinevere marries Arthur, Leondegrance gives the young king the table as a wedding present. In later romance Leondegrance is one of the few kings who accept Arthur as his overlord. For this, his land is invaded by the rebel King Rience, but Arthur comes to his rescue and expels the enemy. Arthur meets Guinevere for the first time during this excursion, and they develop a love that eventually results in their fateful marriage.