Novel trilogy by Guy Gavriel Kay
The Fionavar Tapestry is a book series of fantasy novels by Canadian author Guy Gavriel Kay, published between 1984 and 1986. The novels are set in both contemporary Toronto and the secondary world of Fionavar.
Premise.
Five University of Toronto senior law and medical students who are drawn into the 'first world of the Tapestry' by the mage Loren Silvercloak. Once there, each character discovers their own role and destiny in the framework of an ancient conflict.
Books in the series.
Secondary.
"Ysabel", while not part of "The Fionavar Tapestry" proper, features two of the same characters and often refers to the events of the trilogy.
Characters.
Arthurian characters.
The story borrows elements of medieval literature, particularly King Arthur, who is known to the characters in the books as "The Warrior". Other notable inclusions are Lancelot and Guinevere. Parts of the story focuses on reenactment of the Arthurian stories.
Themes.
Kay's central concept in the novels is that Fionavar is the first of worlds, particularly in a mythological sense; the sagas and tales of other worlds originate (or culminate) in this most primary of settings. Because of this, what happens in Fionavar ripples into other worlds—thus, the victory or defeat of Rakoth Maugrim has immediate importance for Fionavar and implications for the fictional Earth within the trilogy.
The story puts an emphasis on the importance of free will, as demonstrated in Jennifer's decisions to keep Darien and later to send Lancelot away, Finn's choice to follow his destiny with Owein and the Wild Hunt, Paul and Kevin's acceptance of the role of sacrifice (though in different ways), Diarmuid's decision to take the final battle with Uathach on himself enabling Arthur to survive the last battle, and the importance of Darien's ultimate choice of allegiance at the end. When the Baelrath (the "Warstone"), a ring given to Kim by Ysanne which is crafted to call various powers into the battle against the Dark, demands that Kim summon and bind the secret power in the Dwarves' sacred lake of Calor Diman, she refuses due to her characterized moral reasons.
Another theme is that of forgiveness. For example, Arthur has long since forgiven Guinevere and Lancelot; throughout the series, one of Paul's goal is to learn to forgive himself for his girlfriend Rachel's death; Galadan, in the end, is forgiven his evil past and offered a second chance; Darien at the end understands his mother's treatment of him and forgives her.
One prominent theme is power and the price one pays for it. Often in the book, the price for power lies with someone else, as witnessed by the sources to the mages; as well as Kim's summoning power, the fee is often paid by whatever or whoever was summoned.
References and inspirations.
Real world.
Stonehenge is featured in the second book. The ancient caves of Dun Maura are inspired by the Oracle at Delphi as well as prehistoric caves such as Lascaux. The association of blood with magic (Kevin/Liadon, the "avarlith") are inspired by ancient mythologies. The Dalrei are shown to share many aspects of Native American lifestyle, beliefs and ritual, including being nomadic, and the significant role of shamans. 
Tolkien.
Fionavar has many similarities to J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, and may have been directly influenced by it (Kay worked with Christopher Tolkien to edit "The Silmarillion" and prepare it for publication). The map of Fionavar shares many similarities to that of Tolkien's world.
Myths and legends.
The stories incorporate, directly or indirectly, several other myths, the most direct being King Arthur, with Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere/Jennifer, who in the story works out their love triangle and atones for their sins. Kay uses a fragment of the Arthurian cycle, the May Babies, to explain Arthur's punishment of repeated rebirth/death in battle against evil, as shown in "[T]he Weaver had marked him down for a long unwinding doom. A cycle of war and expiation under many names, and in many worlds, that redress be made for the children and for love" (WF, p.40). The grey dog who fights Galadan to protect Paul is shown to be Cavall, a dog from King Arthur's stories. Lancelot's encounter with Leyse of the lios alfar, her love for him, and subsequent departure by boat for the lios alfar's home in the West is a retelling of the tale of Lancelot and Elaine of Astolat. When Leyse of the Swan Mark, a member of the lios alfar, gives up her life as a result of her hopeless love for Lancelot, she lies down in a boat and sails away, which is a retelling of Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott," and the story of Elaine.
The powerful oak known as the Summer Tree is similar to Yggdrasil, the World Ash Tree of Norse mythology. Norse elements also appear in Mörnir, who, with his twin ravens Thought and Memory (Odin's Huginn and Muninn), and the epithet "of the Thunder," is inspired by a combination of Thor and Odin. The lios alfar (light elves) and svart alfar (dark elves) are influenced by the Scandinavian Álfar.
The Cauldron of Khath Meigol and its powers of resurrection are inspired by Welsh mythology's tale of the Cauldron of Annwn. A number of the deities may have Celtic or Welsh roots: Paul is known as Pwyll after his sacrifice, while Macha and Nemain are directly taken from Irish mythology. The wild boar that attacks Kevin, marking him as Liadon, closely resembles the Twrch Trwyth. Cader Sedat, the island where the renegade mage Metran works his dark magic in "The Wandering Fire", is the analogue of Caer Sidi from the poem Preiddeu Annwfn, a poem that is, in the trilogy, ascribed to Taliesin, one of the names used by Flidais.
The Wild Hunt was a folk myth prevalent in former times across Germany, the Sub-Roman Britain and also Scandinavia.
The entrapment of Rakoth Maugrim the Unraveller is similar to one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, "The Journey to the West". In the prologue of "The Summer Tree", Rakoth Maugrim is bound by five wardstones and imprisoned under Mount Rangat.
References.
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