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Ambrosius Aurelianus was a 5th century historical figure who defended Britain from Anglo-Saxon invaders. He plays a prominent role in the legends of King Arthur. He's often considered the elder brother of Arthur's father Uther Pendragon, or he's considered the father of the wizard Merlin, or both.

Now Thomas Malory's book Le Morte d'Arthur is widely considered the definitive account of the legend of King Arthur. So my question is, is Ambrosius Aurelianus ever mentioned in Malory's book, and if so what rule does he play? Is he identified as Uther Pendragon's brother, Merlin's father, both, or neither?

And if he's not identified as Merlin's father, who is Merlin's father in Malory's account?

DavidW
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Keshav Srinivasan
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  • a quick search of those names in this Gutenberg text of Malory didn't reveal anything but that may not be entirely conclusive given spelling differences or more oblique references that may meet the intended criteria of the question that I'm just not aware of - https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1251/1251-h/1251-h.htm – NKCampbell May 24 '17 at 18:30
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    Le Morte d'Arthur is not the definitive account of the legend of King Arthur. It is a major work of medieval Arthurian fiction. It really annoys me to read medieval romances described as Arthurian "legends" or "myths". In the middle ages works like Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain and Layamon's Brut were considered to be more or less accurate history, and many works of fiction were set in the era of King Arthur, and followed what was believed to be his true history about as closely as most westerns follow actual history of the American West - not very well. – M. A. Golding Jan 11 '18 at 00:13

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