How many children did King Arthur have?

Question

and what are their names?

Answer 1

Not as easy as it should be - I wasn't aware that he had any (well, as a mythological character, he didn't technically exist either). A little research later and I came across this:

Most souces do not ascribe any children to King Arthur and his wife Guinevere. But Chretien de Troyes' gives a son Lohot (or Loholt) fathered by King Arthur, but the mother being Lisanor. Lohot was one of the Knights of the Round Table. Lohot was also one of the knights captured by the lord of Dolorous Guard.

Malory, gives a son was named Borre to King Arthur with the mother named as Lionors. The similarity between the two women's names - Lisanor and Lionor, suggested that Lohot and Borre is the same person.

In Culhwch and Olwen (c. 1100), King Arthur was the father of Gwydre, possibly by Gwenhwyvar (Guinevere). Gwydre was killed by a wild boar. In the Welsh romance "Gereint and Enid", the story mentioned that King Arthur had a son named Amhar.

His most noteworthy "son" was Mordred. In the early chronicles like Geoffrey of Monmouth, Mordred was Arthur's nephew, because Mordred was the son of King Lot and Anna or Morgawse, the sister of Arthur. But by the Vulgate version, it was implied that Mordred was his son by Arthur's half-sister, Morgawse. In the Suite du Merlin Arthur had unwittingly slept with Morgawse, because he did not know that she was his half-sister. Some say that Morgan le Fay was Mordred's mother.

Answer 2

sorry, as far as I know you've hit the other two on the head. Myth and legend is hard to pin down because its always changing. I've read some legends where it was actually three Guineveres Arthur married over his lifetime. And the earliest tales have absolutely no mention of Lancelot at all, much less a love triangle. But as for the children other than Mordred - Lohot and Gwydre are the only two I've ever heard of in legend that wasn't an modern day author's rewrite (Bernard Cornwell mentions Amhar as Loholt's twin for instance and both of them Arthur's bastards). And since Gwydre was supposed to be the son of Guinevere - that just leaves Lohot. I'd be curious to see if anyone comes up with anything different.

Answer 3

Actually Matto_uK answered it better than I could , the most noteworthy son was Modred who was born of Arther and his half sister, in the end Arther was mortally wounded by modred who he then slew.

Answer 4

Only one, Mordred by his half sister (they ended up killing each other in some battle later). Guinevere didn't have any of his children either, she was to busy screwing Lancelot to care.

Answer 5

One son, by his half sister

Answer 6

He had one child, Mordrid, by his half sister.