Uriens

King Uriens of Gore is a figure of the Arthurian tradition attested across 9 citations in Le Morte d'Arthur, appearing in seven chapters spanning Books I through VII. He is the husband of Morgan le Fay and the father of Sir Uwaine, a position that makes him both an ally of Arthur and an unwitting victim of his wife's treachery.

Uriens first appears at Arthur's Pentecost feast in Wales, where he comes "with four hundred knights with him" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book I, Chapter VIII). He is among the eleven kings who initially oppose Arthur, retreating to a city called Sorhaute "within King Uriens'" lands to refresh and tend their wounded (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book I, Chapter XVIII). His kinsman Bagdemagus is noted as "germain unto King Uriens" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book II, Chapter XI).

The most dramatic episode involves Uriens as an intended murder victim. Morgan le Fay, his wife, plans to kill both her husband and her brother Arthur. She obtains Arthur's magical scabbard and has it replaced with a false one, "for she loved another knight better than her husband King Uriens or King Arthur" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book II, Chapter XI). She espies King Uriens "lay in his bed sleeping" and prepares to strike, but Uwaine catches her in the act and prevents the killing (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book IV, Chapter XIII).

In quieter moments, Uriens is a practical man. When he, Arthur, and Sir Accolon chase a hart and find themselves stranded, it is Uriens who suggests "Let us go on foot till we may meet with some lodging" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book IV, Chapter VI). He wakes the next morning in Camelot "in his wife's arms, Morgan le Fay" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book IV, Chapter VI), unaware of the enchantment that has separated the three companions.