An obvious fact when you read the third book in the Wheel of Time Series, The Dragon Reborn, is that it resembles the legend of King Arthur drawing Excalibur out of the stone. The point of this article is to show just how many similarities there are between the two. Some of the parallels are easy to see, others require actual research into the topic of King Arthur.

The first one is about the Dragon and King Arthur. Their names alone are similar, Rand al'Thor and Arthur. Also, what they do and who they are, is extremely similar. According to the most commonly told story, Arthur was the son of a British King (Uther Pendragon) and a beautiful princess (sources provide conflicting information here, but it was either Igraine, Ygraine or Ugraine*). Rand's father was an Aiel clan chief, the equivalent of a king, and Tigraine, the Daughter heir of Andor (princess), was his mother.

The name Tigraine bears close resemblance to Igraine, and all the aristocracies seem to be substituted for an equivalent. Arthur's father was killed shortly after his birth and he was taken away from his mother to be raised in secret. The same is true for Rand, although his mother died and he was taken away from his father.

As a young man, Arthur proved his sovereignty of Britain by pulling a magical sword, Excalibur, out of a stone, where it had been magically set and only the true king could take it. Similarly, Rand practically proved himself to be the Dragon Reborn by taking Callandor from the Stone of Tear. Not only are the stories near identical, the swords themselves seem to be the same in name and properties. After Arthur managed to draw Excalibur, he was accepted as the rightful king and set up a great palace, Camelot, with a company of knights united in their commitment to fellowship (symbolised by the Round Table) and Christian ideals of Goodness. When Rand took Callandor, the Tariens accepted him and he set up the Black Tower and the Asha'man (which means "One who defended truth and justice for everyone, a guardian who would not yield even when hope was gone,") in Caemlyn.

Caemlyn and Camelot are also parallels, they are both the seats of government for their country and they have spiralling towers and excellent stonemanship that makes them look magnificent and breathtaking.

Several other characters and creatures have similar names or properties. Queen Morgase of Andor is akin to Queen Morgause in Arthur's Legend. Morgase has a son named Gawyn and Queen Morguase has a son called Gawain. Morgase's son Galad, also has a parallel in the Arthurian Legends, he is called Sir Galahad. Sir Galahad, like Galad, is the epitome of good and righteousness to the point of dislike.

Egwene al'Vere's name is like that of Guinevere, lover of Sir Lancelot. This is an example of how cunningly Robert Jordan has hidden the Legends in his story.

The Light is not the only affected area of the Wheel of Time Series, Shadowspawn are also part of the Arthurian Legends. Cabal is a hound who, when hunting a boar named Troynt, left his footprint imprinted in stone. This is consistent with the Dark One's Darkhounds. The Darkhounds are part of the Wild Hunt with the Dark One. The Wild Hunt is also mentioned in books concerning Arthur, though it is a group that is lead by Arthur in Devon, England. This seems to be a parallel of Deven Ride in the Two Rivers.

Moraine Damodred Sedai has a resemblance to Merlin's character as well, except for the obvious gender difference. Both have similar names and Merlin was adviser to Arthur where Moraine was to Rand al'Thor. Merlin was a magician who guided Arthur and his ancestors to get what he wanted, and for a while Moraine, who can channel, manoeuvred Rand to declare himself as the Dragon Reborn and get Mat to blow the Horn of Valere.

In the Wheel of Time Series, all the dead heroes, like Lews Therin Kinslayer, are called back by the Horn of Valere, which will be blown at the Tarmon Gai'don in their hour of need. All the heroes from the Arthurian legends are supposedly waiting at the Isle of Avalon until they will come out when the world needs them most.

The Eye of the World might have been a variation of the Grail, as only those who looked for no glory and were needful could find it. This is similar to the Grail where only those who were pure and wanted no glory could find and behold it.

And lastly, Artur Hawkwing's real name is Artur Paendrag and King Arthur's name is Arthur Pendragon. These two names are closely related and show how close the two stories are related together. Since Robert Jordan has called Artur this, I think he will have significance in the overall storyline of the Wheel of Time Series.

Robert Jordan's books doubtlessly have a lot of other parallels that I have not included or found relating to the Arthurian and other Legends. He has very cleverly hidden them within the books, and only one who had researched the topic could find most of them. Robert Jordan himself is history buff and would have researched it, but it is up to you to decide it is a Good or Evil thing that he has done.

*Although sources contradict each other on her name, it is generally Igraine that is chosen. The names may have been the same once, but due to countless re-tellings it could easily have been altered unintentionally.