Urien (; ), often referred to as Urien Rheged or Uriens, was a late 6th-century king of
Rheged
Rheged () was one of the kingdoms of the ''Hen Ogledd'' ("Old North"), the Brittonic-speaking region of what is now Northern England and southern Scotland, during the post-Roman era and Early Middle Ages. It is recorded in several poetic and b ...
, 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, including the battles of
Gwen Ystrad and
Alt Clut Ford, are celebrated in the praise poems to him by
Taliesin, preserved in the ''
Book of Taliesin
The Book of Taliesin ( cy, Llyfr Taliesin) is one of the most famous of Middle Welsh manuscripts, dating from the first half of the 14th century though many of the fifty-six poems it preserves are taken to originate in the 10th century or before ...
''.
In
Arthurian legend, he inspired the character of King Urien of either Garlot (Garloth) or Gore (Gorre). His most famous son
Owain mab Urien similarly turned into the character of
Ywain.
Life
According to the genealogies, Urien was the son of
Cynfarch Oer, son of
Meirchion Gul, son of Gorwst, son of Cenau, son of
Coel Hen (
King Cole
Coel (Old Welsh: ''Coil''), also called ''Coel Hen'' (Coel the Old) and King Cole, is a figure prominent in Welsh literature and legend since the Middle Ages. Early Welsh tradition knew of a Coel Hen, a 4th-century leader in Roman or Sub-Roman ...
), the first recorded post-Roman military leader in the area of
Hadrian's Wall. He fought against the rulers of the
Anglian kingdom of
Bernicia
Bernicia ( ang, Bernice, Bryneich, Beornice; la, Bernicia) was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern Scotland and North East England.
The Anglian territory of Bernicia was ap ...
(modern Northumbria). An Anglian noble,
Ida, had occupied
Metcauld around the middle of the 6th century and begun to raid the mainland. Urien joined with other northern kings,
Rhydderch Hael "the Generous" of
Strathclyde and two other descendants of Coel,
Gwallog mab Llaenog and
Morgant Bwlch. They defeated the Angles and besieged them on Lindisfarne but, according to the ''
Historia Brittonum'', Urien was assassinated at the behest of Morgant Bwlch who was jealous of his power. A man called Llofan Llaf Difo is said to have killed him. One of the
Welsh Triads calls the death of Urien one of the "Three Unfortunate Assassinations" and another lists him as one of the "Three Great Battle-leaders of Britain".
He had at least five sons, named
Owain, Rhiwallon, Elffin, Rhun 'Baladr Bras' and Pasgen. The eldest of them succeeded him.
Legend
Urien remained a popular figure in
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
over the centuries, and he and his son Owain were incorporated into
Arthurian legend as it spread from Britain to continental Europe. His kingdom was eventually transferred to the magical land of Gore (more worldy Garlot in some version), and Kings
Lot of Lothian
King Lot , also spelled Loth or Lott (Lleu or Llew in Welsh), is a British monarch in Arthurian legend. He was introduced in Geoffrey of Monmouth's influential chronicle ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' that portrayed him as King Arthur's brother- ...
and Auguselus of Scotland are sometimes said to be his brothers. During the reign of
Uther Pendragon
Uther Pendragon ( Brittonic) (; cy, Ythyr Ben Dragwn, Uthyr Pendragon, Uthyr Bendragon), also known as King Uther, was a legendary King of the Britons in sub-Roman Britain (c. 6th century). Uther was also the father of King Arthur.
A few ...
, Urien marries the young
King Arthur's sister (often
Morgan le Fay
Morgan le Fay (, meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan ''n''a, Morgain ''a/e Morg ''a''ne, Morgant ''e Morge ''i''n, and Morgue ''inamong other names and spellings ( cy, Morgên y Dylwythen Deg, kw, Morgen an Spyrys), is a ...
, but sometimes another sister is named, such as Hermesan in the ''Livre d'Artus'' and Blasine in ''
Of Arthour and of Merlin''). He, like the kings of several other lands, initially opposes Arthur's accession to the throne after Uther's death. Urien and the others rebel against the young monarch, but upon their defeat, the rebels become Arthur's allies and vassals.
His marriage to Morgan is not portrayed as a happy one, however, as in a popular version (also included in
Thomas Malory's influential ''
Le Morte d'Arthur'') Morgan plots to take
Excalibur, kill Urien and Arthur, and place herself and her lover
Accolon on the throne (in most tellings, she fails in all parts of that plan, being foiled by their son and by the
Lady of the Lake). Malory sometimes spells his name ''Urience'', which has led some (e.g.
Alfred Tennyson) to identify him with King
Rience.
He is usually said to be the father of
Ywain (Owain), or Yvain by
Morgan le Fay
Morgan le Fay (, meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan ''n''a, Morgain ''a/e Morg ''a''ne, Morgant ''e Morge ''i''n, and Morgue ''inamong other names and spellings ( cy, Morgên y Dylwythen Deg, kw, Morgen an Spyrys), is a ...
but many texts also give him a second son,
Ywain the Bastard, fathered on his seneschal's wife. Welsh tradition further attributes to him a daughter named
Morfydd. According to
Roger Sherman Loomis
Roger Sherman Loomis (1887–1966) was an American scholar and one of the foremost authorities on medieval and Arthurian literature. Loomis is perhaps best known for showing the roots of Arthurian legend, in particular the Holy Grail, in native Ce ...
, the name and character of another Arthurian king,
Nentres of Garlot could have been derived from that of Urien.
[Loomis, Roger Sherman. "Some Names in Arthurian Romance" in ''Proceedings of the Modern Language Association'', Volume 45, Number 2, pp. 416-443. Cambridge University Press, June 1930. "A king whose name appears in the Vulgate Cycle frequently as Uentres or Nentres was derived from the name Urien, borne originally by a king of the Britons of Strathclyde in the seventh century. Besides the test of an established transmission that derivation can be supported by two other tests: a community of relationships between Urien and Uentres, and an explanation of the latter corrupt form. According to the Huth ''Merlin'', Morgain is given in marriage to Urien of Garlot; according to the English ''Merlin'', Morgan, a bastard daughter of Ygerne, is given to Neutre of Sorhaut. (...) Urien is king of Garlot in the Huth ''Merlin'', and of Gore in Malory, but Sorhaut is a city within his borders. So marked an equation of Urien and Uentres as husbands of Morgain and as lords of Garlot and Sorhaut should suggest a confusion between the names."]
In popular culture
* Urien is mentioned in the 20th-century Welsh
awdl ''Yr Arwr'' by
Hedd Wyn.
* He is a minor character in
Mary Stewart's
''Merlin Trilogy''.
* He appears as Uryens in
John Boorman's film ''
Excalibur'' (1981), depicted as an enemy lord who becomes Arthur's ally and is the one to knight him.
* He is one of the key characters in
Melvyn Bragg's novel ''
Credo'' (1996) (reprinted as ''The Sword and the Miracle'' in the USA), a celebration of the Celtic tradition and its fight against the Northumbrian and Roman (Catholic) incursions.
References
*
{{authority control
6th-century English monarchs
6th-century Scottish monarchs
6th-century Welsh monarchs
6th-century murdered monarchs
Arthurian characters
Knights of the Round Table
Monarchs of Rheged
Taliesin