Arthurian legend has captivated readers for centuries, filled with tales of gallant knights, wise sorcerers, and the Once and Future King. But at its heart is a woman whose story has been largely overlooked—Igraine, Arthur’s mother. Often depicted as little more than a vessel for Britain’s greatest ruler, Igraine’s story is one of power, coercion, faith, and survival—struggles that remain strikingly relevant today.
In her novel The Chosen Queen, author Sam Davey reimagines Igraine not as a passive figure but as a woman navigating the brutal realities of war, political manipulation, and personal agency in a world where kings and mystics determine her fate.
I don’t know about you, but this retelling sounds fascinating. Here’s author Sam Davey to tell us more.
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Is Camelot really a symbol of utopian ideas?
King Arthur has long been a symbol of British identity, supposedly the very embodiment of the ideals of chivalry, loyalty and moral rectitude. But as I looked into the early writings and began to unpick them, it became clear to me that there was a darker side to the story. I began to realise that the origins of Camelot were not to be found in the almost comedic tale of lost and found identity that surrounds the extraction of the sword of the stone, but in a tangled web of deceit, political machination, and the rape and abuse of his mother, Igraine of Cornwall.
This led me to consider not whether Arthur did or did not exist as an Historical figure – that is something we need further evidence to determine – but instead to ask what for me is a rather more important question: Why do we continue to see the stories of Camelot through a Hollywood-lens of charming animation, musical-comedy and knights doing the can-can, when at their heart is a blood-feud as violent and destructive as any Greek Tragedy?
There is still debate as to the verifiable existence of a fifth century Britannic king called Arthur. The British Isles had been first invaded by Julius Caesar in 55 BCE, and remained under the control of the Roman Empire until, in 410, CE the Visigoths invaded Rome, and the Empire withdrew its troops and administrators. This plunged Britannia into the social, economic and political disorder that has traditionally been called the Dark Ages.
In his book The Anglo Saxons: A history of the beginnings of England: 400 to 1066 (Pegasus Books, 2021) historian Marc Morris states that at this point in history: “Britain was a failed state”. Its civic institutions were in disarray, its peoples leaderless. The land was ripe for the taking, and the Angles, Saxons and Jutes – war-like tribes from Germany and the Netherlands – did exactly that.
It is against this backdrop of chaos, violence and confusion that the stories of Arthur – his Knights and his Round Table – are set.
References to Arthur appear in early historical sources – such as the 10thcentury Annales Cambiae and the Historia Brittonum (828 CE), but it is not until the twelfth century and the publication of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae (The History of the Kings of Brittain) that we find a detailed depiction of King Arthur as a mighty warrior, who defeated the invaders and held the Saxons at bay.
The veracity of these Histories has frequently been questioned, and although recent research has revealed evidence to support the idea of a British resurgence during the late fifth and early sixth centuries – aligning with the supposed dates of Arthur’s reign, it is not possible to say with any certainty that he existed. What is certain however, is that the idea of Camelot and all that it has come to represent has been used for centuries as a moral touchstone for ethical leadership.
This is the claim that I seek to challenge, and in my book The Chosen Queen, I begin at the beginning – with the conception of Arthur and the events that led up to it.
The story goes as follows: Igraine was married to Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall, with whom she had several children. Uther Pendragon, who had recently inherited the throne of Britain, becomes infatuated with Igraine and tries to force his attentions upon her. Igraine informs her husband, and they leave court without Uther’s consent.
This is seen as treason, and Uther declares war on Gorlois, slays him and rapes Igraine, who conceives Arthur. When Arthur is born, he is taken away from Igraine and fostered, growing up knowing nothing of his identity or family. His sisters, Morgan and Morgause, blame their half-brother for the death of their father, the destruction of the family unit, and the disgrace of their mother.
In every version of the story I have read, the rape of Igraine is little more than a footnote. It is not questioned, and its implications are given little consideration. But to ignore it, and hold up these tales as examples of moral rectitude is equivalent to ignoring the facts of slavery and imperialism.
This literary silencing of a victim of rape is, sadly, representative of the way rape victims have long been treated. Rape victims have often been advised not to report their attack, or have been challenged, shamed and disbelieved if they do so. The recent case in France, in which Giselle Pelicot, drugged and then raped by her husband and numerous others over a nine-year period, refused to be shamed by what had happened to her, is inspirational, and I hope marks a change in the way society will regard rape, its victims and its perpetrators in the future.
In The Chosen Queen I call into question the idea that Arthur and the tales of Camelot necessarily provide us with a positive example of ethical leadership, seeking to provide another voice to counter balance our received understanding. I also seek to give a voice to a woman who has been silenced, and in doing so, pay tribute to those whose voices have not been heard.
The Chosen Queen by Sam Davey
Igraine, destined mother of King Arthur, takes center stage for a powerful, feminist retelling of Camelot.
The stories of Camelot do not begin with the sword in the stone—but rather with a twisted chain of murder, magic, and deceit.
A Welsh princess educated on the Lake Isle of Avalon, Igraine is now happily married to the Cornish War Duke Gorlois, a match arranged for political advantage that blossomed into love. When Gorlois begins to forsake the ancient magics, however, it creates a strain between them, as well as friction between Igraine and Vivian, the Lady of the Lake and High Priestess to the Goddess. While Igraine and Gorlois are visiting Uther Pendragon, King of Britain, at his castle, Uther makes it obvious to the entire court that he desires Igraine to be his queen. Later, he accosts her in the castle corridors, and when Igraine informs Gorlois of what happened, her husband gathers his people and abruptly leaves the festivities, declaring war. England has only recently found peace, and Merlin pleads with Gorlois to pledge allegiance to Uther. He speaks of a prophecy that reveals Igraine’s son is destined to wield the mighty sword Excalibur and unite the British Isles. He will be the fabled Once and Future King. But the prophecy does nothing to dissaude Gorlois, whose pride will keep him bent toward war, no matter the cost to his people.
In the bloody aftermath of civil war, Igraine bravely assumes the role of leader at Tintagel Castle, encouraging the women left behind to continue working the fields to show their devotion to the Goddess and instructing her two daughters, Morgause and Morgan, to harness their own powers. She plans a grand summer Solstice celebration, inviting their allies. On the eve of the Solstice, Gorlois unexpectedly returns to Tintagel. But it is only after she lies with who she believes is her beloved husband that Igraine learns the full extent of Merlin and Vivan’s devious plot.
Igraine is chosen by the Goddess, by the Lady of the Lake, by Merlin, by Uther Pendragon . . . but in the end, she will choose her own destiny, and in doing so, inadvertently set the stage for the blood-feud that will become the canker at the heart of Camelot.
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M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel THAT WAS THEN is a contemporary thriller. Mary’s other novels, THE ADMIRAL’S WIFE, PARIS IN RUINS, TIME AND REGRET, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook or on her website www.mktod.com.
