PachiSusan Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 I've been caught on Netflix by the show "Merlin", which is set in the time before Arthur knows Merlin is a wizard and he is still a prince. His father Uther is still alive and Merlin is an apprentice/ward of the court doctor. Is there any literature that actually talked about the time in question, or did this TV Series make this prequel up? I'm ashamed to admit I've never read King Arthur, but Melissa and I are going to read it together this summer. I have seen "Excalibur" and "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" if that redeems me a little. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 I haven't watched the show, but you're saying that Arthur is a prince at his father Uther's court, and Merlin is an apprentice and they are buddies? There would not be any old literature like that; in the story, Merlin is already a wizard when Arthur is born. Merlin spirits him away at birth and places him with a foster family, with Sir Ector as his father and Kay as his brother. Arthur does not find out that he's of royal birth until after Uther's death, when he accidentally performs the miracle of removing the sword from the stone and reveals himself as the true king. Of course the stories evolved and changed over time, but that's the basic traditional plot. I've never seen a story that had Merlin and Arthur the same age, or Arthur growing up at Uther's court. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 I should add that there is a story about Merlin as a boy--Geoffrey of Monmouth has a whole elaborate tale about Merlin being a boy without a father (his mother conceived him by an incubus) who can divine the reason why a building project keeps falling down. It's because two dragons are under that spot of ground, fighting. Then Merlin launches into a whole book of prophecies that were a big hit at the time but no one reads them now. Like Nostradamus. There isn't a lot of older material about Arthur's boyhood until it's time for the sword in the stone, except Kay is always rude. It's his main characteristic, all the way back to the oldest stories where his name is Cei. But! You and your daughter would love T. H. White's classic The Sword in the Stone, which is all about Arthur's boyhood with Merlin as his tutor. It's wonderful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigs Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 I should add that there is a story about Merlin as a boy--Geoffrey of Monmouth has a whole elaborate tale about Merlin being a boy without a father (his mother conceived him by an incubus) who can divine the reason why a building project keeps falling down. It's because two dragons are under that spot of ground, fighting. Then Merlin launches into a whole book of prophecies that were a big hit at the time but no one reads them now. Like Nostradamus. … Mary Stewert's Merlin Trilogyis based on Geoffrey of Monmouth. It's my favorite retelling of the Arthur / Merlin stories. A few months ago, I picked it up to just read a short passage and ended up reading the whole thing because I.could.not.put.it.down! It's probably not suitable for a child, though. Geoffrey of Monmouth is still in print is you're interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ipsey Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 I would definitely suggest The Once and Future King, by T.H. White. I don't care at all for Arthurian legend, but honestly, this book is one of my top 10 all time favorite reads. I read it every 5 years or so. The writing is brilliant. And I find the story lines compelling and very human. The first part of the book is Arthur's childhood (with Kay, and Merlin as tutor, and a whole bunch of other charming characters). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momofkhm Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 But he show is sooo good! It doesn't follow the legend at all, but well, we don't care. We love the interaction between the characters. Except according to dd who somehow watched it on-line concurrent with the BBC, everyone dies. Which is actually no surprise because everyone in Robin Hood dies too. Sometimes we hate the BBC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 I think you've already heard this, but although I love the show, I also recognize that it is totally off base in terms of the the legend of King Arthur: Arthur is not raised by his father, Merlin is older than him by a lot, Uther was not opposed to magic, etc. White's Once and Future King novel deals with the future king, but don't expect to find it matching up to what you are watching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 I would definitely suggest The Once and Future King, by T.H. White. I don't care at all for Arthurian legend, but honestly, this book is one of my top 10 all time favorite reads. I read it every 5 years or so. The writing is brilliant. And I find the story lines compelling and very human. The first part of the book is Arthur's childhood (with Kay, and Merlin as tutor, and a whole bunch of other charming characters). Yes, it's an amazing book. For clarification, The Sword in the Stone is the first part of The Once and Future King. The rest of TOFK is about Arthur as king. There is an Arthurian wiki project called Quondam et Futurus, which means Once and Future, so I thought that was neat. The wiki is still very much under construction, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 Mary Stewert's Merlin Trilogyis based on Geoffrey of Monmouth. It's my favorite retelling of the Arthur / Merlin stories. A few months ago, I picked it up to just read a short passage and ended up reading the whole thing because I.could.not.put.it.down! It's probably not suitable for a child, though. Geoffrey of Monmouth is still in print is you're interested. I love her books! I started reading them as a teenager and have reread them a few times over the past (several) decades! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 i also love the series, but its not faithful to the original story. but its still a find place to get interest up and then explore older versions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 But he show is sooo good! It doesn't follow the legend at all, but well, we don't care. We love the interaction between the characters. Except according to dd who somehow watched it on-line concurrent with the BBC, everyone dies. Which is actually no surprise because everyone in Robin Hood dies too. Sometimes we hate the BBC. The last season was not as good as the others. I didn't watch most of it but was in the room when it was on. Not quite everybody dies but it ended in such a disappointing way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 Mary Stewert's Merlin Trilogyis based on Geoffrey of Monmouth. It's my favorite retelling of the Arthur / Merlin stories. A few months ago, I picked it up to just read a short passage and ended up reading the whole thing because I.could.not.put.it.down! It's probably not suitable for a child, though. Geoffrey of Monmouth is still in print is you're interested. Just requested the first one. I have been hunting for an Arthur book I read as a teen. Absolutely loved it. This doesn't sound quite right but it does sound good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 Describe the book, mumto2, maybe we can figure it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 If anybody has any ideas I would love to find it. It gave me a lifelong love of Arthur but it was not at all typical. The Mary Stewart's were written at the right time. I went on wiki and found that she definately wrote another teen favorite of mine that I had been hoping to find-- "The Moonspinner". All I could remember was a vague story line. Not Arthur but a somewhat current book set in Crete. Lots of intrigue. Pretty excited about that one too. One of the main characters was a woman who had been Arthur's childhood companion and went on to be his mistress. They were in love. In that version he was in an arranged marriage. She was there when he was buried in the lake. Really sad. I adored it. I think the cover was green. I found it on my sil's bookshelf. Generally she read best seller's so should have been popular in the mid seventies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 My boys really love this show! It is a lot of family fun. But it is a very modern retelling of the King Arthur myths/legends. It is a complete reimagining, fun, but very different. Take some time to read some of the old legends and you will enjoy the show even more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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