Morgan’s Attempt to Murder Urien

Morgan le Fay’s attempt to murder her husband, King Uriens, is interrupted at the moment she raises a sword over his bed. Their son, Sir Uwaine, prevents the killing and grants his mother forgiveness only after she promises not to attempt such a deed again and not to reveal what happened. The episode turns a household act of treachery into a test of filial loyalty, mercy, and secrecy.

The attempt

Morgan believes King Arthur is dead. One day, seeing King Uriens asleep in bed, she decides that the moment is right to kill him and asks a maiden in her confidence to fetch his sword. The maiden warns that Morgan will never escape if she kills her husband, but Morgan insists and sends her to retrieve the weapon.

The messenger finds Sir Uwaine sleeping in another chamber and wakes him with a warning: his mother intends to kill his father. Uwaine tells her to go on and says he will handle the matter. The warning gives him time to intervene before Morgan can strike.

Uwaine intervenes

The maiden returns with the sword, and Morgan takes it and approaches the bedside. As she lifts the weapon, Uwaine leaps at her and catches her by the hand. He condemns the intended act and says that, were she not his mother, he would strike off her head.

His intervention prevents the murder, but the confrontation does not end in punishment. Morgan asks for mercy, attributing her deed to temptation by a devil, and promises never to do it again. She also asks Uwaine to preserve her reputation by keeping the attempt secret.

Forgiveness and secrecy

Uwaine agrees to forgive her on the condition that she will never again try to commit such deeds. Morgan gives him that assurance. The resolution therefore rests on a private promise rather than public judgment: the husband is spared, while the son becomes both the person who stops the crime and the keeper of its secret.

The scene sharply reverses the expected family roles. Uwaine must protect his father from his mother, yet he does not answer attempted murder with violence. Instead, his forgiveness is conditional, and Morgan’s promise binds the ending to the possibility of future restraint. The episode presents mercy as an act of judgment, not indifference: Uwaine prevents the harm, requires a pledge, and agrees to silence.