View source for Vortigan

{{Icons|MProtect|OUAT|Character|Male|Camelot|EF|Dead|S5}}
{{Character
|infobox = C
|name = Vortigan
|image = 507IntoASword.png
|gender = Male
|status = Deceased
|death = [[Enchanted Hearts|Heart]] crushed by [[Nimue (Character)|Nimue]]
|species = Human
|haircolor = Brown
|eyecolor = Golden yellow
|portrayedby= Darren Moore 
|onlyappearance = [[Nimue (Episode)|Nimue]]}}{{Quote|I was in my garden when a masked man rode in. His name is Vortigan. He ransacks towns, burns them to the ground.|[[Nimue (Character)|Nimue]] to [[Merlin]]|Nimue (Episode)}}

'''Vortigan''' is a character on [[ABC]]'s ''[[Once Upon a Time]]''. He débuts, with his only appearance, in the [[Nimue (Episode)|seventh episode]] of the [[Season Five|fifth season]] and is portrayed by co-star Darren Moore.

Vortigan is based on [[Wikipedia:Vortigern|Vortigern]],<ref name="Twitter">{{Twitter|user=Amylia403|url=status/663568926832525312|author=💜Amy👑|date=November 9, 2015|title=@InkTankGirl @JaneEspenson In Arthurian legend it's spelled your way, in the press release for Nimue it's spelled Vorigan. {{sic}}|archive=https://archive.ph/5UGIX|image=TWJaneEspenson-507.png}}<br>{{Twitter|user=JaneEspenson|url=status/663574291015843840|author=[[Jane Espenson]]|date=November 9, 2015|title=@Amylia403 @InkTankGirl Amy is right.  We altered it a bit to Vortigan for its breezy easy sound.|archive=https://archive.ph/5UGIX|image=TWJaneEspenson-507.png}}</ref> a 5th-century warlord in [[Wikipedia:Sub-Roman Britain|Britain]], who ultimately became incorporated into the [[Arthurian Legend]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://d.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/text/sutton-vortigern-in-the-anglo-saxon-chronicle|title=Vortigern in The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle|last=Sutton|first=John William|year=2001|quote=Ultimately Vortigern became incorporated into the Arthurian legends because many tales indicate that Arthur, the national hero of the Welsh, battled against the Saxons who had seized the island from Vortigern. Writers in the High Middle Ages and afterwards explicitly linked the story of Vortigern to the rapidly-expanding Arthurian mythos; see, for instance, Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain (c. 1138).|publisher=[[Wikipedia:University of Rochester|University of Rochester]]}}</ref>

==History==
{{Before First Curse|nohide|
Searching for the [[Holy Grail]], Vortigan arrives in the village of [[Oxleigh]], known for its [[Middlemists|middlemist flowers]], and ransacks it, killing all of its inhabitants except one girl, [[Nimue (Character)|Nimue]], and burning it to the ground. Not finding the treasure, he continues on to the next village, [[Camelot]], and spies on [[Merlin]] and Nimue, discovering they have the Grail in the process. When they arrive in the ruins of Nimue's village, he approaches and follows them to where the first fire made by mankind is, and sees that Merlin has reforged the Grail into [[Excalibur]]. Even so, he demands the sword, and stabs Nimue in the chest when she attacks him and rips off his mask. Heartbroken, Merlin threatens him, but Nimue, having drank from the Grail while Merlin wasn't watching and become immortal, rips out Vortigan's [[Enchanted Hearts|heart]]. Despite Merlin's pleas, she crushes it, killing Vortigan and turning her into the first [[Darkness|Dark One]]. Completely corrupted by [[Darkness|the Darkness]], Nimue adopts Vortigan's mask and cloak. {{Ep2|Nimue (Episode)|Nimue}}
 }}

==Trivia==
{{StartTrivia}}
<tabber>|-|Character Notes=
===Etymology===
*In [[Arthurian Legend]], the character is known as [[Wikipedia:Vortigern|Vortigern]]. The name was altered for the show, "for its breezy easy sound."<ref name="Twitter" />

|-|Production Notes=
===Production Notes===
*Actor Guy Fauchon is credited as Vortigan in "[[Dreamcatcher (Episode)|Dreamcatcher]]," but it is later revealed that he portrays [[Nimue (Character)|Nimue]]. {{Ep2|Nimue (Episode)|Nimue}}

|-|Goofs=
===Goofs===
*After [[Nimue (Character)|Nimue]] becomes the [[Darkness|Dark One]], a dead Vortigan can be seen breathing.

|-|Other Notes=
===Other Notes===
*According to legend, Vortigern attempted to build a [[Wikipedia:Dinas Emrys|tower]] which would not stand. He was advised to sprinkle the site with the blood of a child with no father. In the accounts of [[Wikipedia:Geoffrey of Monmouth|Geoffrey of Monmouth]] and many others, this child was [[Merlin]]. The boy saved himself by revealing the true cause of the tower's collapse: Two [[dragons]] fighting beneath the foundation. According to the [[Wikipedia:Welsh Triads|Welsh Triads]], a set of medieval manuscripts, Merlin predicted Vortigern's death after this revelation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://d.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/theme/Vortigern|title=Vortigern|accessdate=January 25, 2019|quote=Gildas refers to a ''"superbus tyrannus"'' (proud ruler) who invites the Saxons into Britain. Bede names this figure Vortigern. Nennius tells of Vortigern's attempt to build a tower which will not stand. He is advised to sprinkle the site with the blood of a child with no father. The child—Ambrosius in Nennius's account and Merlin in the accounts of Geoffrey of Monmouth and others—saves himself by revealing the true cause of the tower's collapse: two dragons fighting beneath the foundation.|publisher=[[Wikipedia:University of Rochester|University of Rochester]]}}</ref>
</tabber>
{{EndTrivia}}

==Appearances==
{{Appearances5|7=yes}}

==References==
{{ScrollBox|{{reflist}}}}

[[nl:Vortigan]]
[[Category:Male Characters]]
[[Category:Season Five Characters]]
[[Category:Once Upon a Time Characters]]