Who was the duke that ran away with king Arthur's mother?

Answer 1

The story of a knight or lord of some kind ran off with Arthur's mother is found in a number of texts.

The story is first found in Chrétien de Troye's Perceval, ou li Conte del Graal. But Chrétien gives almost no details, merely stating that Queen Igerne had come to the region after King Uther's death with great wealth, and had there built the Castle of Wonders. But why the castle is under enchantment is not explained, either by Chrétien or by the poet who continues the story in the second Perceval continuation. Nor is any male creator of the castle so much as mentioned.

However, in Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, it is explained that Arthur's mother, here called Arnive, had been abducted from King Uther's court by a wizard named Clinschor, Duke de la Terre de Labur. Wagner calls him Klingsor in his Opera. Clinshor had been a magician in the service of King Ibert of Sicily, but had an affair with Ibert's wife Iblis. When Ibert discovered the affair, he had Clinschor castrated. Clinschor became a great wizard and created the Castle of Wonders. He afterwards abducted Arthur's mother Arnive, and apparently her daughter at the same time and imprisoned them in the Castle of Wonders.

In Heinrich von dem Türlin's Diu Krône ('The Crown'), the corresponding character is the wizard Gansguoter. Arthur's mother Igern has given up her entire inheritance for love of Gansguoter who then built the castle of Salie for her. Gansguoter appears again as Igern's lover and the affair is accepted by Arthur and Gawain. Gansguoter aids Gawain in his search for the Grail.

The adventures undergone by Gawain in the Castle of Wonders appear in slightly different form in the Prose Lancelot as the adventures undergone by Gawain, and then Bors, at the Grail castle. In the Welsh Peredur also the Grail Castle is called the Castle of Wonders.

A combination of these traditions appears in the Livre d'Artus:

But as soon as King Pellinor knew that all his thirteen sons were dead, he no longer wished to be in his hunting lodge, but he went and dwelt in the Castle of Wonders with King Arthur's mother whom Merlin had brought there. But this was not known by any folk save those who that had the Holy Grail in their keeping.

Here Merlin appears to take the place of Clinschor and Gansguoter.