View Message

[Facts] Meaning of 'Mordred'?
Mordred: m The name of King Arthur's illegitimate son by his sister, Morgawse. The earliest form of the name is Medrawt,from Annals of Cambria,written in 10th century.Possible meanings: Dread of the Sea- (welsh 'mor') ('mar');dred could possibly be Middle English form of 'dread'? ,Death- (French 'Morte'), Death-Cousel- (French 'Morte' and OE 'raed')Those are just me brainstorming, I don't know whether any of those are correct ('cept where the name appears)...any other ideas though? I especially can't find much on 'Medrawt'...it also appears as "Medraut". I'm pretty sure it's Welsh though, like most beginnings of Arthurian stuff.Cheers!
Gav
vote up1vote down

Replies

I'm almost certain that it's something about "counsel" but the descriptive word seems to vary. I've heard "clever counsel" or "crafty counsel," but I have also read that it means "evil counsel." You could be right with "death counsel." With the "Mor-" beginning, it would definately make sense.
vote up1vote down
Merci beaucoup.
I forgot one other thing that I found...the old english word "morðor" (pron. "morthor") means 'torture'. I thought that might be relevent as well, since the OE letter ð is often translated as a 'd' (eg. Tolkien's 'Mordor'). 'Mord" would certainly seem to convey the same sense. Ahh well...I just enjoy speculatin' on it.
Cheers!
Gav
vote up1vote down