A King and His Court: Fact and Fantasy
In A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Mark Twain wrote a satiric fantasy about a 19th century Yankee master mechanic who wakes up in 6th century Britain. The observations of the main character, Henry Morgan, could be similar to those of a first-time foreign visitor to the White House and Congress. Through personal narration, the reader accompanies Morgan from mild amusement and curiosity to gradual recognition of the cruelty, ignorance and superstition which prevails in Camelot.
Through the course of the story, Morgan uses guile and his technical and scientific knowledge to unseat the wizard Merlin and force King Arthur to grant him authority over the kingdom second only to his. In this version of King Arthur's court, Merlin is depicted as a wicked old fraud. As the King's magistrate, Morgan begins to modernize the country. However, most of these endeavors were conducted in secret. He established schools and factories. With the help of his students, he secretly wired the country for telephone and telegraph. He instituted many inventions and organizations: a patent office, factories, soap, advertising, schools, mining, telegraph, telephone, bicycle, typewriter, phonograph, sewing machines, steam power, electricity, and newspapers.
` In the last four chapters of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, the church placed all England under an interdict while Morgan vacationed in Europe. When Morgan returned to Camelot, all the lights were out and all traffic and commerce had vanished. The church ordered all England to march against him. When the church turned the country against him, Morgan employed mines, electric charges, a man-made flood, gatling guns, and other lethal machinery to massacre the 25,000 knights who attacked him. Morgan's entire force consisted of only 52 young men. King Arthur's old order and sixth century knight-errantry perish in this l...