EPIX will adapt author Bernard Cornwell's 'Arthurian' trilogy, "The Warlord Chronicles", including "The Winter King", "Excalibur" and "Enemy Of God", showing 'magic' as a mixture of coincidence, psychology, primitive technology and illusion falling on the superstitions, religious fundamentalism and intolerance of the era:
"Once upon a time, in a land that was called Britain, these things happened ... well, maybe," said Cornwell. "'The Warlord Trilogy' is my attempt to tell the story of 'Arthur', 'Rex Quondam Rexque Futurus', the 'Once and Future King', although I doubt he ever was a king. I suspect he was a great warlord of the sixth century. 'Nennius', who was one of the earliest historians to mention Arthur, calls him the 'dux bellorum', the 'leader of battles' or 'warlord'..."
"Post-Roman Britain was a difficult time for the native Britons, being threatened by invasion from the Anglo-Saxons in the East and raids from the Irish in the West. At the same time, they suffered internal power struggles between their petty kingdoms.
"'Derfel Cadarn' is a 'Saxon', raised as a 'Briton' by 'Merlin', the greatest of all 'Druids' who becomes a great warrior and one of Arthur's warlords in his war against the Saxons.
"Eventually Derfel casts 'Excalibur' into the sea after the 'Battle of Camlann', while Merlin concerns himself with trying to restore the old gods of Britain..."
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