Sir Ector

Encyclopedia : S : SI : SIR : Sir Ector

Sir Ector (sometimes Hector, Antor, or Ectorius) was, in Arthurian legend, the father of Sir Kay. Sometimes a king instead of merely a lord, he had an estate in the country as well as lands in London.

Traditionally, he was the foster father of King Arthur; however, Ector did not realize whom he was protecting, and took the child on merely at the bequest of Merlin. Ector treated his young ward as his own son, and Arthur eventually served as Kay's squire.

When a tournament in London was announced to ascertain the next king, Ector entered his newly-knighted son, Kay. When Arthur pulled the sword, Excalibur, from the stone, proving him the rightful heir to the throne, Kay tried to take credit for it. Ector saw through the lie, and he and Kay were the first to swear fealty to the new king. Both remained loyal to him throughout his reign.

There is another Sir Ector in Arthurian legend, the brother of Lancelot. See Hector de Maris.