Line #41 Literature/ThreeHeartsAndThreeLions


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/three_hearts_three_lions_sweet_4.jpg]]
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3	''Three Hearts And Three Lions'' is a fantasy novel by Creator/PoulAnderson published in 1961, expanded from a 1953 novella by Anderson which appeared in ''Fantasy & Science Fiction''.
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5	During UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, Holgar Carlsen is in UsefulNotes/{{Denmark}}, part of LaResistance. Except that at one crucial moment, he finds himself transported to a fantasy world, where the Matter of France from ChivalricRomance, UsefulNotes/{{Charlemagne}} and his paladins, is true. And that he has some sort of connection with this world that he can not remember. He has a pile of armor and a steed waiting for him.
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7	A major influence on ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', as well as Creator/MichaelMoorcock's saga of Elric of Melniboné.
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9	Creator/RandallGarrett wrote a pun-filled {{Filk}} version of the novel, with Poul's approval.
10	----
11	!!Tropes found in this work
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13	* AllTrollsAreDifferent: ''Three Hearts and Three Lions'' is, if not the source of the regenerating troll concept, at least one of the TropeMaker.
14	* AmnesiacHero: A lot of people in the other world seem to already know of Older, it turns out that he's [[spoiler:Ogier the Dane turned into a baby and sent to Earth.]]
15	* AndTheAdventureContinues: Holger disappears again a few years after talking to The Author, implying he had found a way back to the fantasy world.
16	* AnimatedArmor: The guard of the passes into fairyland appears as a man in plate armor. When Holger kills him, he opens the visor to find the suit empty. He guesses that his opponent was some enchantment laid on the suit itself, rather than someone wearing the suit itself.
17	%%* BadassBookworm: Holger, in both worlds.
18	* ChaosIsEvil: The forces of evil are called Chaos; those of good, Order.
19	* ChickMagnet: Holger, to his surprise. Apparently he never got that lucky back home.
20	* ChosenOne: Martinus hypothesizes that Holger is this.
21	* ColdIron: Fairies' skin melts on contact with iron.
22	%%* CrushBlush: While dealing with a forward fairy.
23	%%* {{Curse}}: Mother Gerd tried one, in the backstory.
24	* DealWithTheDevil: It's implied that Morgan le Fay has done this, even going so far as to help teach some local barbarians [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils demon worship]], [[HumanSacrifice the Black Mass complete with sacrificing infants]], and [[ImAHumanitarian cannibalism]].
25	* DemotedMemories: Engineering student Holger Dansk is troubled by odd memories and half-recalled dreams of another place. It takes a near-death experience when fighting for the Danish Resistance to trigger the truth: he is really the Danish take on Myth/KingArthur, recalled to life in a strange otherworld to fight for the soul of his country against an alien invasion.
26	* DoorstopBaby: Holger was left on a doorstep as a baby. Turns out he [[spoiler:is a knight from the other world turned into a baby and hidden on Earth.]]
27	* EmpathyDollShot: Holger finds his eyes stinging when he sees a doll amongst the possessions belonging to people who were sacrificed to Rusel.
28	* [[FaeriesDonTBelieveInHumansEither Faeries Don't Believe in Humans Either]]: In the fantasy world Holger is transported to, [[ATrueStoryInMyUniverse the characters of the Matter of France are historical]], but figures like Julius Caesar and Napoleon are legendary.
29	* TheFairFolk: Complete with the allergy to cold iron and holy names.
30	* FireKeepsItDead: Holger and friends are fighting a troll, which keeps regenerating until they finally figure out to burn the bits they chop off. This book is the reason it works that way in ''D&D''.
31	* {{Ghostapo}}: While the Nazis don't directly interact with the supernatural, the worlds are entwined in a way that they cause World War II on Earth while the forces of Chaos simultaneously attack in the other world. It's theorised that the rest of the multiverse is also at war simultaneously.
32	* HellishHorse: An unseen Hell Horse stalks Holger shortly after he escapes from the Wild Hunt. Note that from 1941-1944 there was an art journal in occupied Denmark called The Hell-Horse [Helhesten]). Anderson's story features a Danish man who falls into a magical world after being shot by Nazis in WWII.
33	* HouseFey: The FairFolk use lesser fairy creatures like dwarves and goblins as slaves and Martinus has an invisible sprite for a servant.
34	* HumanSacrifice:
35	** Rusel gets two people thrown into her lake every year. She has no real want for them but likes collecting the objects they carry.
36	** The cultists sacrifice a baby at the church by bleeding it to death.
37	%%* IneptMage: Mother Gerd.
38	%%* KillItWithFire: Perhaps the TropeMaker for trolls' vulnerability to fire.
39	%%* KnightInShiningArmor: The paladins.
40	%%* LeaveYourQuestTest: Morgan Le Fay appeals to him, more than once.
41	%%* LoveTriangle: Resolved fairly quickly.
42	* MaybeEverAfter: When the narrator lasts sees Holger, he's searching bookshops for grimoires that can help him get back to the other world. The narrator never hears from him again and likes to think he succeeded.
43	%%* NiceToTheWaiter: Alianora rescues Hugi.
44	%%* TheNoseKnows: Hugi.
45	* TheNudifier:
46	** Holger appears naked each time he moves between worlds as his clothes don't come with him.
47	** Aldrich makes the clothes he gave Holger disappear a while Holger is running from him.
48	%%* ObliviouslyEvil: The nixie.
49	%%* OrderVsChaos: A TropeCodifier.
50	%%* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: In fact, this ''may'' have been the first work to give dwarves the now iconic [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B5Xcf6JCcAAoTU9.jpg thick Scottish accent]]...
51	* OurSoulsAreDifferent: Not all of us have got them.
52	* ThePaladin: The paladins of this work are where the original inspiration for the Paladin class from ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' came from.
53	%%* RaisedByWolves: Or rather, by dwarves.
54	* SendMeBack: Holger is suddenly switched out from the climactic battle against evil back to our Earth, where he appears in the middle of a firefight with Nazis. It's ''suggested'' that the battles are connected, and that good triumphed back in the alternate reality, but Holger would like to know for sure.
55	%%* ShapeshiftingLover: Alianora.
56	* SummoningRitual: Mother Gerd says she summoned a sprite.
57	* SwansASwimming: Alianora is a swanmay.
58	* TakenForGranite: The Giant turns to stone when sunlight hits him.
59	* TranslatorMicrobes: Holger realizes shortly after he arrives that he now speaks and understands a local language that he previously didn't know.
60	* TrappedInTVLand: When noticing the world's similarities to ''[[Literature/TheSongOfRoland Chansons de Geste]]'', Holger briefly wonders if he's inside a book but quickly dismisses it figuring AnotherDimension makes more sense.
61	* {{Unicorn}}: Alianora has one for a while. It finally decamps when Morgan le Fay pays the companions a visit pushing its already sorely tried sensibilities to the breaking point.
62	* WeakenedByTheLight:
63	** Fairies are allergic to sunlight and there magic doesn't work as well during the day.
64	** Giants are turned to stone on contact with sunlight.
65	%%* WickedWitch: Mother Gerd.
66	* WizardingSchool: Martinus trained at one called the University of Rhiannon. He mentions the students pulled a lot of severe pranks.
67	* YearOutsideHourInside: Alfric wanted to lure Holger to the elf hill to keep him there for years that would only seem like on night to Holger.
68	* ZeroGSpot: Rusel says that sex is a lot better underwater when you don't have to worry about weight.

Context Literature / ThreeHeartsAndThreeLions