Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
Are the Boy Scouts a type of "Round Table Lite"? You decide. Check out how Lord Baden-Powell (whom White namedrops a few times), the founder of the Boy Scouts, modeled his new organization after Arthurian principles. Too bad horses and armor aren't standard issue! (Source.)
Think that hunchback of Mordred's is all White's invention? Think again. Our medieval guys were considering this hundreds of years ago. Mordred is called "the Malebranche" in some medieval versions of the story. This means "the misbegotten" or "the misshapen," both of which fit. (Source.)
White really immersed himself in medieval culture, translating medieval bestiaries (books about fantastical beasts), learning falconry, and going deep-sea diving in a heavy suit similar to a knight's armor. (Source.)
George A. Romero's (yes... Night of the Living Dead Romero) 1981 schlockfest Knightriders gives a shout out to The Once and Future King. The book is cited as the inspiration behind the founding of a hawg-riding group of knights. (Source.)
You might be tempted to think that Disney threw in Madam Mim to amp up the hilarity of The Sword in the Stone, but White included her in his original version of the novel, though not in The Once and Future King version. (Source.)
Does White's Merlyn remind you of Albus Dumbledore? Well, J.K. Rowling has called Wart a precursor to her Harry Potter (which might make Merlyn a model for her now-famous wizard). (Source.)