The Queen of Air and Darkness, originally titled The Witch in the Wood is a novel by English writer T. H. White. It is the second book in his epic work, The Once and Future King. It continues the rise of the newly-crowned King Arthur, his tutorage by the wise Merlyn, his war against King Lot, and also introduces the Orkney clan, a group of characters who would become essential in the eventual downfall of the king. First published in 1939, it was rereleased under the new title after some editing.
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Title
The title describes the evil Morgause, who is a witch from the Orkney islands where she rules as queen. She has four sons but does not care for them, and prefers to practice her magic. She serves as the main villain for this book and as a secondary villain for the next book, The Ill-Made Knight.
Plot
The Queen of Air and Darkness is the second book in the four-part work The Once and Future King which chronicles White's own version of the legend of King Arthur. Although it is the shortest book in the series, it is a vital point in the story for several reasons:
- Arthur invents the idea of the Round Table, which was central to the plot of the third and fourth books.
- Arthur also defeats barons those rebelling against him, thereby securing his role as king.
- Arthur's understanding of "might vs. right" is explored more deeply in this book.
- The Orkney faction is introduced. These four children (Gawain, Agravaine, Gaheris, and Gareth) become major characters for the rest of White's work.
- King Pellinore gets married and has several children who will become important in The Ill-Made Knight.
The novel begins with the four Orkney children, Gawaine, Agravaine, Gaheris, and Gareth, telling each other stories late at night. As they speak, it becomes clear that they have great respect and love for their mother, the beautiful Queen Morgause, although she does not seem to care much for them, being more concerned about abusing her magic powers whilst her husband, King Lot, is off to war against King Arthur. We also learn that Arthur's father, Uther Pendragon, had raped Morgause's mother, Igraine, making Morgause Arthur's half-sister. Arthur is still being tutored by Merlyn, although it seems that the relationship between the two has changed. Instead of seeing Merlyn as an almighty sage, Arthur treats him as more of a friend throughout the novel. Despite this, Merlyn still attempts to teach Arthur how he can create a perfect society out of his newly-formed kingdom. Arthur is unimpressed, and would rather be off fighting wars than taking care of peasants. Meanwhile, back in the Orkney Isles, the four Orkney children are bored and seek a story from their own tutor, St. Toirdelbach. After he tells them a story, it is clear that he is a very different teacher than Merlyn. He quickly becomes annoyed with the boys, and threatens to hit them with his shelleleigh if they refuse to leave him alone. This is one of White's best examples of how different the loveless childhoods of the Orkney children were from the happy childhood of Arthur. As the children are walking on the beach after visiting St. Toirdelbach, a magic barge pulls to the shore and out walk Sir Grummore Grummursum and King Pellinore, two characters who had provided much comic relief in the previous book. Along with them is a Saracen knight named Sir Palomides who has apparently befriended them between the previous book and the current landing on the Orkney islands. It appears that Pellinore is lovesick, and is so distracted that he doesn't even wish to hunt the Questing Beast, his lifelong passion. Arthur, meanwhile, is preparing for the battle against Lot's Gaelic warriors which lies ahead. He has begun to buy into the idea of chivalry, and of "might vs. right." He announces to Merlyn that he plans to first put down Lot's rebellion and then use that power to enforce justice throughout his kingdom. Morgause is pleased that the three bumbling knights have landed because they have no idea that England is at war with Orkney. She takes advantage of their ignorance and attempts to make them fall in love with her. She goes hunting for a unicorn with the knights, which requires the use of a virgin. Despite what her sons think, she of course does not fit this description, and no unicorn is caught. The boys consult St. Toirdelbach and then attempt to catch a live unicorn to present to their mother, and they almost succeed until Agravaine undergos a fit of rage and kills the beast. The other three brothers are angry, but only Gareth feels sorry for the unicorn. The other two are only angry because they worry that Agravaine may have ruined rewards which they believed they would receive if they brought Morgause a unicorn. As it turns out, Morgause is not pleased at all that they succeeded where she failed; on the contrary, she has them whipped. Meanwhile, on the plains of Bedegraine, Arthur is making final preparations for his battle. Arthur announces his idea of the round table, and Merlyn informs Arthur that another king has such a table. Ironically, this king is the father of Arthur's future wife, Guenever (sic). Sir Kay, Arthur's foster-brother, says that he believes that if war will help the conquered race to live a better life, they should be conquered. Merlyn angrily informs him that there is a certain Austrian who shared Kay's views, and "plunged the world into bloody chaos." This is an allusion to Adolf Hitler. Sir Palomides and Sir Grummore are both worried about King Pellinore's lovesickness to a woman who lives in a land they had recently visited. They decide that something must be done. After several comical mishaps, they create a suit which resembles the Questing Beast, and plan to inform Pellinore that it has been spotted on the island. Their plan backfires and the real Questing Beast shows up. It then chases them up a steep cliff, where they are stuck in the uncomfterable suit for the whole night. Meanwhile, Morgause, frustrated that the knights have not fallen for her, decides that her children matter more to her. Gareth rushes to the stables to tell his brothers that she loves them, and he arrives to find that Gawaine and Agravaine are in a heated argument. Agravaine wants to send a letter to Lot, informing him of the three knights and telling Lot that Morgause is cheating on him. Gawaine is infuriated by the idea, and he considers it betrayal to their mother whom he is deathly loyal to. The argument climaxes until Agravaine pulls out a hidden knife, resulting in him nearly being killed by Gawaine. White explains that Gawaine was never able to get over these kind of sudden passions he underwent, and that they would plague him for life. Merlyn knows that his time with Arthur is nearly up, and he knows that he will soon be locked up for a thousand years. Arthur is distressed, and asks why Merlyn can't avoid the imprisonment that awaits him. Merlyn tells Arthur a parable which explains that no-one can escape fate (the famous story of a man who learns of his death, then rides to escape death, but ends up running into Death while escaping.) He also warns Arthur about Guinvere and Lancelot, but Arthur is too saddened by Merlyn's departure to take the warning to heart. Early the next morning, King Pellinore is walking alone on the beach when he spots Palomides and Grummore stuck on the cliff, with the Questing Beast waiting for them below. He explains that the beast has fallen in love with them, and refuses to slay the creature. Therefore, he simply holds it down while Grummore and Palomides make a break for Morgause's castle. Pellinore is then reunited with Piggy, the woman he had been in love with. He returns to the castle to find that they Questing Beast is waiting outside the castle for Palomides to come back outside (Palomides was the head of the suit he and Grummore wore, therefore the Beast is in love with him.). Palomides eventually takes up Pellinore's role of the hunter and pursues the Questing Beast for most of his life. At the same time as all these events, Arthur is battling against Lot in a fateful battle which would decide who would rule Britain. Arthur makes a sneaky ambush in the night and manages to overcome Lot, despite the difference in numbers. He also attacks the knights first rather than the foot soldiers, and also has assistance from two French kings named Bans and Bors. With their help he wins the battle. The defeated Lot returns home, and the three English knights are shocked to learn that Orkney has been at war with England. Morgause heads south to England in order to reconcile with the English, and brings with her the four children and the three knights. Pellinore's wedding to Piggy is held by Arthur, who remembered Pellinore as being the first knight he ever met. At the same time, St. Toirdelbach also has a marriage. After the ceremony, Morgause seduces Arthur and becomes pregnant. It is then that Merlyn, far away in North Humberland, remembers that he had forgotten to tell Arthur that Morgause was Arthur's half-sister. Therefore, Arthur's adultery is also incest, a very grave sin. Morgause becomes pregnant with Mordred, who will one day come to ruin his father's kingdom.
The Witch in the Wood
The Queen of Air and Darkness is less than half the length of the original The Witch in the Wood.
