Title A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

1889 frontispiece by Daniel Carter Beard
Author	Mark Twain
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Humor, alternate history, science fiction, fantasy
Publisher	Charles L. Webster
Released	1889
Media type	Print (Hardcover, Paperback)
ISBN	NA

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is an 1889 novel by American humorist and writer Mark Twain. The work is a very early example of time travel in literature, anticipating by six years H. G. Wells' The Time Machine of 1895 (however, unlike Wells, Twain does not give any real explanation of his protagonist's travelling in time). Some early editions are entitled A Yankee at the Court of King Arthur. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (4147x2642, 1335 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs Court ... Daniel Carter (Uncle Dan) Beard (June 21, 1850– June 11, 1941) was an American illustrator, author, and social reformer from Covington, Kentucky. ... Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910),[1] better known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American humorist, satirist, writer, and lecturer. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Look up Humour in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Alternate history (fiction) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Smaug in his lair: an illustration for the fantasy The Hobbit Fantasy is a genre of art that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... See also: 1888 in literature, other events of 1889, 1890 in literature, list of years in literature. ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. ... A humorist is an author who specializes in short, humorous articles or essays. ... The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910),[1] better known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American humorist, satirist, writer, and lecturer. ... Time travel is a concept that has long fascinated humanity—whether it is Merlin experiencing time backwards, or religious traditions like Mohammeds trip to Jerusalem and ascent to heaven, returning before a glass knocked over had spilt its contents. ... Herbert George Wells (September 21, 1866 – August 13, 1946), better known as H. G. Wells, was an English writer best known for such science fiction novels as The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man and The Island of Doctor Moreau. ... The Time Machine is a novel by H. G. Wells, first published in 1895, later made into two films of the same title. ... 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Plot summary

The novel tells the tale of Hank Morgan, a 19th century citizen of Hartford, Connecticut who awakens to find himself inexplicably transported back in time to early medieval England at the time of the legendary King Arthur in AD 528. Twain describes King Arthur and his court as English, although the mythological king was Celtic. Hank uses his comprehensive technological knowledge and Yankee ingenuity to modernize the superstitious, brutal and ignorant old English society and advance himself. While successfully printing newspapers, mounting soap advertisements on knights and initiating industrialization, Hank's efforts are eventually undone by entrenched power embodied in the Roman Catholic Church. Modern society's own darker side is finally exhibited as Hank and his cadre of specially indoctrinated teenagers use gatling guns and electric fences to butcher tens of thousands of knights from an entrenched bunker. With Hank's technologies expunged, Merlin, portrayed previously as an utter charlatan, somehow transports him back to the present. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Justinians wife Theodora and her retinue, in a 6th century mosaic from the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. ... The British Isles in the year 802 Medieval Britain is a term used to suggest that there is a unity to the history of Great Britain from the 5th century withdrawal of Roman forces from the province of Britannia and the Germanic invasions, until the 16th century Reformations in the... A bronze Arthur in plate armour with visor raised and with jousting shield wearing Kastenbrust armour (early 15th century) by Peter Vischer, typical of later anachronistic depictions of Arthur. ... Events February 13 - Justinian appoints a commission (including the jurist Tribonian) to codify all imperial laws that were still in force from Hadrian to the current date. ... Brython and Brythonic are terms which refer to indigenous, pre-Roman, Celtic speaking inhabitants of most of the island of Great Britain, and their cultures and languages, the Brythonic languages. ... The term Yankee currently refers to people from or in New England; by extension it is applied to any resident of the Northeast (New England, Mid-Atlantic, and upper Great Lakes states), to any Northerner during and after the American Civil War, or to other citizens of the United States. ... The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see terminology below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins to the original Christian community founded by Jesus Christ and led by the Twelve Apostles, in particular Saint Peter. ... Indoctrination is instruction in the fundamentals of a system of belief (such as a philosophy, religion or science). ... Gatling gun illustrated in an 1885 encyclopedia in Swedish http://www. ... An electric fence is a barrier that uses painful or even lethal high-voltage electric shocks to deter animals or people from crossing a boundary. ... A statue of an armoured knight of the Middle Ages For the chess piece, see knight (chess). ... Bunkers in Albania A bunker is a defensive military fortification. ... Merlin is best known as the wizard featured in Arthurian legend. ... Look up Charlatan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

With its anachronistic technology, such as the telegraph, bicycle, etc., the book has a claim to being the first steampunk tale. It is also recognized as one of the first time travel stories ever written, and is the first time travel story in which the character goes backwards in time. Look up Anachronism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Telegraphy (from the Greek words tele = far away and grapho = write) is the long distance transmission of written messages without physical transport of letters, originally over wire. ... “Velo” redirects here. ... A rocket lands on the moon in Le Voyage dans la Lune, the film adaptation of Jules Vernes From the Earth to the Moon. ...

Commentary

While parts of the book poke fun at contemporary society, the main thrust is a satire of romanticized ideas of chivalry and of the idealization of the Middle Ages such as was common in 19th century literature, most notably perhaps in the novels of Sir Walter Scott, for whom Twain had a particular dislike, blaming his romanticization of battle for the decision of the Southern United States to fight the American Civil War.^{[citation needed]} For example, the book portrays the medieval English as being very gullible, as when Merlin makes a "veil of invisibility", which according to him will make the wearer imperceptible to his enemies, though friends can still see him. The knight Sir Sagramor wears it to fight Hank, who pretends he cannot see Sagramor for effect to the audience. 1867 edition of the satirical magazine Punch, a British satirical magazine, ground-breaking on popular literature satire. ... Bors Dilemma - he chooses to save a maiden rather than his brother Lionel Chivalry[1] is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... For the first Premier of Saskatchewan see Thomas Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott (August 14, 1771 - September 21, 1832) was a prolific Scottish historical novelist and poet popular throughout Europe. ... Historic Southern United States. ... This article is becoming very long. ... Sir Sagramore is a Knight of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. ...

Critic Brian Attebery feels Twain's brutal social commentary undermines the two-fold satire of the story:

The very bludgeoning to which the ideals are exposed makes the satire less than effective. Hank describes himself as void of sentiment and poetry, acts in a rather Philistine manner, and despite being swept centuries into the past and across the ocean, refuses to believe that magic exists. Being unwilling to yield, he is unable to compromise with Camelot on anything, leading to chaos, and in the end, though he characterizes Merlin as a 'doddering old fool', Merlin is able to send him back with a few passes in the air. Philistinism is a derogatory term used to describe a particular attitude or set of values. ...

—Brian Attebery, The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature.^[1]

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

This famous story has been adapted to stage, feature-length motion pictures, and animated cartoons numerous times since the beginning of the 20th century. It was made into the 1929 musical A Connecticut Yankee by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. In 1931, it was made into a film, A Connecticut Yankee, starring Will Rogers. In 1949, a new musical film appeared Bing Crosby and Rhonda Fleming, this time with music composed by James Van Heusen and Victor Young. In 1970, the book was adapted into an animated 74-minute tv special of the same name directed by Zoran Janjic. For other uses see film (disambiguation) Film refers to the celluliod media on which movies are printed Film — also called movies, the cinema, the silver screen, moving pictures, photoplays, picture shows, flicks, or motion pictures, — is a field that encompasses motion pictures as an art form or as... An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn (or made with computers to look similar to something hand-drawn) film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot (even if it is a very short one). ... A Connecticut Yankee was a 1927 musical by Rogers and Hart, based upon A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs Court, a novel by American humorist Mark Twain. ... Rodgers and Hart was the songwriting team consisting of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. ... Will Rogers. ... Harry Lillis Bing Crosby (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer and actor whose career lasted from 1926 until his death in 1977. ... Rhonda Fleming Rhonda Fleming (born August 10, 1923), nicknamed the Queen of Technicolor, is an American actress. ... James Van Heusen (January 26, 1913 - February 7, 1990), often credited as Jimmy Van Heusen, was an American composer. ... Victor Young (August 8, 1900 - November 10, 1956) was an Jewish-American composer, violinist and conducter. ...

It has also inspired many variations and parodies. One of many is the 1995 Walt Disney Studios adaptation of the book into a feature film under the name A Kid in King Arthur's Court. As the title suggests, the protagonist of the Disney film is considerably younger than Twain's original character. In 1998, Whoopi Goldberg starred as the protagonist in A Knight in Camelot, as a physicist who is somehow accidentally sent back in time during an experiment gone bad. She procures the people's respect after predicting a solar eclipse by checking her computer, which was sent back in time with her along with other "convenient" things in her backpack. In 2001, actor and comedian Martin Lawrence portrayed Jamal/Skywalker, an American miniature golf park employee who goes back in time to 14th century England in the film Black Knight. Additionally, Twain's novel was extrapolated by Sam Raimi in the third installment of the Evil Dead film trilogy, Army of Darkness. 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) is one of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world. ... A Kid in King Arthurs Court is a 1995 film directed by Michael Gottlieb, and produced by Walt Disney Studio Entertainment. ... Whoopi Goldberg (born Caryn Elaine Silverstein, November 13, 1955),[1] is an American comedian, film actress and radio DJ. Goldberg is one of only a few individuals (including Barbra Streisand, Mel Brooks, Rita Moreno, Audrey Hepburn and Helen Hayes) who have won an Academy Award, a Tony, an Emmy, and... Photo taken during the 1999 eclipse. ... Martin Fitzgerald Lawrence (born April 16, 1965, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany) is an American actor, comedian, director and producer. ... Black Knight (2001) is a comedy film starring Martin Lawrence. ... -1... Army of Darkness (also known as The Medieval Dead, Bruce Campbell vs. ...

Anticipation of World War I

In the battle depicted in the last part of the book, thousands of medieval knights get massacred when trying to storm a strongpoint equipped with machine guns and surrounded by barbed wire. Stripped of Twain's obvious and intentional anachronism, the scene seems a quite accurate prediction of what was to happen in the battles of World War I, two decades after the book's publication. This article is becoming very long. ...

Creation of a science fiction subgenre

Twain's book could be considered to have (unintentionally) founded an entire sub-genre of science fiction, characterized by the depiction of a modern time traveller arriving at an ancient society, anachronistically introducing modern technologies and institutions and completely changing its character.

The best-known example is L. Sprague de Camp's Lest Darkness Fall in which an American archaeologist of the 1930s arrives at Ostrogothic Italy and manages to prevent the Dark Ages by introducing printing and other modern inventions. Leo Frankowski wrote the Conrad Stargard series where a 20th century Pole arrives in 13th century Poland and by rapid industrialization manages to defeat the Mongol invasion, as well as completely annihilating the Teutonic Knights. Poul Anderson presented an antithesis in his story The Man Who Came Early, where a modern American who finds himself in Viking Iceland fails to introduce modern technologies despite being an intelligent, competent and well-trained engineer, and finds that in a 10th century environment 10th century technologies work best. L. Sprague de Camp from the cover of Time and Chance: an Autobiography, Donald M. Grant, 1996 Lyon Sprague de Camp, (November 27, 1907, New York City – November 6, 2000, Plano, Texas) was an American science fiction and fantasy author. ... Lest Darkness Fall is an alternate history science fiction novel written in 1939 by author L. Sprague de Camp. ... Petrarch, who conceived the idea of a European Dark Age. From Cycle of Famous Men and Women, Andrea di Bartolo di Bargillac, c. ... Leo Frankowski (born in Michigan) is an American writer of science fiction novels; he is now a resident of Russia, where he lives with his wife and adopted teenage daughter. ... Conrad Stargard is the protagonist and title character in a series of time travel novels written by Leo Frankowski. ... Honorary guard of Mongolia. ... Hermann von Salza (c. ... Poul Anderson portrayed on the cover of a special edition of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction; painting by Kelly Freas. ... Cover of The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction, Sixth Series, showing a holmgang involving Gerald Samsson. ... The term Viking commonly denotes the ship-borne warriors and traders of Norsemen (literally, men from the north) who originated in Scandinavia and raided the coasts of the British Isles and mainland Europe as far east as the Volga River in Russia from the late 8th-11th century. ...

Another antithesis was presented by Ford Madox Ford in his Ladies Whose Bright Eyes, where the time traveller, in spite of being a trained engineer, lacks the technical know-how to develop modern technology from scratch in medieval society. After some half-hearted attempts he "goes native" and make a credible effort at becoming a knight. A new twist was introduced by S. M. Stirling in the Nantucket books and Eric Flint in the 1632 series, where it is not a single modern individual but a whole modern community (American in both cases) which is transported into the past - respectively to the Bronze Age and to the Germany of the Thirty Years' War - correspondingly increasing the plausibility of their ability to influence the past. In the view of some, this entire subgenre shares with Twain's original book the widespread mindset which regarded Western culture of its time as inherently superior to all other cultures, past and present. Specifically, it was asserted that Stirling's "Nantuckars" are depicted as embarking on colonial empire-building in the Bronze Age. Ford Madox Ford (December 17, 1873 - June 26, 1939) was an English novelist and publisher. ... Ladies Whose Bright Eyes is a novel by Ford Madox Ford. ... Stephen Michael Stirling is a Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author. ... Stephen Michael Stirling is a Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author. ... Eric Flint (born California, USA, 1947) is an American science fiction, alternate history, and fantasy author and editor. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Western World. ... In general, the word colonial means of or relating to a colony. In United States history, the term Colonial is used to refer to the period before US independence. ...

See also

• Solar eclipses in fiction
• List of films based on Arthurian legend

This is a list of fictional stories in which solar eclipses feature as an important plot element. ... Films based on the Arthurian legend are many and varied. ...

References

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

• A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. The complete, fully illustrated text online
• SparkNotes on the book
• A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, available at Project Gutenberg.
• Free audiobook from LibriVox
• Mark Twain and Technology