Vagonbrei
Summary
Vagonbrei was one of the planets searched by King Arthur and his knights, specifically by Sir Gawain, long ago in their quest for the Sangreal. The population on the planet died of a parasitical infection.
Factoids
- Names and Designations: Vagonbrei
- Number of Suns: One
- Number of Moons: At least one (based upon ambient light at night)
- Source of Address: Illustration of Sir Gawain's sword in book recovered from Camelot
- Introduced in Episode: 10.02 "Morpheus"
- Earth Cultural/Technological Equivalent: Medieval Europe (like Arthurian time periods)
- Main Interest: Anti-ascended weapon invented by Merlin
- Influenced/Dominated by: The formerly ascended Merlin; possibly Morgan Le Fay
- History of Stargate: Unknown
Stargate Glyphs
Earth Mythological References
According to Daniel Jackson's research, one of Sir Gawain's earliest histories describes the knight as visiting several lands over the course of his adventure, including a place called Gwlad Gan Brenhinol Gwir, Welsh for "Land of Royal Truth". Translated into Ancient this location was known as "Verus Gen Bree", i.e. Vagonbrei.
Note: The real Welsh tale Daniel Jackson mentions in his breathless discovery is called Culhwch and Olwen, written circa 1100 A.D. Although "Gwlad Gan Brenhinol Gwir" was not really listed amongst the many lands noted in this tale, the legend is one of the earliest mention of Sir Gawain, called Gwalchmei/Gwalchmai.
Geopolitical and Structural History
Vagonbrei was a world visited by Arthur and his knights in their quest for the Holy Grail. Several historical records were found in one building of the village, explaining how a nearby cave was the home of Morgan Le Fay. Daniel Jackson and Teal'c conjectured that Morgan Le Fay may have been a former Ascended herself, and stolen the Sangreal from Merlin to prevent him from using the weapon against their kind.
According to local written legend, Arthur and his knights visited the village, and the villagers told them where to find Morgan Le Fay. Apparently, the knights were unsuccessful in capturing her, because the villagers later believed she cursed them for exposing her location. This curse was described in notes by the village physician as a sleeping sickness. Since the population was fairly primitive, they would have been unaware of microscopic life forms. The "sleeping sickness" was actually caused by a parasite that forced a person to go to sleep and eventually caused their deaths.
When SG-1 visited the planet, all the trees had no foliage. The lack of all animal life, including birds, left an unnatural stillness in the air. The team's visit was so long after the villagers had died, the team found only skeletal remains. Uncertain how they died, they called in a medical team (Red Team) to help in the investigation. The teams were unwittingly exposed to the parasite. Carter and Reimer's analysis discovered the parasite, but they were unable to uncover a treatment themselves.
After Daniel Jackson found reference to caves purported to be the home of Morgan Le Fay. Upon first exploration, they found nothing. A second look revealed a hidden passage. The passage was empty but for a lizard, the only living creature on the planet aside from the SGC expedition. Mitchell and Teal'c captured the creature, hoping it would be the key to a cure for the infection. An SG team in hazmat gear rescued the group, but not before the deaths of Reimer and Ackerman.
Daniel Jackson continued to do research on the location of the Sangreal (10.10 "The Quest Part 1"). When lines were drawn graphically between Castiana, Sahal, and Vagonbrei combined with Camelot ended up forming a tetrahedron, a perfect pyramid. In addition, parts of those gate addresses combined gave a new separate address— the location of the Sangreal.
Gallery
Episodes
Related Characters
- Dr. Daniel Jackson
- Lt. Col. Samantha Carter
- Teal'c
- Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell
- Bernie Ackerman
- King Arthur
- Merlin
- Morgan Le Fay
- Dr. Reimer
Related Articles
- Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
- Ascended Beings
- Camelot (PX1-767)
- Castiana / Taoth Vaclarush
- Red Team
- Sahal / Valos Cor
- SG-1
- Sangreal
- Sleeper Parasite
Further Reading
- Wikipedia Entry on Culhwch and Olwen
- Translated text of the legend of Culhwch and Olwen
- Timelessmyths' Culhwch and Gawain legend
--Aurora 22:45, 25 July 2006 (PDT)