''The Book of Merlyn'' is an Arthurian

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

book by British writer

T. H. White Terence Hanbury "Tim" White (29 May 1906 – 17 January 1964) was an English writer best known for his Arthurian novels, published together in 1958 as ''The Once and Future King''. One of his most memorable is the first of the series, '' The S ...

. It is the conclusion of ''

The Once and Future King ''The Once and Future King'' is a collection of fantasy novels by T. H. White about the legend of King Arthur. It is loosely based upon the 1485 work ''Le Morte d'Arthur'' by Sir Thomas Malory. It was first published in 1958 as a collection o ...

'', but it was published separately and posthumously.

Plot summary

The book opens as

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as ...

prepares himself for his final battle.

Merlyn Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

reappears to complete Arthur's education and discover the cause of wars. As he did in '' The Sword in the Stone'', Merlyn again demonstrates

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...

and

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

to Arthur by transforming him into various animals. The last chapter of the book takes place only hours before the final battle between

and his son and nephew

Mordred Mordred or Modred (; Welsh: ''Medraut'' or ''Medrawt'') is a figure who is variously portrayed in the legend of King Arthur. The earliest known mention of a possibly historical Medraut is in the Welsh chronicle ''Annales Cambriae'', wherein h ...

. Arthur does not want to fight after everything that he has learned from Merlyn. He makes a deal with Mordred to split England in half. Mordred accepts. During the making of this deal, a snake comes upon one of Mordred's soldiers. The soldier draws his sword. The opposing side, unaware of the snake, takes this as an act of betrayal. Arthur's troops attack Mordred's, and both Arthur and Mordred die in the battle that follows.

Guenever Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First me ...

joins a convent, and remains there till death.

Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...

becomes a hermit and dies a hermit. His last miracle was making the room that he died in smell like heaven.

Concept and creation

White was inspired to write this book upon determining that the key theme of Malory's ''

Le Morte d'Arthur ' (originally written as '; inaccurate Middle French for "The Death of Arthur") is a 15th-century Middle English prose reworking by Sir Thomas Malory of tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin and the Knights of the ...

'' is to find an "antidote for war". Rather than containing a distinct plot, this book reads more like a discourse on war and human nature. White had revised '' The Sword in the Stone'' (1938), '' The Queen of Air and Darkness'' (1939), plus '' The Ill-Made Knight'' (1940) to weave in the anti-war theme. In November 1941 White sent the revisions along with ''

The Candle in the Wind ''The Candle in the Wind'' is a fantasy novel by English writer T. H. White, the fourth book in the series ''The Once and Future King''. Written in 1940, it was first published in 1958 in the collected edition. It deals with the last weeks of ...

'' (part 4) and ''The Book of Merlyn'' (part 5) to his publisher with the intent that all five parts be published together as a single book. The publisher declined due to wartime paper shortages and White's antiwar message. White salvaged parts of the rejected text by including scenes from ''The Book of Merlyn'' in the revised ''The Sword in the Stone'' part of ''The Once and Future King'' that was published in 1958.

Rediscovery and publication

The

Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the p ...

of the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

purchased the bulk of White's personal papers and manuscripts between 1967 and 1969. In 1975 the original manuscript for ''The Book of Merlyn'' was discovered amongst this collection, and was prepared for publication by the

University of Texas Press The University of Texas Press (or UT Press) is a university press that is part of the University of Texas at Austin. Established in 1950, the Press publishes scholarly books and journals in several areas, including Latin American studies, Te ...

in 1977, as ''The Book of Merlyn: The Unpublished Conclusion to The Once and Future King'', with a prologue by

Sylvia Townsend Warner Sylvia Nora Townsend Warner (6 December 1893 – 1 May 1978) was an English novelist, poet and musicologist, known for works such as ''Lolly Willowes'', '' The Corner That Held Them'', and '' Kingdoms of Elfin''. Life Sylvia Townsend Warner w ...

and illustrations by Trevor Stubley.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Book Of Merlyn, The Modern Arthurian fiction 1977 British novels 1977 fantasy novels British fantasy novels Works based on Merlin Novels published posthumously Novels by T. H. White University of Texas Press books