Agravaine de Bois

"I suspect he's not as virtuous as he seems. And, don't forget, he has every reason to despise Uther."

- Gaius on Agravaine Lord Agravaine de Bois was the brother of Ygraine, Tristan de Bois and the brother-in-law of Uther Pendragon. He was also the uncle of Arthur Pendragon. When Ygraine and Tristan died, Agravaine blamed Uther for their deaths and formed an alliance with Morgana to bring Camelot's downfall whilst playing the role of a trusted advisor to Arthur. He later helped Morgana to overthrow Camelot again but was eventually killed by Merlin who had been thwarting both his and Morgana's plans. After his death, Arthur, with Merlin's help, recaptured Camelot from Morgana. It was also after his death that he became the uncle-in-law of Queen Guinevere of Camelot through his nephew's marriage.

Early Life
Agravaine was the brother of Queen Ygraine, King Uther's wife. His sister died after Uther went to the sorceress Nimueh and made her use magic to conceive a child, Arthur. The price for conceiving a child using magic, was her own life. One of the reasons he allied with Morgana was most likely because of her death and the fact that Arthur was the result of her death. His other sibling, a brother called Tristan was also angry at his sister's death and was killed by Uther when he tried to avenge her. Having lost two siblings, Agravaine hated both Uther and Arthur and believed that they had no right to rule Camelot. Agravaine sided with Morgana many years later to take his revenge on them and to assist her in taking the throne, hoping that she would be a better ruler.

The Darkest Hour
Agravaine arrived in Camelot when Uther's capacity to rule was utterly broken by Morgana's betrayal. There, he became a valued advisor to Arthur during his time of need when great responsibilities now fell to the young prince. After a year had passed, Arthur had complete trust in Agravaine and was grateful for his uncle's advice and input.

However, Arthur was unaware that Agravaine was secretly in league with Morgana. After Arthur rode out to the Isle of the Blessed to seal the veil with his own life, Agravaine rode out to a small forest hut where Morgana was revealed to be waiting for him. He reported that Camelot was on its knees and that Arthur intended to repair the veil by sacrificing himself. When Morgana mentioned Emrys, unaware that he was Merlin, Agravaine assured her that their plans would go as intended and that she would be able to re-establish herself back onto Camelot's throne once again as its 'rightful heir' (The Darkest Hour).

Plotting Against Guinevere
Agravaine then took charge of the kingdom in Arthur's absence and had the gate to the lower town closed to prevent food from running out. Gaius angrily confronted him about it. Gwen persuaded Agravaine to reopen the gate and he reluctantly agreed. Agravaine met Morgana, telling her about Gwen. Morgana then planned to kill her to prevent her vision of Gwen becoming Queen from coming true. Agravaine diverted Gwen's attention while Morgana entered Camelot through a secret tunnel. Morgana knocked Gwen unconscious but Gaius later found her. Meanwhile the Dorocha were defeated when Lancelot sacrificed himself to heal the veil. Morgana was enraged that her plans failed and told Agravaine of her belief that Emrys thwarted them. She told Agravaine to help her find Emrys and kill him. Agravaine then went to Gaius's chambers and asked him if he knew of Emrys but Gaius lied, pretending that he didn't know (The Darkest Hour).

Uther's Demise
When Uther was fatally injured by the Gleeman, whose intention was to kill Arthur. Arthur then resorted to magic to heal his father. When Agravaine learned of this, he rushed to inform Morgana, who gave him a necklace that will reverse any healing spell used on its wearer and then magnify it tenfold.

After planting the necklace around Uther's neck, Agravaine coldly told the unconscious Uther that he would finally get what he deserved in revenge for the deaths of Ygraine and Tristan. Naturally, because of the necklace, Uther was killed. Arthur then blamed the sorcerer (who was actually Merlin in disguise) for his father's death. He then vowed to always despise magic, saying that he "lost both his parents to magic". Meanwhile, Agravaine went to tell Morgana that Uther was dead but she told him that she already knew as she felt him die. Agravaine later watched as Arthur was crowned King of Camelot (The Wicked Day).

The Stolen Triskelion
When Julius Borden (with the help of Merlin) broke into the vaults of Camelot to steal a part of a Triskelion, Agravaine helped Arthur investigate this event. Agravaine suggested, due to no tampering of the front gate, that the offender used a key (Aithusa).

Plotting Against Arthur
Following the death of Uther, Caerleon began raiding Camelot. During one of these raids, he was eventually led into a trap and captured. Following Agravaine's advice, Arthur tried to force him to sign a treaty. He refused, and Arthur ordered him killed. His body was returned to his kingdom. This event led to the brief war between Camelot and his land, led by Caerleon's wife Queen Annis.

After Agravaine told Arthur that he cannot be seen with Guinevere and deemed her inappropriate, Arthur sneaked out on the night before he left for the battle to see her and tell her that their relationship must end.

A heartbroken Gwen told Arthur to listen to his heart in order to become the king he really wants to be. Agravaine later gave Arthur's sword to Morgana and she enchanted it to make it too heavy for Arthur to carry. However, despite the fact that Arthur's sword was heavy, their plan to kill him failed when Merlin used magic to help Arthur defeat Derían but the champion was spared to make peace with Annis (His Father's Son).

Capturing Merlin
Agravaine later captured Merlin after he got injured by a soldier. When he brought the unconscious Merlin to Morgana, he wanted to kill him. Morgana stopped him, saying that Merlin will be useful as he could kill Arthur while under her control. Morgana then enchanted Merlin to kill Arthur by putting a Fomorroh snake inside his neck. However, Gaius and Gwen noticed his strange behaviour and thwarted Merlin's attempts to kill Arthur by paralysing the snake. Merlin, disguised as Emrys, then engaged Morgana in a magical duel and defeated her, allowing him to destroy the Fomorroh. Afterwards Agravaine found Morgana lying unconscious in the woods and carried her to safety (A Servant of Two Masters).

Kidnapping Gaius
Morgana recovered inside her hut from her duel with the disguised Merlin. After telling Agravaine that Emrys attacked her and that he destroyed the Fomorroh, Agravaine told her that someone was telling Emrys everything about them. He suspected that it was Gaius as he was the only one in Camelot who knew of the Fomorroh. Determined to learn who Emrys is, Morgana went in search of Alator of Catha, a priest and warrior. In the meantime, Agravaine persuaded Arthur that Gaius was the traitor in Camelot. Taking Agravaine's advice, Arthur questioned Gaius and his views of magic but when Gaius told them nothing they let him go. Morgana found Alator and asked him to abduct Gaius in exchange for her healing bracelet. Alator accepted and abducted Gaius from his chambers with the help of Agravaine. Agravaine then placed evidences of Gaius's supposed betrayal in his room to prove Gaius' motives to the King. In the morning Agravaine told Arthur that Gaius was last seen running away and many of his possessions are gone. Merlin immediately suspected Agravaine and informed Arthur of his suspicions but Arthur refused to listen. Merlin later found evidence in Agravaine's chambers as to where Gaius is, so he and Gwaine rode out to rescue to Gaius.

Agravaine rode out and warned Morgana that Merlin was on to them. Morgana and Agravaine arrive and Morgana told Agravaine to kill Gaius while she dealt with Merlin and Gwaine. Gwaine found Agravaine about to kill Gaius. However Agravaine lied, saying he was saving him, and the two hurried back to Camelot with the unconscious Gaius. After Merlin, Gwaine and Agravaine returned to Camelot with Gaius, Agravaine told Arthur that he misjudged Gaius and that they owe both him and Merlin an apology for suspecting him (The Secret Sharer).

The Lamia
When a Lamia was tormenting villages within Camelot. Merlin, Gwen, and the knights went to their aid. But they were soon woed by the Lamia herself headed towards "her castle". Arthur, Agravaine, Gaius and several others went to help rescue them. Agravaine - instead of helping, he was deliberately covering their tracks in hope of Arthur calling off the mission. But eventually, they were found and the Lamia was slain (Lamia).

Lancelot's Return
When Agravaine learnt that Arthurplanned to marry Gwen, he told Morgana who then raised a shade of Lancelot from the dead. Morganaand Agravaine then encouraged Lancelot, who was under Morgana's control, to make Gwenfall in love with him again with help of an enchanted bracelet. Lancelotsucceeded in making Gwenfall in love with him and when Arthur caught them kissing, he had them locked up in the dungeons after a fierce battle with Lancelot. After Arthurbanished Gwen from Camelot, Agravaine gave an order to Lancelot from Morganaso that he would kill himself (Lancelot du Lac).

The Troubled Spirit
When Elyan was possessed by a Shrine Boy, he made several attempt to kill Arthur. Agravaine urged the knights to slay Elyan when they found him, however, they spared him and threw him in prison. Agravaine was pushing Arthur to excecute Elyan, but before Arthur could make jodgement, Merlin helped Elyan escape. Soon after Elyan was free of the spirit (A Herald of the New Age).

The Siege Tunnels
Agravaine was later ordered by Morgana, who had now formed an alliance with Helios, to get a map of Camelot's siege tunnels so that they would attack Camelot. Agravaine had a young man called Eoghan, the mapmaker's apprentice, to do the task for him; however, the man failed and Agravaine murdered him, forcing him to do it himself. Agravaine succeeded in getting the plans himself and gave them to Morgana who then made a magical copy of the plans to prevent Arthur from realising they had been taken (The Hunter's Heart).

The Overthrowal of Camelot
After Agravaine gave the map to Morgana, it was now time for them to overthrow Camelot. Agravaine had the important task of giving the signal to Morgana's army and opening the main gates of Camelot for the attackers. Agravaine, with Morgana, Helios and Morgana's army marched through to the castle. The Knights of Camelot were forced to flee or to surrender. When Merlin and Arthur were escaping, Arthur finally discovered that Agravaine was the traitor and was filed with rage and promised Agravaine would pay. The following morning, the whole of Camelot was now under Morgana's rule. Morgana was prepared to do anything to break the citizens' morale, even things that Agravaine didn't personally agree with. After Morgana tortured Elyan for information on Arthur's whearabouts, Agravaine was tasked to find and capture Arthur. Agravaine knew that if failed this time he would surely be at Morgana's mercy, so this spurred him on to capture Arthur. He managed to pick up the trail of Arthur very quickly and had managed to track Arthur and Merlin to Merlin's home, Ealdor. Agravaine and his large army surrounded and assualted Ealdor, determined to capture Arthur. Arthur and Merlin managed to escape the town but Agravaine spotted them and chased them into the forest (The Sword in the Stone).

Discovering Emrys and Death
Agravaine and his men tracked Arthur and his friends as they fled Ealdor, and so Merlin summoned the dragon Kilgharrah to wipe out Agravaine's army. However, Agravaine survived and followed Arthur's party into a cave, which prompted Merlin to go back and intercept Agravaine to keep him away from Arthur. Agravaine cornered Merlin in the cavern and Agravaine threatened to kill him, resulting in Merlin using magic to throw Agravaine and his men back. Agravaine then realised that Merlin had magic and worked out that he was in fact Emrys, and was the one responsible for his and Morgana's repeated failures. Laughing incredulously at Merlin's continued and flawless deception of Arthur, Agravaine commented that he and Merlin were not so different and extended a hand to him, but Merlin rejected it. In response, Agravaine attempted to kill Merlin but he used magic once more to throw Agravaine back against the rocks, killing him (The Sword in the Stone).

Personality
Agravaine was shown to be manipulative, bitter, vengeful, intelligent, arrogant and treacherous. He was also deceptive and convincing, able to hide his true nature from everyone in Camelot apart from Merlin and Gaius, just as Morgana had done in her last years in Camelot. Agravaine was vehemently against both Uther and Arthur, blaming the former for the deaths of both his siblings and the latter for Ygraine's death when he was born. Agravaine's bitterness towards Uther and Arthur caused him to join Morgana when she turned against them, seeking to take his revenge and to help her take over Camelot, believing that she would be a better ruler than Arthur and Uther. In addition to his bitter, manipulative and treacherous nature, Agravaine was also sharp and quick-witted, able lie his way out of several dangerous situation where his true loyalties were almost exposed, such as lying to Gwaine to prevent himself being accused of trying to kill Gaius and convicing Arthur he was not the traitor in Camelot.

However, despite his darker nature, Agravaine appeared capable of genuine emotional attachment. It was mostly his grief over the deaths of his siblings which caused him to turn against Camelot which showed that he deeply cared about them before they died. He was also unfailingly loyal to Morgana and seemed to care deeply for her. Upon finding her unconscious in the woods after her duel with Merlin, he took her to safety and watched over her while she recovered. He also professed his deep loyalty for her despite her frequently-shown lack of affection for him and her repeated threats against him. Agravaine was also less willing to cause innocent people to suffer, evidently uncomfortable with Elyan's torture and hesitant to carry out the order Morgana gave for the people's crops to be burned.

Morgana
"I only wish it did not take me from your side where I can best protect you."

- Agravaine to Morgana

Agravaine was fervently loyal to Morgana and wanted to help her achieve her goal to become Queen of Camelot. He constantly met with her to make plans to destroy Uther and Arthur and was her primary source of information for the inner workings of Camelot. Agravaine offered Morgana assistance, friendship and comfort, despite his sentiments being largely unreciprocated. He was shown to care a great deal about her, displaying serious concern for her when he found her unconscious and constantly assuring her of his loyalty. Their relationship was distinctly unequal since Morgana was evidently more dominant, treating Agravaine much as she would a servant. He was unwilling to protest this and accepted her harsh treatment, remaining unfailingly loyal to her even when she insulted him and threatened him with torture. Agravaine claimed to be her only true ally and warned her off trusting anyone else, and Morgana appeared to acknowledge this and expressed her gratitude for his loyalty.

The two sometimes parodied a formal, courtly relationship with Morgana at times referring to Agravaine as "my Lord" while he called her "my Lady". Nonetheless, though Agravaine seemed to genuinely care for Morgana, he received very little affection on her part. However, when Morgana asked Helios about Agravaine's well-being and discovered his death, she was visibly distressed, either due to grief or fear of Emrys.

Uther
"Finally, you will get all that you deserve, old friend."

- Agravaine to a dying Uther

Agravaine despised Uther Pendragon. He blamed Uther for the deaths of both Ygraine and Tristan. Agravaine formed an alliance with Morgana many years later to take his revenge on Uther. He eventually indirectly killed him by planting an enchanted necklace around his neck to repel healing spells when he was mortally wounded. Just before he left Uther to die from the enchantment he sarcastically called Uther "old friend" which could possibly imply that he was once friends with Uther before Ygraine and Tristan died.

Agravaine and Uther had some similarities and differences as both of their actions were fuelled by Ygraine's death but while Uther blamed it at the hands of magic, Agravaine blamed her death at the hands of Uther.

Arthur
"I made a promise to your mother. I'll always be there for you."

- Agravine feigns his loyalty towards Arthur

Agravaine initially seemed to be loyal to Arthur but is actually working to have him killed as he wants Morgana torule Camelot. The reason why he wants Arthur dead is because he partly blames him for the death of Ygraine as his birth caused her death. As part of his plans in bringing Arthur's downfall, he manipulated Arthur most of the time, despite failing to have him killed. Arthur, on the other hand, trusted Agravaine greatly and valued his advice.

Arthur began to suspect Agravaine when he got ambushed in the woods but Agravaine deflected his suspicions to Gaius. Agravaine says that he could not bear to betray Arthur as Arthur is the only thing Agravaine has that belonged to Ygraine. However, this was a lie as he still plotted against Arthur and did not care - or perhaps did not realise - that in doing so he betrayed not only Arthur but Ygraine as well.

Arthur finally discovered Agravaine's treachery when Morgana again captured Camelot and when discovering this, he was shocked and angered but Merlin stopped him before he could attack his uncle. Arthur later lamented over his uncle's betrayal, saying that he had been a fool to trust Agravaine the way he trusted Morgana. Although he learnt of Agravaine's treachery, Arthur never confronted his uncle directly and remained unaware of Agravaine's eventual death at the hands of Merlin.

Ygraine
"Then let me reassure you that you have no reason to doubt. You are all that is left of my dear sister."

- Agravaine to Arthur

Agravaine most likely had a close relationship with his sister Ygraine as her death was the main reason why he plotted against Uther and Arthur. He states that he promised Ygraine to stay by Arthur's side, but due to his loyalty to Morgana, this is either a lie or a broken promise. It is possible that his resentment towards Arthur may have blinded him to the fact that he was dishonouring Ygraine's memory.

Tristan de Bois
Agravaine was Tristan's brother and both of them blamed Uther for Ygraine's death and attempted to have him killed. After Tristan was killed by Uther, Agravaine joined Morgana many years later and with her help, caused Uther's death which Tristan couldn't do, granting his wish and avenging Tristan's death.



Gaius
"I suspect he's not as virtuous as he seems."

- Gaius on Agravaine

Agravaine never cared about Gaius. He helped Morgana use him to discover Emrys' identity. He was willing to murder Gaius to prevent the information Gaius possessed from getting into the wrong hands. However he managed to fool Gwaine into thinking that he was merely helping Gaius and helped Gwaine bring Gaius back to Camelot in order to keep his true nature hidden. Gaius, along with Merlin and Gwen, was one of the only people who were aware of Agravaine's true nature as he suspected Agravaine when he had the gate to Camelot closed and when Agravaine asked him about Emrys. However, until his true nature was finally revealed, Gaius told Merlin that they cannot tell Arthur about Agravaine's treachery as he trusted his uncle greatly.



Merlin
"So it's you. You're Emrys."

- Agravaine to Merlin

Although Agravaine did not have much interaction with Merlin, he trusted him on one occasion to give a dagger to Arthur as a gift. (The Secret Sharer) However, Agravaine cared little for Merlin as he attempted to kill him when he was captured on an earlier occasion but was stopped by Morgana who wanted to use him as a pawn to kill Arthur. (A Servant of Two Masters) Agravaine always helped Morgana to find the unknown sorcerer Emrys but was at first unaware that Emrys was in fact Merlin. Merlin was aware of Agravaine's true nature after he overheard Agravaine asking Gaius about Emrys, however, as Arthur trusted Agravaine, he was unable to tell him about his uncle's true nature (The Darkest Hour: Part Two). After Morgana overthrew Camelot, Agravaine discovered that Merlin had magic, hence realising that he was Emrys (The Sword in the Stone: Part Two). After discovering this, Agravaine attempted to manipulate him, then tried to kill him with a knife, but Merlin stopped his attack and killed him in return.

Abilities
"We don't have time to play soldiers, Agravaine."

- Morgana to Agravaine

It can be assumed that Agravaine was skilled with a sword as he carried a sword and knife. In The Hunter's Heart, Agravaine skillfully killed a man who had betrayed his orders, by stabbing him across the stomach, then as the man bent over and clenched his stomach, Agravaine broke his neck, killing the man. He did this with ease and also took a sadistic pleasure in doing this. He had enough confidence in his abilities to challenge Elyan, who was an elite knight of Camelot, however neither managed to get to the fight, as Morgana disabled Elyan before they could. He also attempted to kill Merlin, throwing a knife accurately towards him but Merlin stopped the attack and killed Agravaine with his magic.

Agravaine possesses no kind of magical ability, although in The Secret Sharer it is revealed that he keeps books about sorcery in a locked chest underneath his bed, and his alliance with Morgana shows that he is willing to work with sorcerers even if he has not shown any talent in this field himself.

Agravaine is also a very good actor, he has fooled (almost) everyone into thinking that he is in league with Arthur, until his true identity was revealed when the Southrons took over Camelot. Like Morgana in Series 3, all but Gaius and Merlin are oblivious to his behaviour (and that was only because he made the slip up of asking if they knew anyone called Emrys), although Arthur briefly contemplated the possibility that he was the traitor until Agravaine transferred the blame to Gaius (plotting against mainly the men of the court). He is an excellent liar and very good at interrogating, as seen in The Secret Sharer, where he knows Gaius is lying but didn't know he was protecting Merlin's identity. How Arthur reacted after learning that Gaius was not the traitor as Agravaine claimed is unknown, but he managed to conceal his true agenda once again. When Morgana conquered Camelot Agravaine showed his true loyalties when he was delibrately walking alongside Morgana, knowing that Arthur would find out that he is the traitor.

In Legends
In contrast to the legends, Agravaine is Arthur's uncle, whereas in the legends, he is portrayed as his nephew. Sir Agravaine was the second son of King Lot of Orkney and Queen Morgause, his wife. In his youth, he came to the Court of King Arthur with his brothers and fought in the Saxon Wars, where he liberated the prisoners on the Hill of Wretches. He was rewarded with a knighthood and welcomed into the Order of the Round Table. He managed to put himself about a bit in search of adventure. However, although a very handsome man and a competent knight with sword and axe, he was said to be a most disagreeable character: being described as envious, unsympathetic, hateful and disposed to evil. This view seems to have been largely due to his central role in the movement to expose the torrid affair between Queen Guinevere and Sir Lancelot. In some texts, it is Agravaine, rather than Mordred, who emerged as the chief conspirator and he was only finally killed when Lancelot rescued the Queen from the stake. However, Agravaine may be misrepresented. When Gawain was accused of treachery by Guigambresil, it was his brother Agravaine who persuaded him not to respond too hastily and even offered to fight on his brother's behalf. Throughout, his actions seem to have been motivated by family loyalty. His desire to harm Sir Lancelot and his participation in the murder of Sir Lamorak is quite understandable when one considers that their family was responsible for the death of Agravaine's father. He must have had a more pleasing side to his character, for he won over the Lady Florée (or Laurel) - a niece of the King of Scotland - at a Camelot Tournament and married her. Sir Agravaine was killed by Sir Lancelot some time during the latter's conflict with Arthur.

Trivia

 * In a deleted scene, Agravaine revealed that he had confessed his "undying love" for Morgana, possibly showing that he had romantic feelings for her.
 * Agravaine discovers Merlin is Emrys shortly before his death in the final episode of Series 4.
 * He is the second-to-last main character to encounter The Great Dragon, after Merlin (The Dragon's Call), Arthur and Gwen (The Last Dragonlord), and Lancelot (The Darkest Hour: Part Two). Uther and Gaius had known Kilgharrah for at least 20 years. This leaves Morgana as the last character to not encounter Kilgharrah.
 * Agravaine is the only character besides Gaius, Merlin, Lancelot, Kilgharrah and Mordred, to know that Merlin is actually Emrys.
 * It is not mentioned in any episodes that his family name is "de Bois", but we can infer that "de Bois" is his surname because that is the family name of his brother and his sister.
 * Agravaine is one of the three people who indirectly killed Uther, the other two being Morgana and Merlin (who did not know he was doing it at the time).