Pendragon, composed ofWelshpen, 'head, chief, top' anddragon, 'dragon; warriors'; borrowed from theGreco-Latin pluraldracōnēs, 'dragons', is aMiddle Welsh epithet meaning 'chief of warriors'.[1][2] It is the epithet ofUther, father ofKing Arthur in theMatter of Britain in medieval and modern era and occasionally applied to historical Welsh heroes inmedieval Welsh literature such asRhodri ab Owain Gwynedd.[3]
In theHistoria Regum Britanniae, one of the earliest texts of the Matter of Britain, only Uther is given the surnamePendragon, which is explained by the authorGeoffrey of Monmouth as literally meaningdragon's head.
In the prose version ofRobert de Boron'sMerlin, the name of Uther's elder brotherAmbrosius Aurelianus is given asPendragon, while Uter (Uther) changes his name after his brother's death toUterpendragon.
The use of "Pendragon" to refer to Arthur, rather than to Uther or his brother, is of much more recent vintage. In literature, one of its earliest uses to refer to Arthur is inAlfred, Lord Tennyson's poem "Lancelot and Elaine", where, however, it appears as Arthur's title rather than his surname.
InC. S. Lewis's 1945 novelThat Hideous Strength, the Pendragon leads a national moral struggle through the centuries; bearers of the title includeCassibelaun, Uther, Arthur, andElwin Ransom.
Mark Twain inA Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court makes various satirical and scathing remarks about "The Pendragon Dynasty" which are in fact aimed at ridiculing much later British dynasties. The story ofThe Pendragon Legend byAntal Szerb revolves around a Welsh noble family called Pendragon.
The final book inSusan Cooper'sThe Dark Is Rising sequence,Silver on the Tree, is set in Wales. The story includes a character named Bran who is the son ofKing Arthur brought forward in time by Guinevere. Bran is referred to as The Pendragon and uses this title himself. His crystal sword, a birthright made for King Arthur, is called Pendragon's Sword among other names.
A 2008 film titledPendragon: Sword of His Father about a young Artos (Arthur) Pendragon.
The dictionary definition ofpendragon at Wiktionary