King Urien
Father of Ywain, whose royal status validated his son's courtship.
King Urien is attested as the father of Ywain (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight). In Ywain and Gawain, the lady was pleased to learn that Ywain's father was a king (Ywain and Gawain, Lines 901-1050), a detail that confirms Urien's royal status and its bearing on his son's eligibility as a suitor.
The single attestation from Ywain and Gawain presents King Urien only through the reflected light of his son's courtship. The lady's pleasure at learning Ywain's father was a king -- "Sho held hir paid of pat tiþyng, / For þat his fader was a kyng" (Ywain and Gawain, Lines 901-1050) -- reveals Urien as a figure whose primary narrative function here is to legitimate Ywain's standing as a worthy match.
On trail: Genealogies