12 Facts About Bagdemagus

Bagdemagus, known as Bademagu, Bagdemagu, Bagomedes, Baldemagu, Bandemagu, Bangdemagew, Baudemagu, and other variants, is a character in the Arthurian legend, usually depicted as king of the land of Gorre and a Knight of the Round Table.

Bagdemagus is portrayed as a kinsman and ally of Arthur and a wise and virtuous king, despite the actions of his son.

King Bagdemagus first appears in Old French works of the late 12th century, but the principal episode in which he appears, the story of the abduction of Guinevere, developed out of significantly older traditions.

Some writers have suggested that Bagdemagus should be identified with Baeddan, mentioned as the father of "Maelwys" in the early 12th-century Welsh romance Culhwch and Olwen.

Character is first mentioned in the 12th century in Chretien de Troyes' Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, where Bagdemagus is the king of Gore, a mysterious land connected to Logres only by a bridge as sharp as a sword, where many natives of Logres are kept prisoner; again, his son Maleagant abducts Guinevere, who is later rescued by the hero Lancelot.

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Story is repeated, without its supernatural overtones, in the later Vulgate Cycle; King Bagdemagus is presented as a cousin of Gawain and a friend of Lancelot, who condemns his son's evil deeds and acknowledges that his death at the hands of Lancelot was deserved.

Bagdemagus is the King of Gorre at the same time as when Morgan le Fay is described as the Queen of Gorre and lives there, but the connection between their characters and their status is not explicitly explained.

In both de Troyes and Malory, Bagdemagus has an unnamed daughter who is an ally and friend of Lancelot, aiding his escape from respectively either Maleagant or Morgan le Fay in return for his helping her at another time.

King Bagdemagus is a very different character in the Post-Vulgate Cycle, in which he is a companion of Gawain and Yvain.

Bagdemagus comes close to being cruelly killed by King Pellinore when the latter finds out about the romance of Bagdemagus and his wife, but he is rescued by Gaheris.

Bagdemagus's death takes place in the Post-Vulgate Queste, after he discovers Mordred raping a young girl and then wounds him in a duel.

Gawain, not knowing the identity of the knight who injured his brother, pursues Bagdemagus and gives him a mortal injury, but then despairs upon discovering the truth; Bagdemagus forgives Gawain before dying.