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Clarence
Clarence is the name that Hank gives to the page (Amyas le Poulet) and he assists Hank on his arrival in 6th century England. Clarence becomes his trustworthy ally and narrates the final main chapter. -
Guenever
The queen: she is the wife of King Arthur and the lover of Launcelot. She plays only a minimal role in this novel, but it is her love for Launcelot (and his for her) that is the catalyst for the end of the legend of the Knights of the Round Table -
Hank Morgan
Hank is the eponymous 'Yankee' and is the main narrator of the novel. He is also known as The Boss and Sir Boss. It is his adventures as a time-traveller from the 19th century, arriving unexpectedly in the 6th century, which form the basis of the plot. In his 19th Century life he worked as a superintendent in an arms factory and he uses these skills in his new life as 'perpetual minister' to King Arthur. -
Hello-Central
: This is the daughter of Hank and Sandy. When she becomes ill, her parents decide to take her to France to help her recover. Whilst they are in France, war breaks out between King Arthur and Sir Launcelot and the Church takes command. -
King Arthur
King Arthur, for the most part, is described as somewhat dim and childlike. However, once he and Hank travel incognito as freemen, Hank begins to perceive that the king is also brave and compassionate at times. This is most evident when the king helps a woman dying from small pox in Chapter XXIX. -
Lord Grip
Lord Grip rescues King Arthur and Hank from a mob, but goes on to sell them into slavery. His name confirms the level of power the nobility have in this society. -
Marco
Marco and his wife, Phyllis, take the king and Hank into their home when both characters are disguised as freemen. Marco had been involved with the hanging of several men when he joined the equivalent of a lynch mob. He tells Hank he joined this group as he was afraid not to: as a 'member' of the lynch mob he would avoid being accused of setting fire to the manor house. This fear becomes evident to the king and Hank after Hank's dinner party at Marco's house. Marco and Phyllis become afraid of the two strangers and call in a mob to chase them off. -
Merlin
Merlin the magician is Hank's main rival in the 6th century. He is wittily described as a charlatan and bore and has revenge on Hank in the final pages of the novel. Merlin's jealousy of Hank is one of the narrative's most humorous strands as Twain refuses to respect the mythologies surrounding the tales of the Round Table. -
Morgan Le Fay
The estranged sister of King Arthur, and wife of King Uriens, she is notable for her cruelty and murderous temperament. Sandy and Hank visit her castle whilst on their way to find the ogres who have taken damsels captive. Because of their visit, the readers are given Hank's first-hand account of her off-hand decisions to murder and imprison. -
M.T.
It is implied that this is Mark Twain. He is the first narrator of the novel and he explains how he has come across a stranger (Hank) at Warwick Castle and is given the manuscript of his adventures. He is also the final narrator of the novel when the time shifts again to the present. With his words being used at the beginning and end of the text, this is a framed narrative. That is, the novel is framed by the words of this narrator, as Hank dominates the rest of the space. -
Sandy (Alisande)
Sandy first appears in the novel when she arrives at Camelot to tell of the three ogres who are holding 44 damsels as captives. Hank becomes her unwilling travelling companion to rescue these damsels when King Arthur states that Hank should accept this adventure to make him a worthy opponent for Sir Sagramor. By the end of the novel, Hank marries Sandy and they have a child together, who is named Hello-Central. -
Sir Launcelot
Hank characterizes Sir Launcelot as kind and generous. This is the only knight who escapes Hank vitriolic criticism and for this point alone Hank remains true to the spirit of the tales of the Round Table: Sir Launcelot's heroic reputation is preserved by Twain. Sir Launcelot is infamously also the lover of Guenever. -
Sir Sagramor
This knight challenges Hank to battle with him in the early stages of the novel. Years later, once Sir Sagramor has returned from his failed quest to find the Holy Grail, their confrontation takes place. Hank shoots him finally and this brings us back to the beginning of the novel to where the stranger (Hank) points out the bullet hole in Sir Sagramor's chain mail to M.T. and blames himself for it.
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