History Literature / TheWarlordChronicles

** Owain, the Champion of Dumnonia, is a partial example. He's set up to be an important supporting character to the protagonists after he heroically helps rescue Derfel's band of refugees from Gundleus, and afterword becomes the first warlord whom Derfel serves under. However, he's later revealed to be a complete bastard who embezzles tax funds, rapes prisoners, and slaughters an entire mining village (whose inhabitants were sworn to an allied kingdom) as part of an under the table deal [[spoiler: That last one ends up costing him his life]]. While he certainly doesn't lack for courage or battle-prowess, he's hardly the champion he's introduced as.

** Owain, the Champion of Dumnonia, is a partial example. He's set up to be a major protagonist after he heroically helps rescue Derfel's band of refugees from Gundleus, and afterword becomes the first warlord who Derfel serves under. However, he's later revealed to be a complete bastard who embezzles tax funds, rapes prisoners, and slaughters an entire mining village as part of an under the table deal. While he certainly doesn't lack for courage or battle-prowess, he isn't quite the champion he's introduced as.

* VestigialEmpire

* CoolHorse

* CoolSword
* CorruptChurch: Most of the Christian churches come off this way.

* TheDungAges

* FakeUltimateHero: [[spoiler:Lancelot]].

* TheMagicGoesAway: Merlin feels this is happening to the world, and that the gods are abandoning it as well. However, it could just be a case of...

* NayTheist: Arthur

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Despite being a "historical" spin on the Arthurian mythos, this is still in effect. Arguably, writing "Arthur as a real historical figure" falls into this by default since so little is definitively known and so much is conjecture about the topic.

* {{Unreliable Narrator}}: Self-admitted.

->''These are the tales of Arthur, the Warlord, the King that Never Was, the Enemy of God and, may the living Christ and Bishop Sansum forgive me, the best man I ever knew. [[ManlyTears How I have wept for Arthur]].''

* AngloSaxons

* TheMessiah: Arthur, Galahad (though both of them renounce [[spoiler:Lancelot]] in the end)

** In the series, the heir of the British High King is called the Edling. But this is a later Welsh loanword from the Old English ''Ætheling'' and wouldn't have been used yet.

Also known as the ''Warlord Trilogy'', (or the ''Excalibur'' series, or ''Excalibur'' trilogy, etc.) ''The Warlord Chronicles'' are a trio of books by BernardCornwell that retell the [[KingArthur Arthurian Legend]] in a fashion that is much closer to being historically accurate than the traditional legends, although many of the additions that were added to the original Welsh legends (such as Merlin and Lancelot) are still present and used in interesting ways. The series deals with war and politics in feudal-era Britain in an unflinching way, even when it comes down to the brutality, injustice and different customs of the period.

* EyeScream: as mentioned above, Nimue has an eye ripped out by Gundleus.

* GoodShepherd: Bishop Emrys

* OneSceneWonder: Merlin has relatively little time directly interacting with Derfel in the books, but boy does he know how to make it memorable.

* Expy: Gorfyddyd and Gundleus for the Rebel Kings of the original stories (Lot, Uriens, Rience and some others).

* DemotedToExtra: Gawain, Kay and Bedivere barely appear [[spoiler:and are killed off quickly]]. Rather unusual for Arthurian historical fiction, since in the earliest version of the legends the last two formed a PowerTrio with Arthur and Gawain was Arthur's best warrior before Lancelot was introduced. Derfel takes on their usual roles somewhat, and at the end he is the [[SoleSurvivor sole surviving]] warrior of Arthur who throws Excalibur into a lake, like the legendary Bedivere.

Also known as the ''Warlord Trilogy'', (or the ''Excalibur'' series, or ''Excalibur'' trilogy, etc.) ''The Warlord Chronicles'' are a trio of books by BernardCornwell that retell the [[KingArthur Arthurian Legend]] in a fashion that is much closer to being historically accurate than the traditional legends, although many of the additions that were added to the original Welsh legends (such as Merlin and Lancelot) are still present and used in interesting ways. The series tends to draw some comparisons to ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', since both tend to deal with feudal era war and politics in similar honest and unflinching ways, even when it comes down to the brutalities, injustices and different customs of those societies.

* AscendedExtra: The series is notable for focusing on lesser known characters, such as Derfel and Sagramore, instead of more famouse characters such as Gawain and Bedivere.

* DemotedToExtra: Kay and Bedivere are barely mentioned [[spoiler:and are killed off almost immediately]]. Rather unusual for Arthurian historical fiction, since they were [[PowerTrio Arthur's chief companions]] in the original Welsh legends. Derfel takes on their usual roles somewhat, and at the end he is the [[SoleSurvivor sole surviving]] warrior of Arthur who throws Excalibur into a lake, like the legendary Bedivere.

* DemotedToExtra: Kay and Bedivere are barely mentioned [[spoiler:and are killed off almost immediately]]. Rather unusual for Arthurian historical fiction, since they were [[PowerTrio Arthur's chief companions]] in the original Welsh legends.

* DemotedToExtra: Kay and Bedivere are barely mentioned. Rather unusual for Arthurian historical fiction, since they were Arthur's chief companions in the original Welsh legends.

* {{Deconstruction}}: The whole series is a massive deconstruction of the Arthurian mythos. You can begin by saying that there's no anachronistic chivalry, jousting, plate armor, that the setting is TheDungAges with all its appropriate ignorance, superstition and brutality, and that would ''still'' just be the start of the deconstructions.

Even after Arthur clears these early hurdles, many dangers still await. Because over the years friends have a way of turning into enemies, sectarian violence threatens to rip the Britons apart even in peacetime, friends and lovers have their ways of betraying you, and then there are the troubling signs around Mordred as he grows older...

The series contains three books, those being:
* ''The Winter King''
* ''Enemy of God''
* ''Excalibur''

* ChessMaster: Merlin. Big time. Also Arthur, but his otherwise successful attempts at uniting Britain are hamstrung first by [[NiceJobBreakingItHero falling for Guinevere]], then by Derfel and Ceinwyn.

* [[LawfulStupid Lawful Extremely Stupid]]: Arthur allowing Mordred to become King, despite all the warning signs about Mordred, just to keep an oath.

* {{Unreliable Narrator}}

* WorthyOpponent: The Saxon warrior king Aelle.

Also known as the Warlord Trilogy, (or the Excalibur series, or Excalibur trilogy, etc.) The Warlord Chronicles are a trio of books by BernardCornwell that retell the [[KingArthur Arthurian Legend]] in a fashion that is much closer to being historically accurate than the traditional legends, although many of the additions that were added to the original Welsh legends (such as Merlin and Lancelot) are still present and used in interesting ways. The series tends to draw some comparisons to ASongOfIceAndFire, since both tend to deal with feudal era war and politics in similar honest and unflinching ways, even when it comes down to the brutalities, injustices and different customs of those societies.