The Crown Court of England and Wales is, together with the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, one of the constituent parts of the Senior Courts of England and Wales. It is the higher court of first instance in criminal cases; however, for some purposes the Crown Court is hierarchically subordinate to the High Court and its Divisional Courts.

The Crown Court sits in around 92 locations in England and Wales. The administration of the Crown Court is conducted through HM Courts Service. Previously conducted across six circuits (Midland, Northern, North Eastern, South Eastern, Wales & Chester and Western), HM Courts Service is now divided into seven regions: Midlands, North East, North West, South East, South West, London and Wales. The Wales region was identified separately, having regard to the devolved legislative powers of the Welsh Assembly Government. The Central Criminal Court at the Old Bailey, originally established by its own Act of Parliament, is part of the Crown Court, and is the venue at which many of the most serious criminal cases are heard.

The Crown Court carries out four principal types of activity: appeals from decisions of magistrates; sentencing of defendants committed from magistrates’ courts, jury trials, and the sentencing of those who are convicted in the Crown Court, either after trial or on pleading guilty. On average, defendants in custody face a waiting time of 13 weeks and 3 days. Those on bail experience greater delay, waiting on average 15 weeks and 4 days until their case is heard. Rather than speaking of a location at which ''the'' Crown Court sits, it is common practice to refer to any venue as ''a'' Crown court, e.g., Teesside Crown court.

Appeals from the Magistrates' Court

In 2003-4 the Crown Court heard 11,707 appeals against conviction and/or sentence from those convicted in the magistrates' courts. At the conclusion of the hearing the Crown Court has the power to confirm, reverse or vary any part of the decision under appeal. If the appeal is decided against the accused, the Crown Court has the power to impose any sentence which the magistrates could have imposed, including one which is harsher than the one originally imposed. There was a waiting time of just over 8 weeks for appeals; 90% of appellants waited 14 weeks or less.

Defendants committed from magistrates for sentencing

In 2003-4 the Crown Court dealt with 31,018 cases for sentencing from the magistrates. As the Magistrates' Court only has the power to impose a six-month custodial sentence or a £5,000 fine, the court has the power to commit defendants to the Crown Court for sentencing — this can be done when they are of the opinion that either the offence, or the combination of the offence and one or more offences associated with it, was so serious that greater punishment should be inflicted than the Magistrates' Court has power to impose, or, in the case of a violent or sexual offence, that a custodial sentence longer than the court has power to impose is necessary to protect the public from serious harm. Committals may also arise from breaches of the terms of a Community Rehabilitation Order or a suspended sentence of imprisonment. The court performance target is that cases committed for sentence should be heard within 10 weeks.

Trials

The Crown Court disposed of 83,247 committals for trial in 2003-4. Taking into account 29,752 cases still outstanding, the implied waiting time for trials was 18.5 weeks. This is the time between committal or lodging an appeal and the start of the Crown Court hearing. This level of delay has been gradually worsening over the last 6 years. The average time to try a case on a plea of not guilty is about 7 hours. Since the average length of a sitting day is 4.33 hours, this implies that a not guilty case takes just over the equivalent of one and a half court days.

Appeals from the Crown Court

When the Crown Court is dealing with a matter connected with a trial on indictment (i.e., a jury trial), appeal lies to the criminal division of the Court of Appeal and thence to the Supreme Court. In all other cases, appeal from the Crown Court lies by way of case stated to a Divisional Court of the High Court.

Judges

The Judges who normally sit in the Crown Court are High Court Judges, Circuit Judges and Recorders. Circuit Judges also sit in the County Court. Recorders are Barristers or Solicitors in private practice, who sit part time as Judges. The most serious cases (treason, murder, rape etc.) are allocated to High Court Judges and Senior Circuit Judges. The remainder are dealt with by Circuit Judges and Recorders, although Recorders will normally handle less serious work than Circuit Judges. The allocation is conducted according to directions given by the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.

History of the Crown Court

The Crown Court was established in 1972 by the Courts Act 1971 to replace the courts of Assize and Quarter Sessions. The Crown Court is a permanent unitary court across England and Wales, whereas the Assizes were periodic local courts heard before judges of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court, who travelled across the seven circuits into which England and Wales were divided, assembling juries in the Assize Towns and hearing cases. The Quarter Sessions were local courts assembled four times a year to dispose of criminal cases which were not serious enough to go before a High Court judge.

A Crown Court and a County Court may be located in the same building and use the same jurors. Since the establishment of Her Majesty's Courts Service in April 2005 there is an increased sharing of facilities between Crown Courts, County Courts and Magistrates' Courts.

Physical layout

At the front of the court, on a raised platform, is a large bench. This is where the judge sits. His rank can be distinguished by the colour of gown worn, and different forms of address are appropriate for different ranks of judge, with "your honour" being the most common. The judge enters from a door at the side of the platform, preceded by a cry of "court rise" from the usher or clerk of the court who sits below and in front of the judge's bench. Everyone in the court is expected to show his subjection to the Court by standing as the Judge enters and until he sits down.

Note that there is no national flag in a Crown Court, nor does the judge have a gavel. There is however a Royal Coat of Arms on the wall above the judge's bench.

The clerk of the court, who sits facing the court (that is, the same way as the judge) has their own desk with computer and telephone, used when communication is necessary with other parts of the court building (for example the jury assembly area or the cell complex).

Also in the area just in front of the judge's bench is the court reporter who also records proceedings on a stenograph, by typing keys as the witnesses speak, using special shorthand. Alternatively, if there is no stenographer, a tapelogger or shorthand writer will be there to operate the tapes and ensure that a log of the proceedings is kept.

The other member of court staff is the usher. If papers or other objects need to be passed around the court, for example notes from members of the jury, or evidence being shown to the jury, normally the usher will do this and will be the only person in the court to walk around while the court is in session.

Behind the usher, wearing black gowns and white wigs and facing the judge, will be the prosecuting and defending barristers. The defending barrister will usually be nearest the jury. They will also be likely to have laptop computers in addition to files of papers relating to the case which will be on the desk in front of them. Unlike the judge, who speaks sitting down, the barristers always stand to address the court.

Behind or alongside the barristers will sit the instructing solicitors, which in the case of the prosecution will either be a representative of the Crown Prosecution Service and/or police officer concerned with the case.

At the back of the courtroom, behind the barristers, is a semi-partitioned area known as the "dock". This is where the defendant or defendants are placed. A custody officer will be sitting with them in the dock.

Also at the back of the court, often adjacent to the dock, is a small area where the public can observe the proceedings. In some courts, notably the Old Bailey, this area is positioned above the defendant.

Taking of notes is usually forbidden in the public gallery. Members of the press must sit in the press bench, which is usually positioned alongside the prosecuting barrister. Etiquette usually requires reporters to identify themselves to the usher before taking position here and starting to write.

Alongside the defending barrister is the jury box. This is where the jury watch the case from. They will be called to it from the jury waiting area (benches next to it) to be sworn in. Once sworn they always sit in the same seat throughout the trial. If proceedings (such as legal argument about the admissibility of evidence) take place which they are not supposed to see occur, the usher will escort them into a room just outside the courtroom (probably behind the dock). Only jurors and ushers ever enter this room.

Opposite the jury box is the witness box. Witnesses stand facing the jury and give their evidence so the jury can watch their demeanor while giving it, which might help them decide if the witness is being truthful.

When the judge sends the jury to consider their verdict, the usher escorts them to a small suite consisting of a large table, 12 chairs, lavatory facilities, paper and pencils, a button with which to call the usher, (although in most courts this is done just by knocking loudly on the door) and prominent notices about not revealing deliberations to anyone else. The usher withdraws, and when the jury have arrived at a verdict, they push the button.

During deliberations only limited contact is permitted with the outside world, always via the usher. The jury will be permitted only (a) to call for refreshments, (b) to pass a note to the judge, perhaps asking for further guidance, or (c) to announce that they have reached a verdict. The judge may decide to recall them to the court to address them again at any time.

Circuits

Originally, the court was divided into six circuits as follows:

!Circuit	!Area
North Eastern
Northern	Cumberland, Westmorland, Lancashire and part of Cheshire
Midland	Staffordshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire, Derbyshire, part of Buckinghamshire, most of Oxfordshire, part of Berkshire
South Eastern	Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, most of Buckinghamshire, part of Oxfordshire, most of Berkshire, Greater London, Surrey, Sussex, Kent
Wales and Chester	Wales, and most of Cheshire
Western	Gloucestershire, part of Berkshire, Bristol, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall

See also

List of Courts in England and Wales

List of Crown Court venues in England and Wales

References

External links

CBBC Newsround Guide: http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4260000/newsid_4261000/4261014.stm

Directgov guide to the Crown Court http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/CrimeJusticeAndTheLaw/Goingtocourt/DG_196045

Category:Court systems in England and Wales Category:Senior Courts of England and Wales

de:Crown Court fr:Cour de la Couronne ja:国王裁判所 no:Crown Court sr:Краљевски суд Енглеске и Велса

Coordinates	28°36′36″N77°13′48″N
name	Peter Capaldi
birth date	April 14, 1958
birth place	Glasgow, Scotland
occupation
yearsactive	1982–present
spouse	Elaine Collins (1991 –present) }}

Peter Dougan Capaldi (born 14 April 1958) is an Academy Award and BAFTA award winning Scottish actor and film director. In 1995, his short film ''Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life'' won the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film. As an actor, he played Oldsen in ''Local Hero'', John Frobisher in ''Torchwood'' and political spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in the British TV comedy series ''The Thick of It'' and the affiliated feature film ''In the Loop''. He also portrayed Balthazar, one of the Magi, in the 2010 BBC adaptation of The Nativity.

Early life

Capaldi was born in Glasgow. His mother's family was from Killeshandra, County Cavan, Ireland, and his father's family is from Picinisco, Italy. Capaldi was educated at St Teresa's Primary School in the city's Possilpark district, St Matthew's Primary School in Bishopbriggs and at St Ninian's High School, Kirkintilloch, before attending the Glasgow School of Art.

Capaldi displayed an early talent for performance by putting on a puppet show in primary school. While still at high school he was a member of the Antonine Players, who performed at the Fort Theatre, Bishopbriggs. As an art student, Capaldi was the lead singer in the punk rock band "Dreamboys", which included the future comedian Craig Ferguson as drummer.

Career

Capaldi is best known for his portrayal of spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in the BBC sitcom ''The Thick of It'', written by fellow Scottish-Italian Armando Iannucci. Tucker is said to be largely if loosely based upon Tony Blair's right-hand man Alastair Campbell. In 2006, Capaldi was nominated for the BAFTA and RTS Best Comedy Actor Awards. He won the 2010 BAFTA Television Award for Male Performance in a Comedy Role. He also won the 2010 British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actor. A movie spin-off from ''The Thick of It'' titled ''In the Loop'' was released in 2009.

Capaldi has appeared in over forty films and television programmes since his appearance as Danny Oldsen in ''Local Hero'' (1983). He had a lead role in Ken Russell's ''The Lair of the White Worm'' (1988) and in Stephen Frears' ''Dangerous Liaisons'' (1988). He featured as Ozzy in a 1985 episode of ''Minder'' titled ''Life in the Fast Food Lane'', in which he helped Arthur Daley shift dodgy car phones that caused other radio technology nearby to malfunction.

In 1995 Capaldi won an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film and a BAFTA for ''Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life''. He also wrote ''Soft Top, Hard Shoulder'' (winner of the audience award at the London Film Festival) and wrote and directed ''Strictly Sinatra''.

He played Chief Petty Officer Grieves in the BBC Radio Ministry of Defence Comedy ''Our Brave Boys''. His first starring role on television was as Luke Wakefield, a closet gay man who imagines he has witnessed a crime, in the BBC drama series ''Mr Wakefield's Crusade''.

Capaldi played fictional ''Songs of Praise'' producer Tristan Campbell in two episodes of the sitcom ''Vicar of Dibley'' and a transvestite in ITV's ''Prime Suspect 3''. In Channel 4's 1999 series "Psychos", he played a mathematician with bipolar disorder. He made an appearance in the hit sitcom ''Peep Show'' as a university professor, starred in ''Aftersun'' with Sarah Parish, and played a prime suspect in the 2007 series of ''Waking the Dead''. In the Neil Gaiman gothic fantasy ''Neverwhere'' he portrayed the Angel Islington.

In 2007 Capaldi appeared as Mark Jenkins (Sid Jenkins' dad) in the E4 teen comedy/drama ''Skins'' where he returned for a second series in 2008 only to be killed off in the 3rd episode, and as characters in the ''Midsomer Murders'' episode "Death in Chorus" and ITV1's ''Fallen Angel''. He also appeared in the British Comedy film ''Magicians''. He played a fictional version of Caecilius in "The Fires of Pompeii", a 2008 episode of the science-fiction series ''Doctor Who''. He returned to the ''Doctor Who'' franchise in 2009, playing civil servant John Frobisher in the third series of ''Torchwood''. He also appeared as King Charles I in the Channel 4 series ''The Devil's Whore'', screened in 2008.

He provided a voice for the animated feature for ''Haunted Hogmanay'' by Kolik Films in 2006.

Capaldi directs the BBC Four sitcom ''Getting On'', written by and starring Jo Brand, Joanna Scanlan and Vicki Pepperdine, one episode of which he appeared in as a doctor. Later that same year he wrote and presented ''A Portrait of Scotland'', a documentary about 500 years history of Scottish portrait painting.

Capaldi also played Balthazar, one of the Magi, in the 2010 BBC adaptation of The Nativity.

Capaldi is also a successful audio book narrator. His many titles include several of the works of Iain Banks. He starred as Rory in the TV version of Banks' ''The Crow Road''.

Awards

In 2006, Capaldi was nominated for the BAFTA and RTS Best Comedy Actor Awards. He won the 2010 BAFTA Television Award for Male Performance in a Comedy Role. In 2011 Capaldi won Best TV Comedy Actor at the British Comedy Awards. In 1995, his short film ''Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life'' won the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film.

Personal life

In a 2009 BBC Radio 2 interview with Jonathan Ross, Capaldi described himself as having come from an "Old Labour background." He is a patron of the Association for International Cancer Research and of the Scottish children's charity the Aberlour Child Care Trust. He lives in Crouch End with his wife, Elaine Collins, and their daughter.

Credits

Television

''Minder (TV series) ''C.A.T.S. Eyes'' ''Rab C. Nesbitt'' ''Ruth Rendell Mysteries'' ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'' ''Early Travellers in North America'' ''The Comic Strip''Chandler & Co'' ''The Vicar of Dibley'' ''Delta Wave'' ''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling#Film, TV, operas, and theatrical adaptations ''Psychos'' ''High Stakes (sitcom) ''In Deep'' ''Sea of Souls'' ''The Afternoon Play'' ''The Thick of It'' ''Donovan'' ''Waking the Dead (TV series) ''Skins (TV series) ''[[Doctor Who">Episode One (Skins episode) ''[[Doctor Who'' ''Torchwood'' ''Ten Minute Tales'' ''The Penguins of Madagascar''

Year	! Title	! Role	! Other notes
1984	Crown Court (TV series)>Crown Court''	Eamonn Donnelly
rowspan="3"	1985	Minder'' ||	Ozzy	Minder (TV series)#Series 6 (September–October 1985)>Life in the Fast Food Lane
''Travelling Man''
''John and Yoko: A Love Story''	George Harrison
1986	|		List of C.A.T.S. Eyes episodes#Series 2>Powerline"
rowspan="3"	1989	|	Preacher	List of Rab C. Nesbitt episodes#Series 1>Rab C. Nesbitt's Seasonal Greet"
''Shadow of the Noose''	Robert Wood
''Dramarama (TV series)	Dramarama''	British Ambassador
1990	|	Zeno Vedast	Series 1, Episode 1, 2, 3, "Some Lie and Some Die"
rowspan="3"	1991	|	Claude Langton	List of Agatha Christie's Poirot episodes#Series 3>Wasps' Nest"
''Selling Hitler''	Thomas Walde
''Titmuss Regained''	Ken Cracken
1992	|	Robert Louis Stevenson
rowspan="3"	1993	The Comic Strip Presents...'' ||	John	The Comic Strip#List of Comic Strip films>Jealousy"
''Stay Lucky''	Robin
''Prime Suspect''
rowspan="2"	1994	|	Larry Blakeson
''The All New Alexei Sayle Show''	Time Traveller
1994	|	Tristan Campbell	Series 1, Episode 1, "[[Songs of Praise (The Vicar of Dibley)
rowspan="3"	1996	|	Dinsdale Draco
''Neverwhere''
''The Crow Road (TV series)	The Crow Road''	Rory McHoan
1997	The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'' ||	Lord Fellamar	Episodes 3 - 6
1999	|	Mark Collins	Episode 6
2001	High Stakes'' ||	Michael Calderwood	High Stakes (sitcom)#Episodes>Dream Team''
rowspan="3"	2003	|	Jeremy	Series 3, Episode 7, "Character Assassination: Part 1"
''Fortysomething (TV series)	Fortysomething''	Dr. Ronnie Pilfrey
''Judge John Deed''
rowspan="4"	2004	|	Gordon Fleming	Sea of Souls#Episode guide>Seeing Double
''My Family''
''Foyle's War''
''Peep Show (TV series)	Peep Show''
2005	|	Billy Shannon	Series 3, Episode 5, "The Singing Cactus"
2005	|	Malcolm Tucker	2005–present
rowspan="3"	2006	|	Dr. Angus Baldwin	Series 1, Episode 3
''Midsomer Murders''
''Pinochet in Suburbia''	Andy McEntee
rowspan="3"	2007	Waking the Dead'' ||	Lucien Calvin	Waking the Dead (TV series)#Series 6 (2007)>The Fall"
''Coming Up''	Joe
''Fallen Angel (UK TV series)	Fallen Angel''	Henry Appleton
2007	Skins'' ||	Mark Jenkins	Series 1, Episode 5, "2008
rowspan="4"	2008	|	Lucius Caecilius Iucundus>Caecilius	Series 4, Episode 2, "The Fires of Pompeii"
''Midnight Man (TV serial)	Midnight Man''	Trevor
''Glendogie Bogey''	Jeff Wylie
''The Devil's Whore''	Charles I of England>King Charles I
rowspan="3"	2009	|	John Frobisher	Torchwood: Children of Earth>Children of Earth" Series 3
''Getting On''	Doctor
''A Portrait of Scotland''	Presenter
rowspan="3"	2010	|	The Man	''SkyOne'' mini series
''Accused (TV series)	Accused''	Frank Ryland
''The Nativity (BBC Adaptation)''	Biblical Magi>Balthazar
rowspan="3"	2011	|	Uncle Nigel	1 episode
''The Suspicions of Mr Whicher (ITV Adaptation)''	Samuel Kent

Radio

Peter Capaldi starred alongside Jack Dee in the radio comedy, ''The News at Bedtime''. Broadcast on Radio 4.

Film

''Local Hero'' ''Turtle Diary'' ''The Love Child'' ''The Lair of the White Worm (film) ''December Bride (film) ''Soft Top Hard Shoulder'' ''Captives'' ''Bean (film) ''What Rats Won't Do'' ''The Greatest Store in the World'' ''Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War'' ''Max (film) ''Shotgun Dave Rides East'' ''Modigliani (film) ''House of 9'' ''Magicians (film) ''In the Loop (film)

Year	! Title	! Role	! Other notes
1982	''Living Apart Together''	Joe
1983	|	Oldsen
1984	|	Assistant Keeper
1987	|
rowspan="2"	1988	The Lair of the White Worm'' ||	Angus Flint
''Dangerous Liaisons''	Azolan
1991	December Bride'' ||	Young Sorleyson
1992	|	Gavin Bellini
1994	|	Simon
rowspan="2"	1997	Bean'' ||	Gareth
''Shooting Fish''	Mr. Gilzean
1998	|	Tony
1999	|	Mr. Whiskers
2000	|	Derek
rowspan="2"	2002	Max'' ||	David Cohn
''Solid Geometry (film)	Solid Geometry (TV)''	David Hunter
2003	|	Rob
rowspan="3"	2004	Modigliani'' ||	Jean Cocteau	As Peter Capaldi
''Niceland (Population. 1.000.002)''	John
''Wild Country (film)	Wild Country''	Father Steve
rowspan="2"	2005	|	Max Roy
''The Best Man''	Priest
2007	Magicians'' ||	Mike Francis
2009	In the Loop'' ||	Malcolm Tucker	Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting ActorRunner-up — Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 2009>Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated — Independent article, dated 6 October 2005 Guardian Film Profile Article on Capaldi's support of Cancer Charities [[Category:1958 births">British Independent Film Awards 2009

References

External links

Independent article, dated 6 October 2005

Guardian Film Profile

Article on Capaldi's support of Cancer Charities

[[Category:1958 births Category:Audio book narrators Category:Italian British actors Category:Italian British film directors Category:Living people Category:People from Crouch End Category:People from Glasgow Category:Scottish film actors Category:Scottish people of Italian descent Category:Scottish television actors Category:Scottish voice actors Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:People educated at St Ninian's High School, Kirkintilloch

cs:Peter Capaldi de:Peter Capaldi fr:Peter Capaldi it:Peter Capaldi pl:Peter Capaldi pt:Peter Capaldi sv:Peter Capaldi

''The Once and Future King'' is an Arthurian fantasy novel written by T. H. White. It was first published in 1958 and is mostly a composite of earlier works written in a period between 1938 and 1941.

The title comes from the inscription that, according to ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', was said by "many men" to be written upon King Arthur's tomb: the internally rhymed hexameter ''Hic iacet Arthurus, rex quondam, rexque futurus'' — "Here lies Arthur, king once, and king to be".

Plot introduction

T. H. White uses ''The Once and Future King'' as his own personal view of the ideal society. The book, most of which "takes place on the isle of Gramarye," chronicles the raising and educating of King Arthur, his rule as a king, and the romance between his best knight Sir Lancelot and his Queen Guinevere (which he spells Guenever). It ends immediately before Arthur's final battle against his illegitimate son Mordred. Though White admits his book's source material is loosely derived from Sir Thomas Malory's ''Le Morte d'Arthur'' (''The Death of Arthur''), he reinterprets the epic events, filling them with renewed meaning for a world enduring the Second World War.

The book is divided into 4 parts:

''The Sword in the Stone'' (1938)

''The Queen of Air and Darkness'' (1939) (published separately in somewhat different form as ''The Witch in the Wood'')

''The Ill-Made Knight'' (1940) (which is the longest book and focuses mostly on the character Lancelot)

''The Candle in the Wind'' (First published in the composite edition, 1958)

A final part called ''The Book of Merlyn'' (written 1941, published 1971) was published separately (ISBN 0-292-70769-X) following White's death. It chronicles Arthur's final lessons from Merlyn before his death, although some parts of it were incorporated into the final editions of the previous books.

An often quoted passage from the book is the story that the badger calls his "dissertation," a retelling of the Creation story from Genesis.

Plot summary

The story starts in the last years of the rule of king Uther Pendragon. The first part, ''The Sword in the Stone,'' chronicles Arthur's raising by his foster father Sir Ector, his rivalry and friendship with his foster brother Kay, and his initial training by Merlyn, a wizard who lives through time backwards. Merlyn, knowing the boy's destiny, teaches Arthur (known as "Wart") what it means to be a good king by turning him into various kinds of animals: fish, hawk, ant, goose, and badger. Each of the transformations is meant to teach Wart a lesson, which will prepare him for his future life.

In fact, Merlyn instills in Arthur the concept that the only justifiable reason for war is to prevent another from going to war, and that contemporary human governments and powerful people exemplify the worst aspects of the rule of Might.

Note that neither the ant nor goose episodes were in the original ''Sword in the Stone'' when it was published as a stand-alone book. The original novel also contains a battle between Merlyn and sorceress Madam Mim that was not included in ''The Once and Future King'' but that was included in the Disney film.

In part two, ''The Queen of Air and Darkness'', White sets the stage for Arthur's demise by introducing the Orkney clan and detailing Arthur's seduction by their mother, his half-sister Morgause. While the young king suppresses initial rebellions, Merlyn leads him to envision a means of harnessing potentially destructive Might for the cause of Right: the Round Table.

The third part, ''The Ill-Made Knight,'' shifts focus from King Arthur to the story of Sir Lancelot and Queen Guenever's forbidden love, the means they go through to hide their affair from the King, and its effect on Elaine, Lancelot's sometime lover and the mother of his son Galahad.

''The Candle in the Wind'' unites these narrative threads by telling how Mordred's hatred of his father and Agravaine's hatred of Sir Lancelot caused the eventual downfall of King Arthur, Queen Guenever, Sir Lancelot, and the entire ideal kingdom of Camelot.

The book begins as a quite light-hearted account of the young Arthur's adventures, Merlyn's incompetence at magic, and King Pellinore's interminable search for the Questing Beast. Parts of ''The Sword in the Stone'' read almost as a parody of the traditional Arthurian legend by virtue of White's prose style, which relies heavily on anachronisms. However, the tale gradually changes tone until ''Ill-Made Knight'' becomes more meditative and ''The Candle in the Wind'' finds Arthur brooding over death and his legacy.

Characterization in the work

Perhaps most striking about White's work is how he reinterprets the traditional Arthurian characters, often giving them motivations or traits more complex or even contradictory to those in earlier versions of the legend. For example:

Lancelot is no longer the handsome knight typical in the romantic legends but is instead portrayed as the ugliest of that lot. He is also a sadist, a trait he represses, but which leads to bouts of self-loathing. He seeks to overcome his flaws through full devotion towards becoming Arthur's greatest knight.

Merlyn lives through time backwards, making him a bumbling yet wise old man who is getting younger.

Sir Galahad is not well liked by many of the Knights as he is truly perfect - to the point of being 'inhuman'.

White allows Thomas Malory to have a cameo appearance towards the end of the final book. Also of note is his treatment of historical characters and kings as mythological within the world that he creates. In addition, due to his living backwards, Merlyn makes many anachronistic allusions to events in more recent times; of note are references to the Second World War, telegraphs, tanks, and "an Austrian who … plunged the civilized world into misery and chaos" (i.e. Hitler).

Reception

Fantasy historian Lin Carter wrote, "...the single finest fantasy novel written in our time, or for that matter, ''ever'' written, is, must be, by any conceivable standard, T. H. White's ''The Once and Future King''. I can hardly imagine that any mature, literate person who has read the book would disagree with this estimate. White is a great writer."

Film, television and theatrical adaptations

Although they initially purchased the film rights to ''The Ill-Made Knight'' in 1944, when Walt Disney eventually produced an adaptation it was of ''The Sword in the Stone'', released in 1963. This movie reflects more the sense of humour of Disney's team of animators than White's. The movie adds a more comical side to the original story, including song and dance, as in most Walt Disney films. Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's 1960 musical ''Camelot'' (which was made into a movie in 1967) is based mostly on the last two books of ''The Once and Future King'', and features White's idea of having Thomas Malory make a cameo appearance at the end, again as "Tom of Warwick".

Other references to The Once and Future King

The X-Men comics mention ''The Once and Future King'' several times, notably in the first issue of "The X-Tinction Agenda" story arc, which mentions that the book is Professor Charles Xavier's favorite, and that Xavier always saw himself as Merlyn, the teacher guiding the hero(es), rather than as a hero himself. In the ''Ultimate X-Men'' comics, the book is a metaphor for Magneto, an extremely powerful mutant terrorist. This is carried over into the 2003 film ''X2: X-Men United'', which begins one scene with Magneto reading an old copy of ''The Once and Future King'' in his prison cell. At the end of the film, Xavier is using the book as a teaching tool.

The television series ''One Tree Hill'' quotes the book in episode 202. The main character, Lucas, in a voiceover says, "T. H. White said perhaps we all give the best of our hearts uncritically, to those who hardly think about us in return."

The Once and Future King featured prominently in the film adaptation of Rodman Philbrick's "Freak the Mighty." Max Kane and Kevin Dillon bond through the book, and inspired by Dillon's fits of fancy, the two embark on a quest to embody the heroic qualities of King Arthur.

This book is referred to in the 2006 film Bobby. Edward Robinson, played by Laurence Fishburne, relates the novels depiction of King Arthur to the selfless and chivalrous qualities of Jose Rojas, as played by Freddy Rodriguez.

Lev Grossman's book ''The Magicians'' includes a long sequence where magicians-in-training are transformed into geese, a "direct and loving homage" to Wart's transformation in The Sword in the Stone.

The George Romero film ''Knightriders'' references ''The Once and Future King'' as the inspiration for a traveling Camelot of motorcycle riding knights aspiring to the code of chivalry.

See also

Totalitarian principle

References

External links

publication history at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database website

''The Once and Future King'' Study Guide at Wikibooks

''NLS/BPH: Minibibliographies, The Once and Future King'' by T. H. White

Essay: "The Importance of the Second World War to T.H. White's ''Once and Future King''".

1958 review by Ken Slater

Category:1958 novels Category:Modern Arthurian fiction Category:British fantasy novels

de:Der König auf Camelot it:Re in eterno nl:The Once and Future King sv:Svärdet i stenen (bok)