Postmodernism likes to present stories from the point of view of minor characters of the original version. These are called apocryphal or non-canonical stories, which are commonly considered as dubious regarding veracity, accuracy and authenticity. In the case of the Arthurian tradition, one reason for the emergence of apocryphal versions is the contradictory figure of King Arthur. In spite of the fact that the cycle is named after him, Arthur plays a surprisingly little, unessential and inactive part in the stories compared to his knights. ―King Arthur is generally inactive in the so called ‗Arthurian‘ romances of the Middle Ages . . . Arthur himself never takes part in any knightly activities, but is merely a symbol of chivalry, nobility and justice‖ (The Death of King Arthur 16). This thesis is based on three postmodernist Arthurian adaptations: Robert Nye‘s Merlin, Peter Vansittart‘s Lancelot and the film The Mists of Avalon which is based on Marion Zimmer Bradley‘s novel of the same title. In the centre of these works there are the three most interesting and ambiguous, originally minor characters – namely Merlin, Lancelot and Morgain le Fay – thus the thesis is going to be an investigation of what new approaches and readings these adaptations offer to the original Arthurian tradition.