User blog comment:DragonsHaveMoustaches/Why did Gaius take Morgause to the High Priestesses?/@comment-5102537-20120619113316

That's a good question. I've been wondering about that, too. I wonder why she was given to the High Priestesses and why she was smuggled out of Camelot at all.

Maybe, since she obviously was an illegitimate child, her life was in danger when she was born because maybe Gorlois wanted her either dead or refused to accept her and Vivienne had to find a home for her. Since she had magic, the High Priestesses could raise her the way she should to learn how to deal with magic. Or maybe the Old Religion claimed her due to her magical powers in order to fullfill a destiny.

I guess we will never get an answer to it. We don't even know if Gorlois knew that she wasn't his child (in case Morgana and Morgause are indeed half-sisters), neither do we know wether anyone knew about her her magical powers back then or not. Could be that the Great Purge was foreseen or maybe even initiated by the Old Religion, and they needed Morgause to later do what she did when she found Morgana.

All very confusing.

As for the High Priests and Priestesses being eveil, I would imgagine that there were "good" and "bad" ones but perhaps the dark magic became too strong and that was the point when magic corrupted the land back then, like Gaius told Merlin.