A Yankee at the Court of King Arthur characters

Also known as The Boss

Appears from the start

A practical, mechanically gifted superintendent from nineteenth-century Connecticut. After a blow to the head, Hank wakes in sixth-century Britain and treats its customs, institutions, and legends as problems to be solved with modern knowledge.

Appears from the start

The knight who captures Hank after his arrival near Camelot. Kay interprets Hank's clothes and behavior through the assumptions of Arthur's world and brings him to court as a prisoner.

First appears in chapter 2

The ruler of Camelot and head of the Round Table. Arthur is dignified and personally brave, yet accepts the inherited hierarchy and superstitions of his age as natural until Hank begins exposing him to other conditions.

First appears in chapter 3

A young page at Arthur's court who befriends Hank and supplies essential information about the time and place in which he has awakened. Bright and adaptable, Clarence quickly becomes Hank's trusted assistant.

First appears in chapter 3

Camelot's established magician and prophet. Merlin's authority rests on the court's faith in magic, so Hank's arrival and seemingly impossible feats threaten both his prestige and his influence.

First appears in chapter 4

One of the Round Table's most celebrated knights. Launcelot represents the chivalric ideal admired at court, combining personal courage and fame with the privileges of the noble order Hank means to reform.

First appears in chapter 10

A knight of the Round Table who takes himself and the rules of chivalry seriously. After a quarrel with Hank, he becomes a persistent rival whose challenge is postponed while Hank builds his position in Camelot.

Also known as The Demoiselle Alisande la Carteloise

First appears in chapter 11

A determined young noblewoman who asks Hank to rescue captive ladies from a castle. He calls her Sandy and accompanies her on an errand whose chivalric descriptions do not always match what his modern eyes perceive.

First appears in chapter 16

Arthur's formidable sister and the ruler of her own domain. Morgan receives Hank and Sandy with royal ceremony, but her casual use of arbitrary punishment reveals how little security ordinary people possess under absolute power.

First appears in chapter 2

Arthur's queen and a central figure in the prestige and ceremony of Camelot. She belongs to the noble court whose splendor Hank observes alongside its rigid customs and inequalities.

First appears in chapter 30

A poor charcoal burner who hosts Hank and the disguised king as they travel among common folk. His household shows the visitors how taxation, insecurity, and enforced deference weigh on an ordinary labourer's life.

First appears in chapter 31

A prosperous master blacksmith met during the travels in disguise. Dowley is proud of his status and wealth, making him a useful example of the limits of social and economic understanding in Arthur's Britain.

First appears in chapter 42

Arthur's rebellious nephew and eventual opponent. Mordred's challenge emerges during the political collapse that follows the exposure of the court's deepest divisions.