How The ‘Harry Potter’ Series Was Informed by ‘The Once and Future King’
The ‘Harry Potter’ series is the most successful literary series of all times, according to Forbes. With over 600 million copies sold worldwide, it is safe to say that the majority of people all over the world are familiar with the name Harry Potter. Written by J.K. Rowling and first published in 1997, this series is successful at world-building, character depth, and plot development. It is truly a unique and well-written story, but every story owes part of its success to the stories that inspired it. Rowling credits T.H. White’s ‘The Once and Future King’ as a major inspiration for her series. The ‘Harry Potter’ series is informed by ‘The Once and Future King’ through the use of the fantastic, the mentor characters, and the importance of significant swords.
The ‘Harry Potter’ series is informed by ‘The Once and Future King’ through the use of the fantastic. The “fantastic” is one of the elements that make up a fairytale. These can include elves, witches, and phoenixes, to name a few. Both series have mythical half-eagle creatures. In the 1958 version of ‘The Once and Future King’, a griffin is part of an attack. Griffins are creatures with the body of a lion and the head, wings, and claws of an eagle. In ‘Harry Potter’, a hippogriff is an animal Harry learns about in class. Hippogriffs are creatures with the body of a horse and the head, wings, and claws of an eagle. According to ‘Pottermore’s Guide to Hippogriffs’, “Hippogriffs are created when a griffin mates with a horse,” (Rowling, Paragraph 9). This is a direct reference to White’s work. Furthermore, In ‘The Once and Future King’, birds are a significant part of the story. There are hawks, owls, and phoenixes. Merlin, a wizard, has a tawny owl named Archimedes who can talk. In ‘Harry Potter’, owls are a crucial part of the storyline, as one of Harry’s best friends is his owl Hedwig, and owls are mail carriers. In ‘Harry Potter’, another important fantastic creature is Professor Albus Dumbledore’s phoenix Fawkes. Fawkes and Archimedes, being the magical birds of the two mentor characters, seemingly mirror each other. Witches and wizards are another type of fantastic creatures in fairytales, with Albus Dumbledore and Merlin being two significant wizards in their respective series.
That being said, the ‘Harry Potter’ series is further informed by ‘The Once and Future King’ through the descriptions and personalities of the main mentor figures. In ‘The Once and Future King’, Merlin is Arthur’s mentor. Andrew Blake points out, “Another prototype for Harry can be found in the medieval legend of young King Arthur… until he is guided by Merlin, an older and wiser man who has magical powers, into his inheritance of power and majesty. T.H. White’s twentieth-century version of this story, The Once and Future King… is among Harry’s many sources,” (17). Both Merlin and Dumbledore are powerful wizards that assist Arthur and Harry in their academics, magical abilities, and rise to fame and power, and both are similar in appearance. When White first introduces Merlin, he describes, “He was dressed in a flowing gown… He also had… horned-rimmed spectacles. Merlyn had a long white beard and long white moustaches which hung down on either side of it. His mild blue eyes, very big and round,” (22-23). The first thing Merlin says is, “‘Do you like peaches?’” (23). When Dumbledore is first introduced in ‘The Sorcerer's Stone’, he is described as, “He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground… His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles,” (Rowling, 8). One of the first things he says is, “‘Would you care for a lemon drop?’” (Rowling, 10). Both wizards are mentors for Harry and Arthur. Franziska Becker states, “The most obvious connection between Merlin and Dumbledore is the fact that both appear as mentors, advisors, and father figures to two young men whose fate it is to save their respective worlds… [Merlin] serves as a diplomat, counselor, strategist, and uses the psychology of love and honour to motivate others. All of these attributes can also be found in the headmaster of Hogwarts. He guides, teaches, and protects Harry from evil,” (53). In addition, both wizards know how and when death will be coming to them, are linked to the deaths of their siblings, and have absent fathers. White’s characterization of Merlin was evidently a major inspiration in Rowling’s creation of Dumbledore.
Lastly, the ‘Harry Potter’ series is informed by ‘The Once and Future King’ through the use of significant swords. ‘The Sword in the Stone’ was a novel written by White that later became the first part of ‘The Once and Future King’ tetralogy. The sword in the stone is a legend that says whoever is able to pull the sword Excalibur out of the stone will become the next king. This legend says that only those worthy of this will be able to retrieve it. In ‘Harry Potter’, the Sword of Gryffindor is an enchanted sword that can only be retrieved by a worthy Gryffindor. In both their respective series, Harry and Arthur are able to claim these swords - both brave, powerful, and worthy. Another parallel between the swords has to do with lakes. King Arthur is offered a replacement Excalibur by the Lady of the Lake. She pulls it out of the water for him when Arthur visits, and Arthur later returns the sword to the lake. In ‘Deathly Hallows’, Harry pulls the Sword of Gryffindor out of a lake. Later on, Severus Snape returns the sword to the forest lake. Both of these swords are crucial tools to both Arthur and Harry, and prove their deservingness of said swords.
There are myriad similarities between these two stories, and it is clear that Rowling took a lot of inspiration from White’s writing. ‘The Once and Future King’ had a large impact on the creation of the ‘Harry Potter’ series, as stated by Rowling herself. ‘The Once and Future King’ informed the ‘Harry Potter’ series through the use of the fantastic, the mentor characters, and the importance of significant swords.
Works Cited
Becker, Franziska. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter: A Revival of the Arthurian Legend?. Tectum
Verlag, 2017.
Blake, Andrew. The Irresistible Rise of Harry Potter. Verso, 2002.
https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/45365/1004072.pdf?sequence=3#page=52
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books, 1998.
Rowling, J.K. Pottermore’s guide to Hippogriffs. Wizarding World, 2017.
https://www.wizardingworld.com/features/pottermore-guide-to-hippogriffs
White, T.H. The Once and Future King. New York: Ace Books, 1987.
Yongo, Sunghnen. The 30 Greatest Book Series of All Time. Forbes, 2024.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/entertainment/article/best-book-series/