High Priestesses were an ancient, extinct order of nine exceptionally powerful priestesses and female initiates of the Old Religion who served a cult of worship of the Triple Goddess, and were among the leading religious figures of the ancient world.
Most High Priestesses were killed during the Great Purge. By the time of King Arthur's reign, Morgana Pendragon was the last remaining in existence. As of her death, the High Priestesses are officially extinct.
History
Days of the Old Religion
High Priestesses were leading figures in the days of the Old Religion.
The High Priestesses were nine powerful sorceresses who served the Triple Goddess, and were among the most devoted and powerful followers of the Old Religion. They lived on the Isle of the Blessed with their protectors, the Blood Guard, and held dominion over all who followed the Old Religion (Le Morte d'Arthur, The Tears of Uther Pendragon).
In the days before the Great Purge, certain promising young sorceresses were chosen for the priesthood at birth and raised away as initiates in the Old Religion. However, despite all being practiced in potent magic and the arcane knowledge of the Old Ways, only the very few who possessed truly exceptional, outstanding magical power succeeded in undergoing their sacred rites, and becoming ordained as a High Priestess. The less powerful initiates who failed to meet these extremely high standards became ordinary Bendrui priestesses who assisted the Nine in their daily priestly duties and activities (The Kindness of Strangers).
As leading figures in the Old Religion, High Priestesses were also responsible for the safekeeping of sacred magical artifacts such as the Cup of Life, the Rowan Staff, and the Horn of Cathbhadh (Le Morte d'Arthur, The Tears of Uther Pendragon, The Death Song of Uther Pendragon).
They were also tasked with overseeing and performing sacred ceremonies and rituals. On Samhain's Eve, they performed a blood sacrifice to tear the veil between the worlds and release the Dorocha, and at Beltane they gathered at the Great Stones of Nemeton and used the Horn of Cathbhadh to summon the spirits of their ancestors (The Darkest Hour, The Death Song of Uther Pendragon).
When a war broke out between the High Priestesses and the Ancient Kings, the Nine took the blood of a girl and mingled it with that of a serpent to create the Lamia, a monstrous creature who could control the minds of men and drain their life forces. However, the Lamia were more powerful than they anticipated and eventually escaped their control, which led to the deaths of many innocent people (Lamia).
The High Priestesses were also known to use creatures and objects such as mandrake roots and Fomorrohs to torment their enemies and enslave their wills (A Servant of Two Masters, The Dark Tower, With All My Heart).
The Great Purge
After the Great Purge, the surviving High Priestesses sought revenge.
When Uther Pendragon and his wife Ygraine were unable to conceive an heir, Uther went to the High Priestess Nimueh and asked her to use her magic to give them a son. Nimueh used the power over life and death to allow them to conceive Arthur, but because the balance of the world required that another life be given in return, Ygraine consequently died in childbirth.
Devastated by her loss, Uther turned against magic and instigated the Great Purge. He declared war on the Old Religion and its followers, laying siege to the Isle of the Blessed and hunting the High Priestesses to extinction until only Nimueh and Morgause remained (The Dragon's Call, Excalibur, The Sins of the Father).
Twenty years after the Purge, Nimueh returned to Camelot seeking revenge. She created an Afanc to unleash a plague upon the citizens of Camelot and raised Tristan de Bois from the dead as a wraith to kill Uther. She also planned to use her powers to manipulate Arthur into ascending to the throne and taking his role as king, but was killed by Merlin before she succeeded (The Mark of Nimueh, Excalibur, Le Morte d'Arthur).
After Nimueh's death, her quest for revenge was continued by Morgause. She tried to use Ygraine's memory to manipulate Arthur into killing Uther and cast a powerful sleeping enchantment on Camelot so she could invade the kingdom with the Knights of Medhir (The Sins of the Father, The Fires of Idirsholas).
Though both of these plans failed, Morgause was able to recruit her half-sister Morgana to her cause and began teaching her to use magic. Together, they planned to conquer Camelot with King Cenred and an army of undead skeletons. Later, after they learned that Uther was Morgana's biological father, they enacted multiple plots to kill or discredit Arthur so that Morgana could become Queen (The Tears of Uther Pendragon, The Crystal Cave, The Castle of Fyrien, The Eye of the Phoenix, Queen of Hearts).
Morgause and Morgana successfully conquered Camelot by using the Cup of Life to create an immortal army. However, their reign soon came to an end when Arthur and his allies infiltrated the citadel and Merlin emptied the Cup of the army's blood, destroying them instantly. Morgause and Morgana escaped in the aftermath, but Morgause was injured to the point of being permanently disabled (The Coming of Arthur, The Darkest Hour).
The Last Priestess
As High Priestess, Morgana continued to pursue the throne of Camelot.
In the year following their failed takeover of Camelot, Morgause grew physically weaker as a result of the injuries she'd incurred and eventually realized that she was dying. She spent her final months training Morgana to take over her role as High Priestess. She also formulated a plan to avenge their defeat by unleashing the Dorocha, which required Morgana to kill her as part of a blood sacrifice (The Darkest Hour).
After Morgause's death, Morgana continued their quest to conquer Camelot and take the throne for herself. She devised a number of plans to accomplish this, including killing Uther with an enchanted pendant, allying herself with enemy rulers, attempting a second takeover of Camelot with Helios and Agravaine, enchanting Gwen to kill Arthur, and declaring war on Camelot with her army of Saxons (The Wicked Day, His Father's Son, The Sword in the Stone, Another's Sorrow, The Dark Tower, The Diamond of the Day).
In addition to this, Morgana also searched for information on the sorcerer Emrys, who she had been warned was destined to kill her. She hired Alator of the Catha to torture Gaius into revealing Emrys's identity, but though he was successful, Alator betrayed her and protected Emrys instead (The Darkest Hour, The Secret Sharer).
When Morgana finally learned that Merlin was Emrys, she conspired to take away his magic and trap him inside the Crystal Cave. However, Merlin escaped and later killed Morgana by the Lake Avalon in the aftermath of the Battle of Camlann, bringing the High Priestesses to an end (The Drawing of the Dark, The Diamond of the Day).
Powers and Abilities
The High Priestesses were chosen for their exceptional magical power.
As chief servants of the Triple Goddess and leading figures in the Old Religion, High Priestesses were among the most powerful creatures of magic in existence. They possessed exceptional magical powers and the extensive arcane knowledge of the Old Religion's laws, customs, and most sacred mysteries (Le Morte d'Arthur, With All My Heart).
The Nine were particularly adept in the practice of dark magic and necromancy. Many of their most sacred rituals involved these types of magic, including the power over life and death, the Teine Diaga, and the Ragaid. They were also highly skilled in the use of elemental magic, animal control spells, and various other enchantments (Le Morte d'Arthur, Lancelot du Lac, The Dark Tower, With All My Heart, The Kindness of Strangers).
Many High Priestesses were gifted Seers. Some possessed the gift of prophecy while others learned to foresee future events by scrying (The Mark of Nimueh, The Gates of Avalon, The Sins of the Father).
High Priestesses were also extremely resilient and could only be killed via the use of powerful supernatural forces and magical spells. For example, Nimueh's life was traded away with the power over life and death, Morgause chose to give up her frailing life as a blood sacrifice, and Morgana, despite receiving a number of should-be fatal wounds inflicted by non-magical blades, only died after she was stabbed by the sword Excalibur, which had been burnished in a dragon's breath (Le Morte d'Arthur, The Darkest Hour, Arthur's Bane, The Diamond of the Day).
However, even a High Priestess' extreme resilience had its limits, and if weakened enough prior to enduring their physical trauma, such as through the curse of a poppet and powerful magic, it was still possible to kill her if she did not recover at the time from her mortal wounds (The Sword in the Stone).
Known High Priestesses
| Priestess | Status | Description | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nimueh | † |
|
  |
| Morgause | † |
|
  |
| Morgana Pendragon | † |
|
  |
Appearances
- Series 1
- The Mark of Nimueh
- The Poisoned Chalice
- Excalibur
- Le Morte d'Arthur
- Series 2
- The Sins of the Father
- The Fires of Idirsholas
- Series 3
- The Tears of Uther Pendragon
- The Crystal Cave
- The Castle of Fyrien
- The Eye of the Phoenix
- Queen of Hearts
- The Coming of Arthur
- Series 4
- The Darkest Hour
- The Wicked Day
- His Father's Son
- A Servant of Two Masters
- The Secret Sharer
- Lamia (Mentioned only)
- Lancelot du Lac
- The Hunter's Heart
- The Sword in the Stone
- Series 5
- Arthur's Bane
- The Death Song of Uther Pendragon (Mentioned only)
- Another's Sorrow
- The Dark Tower
- A Lesson in Vengeance
- The Hollow Queen
- With All My Heart
- The Kindness of Strangers
- The Drawing of the Dark
- The Diamond of the Day
Trivia
- There is no indication in the series that High Priestesses have male counterparts.
- It is unknown what rites of passage or initiations fledgling Priestesses were made to undergo before they officially were ordained into the Nine.
- Nimueh, Morgause, and Morgana were all killed either directly or indirectly by Merlin (Le Morte d'Arthur, The Coming of Arthur, The Darkest Hour, The Diamond of the Day).
- It is possible that Vivienne, Morgause and Morgana's mother, was a Priestess, as she once owned a healing bracelet forged on the Isle of the Blessed. However, since some Priestesses such as Nimueh are known to have been members of the court of Camelot, it is equally possible that Vivienne bought or was given the bracelet as a gift (Excalibur, The Sins of the Father, The Secret Sharer).
In The Legend
In Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1150 work Vita Merlini, Avalon was ruled by Morgan le Fay. She was the chief of nine sisters, all of them skilled in healing.
In the series, the Isle of the Blessed was home to the High Priestesses of the Triple Goddess, nine powerful sorceresses dedicated to serving the Old Religion.