Sir Ector the Kind, King Arthur's Foster Father - Arthurian Legend

Sir Ector
Sir Ector was a nobleman and knight who was entrusted with Arthur as a young child by Merlin the Magician. Arthur grew up knowing Sir Ector as his father, and Ector remained clueless as to the true identity of the young Arthur. Sir Kay was also the son of Ector, and Kay and Arthur grew up together as brothers. Sir Ector always treated Arthur as his son, and raised him in a respectable manner up until Arthur pulled the sword from the stone and then took his rightful place as King of Britain.

Not to be confused with the half-brother of Sir Lancelot, Sir Ector was also known as a Lord, tradesman, and even a King in some legends and stories.

Sir Ector of Legend
Sir Ector, who is also known as Sir Hector, Antor, or even Ectorius in some legends, is the father of Sir Kay and the adoptive father of King Arthur in the Arthurian legend. Probably the eldest knight of the round table, Sir Ector had an estate in the country as well as properties in London and throughout England.
Sir Ector appears in some of the earliest stories of King Arthur, including the Lancelot-Grail Cycle (Vulgate Cycle) and later on in Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur. Later on T.H. White makes reference to Sir Ector, telling readers that his lands lie somewhere in the “Forest Sauvage“.

According to History
Little is truly known about Sir Ector (Sir Hector), though he is mentioned in Malory, the Lancelot-Grail Cycle and other traditions. In the earlier Welsh legends, the father of Sir Kay (Cei) is named Cynyr (Kyner) instead of Ector.

In pop-culture, Ector is a popular figure in Arthurian movies and literature. Ector makes appearances in movies, such as the 1963 Disney animated film The Sword and the Stone and later on in films such as Excalibur and the TV series Camelot. Hollywood has often portrayed Sir Ector as somewhat mis-treating the boy Arthur, and raising him as inferior, though legend would not portray Sir Ector as this sort of character.

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