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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