View source for The Warlord Chronicles

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{{Update|date=July 2020}}
{{short description|Series of novels by Bernard Cornwell}}
[[File:Arth_tapestry2.jpg | thumb | right | alt=An old-looking tapestry of a man with a long brown beard, wearing a crown and a blue outfit with three golden crowns on the front | King Arthur, as depicted in the “Christian Heroes Tapestry”]]
'''''The Warlord Chronicles''''' or '''''The Warlord Trilogy''''' is a series of three novels about [[Arthurian]] [[Sub-Roman Britain|Britain]] written by [[Bernard Cornwell]]. The story is written as a mixture of [[historical fiction]] and [[Arthurian legend]]. The books were originally published between 1995 and 1997 by [[Penguin Books|Penguin]] and [[Michael Joseph (publisher)|Michael Joseph]] in the United Kingdom and by [[St. Martin's Press]] in the United States. It has been adapted for television as ''[[The Winter King (TV series)|The Winter King]]''.

==Books in the trilogy==
* ''[[The Winter King (Cornwell novel)|The Winter King]]'' (1995)
* ''[[Enemy of God (novel)|Enemy of God]]'' (1996)
* ''[[Excalibur: A Novel of Arthur|Excalibur]]'' (1997)

==Treatment of legend and history==
{{quote|Once upon a time, in a land that was called Britain, these things happened ... well, maybe. ''The Warlord Trilogy'' is my attempt to tell the story of Arthur, 'Rex Quondam Rexque Futurus', the Once and Future King, although I doubt he ever was a king. I suspect he was a great warlord of the sixth century. Nennius, who was one of the earliest historians to mention Arthur, calls him the 'dux bellorum' - leader of battles or warlord.|Bernard Cornwell<ref name="webCornwell">{{cite web| title=Cornwell's own comment on the Warlord series| last=Cornwell| first=Bernard| work=Bernardcornwell.net| url=http://www.bernardcornwell.net/index2.cfm?page=1&seriesid=4| access-date=2007-10-02| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070911235612/http://www.bernardcornwell.net/index2.cfm?page=1&SeriesId=4| archive-date=2007-09-11}}</ref>|source=}}

The story is written as if it took place in [[Dark Age]] Britain as described in the original Welsh legends, with appropriate types of technology, culture, warfare, and attitudes. Cornwell also weaves later additions such as [[Merlin]] and [[Lancelot]] into the plot.

Like other interpretations of the Arthurian legends, the series postulates that post-[[Roman Britain]] was a difficult time for the native Britons, who were threatened by invasion from the [[Anglo-Saxons]] in the East and raids from the Irish in the West. At the same time, they suffered internal power struggles between their petty kingdoms. Like [[Marion Zimmer Bradley]] in her novel ''[[The Mists of Avalon]]'', Cornwell also presumes friction occurred between the old [[Druidry|Druidic]] religion and [[Christianity]].

The [[protagonist]] of the series is Derfel Cadarn (pronounced Derv-el), based on the part-legendary [[Saint Derfel]] and on [[Bedivere]]. Cornwell's Derfel is a Saxon prince brought up as a Briton by [[Merlin (wizard)|Merlin]], the greatest of all Druids. In the course of the story, he becomes a great warrior and one of Arthur's warlords in his war against the Saxons. Derfel is one of Arthur's closest advisers and friends, and casts [[Excalibur]] into the sea after the [[Battle of Camlann]]. Merlin, meanwhile, concerns himself with trying to restore the [[Celtic mythology|old gods]] of Britain.

Other characters from the Arthurian mythos are given significant twists. For example, Lancelot, always portrayed as the most virtuous and the mightiest of Arthur's knights, here is depicted as an arrogant, cowardly, and self-serving petty prince, whose legendary feats and martial prowess are crafted through the songs of the bards and a fictional reputation that he himself carefully cultivates. [[Sagramor]] is a Hungarian prince in the [[Lancelot-Grail]] Cycle, but is depicted here as a [[Numidians|Numidian]] veteran of the old Roman Army who joined Arthur's service after the collapse of the Empire.

Cornwell portrays Merlin as a lecherous, driven, mischievous, and irreverent druid. His solution to the problem of integrating the magic of the Arthurian mythos in the context of historical fiction is to leave room for the reader to take the "magic" depicted in the story at face value or to interpret it as a mixture of coincidence, psychology, primitive technology, and illusion, which preys on the superstitions, religious fundamentalism, and intolerance of the time.

==Reception==
''The Warlord Chronicles'' has been acclaimed for both its storytelling qualities and its accuracy in portraying contemporary life.{{citation needed|date=January 2012}} Cornwell himself has said, "I have to confess that of all the books I have written these three are my favourites."<ref name="webCornwell" />

==Audiobooks==
Isis Audio Books and [[HarperCollins]] have published unabridged audiobook recordings of all three novels, read by Edmund Dehn and Jonathan Keeble respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/9780007582716/the-winter-king|title=The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell - Download Audio - HarperCollins}}</ref> Penguin Audiobooks have also published abridged versions of the three novels, read by [[Tim Pigott-Smith]].

==Television adaptation==
{{Main|The Winter King (TV series)}}
On 22 April 2022, [[Sony Pictures Television]] announced that their recently acquired production company [[Bad Wolf (production company)|Bad Wolf]] were adapting ''[[The Winter King (Cornwell novel)|The Winter King]]'' into a 10-part series for British television.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/global/warlord-chronicles-itv-1235345563/ | title='The Winter King,' from Sony's Bad Wolf Productions, to Debut on U.K. Streaming Platform ITVX | website=Variety | date=19 August 2022 | access-date=15 June 2023}}</ref> The series was developed for television by [[Kate Brooke]] and [[Ed Whitmore]], premiering in 2023<ref>{{cite web | url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/global/warlord-chronicles-itv-1235345563/ | title='The Winter King,' from Sony's Bad Wolf Productions, to Debut on U.K. Streaming Platform ITVX | date=19 August 2022 }}</ref> on [[ITVX]], the upcoming streaming platform from U.K. broadcaster [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]].<ref>U.K. Streaming Platform ITVX Will Launch in November 2022 - Variety</ref>

The live-action adaptation had previously been linked to [[Epix]] and One Big Picture.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/epix-the-winter-king-warlord-chronicles-adaptation-order/|title=Epix Orders King Arthur Series Based on The Warlord Chronicles|date=19 January 2020 }}</ref> On April 4, 2022, Bad Wolf announced that filming would begin in late 2022 in [[Wales]] and that the series would no longer air on Epix.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/global/warlord-chronicles-tv-series-bad-wolf-1235222799//|title='Warlord Chronicles' Gets TV Adaptation From 'His Dark Materials' Producer Bad Wolf In First Project Under Sony (EXCLUSIVE)|date=4 April 2022 }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Bernard Cornwell}}

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[[Category:The Warlord Chronicles| ]]
[[Category:Book series introduced in 1995]]
[[Category:Fantasy novel series]]
[[Category:Historical novels by series]]
[[Category:Modern Arthurian fiction]]
[[Category:Novels set in sub-Roman Britain]]
[[Category:Works by Bernard Cornwell]]
[[Category:Michael Joseph books]]