The Sword in the Stone

The Sword in the Stone is a novel by T. H. White, published in 1938, the first part of a tetralogy The Once and Future King. It was made into a film by Walt Disney Productions, and there was also a BBC radio adaptation. The book includes several well-known characters, but uses uncommon spellings including Merlyn and Robin Wood.

Plot line

"Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil is rightwise king born of England."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The novel is about a young boy named Wart who befriends a magician named Merlyn. As we suspect all along, but only find out for sure at the end, Wart is actually the future King Arthur. The title refers to a sword that was magically embedded in a stone (or in an anvil) and which only the future, true-born king of England would be able to remove. The premise is that Arthur's youth, not dealt with in Malory, was a time when he was tutored by Merlyn, in preparation for the use of power, and his royal life. Merlyn magically turns Wart into various animals at times, and he also has more normal adventures, at one point meeting the outlaw Robin Wood. The setting is loosely based on medieval England, and in places it incorporates White's considerable knowledge of medieval culture (as in relation to hunting, falconry and jousting). However it makes no attempt at consistent historical accuracy, and incorporates some obvious anachronisms (aided by the concept that Merlyn lives backwards in time rather than forwards like everyone else).

Related Topics:
King Arthur - Sword - Anvil - Malory - England - Hunting - Falconry - Jousting

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~