Gorlois was the head of the House of Gorlois, the husband of Vivienne, and the father of Morgause. He was initially believed to be Morgana's biological father as well, but was later revealed to be her stepfather.
As a Knight of Camelot, Gorlois was a skilled warrior whose courage and honour were admired by many people, including his best friend, Uther Pendragon, and Queen Annis of Caerleon.
Biography
Gorlois was a Knight of Camelot and the best friend of Uther Pendragon. He saved Uther's life many times on the battlefield and often acted as his advisor (To Kill the King).
At some point, Gorlois married Vivienne and had a daughter, Morgause. Soon after Morgause was born, Uther was led to believe that she died and she was smuggled to the High Priestesses by Gaius, the Court Physician. The reason for this deception is unknown (The Sins of the Father).
Sometime later, Gorlois went to battle on the Northern Plains. While he was away, Vivienne had a brief affair with Uther that resulted in the birth of Morgana (The Crystal Cave).
When Morgana was ten years old, Gorlois was killed in battle after Uther failed to send him reinforcements. He was laid to rest on a hill outside the city of Camelot (To Kill the King).
Personality
Gorlois was respected both in and out of Camelot for his fair and just character. Uther claimed that Morgana resembled Gorlois in her bravery, particularly her fearlessness in questioning his judgment and her refusal to run from anything. He also claimed that Gorlois was a true friend who stood for truth, justice, and valour, and was the greatest man he'd ever known (To Kill the King, The Nightmare Begins, The Tears of Uther Pendragon).
Queen Annis of Caerleon also remembered Gorlois as being a good and honourable man (His Father's Son).
Relationships
Uther Pendragon
Uther considered Gorlois to be his best and truest friend. Gorlois saved his life many times in battle and often acted as his advisor, and Uther vowed to look after Gorlois' daughter, Morgana, in the event of his death (The Beginning of the End, To Kill the King, The Nightmare Begins)
Despite their close friendship, however, Uther had an affair with Gorlois' wife, Vivienne, through which he was Morgana's biological father. He also failed to send Gorlois reinforcements, resulting in Gorlois' death. It is unknown whether Uther intentionally withheld aid from Gorlois, but he once claimed to have had no part in his death (To Kill the King, The Crystal Cave).
Vivienne
Vivienne was Gorlois' wife. It is unknown what their relationship was like, but as Vivienne once had an affair with Gorlois' closest friend Uther while he was away, it can be assumed that their relationship was possibly somewhat estranged (The Crystal Cave).
Morgana Pendragon
Morgana was the product of an affair between Gorlois' wife, Vivienne, and his best friend Uther Pendragon. It is unknown whether Gorlois truly believed her to be his biological child, but he raised her as his own and they shared a very close relationship (To Kill the King, The Crystal Cave).
Gorlois was a very loving father to Morgana. Though she was only ten years old when he died, she recalled that Gorlois allowed her to help him with his armour, a task that would have been difficult and time-consuming for a young child and require much patience on his part (Valiant).
As an adult, Morgana remembered Gorlois fondly and considered him to be her true father. She credited him with raising her to be the person she grew up to be and often made pilgrimages to visit his grave (To Kill the King, Lancelot and Guinevere, His Father's Son).
Queen Annis
- “I remember him well. He was a good man. An honourable man.”
- — Annis to Morgana Pendragon[src]
The relationship between Gorlois and Queen Annis of Caerleon is unknown. However, Annis remembered Gorlois as a good and honourable man and agreed to ally herself with Morgana when she came to her in his name. She later withdrew her support when Morgana proved to be more like Uther (His Father's Son).
Appearances
- Series 1
- Valiant (Mentioned only)
- The Beginning of the End (Mentioned only)
- To Kill the King (Mentioned only)
- Series 2
- The Nightmare Begins (Mentioned only)
- Lancelot and Guinevere (Mentioned only)
- The Sins of the Father (Mentioned only)
- The Witch's Quickening (Mentioned only)
- Series 3
- The Tears of Uther Pendragon: Part One (Mentioned only)
- The Crystal Cave (Mentioned only)
- Series 4
- His Father's Son (Mentioned only)
Trivia
- It is unknown whether Uther intentionally killed Gorlois (To Kill the King).
- It is unknown whether Gorlois ever learned of Vivienne's infidelity or Morgana's true parentage (The Crystal Cave).
Oddities & Errors
- Gaius refers to Morgause as Morgana's half-sister in The Sins of the Father, but doesn't learn of Morgana's illegitimacy until The Crystal Cave. This could be taken to mean that Gorlois is not Morgause's true father, but since their relationship is never called into question at any other point in the series, Gaius' knowledge is more likely a writing error or something that was retconned.
- It is also possible that Gaius was aware Gorlois was not Morgana's biological father, but not that Uther was.
In the Legend
Gorlois is the Duke of Cornwall in Arthurian legend. He is the first husband of King Arthur's mother, Igraine, and the father of his half-sisters. In some versions, he is also the father of Cador of Cornwall.
In Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Brittaniae and Wace's Roman de Brut, Gorlois saves Uther's life in the Battle of Kaerconan and ensures the defeat of Hengist. Uther later becomes infatuated with Gorlois' wife Igraine and lays siege to Gorlois' castles in pursuit of her. When this fails, Merlin devises an enchantment to disguise Uther as Gorlois, and in this form he approaches Igraine and sleeps with her, conceiving Arthur. However, unbeknownst to either of them, Gorlois was killed that very night in battle against Uther's troops.
In Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, Gorlois is the father of Morgause, Morgan le Fay, and Elaine. After his death, his daughters are married off to vassals of Uther: Morgause to King Lot, Elaine to King Nentres, and Morgan - after receiving an education in a convent - to King Urien. Arthur, meanwhile, is taken by Merlin and given to Sir Ector to raise.