Orkney's Secret Bastard

On the remote Orkney Islands, a fisherman and his wife secretly raise a dark-haired boy named Mordred, paid in gold by Queen Morgause to keep him hidden. The child's origins are shrouded in secrecy, but Sula, his foster mother, suspects he is not King Lot's bastard as claimed, but the queen's own, likely fathered by Arthur, the High King. The boy's presence is a living threat to powerful people, and his very existence is a result of political machinations and a massacre meant to erase him. Mordred grows up isolated, watched over by Sula's anxious love and Brude's practical care, always shadowed by the fear that one day he will be reclaimed or destroyed by those who know his true blood.

The Queen's Summons

After rescuing Prince Gawain from a cliffside accident, Mordred is summoned to the palace by Queen Morgause. There, he is rewarded and, more importantly, drawn into the queen's orbit. Morgause reveals to Mordred that he is not merely a fisherman's son, but a royal bastard, and she brings him into the palace to be raised alongside her legitimate sons. The queen's motives are ambiguous—part maternal, part political, and part self-serving. Mordred's life changes overnight, as he is thrust from obscurity into the dangerous, glittering world of Orkney's court, where every gesture and word is loaded with meaning.

Palace Intrigues Begin

In the palace, Mordred is both outsider and potential rival. He is watched by Morgause, resented by her sons, and whispered about by courtiers. The queen's favor is a double-edged sword, and Mordred quickly learns to be cautious, observant, and self-reliant. He forms a wary bond with Gawain, but the twins, Agravain and Gaheris, are hostile. Morgause's manipulations, the boys' rivalries, and the ever-present threat of exposure or betrayal shape Mordred's character, teaching him to hide his thoughts and ambitions behind a mask of calm.

Mordred's True Heritage

Morgause eventually confides to Mordred the truth: he is not Lot's son, but Arthur's, conceived in an incestuous union. This knowledge is both a burden and a weapon. Mordred is torn between gratitude, shame, and ambition. He realizes he is a pawn in Morgause's schemes, kept alive as a potential tool against Arthur. The prophecy that Mordred will be Arthur's doom hangs over him, shaping his sense of destiny and isolation. He vows to be his own man, but the shadow of fate is never far.

A Prince Among Brothers

As Mordred grows, he becomes a skilled fighter and a subtle thinker, but never fully accepted by his half-brothers. Gawain is a rival and sometimes friend; the twins are unpredictable and dangerous. The boys' training is harsh, and their mother's love is capricious. Mordred's intelligence and restraint set him apart, but also make him a target. He learns to survive by being adaptable, secretive, and ambitious, always aware that his position is precarious and that his mother's favor could turn to enmity.

The Witch's Deadly Schemes

Morgause is a witch as well as a queen, and her ambitions are boundless. She poisons Merlin, manipulates her sons, and eliminates threats with ruthless efficiency. When Mordred's foster parents are murdered to protect the secret of his birth, he is forced to confront the cost of his mother's love and the dangers of being her son. Morgause's plotting is relentless, and her sons are both her tools and her victims. The palace becomes a place of suspicion, fear, and hidden violence.

Blood and Betrayal

The Orkney brothers' rivalries turn deadly when Gaheris murders their mother Morgause after discovering her with her lover, Lamorak. The family is torn apart by bloodshed, vengeance, and guilt. Lamorak is hunted down and killed by the brothers, and Gareth, the youngest, is later slain in a drunken brawl. Mordred, always the outsider, is both witness and participant, but never fully at home among his kin. The cycle of violence and betrayal cements his sense of fatalism and isolation.

The Orkney Brothers' Feud

The aftermath of Morgause's death sees the Orkney brothers scattered and disgraced. Gaheris is banished, Agravain is killed, and Gawain is consumed by rage and grief. Mordred, increasingly detached, becomes more closely aligned with Arthur's court, but the legacy of violence and mistrust follows him. The Orkney family, once a source of strength, is now a symbol of the destructive power of ambition, jealousy, and unresolved trauma.

The Queen's Dangerous Favor

As Mordred rises in Arthur's favor, he also draws closer to Queen Guinevere. Their relationship is marked by mutual respect, subtle attraction, and the shared burden of being outsiders in Arthur's world. Guinevere's vulnerability and Mordred's ambition create a dangerous chemistry. Rumors swirl, and the court is rife with suspicion. Mordred's feelings for Guinevere become a driving force, complicating his loyalty to Arthur and his own sense of destiny.

The Young Celts' Plot

Discontent simmers among the younger generation of knights, the "Young Celts," who resent Arthur's Romanizing policies and Bedwyour's influence. Mordred, both spy and participant, becomes a leader among them, using their ambitions to further his own. Plots are hatched to discredit Bedwyour and undermine Arthur's authority. The court becomes a battleground of intrigue, with Mordred at the center, balancing loyalty, ambition, and the ever-present threat of exposure.

Arthur's Last Campaign

Arthur is drawn into a war on the continent, leaving Mordred as regent. The campaign is both a triumph and a disaster: Arthur wins a great victory, but is reported dead in the aftermath. Mordred, believing himself the rightful heir, assumes the throne and prepares to defend Britain against internal and external threats. The news of Arthur's death is both liberation and curse for Mordred, setting the stage for the final tragedy.

The False King Rises

As regent, Mordred consolidates power, forges alliances with the Saxons, and brings Guinevere to Caerleon for her safety—and his own desires. Rumors of his ambition and his relationship with the Queen spread, fueled by Constantine and other rivals. When Arthur returns, alive and furious, the stage is set for civil war. Mordred's legitimacy is questioned, and his every action is interpreted as treachery, whether or not it is justified.

The Wicked Day Dawns

Arthur and Mordred meet to negotiate, both hoping for reconciliation but unable to escape suspicion and the weight of prophecy. Just as peace seems possible, a chance event—a sword drawn to kill a snake—is misread as a signal for battle. The armies clash in a storm of violence, and the prophecy of doom is fulfilled. The "wicked day" is both the product of human folly and the inescapable working of fate.

Father and Son at War

In the chaos of battle, father and son meet as enemies. The years of suspicion, ambition, and misunderstanding culminate in a single, fatal encounter. Arthur kills Mordred, but is himself mortally wounded. The cycle of violence, prophecy, and betrayal comes to its inevitable end, leaving Britain leaderless and broken.

The End of Camelot

With Arthur and Mordred dead, the dream of Camelot collapses. The surviving knights are scattered, the court is in ruins, and the land is left vulnerable to its enemies. Guinevere retreats to a convent, Bedwyour disappears, and the promise of unity and peace is lost. The legend of Arthur becomes a story of what might have been, and Mordred's name is forever linked with tragedy.

The Fate of Mordred

Mordred's death is both a personal tragedy and a symbol of the failure of dreams. He is neither pure villain nor innocent victim, but a man shaped by circumstance, prophecy, and the choices of others. His legacy is one of complexity: the bastard who might have been a savior, the son who became his father's doom, the prince who could never escape the shadow of fate. The story ends with the sense that history is written by survivors, and that the truth of Mordred's life is as elusive as the legends that follow.

Characters

Mordred

Mordred is the secret son of Arthur and Morgause, raised in obscurity and brought into the world of power as a tool of his mother's ambition. Intelligent, observant, and emotionally guarded, he is shaped by a childhood of secrecy and fear. Torn between gratitude, resentment, and ambition, Mordred is both a victim and an agent of fate. His psychological complexity lies in his struggle to define himself against the roles imposed on him: bastard, prince, traitor, and potential savior. His relationships—with Morgause, Arthur, Guinevere, and his half-brothers—are fraught with suspicion, longing, and the ever-present threat of betrayal. Mordred's development is a journey from passive pawn to active, if doomed, participant in the tragedy of Camelot.

Queen Morgause

Morgause is a master of intrigue, using her beauty, intelligence, and magical skills to pursue power. Her relationship with Mordred is deeply ambivalent: she loves him as her son, but also sees him as a weapon against Arthur. Her psychological makeup is marked by narcissism, ruthlessness, and a capacity for both genuine affection and cold-blooded murder. She is haunted by the prophecy that Mordred will be Arthur's doom, and her actions—poisoning Merlin, orchestrating murders, manipulating her sons—are driven by a mix of fear, ambition, and a need for control. Morgause's death at the hands of her own son is both a personal and symbolic end to her destructive influence.

Arthur

Arthur is the legendary High King, striving to unite Britain and bring peace, but haunted by personal failings and the shadow of prophecy. His relationship with Mordred is marked by guilt, love, and suspicion. Arthur's psychological complexity lies in his struggle to reconcile his ideals with the realities of power, family, and fate. He is both a visionary and a pragmatist, capable of great kindness and terrible violence. His inability to escape the patterns of the past—incest, betrayal, and the cycle of violence—ultimately leads to his downfall.

Guinevere

Guinevere is both a symbol of beauty and a deeply vulnerable woman. Her marriage to Arthur is marked by love and distance, and her relationship with Mordred is a source of both comfort and danger. She is psychologically complex: proud, intelligent, and acutely aware of her precarious position. Guinevere's favor is both a blessing and a curse for Mordred, fueling his ambition and sealing his fate. Her retreat into a convent after Arthur's death is both an act of mourning and a final escape from the world of power.

Gawain

Gawain is the eldest legitimate son of Morgause and Lot, a fierce fighter and a man of strong passions. His relationship with Mordred is competitive, sometimes friendly, but ultimately marked by rivalry and mistrust. Gawain's psychological makeup is shaped by pride, loyalty, and a tendency toward violence. His inability to forgive or forget leads to cycles of vengeance and loss, culminating in his own death and the destruction of his family.

Agravain

Agravain is one of the twins, marked by resentment and a need for recognition. He is easily manipulated, quick to anger, and often the instigator of violence. His psychological profile is that of a man desperate for approval, but unable to escape his own insecurities. Agravain's actions—especially his role in the murder of Lamorak and the attack on Bedwyour—are driven by a toxic mix of envy and wounded pride.

Gaheris

Gaheris, Agravain's twin, is emotionally volatile and deeply affected by his mother's neglect and the family's traumas. His murder of Morgause is both an act of rage and a desperate attempt to restore honor. Gaheris's psychological instability makes him both dangerous and pitiable, and his eventual death is the result of a life spent in the shadow of greater, more stable men.

Bedwyour (Bedivere)

Bedwyour is Arthur's closest companion and the chief marshal of the kingdom. He is a man of integrity, skill, and quiet strength, but becomes the target of the Young Celts' resentment. His relationship with Guinevere is the subject of damaging rumors, and his loyalty to Arthur is both his greatest strength and his undoing. Bedwyour's exile and eventual return are emblematic of the court's shifting loyalties and the tragic cost of suspicion.

Queen Morgan

Morgan, Arthur's half-sister, is a powerful witch and a political player in her own right. Her relationship with Arthur is marked by rivalry, resentment, and occasional alliance. She is psychologically complex: ambitious, cunning, and capable of both great harm and unexpected loyalty. Morgan's presence in the story is a reminder of the enduring power of the old ways and the dangers of unchecked ambition.

Nimue

Nimue, Merlin's successor, is a figure of wisdom and foresight. She serves as a counterbalance to Morgause and Morgan, using her powers for healing and guidance. Nimue's psychological profile is marked by detachment, compassion, and a sense of tragic inevitability. She warns both Arthur and Mordred of the dangers ahead, but is ultimately powerless to prevent the fulfillment of prophecy.

Plot Devices

Prophecy and Fate

The entire narrative is structured around the prophecy that Mordred will be Arthur's doom. This prophecy shapes the actions, fears, and ambitions of nearly every major character, creating a sense of fatalism and inevitability. Foreshadowing is used throughout, with dreams, omens, and the words of Merlin and Nimue reinforcing the sense that the characters are trapped in a story larger than themselves. The tension between free will and fate is a central theme, with Mordred's attempts to escape his destiny only serving to bring it closer.

Duality and Mirrors

The story is built on dualities: Arthur and Mordred, Morgause and Guinevere, loyalty and betrayal, love and ambition. Characters are often paired or contrasted, their similarities and differences highlighting the tragic ironies of the narrative. The structure of the plot mirrors this, with events in the first half (Mordred's rise) echoed and inverted in the second (his fall).

Political Intrigue and Courtly Drama

The narrative is driven by the machinations of Morgause, the ambitions of the Young Celts, and the suspicions and rivalries of Arthur's court. Secrets, rumors, and betrayals are central plot devices, with information and misinformation shaping the course of events. The use of multiple perspectives and shifting loyalties creates a sense of complexity and realism, as characters navigate a world where trust is rare and danger is ever-present.

Tragic Irony

The story is rich in tragic irony: characters' attempts to avoid disaster only hasten it, and moments of potential reconciliation are undone by chance or misinterpretation. The final battle is triggered not by malice, but by a random event—a sword drawn to kill a snake—underscoring the theme that fate is both arbitrary and inescapable.

Psychological Realism

The novel delves deeply into the minds of its characters, exploring their motivations, fears, and desires. Mordred, in particular, is portrayed with psychological nuance, his actions shaped as much by trauma and longing as by ambition. The use of internal monologue, dreams, and moments of introspection adds depth and complexity, making the tragedy feel both inevitable and deeply human.

Analysis

Mary Stewart's The Wicked Day reimagines the Arthurian legend as a psychological and political tragedy, stripping away the simplistic villainy of Mordred and replacing it with a nuanced portrait of a man shaped by secrecy, trauma, and the inescapable weight of prophecy. The novel interrogates the nature of fate, the costs of ambition, and the corrosive effects of suspicion and betrayal. Stewart's characters are driven as much by their inner wounds as by external events, and the story's power lies in its refusal to offer easy answers or clear heroes and villains. The fall of Camelot is not the result of a single act of treachery, but of a web of misunderstandings, old wounds, and the tragic inability of even the greatest leaders to escape the patterns of the past. In the end, The Wicked Day is a meditation on the limits of power, the dangers of prophecy, and the enduring human longing for love, belonging, and meaning in a world governed by chance and necessity.

Last updated: May 16, 2025