There is a fyr among men—
A foe—l’amour des monstres
A darkness, a carnal will—
Deciding the cause of war.
In Uther’s Faustian lust—
Erupts coarse a feigning life
Transgressing eternal rights—
Travesty, indecent rape
Careless of the common lore—
Caprice, corporeal love
So held Igraine with longing—
Haltered her loveless being.
How worthy this wager won—
This wyrd turning with the sun
Where integrity fragments—
And will tears the fragile mind
Betwixt and between patterns—
Less baleful do portents rhyme,
And reveal—transformed in time—
As Arthur’s triumphant reign.
©2026 R.A.R. Knight
Author’s Note:
Uther & Igraine retells King Uther Pendragon’s unholy desire for Igraine, the wife of Duke Gorlois. With Merlin’s aid, Uther disguises himself as Gorlois, deceives Igraine, and conceives Arthur through what the poem deliberately frames as a non-consensual act. The poem does not romanticize Uther’s lust—instead I present it as an act that tears at the moral order. Its wyrd, its liminal nature and history have absorbed the transgression, transforming it into the condition which restructured does not diminish the mythical importance of Arthur’s reign. The poem I guess asks whether ends can justify origins as it shows the conception of the legendary king as both tragedy and necessary catalyst. The poem uses an alliterative structure, and each (half) line has seven syllables (heptasyllabic).
I hope you like it.
Editor’s Note
For further context we suggest reading The History of the King’s of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth. If you would like to learn more about alliterative verse you can find a guide and other resources compiled by Paul Deanne at Alliteration.net
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