Igraine

(Igerna, Yguerne, Igrayne)

In Arthurian romance, the wife of Gerlois, Duke of Tintagel, in Cornwall.

She was much desired by Uther Pendragon but she refused to lie with him.

The most common version of the legend (told in Geoffrey of Monmouth, Wace, Estoire de Merlin, the Suite du Merlin, and Malory), Merlin arranges for Uther to come to her in the guise of her husband. He begets upon her the future King Arthur. That same night, Gerlois is killed in battle and Uther arranges soon afterward to wed Igraine. Merlin demands for his help the child that results from the union and so raises Arthur.

Source(s): Brewer's Book of Myth and Legend.

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