[Arthurian] In Geoffrey of Monmouth, the father of Arthur. Uther spent his youth in exile in Breton with his elder brother Aurelius Ambrosius. They return to Britain to dethrone Vortigern, and Aurelius is made king. He sends his brother and Merlin to Ireland in order to fetch the Giants' Ring. When Aurelius is poisoned, a celestial portent appears and Merlin interprets this as forecasting the glories of Uther and his unborn offspring. The main feature of this portent is a luminous dragon, whence Uther's sobriquet "Pendragon". Geoffrey explains it as meaning "a dragon's head", but more probably it means "head dragon", which may be interpreted as "foremost leader" or "chief of warriors". Uther becomes king after his brother's death and holds court in London. When the nobles present themselves before the new king, Uther falls for Igraine, the wife of Gerlois, the duke of Cornwall. She refuses to lie with him, infusing his desire for her even more. Determined to have her, Uther leads an army to rava...
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