King Rience

King Rience , also spelt Ryence, Ryons, and Rion(s), is a character from Arthurian legend, an enemy of

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

in the early years of his reign. His realm varies; in Thomas Malory's ''

Le Morte d'Arthur ' (originally written as '; inaccurate Middle French for "The Death of Arthur") is a 15th-century Middle English prose reworking by Sir Thomas Malory of tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin and the Knights of the Rou ...

'', he is king of North Wales, Ireland and "many isles". He is most notable for his habit of trimming his robe with the beards of eleven kings he has conquered, he wants Arthur's for a complete twelve. This identifies him with the giant Ritho mentioned in Geoffrey of Monmouth's '' History of the Kings of Britain'', who had the same ''

modus operandi A ''modus operandi'' (often shortened to M.O.) is someone's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also more generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode (or manner) of op ...

'' and who was also killed by Arthur. Malory leaves Rience's fate unclear: he is kidnapped by Sir Balin and his brother Sir Balan, forced to submit to Arthur, and never mentioned again. Earlier tales, such as the Prose ''

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

'' section of the Lancelot-Grail Cycle, have him killed in battle against Arthur. Because of the similarity of their names some writers, such as

Alfred, Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

, identify him with King

Urien Urien (; ), often referred to as Urien Rheged or Uriens, was a late 6th-century king of Rheged, an early British kingdom of the Hen Ogledd (today's northern England and southern Scotland) of the House of Rheged. His power and his victories, i ...

. Arthurian characters Fictional kings {{fantasy-char-stub