Tea at Trianon: The Legend of Uther Pendragon, King Arthur’s Father

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Tuesday, January 6, 2026

The Legend of Uther Pendragon, King Arthur’s Father

From The Collector:

In the legends of King Arthur, many of the members of Arthur’s family have names which make sense in an early Post-Roman, Romano-British context. Arthur’s own name likely comes from “Artorius,” while Arthur has uncles named Aurelius Ambrosius and Constans. Within this context, the name “Uther Pendragon” stands out as decidedly unusual. What is the reason for this?

The legends themselves make it clear that “Pendragon” was simply an epithet applied to this king. In fact, medieval Welsh apply this to other figures as well. Its meaning is quite obvious. The word “pen” is Welsh for “head,” often in the sense of “chief.” The word “dragon,” meanwhile, is frequently used in poetry to denote a warrior. Therefore, this is a title meaning “Chief Warrior.”

As for “Uther,” this could be explained as a corruption of the Latin name “Victor.” Normally, in Welsh, that would be “Gwythyr,” but the corruption of this into “Uthyr” is attested in Welsh texts. Alternatively, and perhaps more probably, it comes from the Welsh word “uthr,” meaning “fearsome,” and is actually part of the “Pendragon” title. (Read more.)