History Literature / TheWarlordChronicles

A TV series adaptation of the first book, also called ''The Winter King'', was announced in 2020 for Creator/MGMPlus, just before the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic hit. The production eventually moved to Creator/{{ITV}}, filming having begun in 2022. The series eventually premiered on MGM+ in August 2023 in the US only. A UK release is due to follow on ITVX later in the year.

** Baby Mordred is Uther's son instead of grandson, and thus Arthur's half-brother instead of nephew (and brother to the elder Mordred instead of his son).
** Mordred's mother Norwenna is thus Uther's latest wife and queen rather than daughter-in-law (the elder Mordred's wife).

** Baby Mordred is Uther's son instead of grandson, and thus Arthur's half-brother instead of nephew (and also brother to the elder Mordred.

* AbledInTheAdaptation: Morgan is introduced in the first book as scarred and disfigured from a fire, wearing a mask to hide her face. She is (yet) unburned in the show.

* AgeLift: Merlin is portrayed as being early to mid-middle-aged at most, not elderly, even after there's a TimeSkip of 8 years where Derfel geos from a boy to a young man.

* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: How Uther punishes a wounded Arthur after the first Modred's death in battle

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* HistoricalFantasy: The first episode waffles a bit on MaybeMagicMaybeMundane early on, like with Merlin doing what could be stage-magic with birds or not, but later it shows Merlin's and Nimue's powers as unambiguously real, as they both see visions only they and/or the other can see, like spirit animals that are invisible to Derfel. Merlin touches the boy Derfel and seems to telepathically sense his doomed village, but it could just be Merlin imagining the obvious since Arthur told him about it. But later Merlin touches baby Mordred and sees bloody visions that have no reason to happen unless it's actually foresight.

* OohMeAccent'sSlipping: Stuart Campbell (Derfel) noticeably slips into his natural Scottish accent while berating Gundleus for his treachery.

** This extends to the names of characters with no real equivalent in later works. Arthur's sons are called "Amhar" and Loholt" - "Amhar" is a 12th century form of the Welsh name "Amr" who appears in the 9th century ''Literature/HistoriaBrittonum'', while "Loholt" comes from 12th and 13th century French works like ''Érec et Énide'' and ''Perlesvaus''. "Culhwch", Arthur's kinsman from the older Welsh tale ''Culhwch and Olwen'' collected in the ''Literature/{{Mabinogion}}'', rubs shoulders with people like "Lancelot", "Galahad" and "Sagramor," whose names come from much later French works.
** Cornwell admits in the author's notes that he deliberately kept the more anachronistic names like Mordred, Guinevere, and Lancelot because they were simply too iconic to replace in his mind.

** Lancelot is one with [[spoiler:Geoffrey of Monmouth's depiction of Mordred, Arthur's regent who seduces Guinevere and allies with the Saxons]].
** Derfel ultimately becomes one with both [[spoiler:Percivale, the good friend of Galahad and hero of a mystic quest, and Bedivere, the one-armed final survivor of Camlann who returns Excalibur to the water.]] He also has elements of Kay, being Arthur's close confidant and a Saxon like the version of Kay from ArthurOfTheBritons [[spoiler:and the killer of one of Arthur's sons as in ''Perlesvaus'']], and, ironically, Lancelot (specifically, the version depicted in ''Lanzelet''). Also, as his first lover is Lunete (Lynette), he can be viewed as a stand-in for Sir Gareth.

** Ceinwyn is a composite of Amide (Percivale's sister and the Grail Maiden) and one of the three Gwenhwyfars of the Welsh Triads, being Arthur's first betrothed. [[spoiler:She also becomes a stand-in for Percivale's lady love Blancheflour like Derfel does for Percivale himself.]]
** Argante takes the name of a faerie queen from Layamon's ''Brut'', but as [[spoiler:Arthur's third wife she stands in for one of the three Gwenhwyfars of the Welsh Triads (even being barren like later depictions of Guenivere) and given that he sets Guenivere aside to marry her and then sets her aside to take Guenivere back, this makes her the "False" Guenivere.]] As Mordred's wife she combines his two traditional wives Gwenhwyfach and Saint Cywyllog.

** In general, the books are less a ''truly'' "historically accurate" or "possible/plausible truth behind the legend" version of Arthur and more a {{Deconstruction}} of the Romances using the Dark Ages as a backdrop. Arthur is still mentored by Merlin, receives Excalibur from a mystical figure in the presence of a stone, and defeats antagonistic British kings at a great battle (Bedegraine in the Romances, Lugg Vale in the ''The Winter King''), Lancelot shows up, there is a quest for a sacred container involving Galahad, a round table is set up at the equivalent of Camelot, and Guinevere commits adultery with Lancelot - all of which were elements invented in the Romances and not present even in Geoffrey of Monmouth's version of events. The big exceptions are Badon (which most historians agree happened, even if they disagree if Arthur was involved) and Camlann (which has traditions dating back to the 11th Century in writing), but both are in the final book, and none of Arthur's eleven other traditional battles are given so much of a nod.
** At one point Merlin remarks to Derfel how much of Christianity is taken from earlier pagan religions, but it's mostly based on DatedHistory that was pushed in the 18th century onward, the kind repeated in pop culture like ''Zeitgeist'' and ''Literature/TheDaVinciCode'' that secular historians today generally have moved past.

* TheGhost: Clovis, the famous High King of the Franks, indirectly aids the Saxons and opposes Arthur, but never actually makes an appearance.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Sansum is loosely - very loosely - based on Saint Samson of Dol, who is traditionally portrayed as a monastic reformer and one of the Seven Founding Saints of Brittany. Here he is TheFundamentalist, a {{Hypocrite}}, implied to be a pederast, and generally the most antagonistic figure in the entire narrative.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade:
** Lancelot isn't historical, but he's unusually portrayed as a complete bastard and DirtyCoward.
** Sansum is loosely - very loosely - based on Saint Samson of Dol, who is traditionally portrayed as a monastic reformer and one of the Seven Founding Saints of Brittany. Here he is TheFundamentalist, a {{Hypocrite}}, implied to be a pederast, and generally the most antagonistic figure in the entire narrative.

* HistoricalFantasy: The first episode waffles a bit on MaybeMagicMaybeMundane early on, like with Merlin doing what could be stage-magic with birds or not, but later it shows Merlin's and Nimue's powers as unambiguously real, as they both see visions only they or the other can see. Merlin touches the boy Derfel and seems to telepathically sense his doomed village, but it could just be Merlin imagining the obvious since Arthur told him about it. But later Merlin touches baby Mordred and sees bloody visions that have no reason to happen unless it's actually foresight.

* TokenMinority: Sagramor. In the original stories he was a Hungarian prince, but this more historically-accurate setting being a few centuries too early for them, Cornwell has him a Nubian (making him a CompositeCharacter with "African" or "Saracen" knights like Palamedes and Segwarides) who made his way to Gaul serving in the Roman army and wound up in Arthur's service. The Saxons (and Argante's druid) think he's a demon and [[ScaryBlackMan he does nothing to discourage this impression.]]
** TruthInTelevision: There have been upper-class graves discovered in Britain with people of African descent in them - Roman Britain was a truly cosmopolitan place.

** In one book, Culhwch mocks another character using the Latin phrase "cassus belli" (reason/cause for war) by saying "cow's belly". He and Derfel reminisce about this many years later in the next book. But this only works in English, not the Old Briton they would have been speaking, and for that matter [[TranslationConvention it wouldn't have worked in the Old Briton Derfel is supposed to be writing in.]]

** In one book, Culhwch mocks another character using the Latin phrase "cassus belli" (reason/cause for war) by saying "cow's belly". He and Derfel reminisce about this many years later in the next book. But this only works in English which they would not be speaking, and [[TranslationConvention it doesn't work in Welsh either.]]

** Lancelot is one with [[spoiler:Geoffrey of Monmouth's depiction of Mordred, Arthur's regent who seduces Guinevere and allies with the Saxons.]]
** Derfel ultimately becomes one with both [[spoiler:Percivale, the good friend of Galahad and hero of a mystic quest, and Bedivere, the one-armed final survivor of Camlann who returns Excalibur to the water.]] He also has elements of Kay, being Arthur's close confidant, and, ironically, Lancelot.
** Culhwch takes on a lot of the traits traditionally given to Gawaine, being a BoisterousBruiser who is friendly with everyone (except Lancelot).
* CoolHorse: Arthur and his knights use large warhorses to intimidate their enemies, rather that the smaller horses normally used by the Britons for scouting and skirmishing.

* OneSteveLimit: Averted, with two Igraines (Arthur's mother and Derfel's patron) and also two seperate characters named Gawaine (one a member of Arthur's warband, the other a more plot relevant character in ''Excalibur'' who seems to have no relation to the prior).

* TokenMinority: Sagramor. In the original stories he was a Hungarian prince, but this more historically-accurate setting being a few centuries too early for them, Cornwell has him a Nubian (making him a CompositeCharacter with ''African'' or ''Saracen'' knights like Palamedes and Segwarides) who made his way to Gaul serving in the Roman army and wound up in Arthur's service. The Saxons think he's a demon and [[ScaryBlackMan he does nothing to discourage this impression.]]

** In one book, Culhwch mocks another character using the Latin phrase "cassus belli" (reason/cause for war) by saying "cow's belly". He and Derfel reminisce about this many years later in the next book. But this only works in English, not the Old Briton they would have been speaking, and for that matter[[TranslationConvention it wouldn't have worked in the Old English Derfel is supposed to be writing in.]]

** The Saxons are depicted as little more than berserkers who use [[ZergRush human wave tactics]] and [[AttackAnimal war dogs]]. This is a case of DatedHistory, as scholarly opinion and archaeological evidence now shows the Saxons used shieldwall tactics similar to what the Britons are depicted using in the books, complete with cavalry support - and there is no evidence of war dogs having ever been a thing.
** In general, the books are less a ''historically accurate'' version of Arthur and more a {{Deconstruction}} of the Romances using the Dark Ages as a backdrop. Arthur is still mentored by Merlin, receives Excalibur from a mystical figure in the presence of a stone, and defeats antagonistic British kings at a great battle (Bedegraine in the Romances, Lugg Vale in the ''The Winter King''), Lancelot shows up, there is a quest for a sacred container involving Galahad, a round table is set up at Camelot, and Guinevere commits adultery with Lancelot - all of which were elements invented in the Romances and not present even in Geoffrey of Monmouth's version of events. The big exceptions are Badon (which most historians agree happened, even if they disagree if Arthur was involved) and Camlann (which has traditions dating back to the 11th Century in writing), but both are in the final book, and none of Arthur's eleven other traditional battles are given so much of a nod.

** Derfel ultimately becomes one with both [[spoiler:Percivale, the good friend of Galahad and hero of a mystic quest, and Bedivere, the one-armed final survivor of Camlann who returns Excalibur to the water.]] He also has elements of Kay, being Arthur's close confidant and a Saxon like the version of Kay from ArthurOfTheBritons [[spoiler:and the killer of one of Arthur's sons as in ''Perlesvaus'']], and, ironically, Lancelot (specifically, the version depicted in ''Lanzelet''). Also, as his first lover is Lunete (Lynette), he can be viewed as a stand-in for Sir Gareth.
** Culhwch takes on a lot of the traits traditionally given to Gawain, being a BoisterousBruiser who is friendly with everyone (except Lancelot).
** Mardoc, being the son of Mordred, is one with Melehan.
** Ceinwyn is a composite of Amide (Percivale's sister and the Grail Maiden) and one of the three Gwenhwyfars of the Welsh Triads, being Arthur's first betrothed. [[spoiler:She also becomes a stand-in for Percivale's lady love Blancheflour like Derfel does for Percivale himself.]]
** Argante takes the name of a faerie queen from Layamon's ''Brut'', but as [[spoiler:Arthur's third wife she stands in for one of the three Gwenhwyfars of the Welsh Triads (even being barren like later depictions of Guenivere) and given that he sets Guenivere aside to marry her and then sets her aside to take Guenivere back, this makes her the "False" Guenivere.]] As Mordred's wife she combines his two traditional wives Gwenhwyfach and Saint Cywyllog.
** Guinevere, Ceinwyn, and Seren [[spoiler: ultimately become the three ladies who help Morgan take Arthur to Avalon.]]
* CoolHorse: Arthur and his knights use large warhorses to intimidate their enemies, rather that the smaller horses normally used by the Britons for scouting and skirmishing. Arthur himself rides a majestic mare named Llamrei.

* OneSteveLimit: Averted, with two Igraines (Arthur's mother and Derfel's patron) and also two seperate characters named Gawain (one a member of Arthur's warband, the other a more plot relevant character in ''Excalibur'' who seems to have no relation to the prior).

* RelatedInTheAdaptation:
** Mardoc, an Italian interpretation of Meleagaunt, is made Mordred's son.
** Peredur (Percivale) is the son of Lancelot and Ade (a minor love interest of Lancelot's from the Prose Lancelot).
** [[spoiler: Derfel Cadarn is the son of Aelle.]]
* RelatedDifferentlyInTheAdaptation:
** Mordred here is Arthur's paternal nephew, not his maternal one (let alone his incestous son).
** Morgan and Arthur are full siblings, rather than half-siblings. Extending this, Igraine was Uther's mistress rather than his wife, and Cunedda's daughter instead of granddaughter.
** Lancelot and Galahad are half-brothers rather than father and son.
** Budic is Uther's son-in-law rather than cousin, and by extent is the father of Gawain here instead of Lot.
** Gwydre is the legitimate son of Arthur and Guenivere rather than being one of Arthur's bastards.
** Tristan is the son of Mark instead of his nephew.

* SparedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler: Galahad doesn't die at the conclusion of the Grail Quest analog, and in fact survives Camlann. Likewise, Gwydre doesn't die in a boar hunt and also survives Camlann.]]

* TokenMinority: Sagramor. In the original stories he was a Hungarian prince, but this more historically-accurate setting being a few centuries too early for them, Cornwell has him a Nubian (making him a CompositeCharacter with "African" or "Saracen" knights like Palamedes and Segwarides) who made his way to Gaul serving in the Roman army and wound up in Arthur's service. The Saxons (and Argante's druid) think he's a demon and [[ScaryBlackMan he does nothing to discourage this impression.]]

* UnrelatedInTheAdaptation:
** There is both a Culhwch and an Olwen in the narrative, but they never meet or interact in any way, let alone become love interests.
** Cadoc doesn't appear to be related to Gundleus in any way, beyond Derfel suspecting he might have once been a spearman in the Silurian warband - certainly, no indication is given that he is Gundleus's son.
** Hywel is Derfel's initial mentor, not his father, and isn't related to Budic in any manner.
** There is no indication that Bors is related to Lancelot.
** In the Welsh Genealogies Cadwy is the son of Geraint, while here they belong to the same generation and are only connected by both being Dumnonian.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: In the council at Glevum early in ''The Winter King'', a lot of hay is made about protecting King Meriadoc of Stronggore. Meriadoc is namedropped a couple more times before he and Stronggore are completely forgotten about.

** In one book, Culhwch mocks another character using the Latin phrase "cassus belli" (reason/cause for war) by saying "cow's belly". He and Derfel reminisce about this many years later in the next book. But this only works in English which they would not be speaking, and [[TranslationConvention it doesn't work in Welsh either.]]

** Derfel ultimately becomes one with both [[spoiler:Percivale, the good friend of Galahad and hero of a mystic quest, and Bedivere, the one-armed final survivor of Camlann who returns Excalibur to the water.]] He also has elements of Kay, being Arthur's close confidant, and, ironically, Lancelot.
** Culhwch takes on a lot of the traits traditionally given to Gawaine, being a BoisterousBruiser who is friendly with everyone (except Lancelot).
* CoolHorse: Arthur and his knights use large warhorses to intimidate their enemies, rather that the smaller horses normally used by the Britons for scouting and skirmishing.

* OneSteveLimit: Averted, with two Igraines (Arthur's mother and Derfel's patron) and also two seperate characters named Gawaine (one a member of Arthur's warband, the other a more plot relevant character in ''Excalibur'' who seems to have no relation to the prior).

* TokenMinority: Sagramor. In the original stories he was a Hungarian prince, but this more historically-accurate setting being a few centuries too early for them, Cornwell has him a Nubian (making him a CompositeCharacter with ''African'' or ''Saracen'' knights like Palamedes and Segwarides) who made his way to Gaul serving in the Roman army and wound up in Arthur's service. The Saxons think he's a demon and [[ScaryBlackMan he does nothing to discourage this impression.]]

A TV series adaptation of the first book, also called ''The Winter King'', was announced in 2020 for Creator/MGMPlus, just before the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic hit. The production eventually moved to Creator/{{ITV}}, filming having begun in 2022. The series eventually premiered on MGMPlus in August 2023 in the US only. A UK release is due to follow on ITVX later in the year. No reason has so far been given for the delay to the British release of a British production.

A TV series adaptation of the first book, also called ''The Winter King'', was announced in 2020 for Creator/MGMPlus, just before the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic hit. The production eventually moved to Creator/{{ITV}}, filming having begun in 2022.

** Derfel ultimately becomes one with both [[Percivale, the good friend of Galahad and hero of a mystic quest, and Bedivere, the one-armed final survivor of Camlann who returns Excalibur to the water.]] He also has elements of Kay, being Arthur's close confidant, and, ironically, Lancelot.

** In general, the books are less a ''historically accurate'' version of Arthur and more a [[Deconstruction]] of the Romances using the Dark Ages as a backdrop. Arthur is still mentored by Merlin, receives Excalibur from a mystical figure in the presence of a stone, and defeats antagonistic British kings at a great battle (Bedegraine in the Romances, Lugg Vale in the ''The Winter King''), Lancelot shows up, there is a quest for a sacred container involving Galahad, a round table is set up at Camelot, and Guinevere commits adultery with Lancelot - all of which were elements invented in the Romances and not present even in Geoffrey of Monmouth's version of events. The big exceptions are Badon (which most historians agree happened, even if they disagree if Arthur was involved) and Camlann (which has traditions dating back to the 11th Century in writing), but both are in the final book, and none of Arthur's eleven other traditional battles are given so much of a nod.

* CompositeCharacter: Galahad being Lancelot's illegetimate half-brother, makes him one for Ector Demaris

* DemotedToExtra: Ironically, the figures from the Welsh stories get this in favor of later Romance figures. Gawain, Kay, and Bedivere barely appear [[spoiler:and are killed off quickly]]. Rather unusual for [[{{Demythification}} "historical"]] Arthurian retellings, since in the earliest version of the legends the last two formed a team of three with Arthur, while Gawain was Arthur's best warrior before Lancelot was introduced. Derfel and Culhwch (who are, admittedly, also from the Welsh tales) take on their usual roles somewhat, and at the end Derfel is the [[SoleSurvivor only surviving]] warrior of Arthur [[spoiler: who throws Excalibur into the sea after the last battle]].

* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Mordred never knew his mother, but he's still irritated that no one ever thought to give her a more distinguished resting place than a grassy mound.

** Somewhat subverted in the cases of Sansum and Morgan. It's made very clear that Sansum is primarily driven by his own greedy ambition [[spoiler: and Morgan reluctantly uses her pagan magic to remove Nimue's curse on Ceinwynn.]]

* GoodShepherd: Bishop Emrys.

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Derfel is based on an obscure British saint of the same name who, if tradition is to be believed, really was a warrior before becoming a monk.
** Tewdric, Meurig, Aelle, Cerdic, Clovis and possibly Cuneglas (there is a historical king named Cuneglas, but he was from Rhos, not Powys, and his father was Owain Ddantgwyn and not Gorfyddyd, who is fictional).
* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Lancelot isn't historical, but he's unusually portrayed as a complete bastard and DirtyCoward.

** While ostensibly a Christian, Mordred makes use of Druids when it suits him.

** The Saxons are depicted as little more than berserkers who use HumanWave tactics and [[AttackAnimal war dogs]]. This is a case of DatedHistory, as scholarly opinion and archaeological evidence now shows the Saxons used shieldwall tactics similar to what the Britons are depicted using in the books, complete with cavalry support - and there is no evidence of war dogs having ever been a thing.
** In general, the books are less a ''historically accurate'' version of Arthur and more a Deconstruction of the Romances using the Dark Ages as a backdrop. Arthur is still mentored by Merlin, receives Excalibur from a mystical figure in the presence of a stone, and defeats antagonistic British kings at a great battle (Bedegraine in the Romances, Lugg Vale in the ''The Winter King''), Lancelot shows up, there is a quest for a sacred container involving Galahad, a round table is set up at Camelot, and Guinevere commits adultery with Lancelot - all of which were elements invented in the Romances and not present even in Geoffrey of Monmouth's version of events. The big exceptions are Badon (which most historians agree happened, even if they disagree if Arthur was involved) and Camlann (which has traditions dating back to the 11th Century in writing), but both are in the final book, and none of Arthur's eleven other traditional battles are given so much of a nod.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Despite being a "historical" spin on the Arthurian mythos, this is still in effect. Actually, 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.

** The series doesn't mention Ambrosius Aurelianus and Vortigern, the immediate predecessors to Uther and Arthur as British kings/rulers according to Arthurian lore - and generally accepted to be real persons by historians, unlike them. Likewise, no mention is made of Saint Germanus, whose visits to Britain would have been in living memory for the older characters, and Pelagius and his followers are only given a off-hand mention in ''Excalibur'', despite the Pelagian-Chalcedonian rivalry being given great importance by contemporary writers (Paganism, by contrast, is barely mentioned by those same writers).

** 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 ''[=Æ=]þeling'' (Aetheling) and wouldn't have been used yet.

** Ynys Trebes is a fictional depiction of Mont Saint-Michel, serving as the capital for King Ban (a character invented by the Romances) before it falls to the Franks.
** The climatic battle of Lugg Vale in ''The Winter King'' is fictional.
** The battles of Mynydd Baddon and Camlann are shrouded in mystery. Mynydd Baddon (also known as Badon Hill or Mount Badon) is generally considered to have been a real battle, in either the late fifth or early sixth century, that temporarily checked the Anglo-Saxon expansion. However, its exact date and location have never been proven. The battle of Camlann, on the other hand, is believed to be only a legend, as the earliest known reference to it is from the tenth century.

* DemotedToExtra: Gawain, Kay, and Bedivere barely appear [[spoiler:and are killed off quickly]]. Rather unusual for [[{{Demythification}} "historical"]] Arthurian retellings, since in the earliest version of the legends the last two formed a team of three with Arthur, while 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 only surviving]] warrior of Arthur [[spoiler: who throws Excalibur into the sea after the last battle]].