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* CanonImmigrant: Madam Mim from ''The Sword in the Stone''. Though she was cut from the revised 1958 omnibus edition, she was restored for the Disney movie.
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* CanonImmigrant: CanonForeigner: Madam Mim from ''The Sword in the Stone''. Though she was cut from the revised 1958 omnibus edition, she was restored for the Disney movie.
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* LoveTriangle: Arthur/Guenever/Lancelot, of course, although it doesn't fit any of the traditional TriangRelations as it's made very clear several times that while Gwen and Lance are very much into one another, they both love Arthur too (and he explicitly says that he loves them both dearly as well). There's also Guenever/Lancelot/Elaine, which ends [[DrivenToSuicide badly]].
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* TheGoodKing: Take a wild guess.
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* TheGoodKing: Take a wild guess.Arthur
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* TheAce: Deconstructed with Sir Galahad, who is so inhumanly ''perfect'' that he is disliked by most of his fellow knights.
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* TheGoodKing: Take a wild guess.
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''The Once and Future King'' is a retelling by T. H. White of the story of KingArthur. It is considered as one of the best retellings of Arthurian legend. It was originally published as separate books and collected in one volume in 1958. The 1958 version contains:
to:
''The Once and Future King'' is a retelling by T. H. White of the story of KingArthur. It is considered as one of the best retellings of Arthurian legend. It was originally published as separate books from 1938 to 1941 and collected in one volume in 1958. The 1958 version contains:
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The first three parts were published separately first, and revised to a greater or lesser extent for the collected edition. The biggest change was probably to second part, which was substantially altered and given a new title. (The original version had been entitled ''The Witch in the Wood'').
to:
The first three parts were published separately first, and revised to a greater or lesser extent for the collected edition. The biggest change was probably to the second part, which was substantially altered and given a new title. (The original version had been entitled ''The Witch in the Wood'').
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* CanonImmigrant: Madam Mim from ''The Sword in the Stone''. Though she was cut from the revised 1958 omnibus edition, she became a [[Film/TheSwordInTheStone Disney villain.]]
to:
* CanonImmigrant: Madam Mim from ''The Sword in the Stone''. Though she was cut from the revised 1958 omnibus edition, she became a [[Film/TheSwordInTheStone was restored for the Disney villain.]] movie.
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* CanonImmigrant: Madam Mim from ''The Sword in the Stone''. Though she was cut from the revised 1958 omnibus edition, she became a [[Film/TheSwordInTheStone Disney villain.]]
* CerebusSyndrome / DarkerAndEdgier: ''The Sword and the Stone'' is pretty light-hearted, and not much different than the Disney film in terms of atmosphere. The story darkens from the second book onwards.
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* DarkerAndEdgier: ''The Sword and the Stone'' is pretty light-hearted, and not much different than the Disney film in terms of atmosphere. The story darkens from the second book onwards.
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* KavorkaMan: Sir Lancelot. He is known as ''Le Chevalier Mal Fet'', "the Ill-Made Knight", as he is short, ugly and quite possibly ridiculously bow-legged. Yet he gets involved with Queen Guenever and marries the lady Elaine.
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* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Most notably "Merlyn" and "Guenever".
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* TheTourney: Unusually, using the melee form.
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* BiTheWay / IfItsYouItsOkay: Lancelot was in love with Arthur. His jealousy and hostility towards Guinevere actually plays a part in them ending up together.
to:
* BiTheWay / IfItsYouItsOkay: Lancelot was in love with Arthur.Arthur, though one might argue what "in love" specifically means. His jealousy and hostility towards Guinevere actually plays a part in them ending up together.
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** This scene starts with the duo meeting a young boy [[NoFourthWall who turns out to be called]] Thomas Malory...
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** This scene starts with the duo meeting a young boy [[NoFourthWall who turns out to be called]] Thomas Malory...[[spoiler:Thomas Malory]]...
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* DarkerAndEdgier: ''The Sword and the Stone'' is pretty light-hearted, and not much different than the Disney film in terms of atmosphere. Then comes ''The Queen of Air and Darkness'' and the story starts to get fairly dark.
to:
* DarkerAndEdgier: ''The Sword and the Stone'' is pretty light-hearted, and not much different than the Disney film in terms of atmosphere. Then comes ''The Queen of Air and Darkness'' and the The story starts to get fairly dark.darkens from the second book onwards.
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* ForTheEvulz: the "motivation" of Mordred, Morgaine, Morgause (all related) and many walk-on villains.
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* DeusAngstMachina: ''Everything'' that happens to Lancelot and much of what happens to Guenevere. In the concluding book Arthur, Guenevere and the Orkney brothers (excepting Mordred) all go through hell.
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* MoralEventHorizon: As revealed in the fourth book, [[spoiler:King Arthur committed infanticide early in his reign, in order to stop Mordred from destroying Camelot.]]
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* CompleteMonster: both Margause and her son Morded.
* MoralEventHorizon: As revealed in the fourth book, [[spoiler:King Arthur committed infanticide early in his reign, in order to stop Mordred from destroying Camelot.]]
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* TheWoobie: Lancelot.
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* ForgottenFallenFriend: In the fourth book, Lancelot kills [[spoiler: Gawaine's brothers Gareth and Gaheris. Though Gareth's death is hugely devastating to both Gawaine and Lancelot, neither of them seems to remember that Gaheris ever existed. (Or any of the brother's wives, who reportedly exist, but ever appear in the book.)]]
to:
* ForgottenFallenFriend: In the fourth book, Lancelot kills [[spoiler: Gawaine's brothers Gareth and Gaheris. Though Gareth's death is hugely devastating to both Gawaine and Lancelot, neither of them seems to remember that Gaheris ever existed. (Or any of the brother's wives, who reportedly exist, but ever appear in the book.) Sir Kay's death goes pretty much unnoticed as well. (Unless White means a different Sir Kay.)]]
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* JerkAss: Sir Kay.
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* ForgottenFallenFriend: In the fourth book, Lancelot kills Gawaine's brothers Gareth and Gaheris. Though Gareth's death is hugely devastating to both Gawaine and Lancelot, neither of them seems to remember that Gaheris ever existed.
* FreudianExcuse: Agravaine, much more literally than usual.
* FreudianExcuse: Agravaine, much more literally than usual.
to:
* ForgottenFallenFriend: In the fourth book, Lancelot kills [[spoiler: Gawaine's brothers Gareth and Gaheris. Though Gareth's death is hugely devastating to both Gawaine and Lancelot, neither of them seems to remember that Gaheris ever existed.
existed. (Or any of the brother's wives, who reportedly exist, but ever appear in the book.)]]
* FreudianExcuse:Agravaine, Agravaine and Mordred, much more literally than usual.
* FreudianExcuse:
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* BringNewsBack: Why Thomas Malory can not fight and die in the last battle as he tells Arthur he wants to.
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* BringNewsBack: Why [[spoiler:Why Thomas Malory can not fight and die in the last battle as he tells Arthur he wants to.]]
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* CompleteMonster: both Margause and her son Morded.
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* TheWoobie: Lancelot.
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If it does get its own work page, it should be in the correct namespace.
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White also worked on a fifth part, ''TheBookOfMerlyn'', set before Arthur's final battle, in which he was taught more lessons by Merlyn. Parts of it were incorporated into the collected edition's version of ''The Sword in the Stone''. In 1977, after White's death, it was published separately as ''The Book of Merlyn''.
to:
White also worked on a fifth part, ''TheBookOfMerlyn'', ''Literature/TheBookOfMerlyn'', set before Arthur's final battle, in which he was taught more lessons by Merlyn. Parts of it were incorporated into the collected edition's version of ''The Sword in the Stone''. In 1977, after White's death, it was published separately as ''The Book of Merlyn''.
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This should some time become a work of its own.
Changed line(s) 10,11 (click to see context) from:
White also worked on a fifth part, ''The BookOfMerlyn'', set before Arthur's final battle, in which he was taught more lessons by Merlyn. Parts of it were incorporated into the collected edition's version of ''The Sword in the Stone''. In 1977, after White's death, it was published separately as ''The Book of Merlyn''.
to:
White also worked on a fifth part, ''The BookOfMerlyn'', ''TheBookOfMerlyn'', set before Arthur's final battle, in which he was taught more lessons by Merlyn. Parts of it were incorporated into the collected edition's version of ''The Sword in the Stone''. In 1977, after White's death, it was published separately as ''The Book of Merlyn''.
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White also worked on a fifth part, ''The Book of Merlyn'', set before Arthur's final battle, in which he was taught more lessons by Merlyn. Parts of it were incorporated into the collected edition's version of ''The Sword in the Stone''. In 1977, after White's death, it was published separately as ''The Book of Merlyn''.
to:
White also worked on a fifth part, ''The Book of Merlyn'', BookOfMerlyn'', set before Arthur's final battle, in which he was taught more lessons by Merlyn. Parts of it were incorporated into the collected edition's version of ''The Sword in the Stone''. In 1977, after White's death, it was published separately as ''The Book of Merlyn''.
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Changed line(s) 10,11 (click to see context) from:
White also worked on a fifth part, set in the lead-up to Arthur's final battle, in which he was taught more lessons by Merlyn. This was not included in the composite edition, for some reason, but parts of it were incorporated into the collected edition's version of ''The Sword in the Stone''. It was eventually published separately in 1977, after White's death, as ''The Book of Merlyn''.
to:
White also worked on a fifth part, ''The Book of Merlyn'', set in the lead-up to before Arthur's final battle, in which he was taught more lessons by Merlyn. This was not included in the composite edition, for some reason, but parts Parts of it were incorporated into the collected edition's version of ''The Sword in the Stone''. It was eventually published separately in In 1977, after White's death, it was published separately as ''The Book of Merlyn''.
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''The Once and Future King'' is a retelling by T. H. White of the story of KingArthur. It is considered as one of the best versions of the legend of King Arthur. It was originally published as separate books and collected in one volume in 1958. The 1958 version contains:
to:
''The Once and Future King'' is a retelling by T. H. White of the story of KingArthur. It is considered as one of the best versions retellings of the legend of King Arthur.Arthurian legend. It was originally published as separate books and collected in one volume in 1958. The 1958 version contains:
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''The Once and Future King'' is a retelling by T. H. White of the story of KingArthur. A critically acclaimed retelling, which has been cited as one of the best versions of the King Arthur mythos.
The composite edition, first published in 1958, is in four parts:
The composite edition, first published in 1958, is in four parts:
to:
''The Once and Future King'' is a retelling by T. H. White of the story of KingArthur. A critically acclaimed retelling, which has been cited It is considered as one of the best versions of the legend of King Arthur mythos.
The composite edition, firstArthur. It was originally published as separate books and collected in 1958, is one volume in four parts:
1958. The 1958 version contains:
The composite edition, first
Changed line(s) 10,11 (click to see context) from:
The first three parts were published separately first, and revised to a greater or lesser extent for the collected edition. The biggest change was probably to second part, which was substantially altered and given a new title (the original version was ''The Witch in the Wood'').
to:
The first three parts were published separately first, and revised to a greater or lesser extent for the collected edition. The biggest change was probably to second part, which was substantially altered and given a new title (the title. (The original version was had been entitled ''The Witch in the Wood'').
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[[AC:The composite edition, first published in 1958, is in four parts:]]
# ''The Sword in the Stone'', covering Arthur's childhood, the lessons he was taught by Merlyn (often involving him being transformed into an animal to give him a different perspective on the world), and how he was discovered and crowned King of England.
# ''The Queen of Air and Darkness'', covering the early part of Arthur's reign, the founding of the Knights of the Round Table, and introduces Morgause, the mother of Arthur's nemesis Mordred.
# ''The Ill-Made Knight'', featuring the story of Sir Lancelot.
# ''The Sword in the Stone'', covering Arthur's childhood, the lessons he was taught by Merlyn (often involving him being transformed into an animal to give him a different perspective on the world), and how he was discovered and crowned King of England.
# ''The Queen of Air and Darkness'', covering the early part of Arthur's reign, the founding of the Knights of the Round Table, and introduces Morgause, the mother of Arthur's nemesis Mordred.
# ''The Ill-Made Knight'', featuring the story of Sir Lancelot.
to:
# ''The Sword in the Stone'', covering Arthur's childhood, the lessons he was taught by Merlyn
# ''The Queen of Air and Darkness'',
# ''The Ill-Made Knight'',
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The first three parts were published separately first, and revised to a greater or lesser extent for the composite edition. The biggest change was probably to second part, which was substantially altered and given a new title (the original version was ''The Witch in the Wood'').
White also worked on a fifth part, set in the lead-up to Arthur's final battle, in which he was taught more lessons by Merlyn. This was not included in the composite edition, for some reason, but parts of it were incorporated into the composite edition's version of ''The Sword in the Stone''. It was eventually published separately in 1977, after White's death, as ''The Book of Merlyn''.
''The Sword in the Stone'' was loosely adapted into a [[Disney/TheSwordInTheStone Disney film of the same name]]. The musical ''Theatre/{{Camelot}}'' is partly based on ''The Ill-Made Knight'' and ''The Candle in the Wind''.
White also worked on a fifth part, set in the lead-up to Arthur's final battle, in which he was taught more lessons by Merlyn. This was not included in the composite edition, for some reason, but parts of it were incorporated into the composite edition's version of ''The Sword in the Stone''. It was eventually published separately in 1977, after White's death, as ''The Book of Merlyn''.
''The Sword in the Stone'' was loosely adapted into a [[Disney/TheSwordInTheStone Disney film of the same name]]. The musical ''Theatre/{{Camelot}}'' is partly based on ''The Ill-Made Knight'' and ''The Candle in the Wind''.
to:
The first three parts were published separately first, and revised to a greater or lesser extent for the composite collected edition. The biggest change was probably to second part, which was substantially altered and given a new title (the original version was ''The Witch in the Wood'').
White also worked on a fifth part, set in the lead-up to Arthur's final battle, in which he was taught more lessons by Merlyn. This was not included in the composite edition, for some reason, but parts of it were incorporated into thecomposite collected edition's version of ''The Sword in the Stone''. It was eventually published separately in 1977, after White's death, as ''The Book of Merlyn''.
''The Sword in the Stone'' was loosely adapted into a [[Disney/TheSwordInTheStone Disney film of the same name]]. The musical ''Theatre/{{Camelot}}'' ispartly based on ''The Ill-Made Knight'' and ''The Candle in the Wind''.
White also worked on a fifth part, set in the lead-up to Arthur's final battle, in which he was taught more lessons by Merlyn. This was not included in the composite edition, for some reason, but parts of it were incorporated into the
''The Sword in the Stone'' was loosely adapted into a [[Disney/TheSwordInTheStone Disney film of the same name]]. The musical ''Theatre/{{Camelot}}'' is
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* PreAssKickingOneLiner: Lancelot has one in Candle in the Wind, before he goes out to fight the knights who are confronting him about his affair with Guinevere:
-->"Ah sirs," he said with a grimness, "is there none other grace with you? Then keep yourselves."
-->"Ah sirs," he said with a grimness, "is there none other grace with you? Then keep yourselves."
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# ''The Candle in the Wind'', telling of the downfall of Arthur and his kingdom, concluding with a [[BitCharacter bit appearance]] by ThomasMalory, still a squire, whom Arthur sends off to remember their story.
to:
# ''The Candle in the Wind'', telling of the downfall of Arthur and his kingdom, concluding with a [[BitCharacter bit appearance]] by ThomasMalory, Creator/ThomasMalory, still a squire, whom Arthur sends off to remember their story.
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* BringNewsBack: Why ThomasMalory can not fight and die in the last battle as he tells Arthur he wants to.
to:
* BringNewsBack: Why ThomasMalory Thomas Malory can not fight and die in the last battle as he tells Arthur he wants to.
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** This scene starts with the duo meeting a young boy [[NoFourthWall who turns out to be called]] ThomasMalory...
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** This scene starts with the duo meeting a young boy [[NoFourthWall who turns out to be called]] ThomasMalory...Thomas Malory...
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''The Once and Future King'' is a retelling by T. H. White of the story of KingArthur. A critically acclaimed retelling, which has been cited as one of the best versions of the King Arthur mythos.
[[AC:The composite edition, first published in 1958, is in four parts:]]
# ''The Sword in the Stone'', covering Arthur's childhood, the lessons he was taught by Merlyn (often involving him being transformed into an animal to give him a different perspective on the world), and how he was discovered and crowned King of England.
# ''The Queen of Air and Darkness'', covering the early part of Arthur's reign, the founding of the Knights of the Round Table, and introduces Morgause, the mother of Arthur's nemesis Mordred.
# ''The Ill-Made Knight'', featuring the story of Sir Lancelot.
# ''The Candle in the Wind'', telling of the downfall of Arthur and his kingdom, concluding with a [[BitCharacter bit appearance]] by ThomasMalory, still a squire, whom Arthur sends off to remember their story.
The first three parts were published separately first, and revised to a greater or lesser extent for the composite edition. The biggest change was probably to second part, which was substantially altered and given a new title (the original version was ''The Witch in the Wood'').
White also worked on a fifth part, set in the lead-up to Arthur's final battle, in which he was taught more lessons by Merlyn. This was not included in the composite edition, for some reason, but parts of it were incorporated into the composite edition's version of ''The Sword in the Stone''. It was eventually published separately in 1977, after White's death, as ''The Book of Merlyn''.
''The Sword in the Stone'' was loosely adapted into a [[Disney/TheSwordInTheStone Disney film of the same name]]. The musical ''Theatre/{{Camelot}}'' is partly based on ''The Ill-Made Knight'' and ''The Candle in the Wind''.
----
!!This work provides examples of:
* AnachronismStew: Deliberately set in no particular time period, with historical references being often vague and frequently contradictory. In several cases, White justifies it by saying that some things referenced (such as the characters drinking Port or wanting to send their kids to Eton) weren't ''actually'' what was being said, but that more modern things were used to give readers a sense of what was being said.
* AntWar: One of the animal transformations Merlyn performs on Wart is to turn him into an ant, and he finds himself in the middle of an ant war.
* ApothecaryAlligator: Merlyn has one in his cottage.
-->There was a real corkindrill hanging from the rafters, very life-like and horrible with glass eyes and scaly tail stretched out behind it. When its master came into the room it winked one eye in salutation, although it was stuffed.
* BadassCreed: The song of the hawks in ''The Sword in the Stone''.
* BawdySong
* BeautyEqualsGoodness: Averted with Lancelot.
* BiTheWay / IfItsYouItsOkay: Lancelot was in love with Arthur. His jealousy and hostility towards Guinevere actually plays a part in them ending up together.
* BringNewsBack: Why ThomasMalory can not fight and die in the last battle as he tells Arthur he wants to.
* BrokenAce: being Lancelot is suffering.
* TheCatfish: In ''The Sword in the Stone''
* ClassicalMythology: Several personages from Greco-Roman mythology, such as Neptune, Hecate, and Minerva, make appearances in ''The Sword in the Stone'' (not to mention Castor and Pollux blowing Merlyn to Bermuda).
* DarkerAndEdgier: ''The Sword and the Stone'' is pretty light-hearted, and not much different than the Disney film in terms of atmosphere. Then comes ''The Queen of Air and Darkness'' and the story starts to get fairly dark.
* EndOfAnAge
* EternalHero: Lampshaded and parodied in ''The Candle in the Wind'', where Merlin (who was born an old man at the end of the universe and lives his life backwards in time to an eventual death as a baby during the Big Bang) devotes a couple of paragraphs to [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall confusing Arthur by criticising future retellings of his legend]], [[GenreSavvy mercilessly savaging White's version ("Imagine, beginning with the Normans and ending with the Wars of the Roses")]] for using ComicBookTime to allow Arthur and the others to [[MindScrew live through centuries of history while simultaneously only living for normal human lifespans.]]
** This scene starts with the duo meeting a young boy [[NoFourthWall who turns out to be called]] ThomasMalory...
* EvilAlbino: Mordred.
* {{Excalibur}}
* TheFairFolk: [[OlderThanTheyThink Before Gaiman]] did this, the fairies in ''The Sword in the Stone'' were one of the earliest examples of these in modern fiction. Robin Wood said that they didn't have hearts, both literally and figuratively.
* FamedInStory: Arthur wanted the story told, at the end, to keep the memory of the ideals alive.
* FoodChains: ''See'' LevelAte.
* ForgottenFallenFriend: In the fourth book, Lancelot kills Gawaine's brothers Gareth and Gaheris. Though Gareth's death is hugely devastating to both Gawaine and Lancelot, neither of them seems to remember that Gaheris ever existed.
* FreudianExcuse: Agravaine, much more literally than usual.
* GoodIsNotNice: Sir Galahad
* {{Gorn}}: Queen Morgause [[spoiler:boils a cat alive]] out of boredom. She doesn't even care about the practical purpose of granting invisibility, as she's intensely vain.
* IndividualityIsIllegal: The ants Arthur meets in one of Merlyn's lessons.
* JustSoStory: The badger's dissertation in ''The Sword in the Stone''.
* LampshadeHanging: Merlyn does this ''constantly'', since he's basically GenreSavvy due to moving backwards through time. Some of his most marvelous ones spiral off into funny and inspiring sermons about learning and the nature of spoken language.
* LevelAte: In ''The Sword in the Stone'', Arthur and Kay enter a faerie castle made of food.
* MerlinSickness
* MisterMuffykins: Morgause's dogs
* MommyIssues: All of the Orkney boys. [[FreudWasRight Especially Agravaine.]]
* OnlyTheChosenMayWield
* PatrickStewartSpeech
* PublicDomainCharacter: Apart from the obvious, Arthur meets RobinHood (who says his name is really Robin ''Wood'', but it's clearly the same person the legends are about) in ''The Sword in the Stone''.
* RealitySubtext: White wrote the majority of the series, including ''The Book of Merlyn,'' during the darkest days of WorldWarII. It definitely shows, if you're looking for it. The scene with the ants in ''The Book of Merlyn'' is an explicit parallel to totalitarian regimes and Nazism in particular. And Mordred's faction in ''The Candle in the Wind'' are described in ways intended to compare them to Nazis. Plus there's Merlin's angry lecture to Sir Kay in ''The Queen of Air and Darkness'', although that's less subtext than outright ''text''.
* RedRightHand: Mordred
* SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining: Lancelot devoted most of his youth to learning how to fight, at the expense of having a proper childhood. He's better with a weapon than anyone else in the book, but among other things, he never learned to climb trees.
* SpinningOutOfHere: Merlin always spins around before he disappears in a cloud of smoke.
* TearfulSmile
* TranslationConvention: Explicitly invoked by the narrator. In the first few pages the narration states that characters are actually using or referring to certain period-accurate things like some kind of drink, but the narration will translate it into a modern equivalent, like port. In addition, most of the dialogue is in modern colloquial English, but for a few important parts here and there it switches to something much more old-fashioned-sounding. There is no in-universe explanation for this; the switch is probably just to drive home the point "this is important".
* WhiteHairedPrettyBoy: Mordred
----
[[AC:The composite edition, first published in 1958, is in four parts:]]
# ''The Sword in the Stone'', covering Arthur's childhood, the lessons he was taught by Merlyn (often involving him being transformed into an animal to give him a different perspective on the world), and how he was discovered and crowned King of England.
# ''The Queen of Air and Darkness'', covering the early part of Arthur's reign, the founding of the Knights of the Round Table, and introduces Morgause, the mother of Arthur's nemesis Mordred.
# ''The Ill-Made Knight'', featuring the story of Sir Lancelot.
# ''The Candle in the Wind'', telling of the downfall of Arthur and his kingdom, concluding with a [[BitCharacter bit appearance]] by ThomasMalory, still a squire, whom Arthur sends off to remember their story.
The first three parts were published separately first, and revised to a greater or lesser extent for the composite edition. The biggest change was probably to second part, which was substantially altered and given a new title (the original version was ''The Witch in the Wood'').
White also worked on a fifth part, set in the lead-up to Arthur's final battle, in which he was taught more lessons by Merlyn. This was not included in the composite edition, for some reason, but parts of it were incorporated into the composite edition's version of ''The Sword in the Stone''. It was eventually published separately in 1977, after White's death, as ''The Book of Merlyn''.
''The Sword in the Stone'' was loosely adapted into a [[Disney/TheSwordInTheStone Disney film of the same name]]. The musical ''Theatre/{{Camelot}}'' is partly based on ''The Ill-Made Knight'' and ''The Candle in the Wind''.
----
!!This work provides examples of:
* AnachronismStew: Deliberately set in no particular time period, with historical references being often vague and frequently contradictory. In several cases, White justifies it by saying that some things referenced (such as the characters drinking Port or wanting to send their kids to Eton) weren't ''actually'' what was being said, but that more modern things were used to give readers a sense of what was being said.
* AntWar: One of the animal transformations Merlyn performs on Wart is to turn him into an ant, and he finds himself in the middle of an ant war.
* ApothecaryAlligator: Merlyn has one in his cottage.
-->There was a real corkindrill hanging from the rafters, very life-like and horrible with glass eyes and scaly tail stretched out behind it. When its master came into the room it winked one eye in salutation, although it was stuffed.
* BadassCreed: The song of the hawks in ''The Sword in the Stone''.
* BawdySong
* BeautyEqualsGoodness: Averted with Lancelot.
* BiTheWay / IfItsYouItsOkay: Lancelot was in love with Arthur. His jealousy and hostility towards Guinevere actually plays a part in them ending up together.
* BringNewsBack: Why ThomasMalory can not fight and die in the last battle as he tells Arthur he wants to.
* BrokenAce: being Lancelot is suffering.
* TheCatfish: In ''The Sword in the Stone''
* ClassicalMythology: Several personages from Greco-Roman mythology, such as Neptune, Hecate, and Minerva, make appearances in ''The Sword in the Stone'' (not to mention Castor and Pollux blowing Merlyn to Bermuda).
* DarkerAndEdgier: ''The Sword and the Stone'' is pretty light-hearted, and not much different than the Disney film in terms of atmosphere. Then comes ''The Queen of Air and Darkness'' and the story starts to get fairly dark.
* EndOfAnAge
* EternalHero: Lampshaded and parodied in ''The Candle in the Wind'', where Merlin (who was born an old man at the end of the universe and lives his life backwards in time to an eventual death as a baby during the Big Bang) devotes a couple of paragraphs to [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall confusing Arthur by criticising future retellings of his legend]], [[GenreSavvy mercilessly savaging White's version ("Imagine, beginning with the Normans and ending with the Wars of the Roses")]] for using ComicBookTime to allow Arthur and the others to [[MindScrew live through centuries of history while simultaneously only living for normal human lifespans.]]
** This scene starts with the duo meeting a young boy [[NoFourthWall who turns out to be called]] ThomasMalory...
* EvilAlbino: Mordred.
* {{Excalibur}}
* TheFairFolk: [[OlderThanTheyThink Before Gaiman]] did this, the fairies in ''The Sword in the Stone'' were one of the earliest examples of these in modern fiction. Robin Wood said that they didn't have hearts, both literally and figuratively.
* FamedInStory: Arthur wanted the story told, at the end, to keep the memory of the ideals alive.
* FoodChains: ''See'' LevelAte.
* ForgottenFallenFriend: In the fourth book, Lancelot kills Gawaine's brothers Gareth and Gaheris. Though Gareth's death is hugely devastating to both Gawaine and Lancelot, neither of them seems to remember that Gaheris ever existed.
* FreudianExcuse: Agravaine, much more literally than usual.
* GoodIsNotNice: Sir Galahad
* {{Gorn}}: Queen Morgause [[spoiler:boils a cat alive]] out of boredom. She doesn't even care about the practical purpose of granting invisibility, as she's intensely vain.
* IndividualityIsIllegal: The ants Arthur meets in one of Merlyn's lessons.
* JustSoStory: The badger's dissertation in ''The Sword in the Stone''.
* LampshadeHanging: Merlyn does this ''constantly'', since he's basically GenreSavvy due to moving backwards through time. Some of his most marvelous ones spiral off into funny and inspiring sermons about learning and the nature of spoken language.
* LevelAte: In ''The Sword in the Stone'', Arthur and Kay enter a faerie castle made of food.
* MerlinSickness
* MisterMuffykins: Morgause's dogs
* MommyIssues: All of the Orkney boys. [[FreudWasRight Especially Agravaine.]]
* OnlyTheChosenMayWield
* PatrickStewartSpeech
* PublicDomainCharacter: Apart from the obvious, Arthur meets RobinHood (who says his name is really Robin ''Wood'', but it's clearly the same person the legends are about) in ''The Sword in the Stone''.
* RealitySubtext: White wrote the majority of the series, including ''The Book of Merlyn,'' during the darkest days of WorldWarII. It definitely shows, if you're looking for it. The scene with the ants in ''The Book of Merlyn'' is an explicit parallel to totalitarian regimes and Nazism in particular. And Mordred's faction in ''The Candle in the Wind'' are described in ways intended to compare them to Nazis. Plus there's Merlin's angry lecture to Sir Kay in ''The Queen of Air and Darkness'', although that's less subtext than outright ''text''.
* RedRightHand: Mordred
* SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining: Lancelot devoted most of his youth to learning how to fight, at the expense of having a proper childhood. He's better with a weapon than anyone else in the book, but among other things, he never learned to climb trees.
* SpinningOutOfHere: Merlin always spins around before he disappears in a cloud of smoke.
* TearfulSmile
* TranslationConvention: Explicitly invoked by the narrator. In the first few pages the narration states that characters are actually using or referring to certain period-accurate things like some kind of drink, but the narration will translate it into a modern equivalent, like port. In addition, most of the dialogue is in modern colloquial English, but for a few important parts here and there it switches to something much more old-fashioned-sounding. There is no in-universe explanation for this; the switch is probably just to drive home the point "this is important".
* WhiteHairedPrettyBoy: Mordred
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