Document Arthur
Content
Le Morte d'Arthur
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[hide]This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these
issues on the talk page.
This article is written like a personal reflection or opinion essay that states
the Wikipedia editor's particular feelings about a topic, rather than the
opinions of experts. (November 2011)
This article may need to be rewritten entirely to comply with Wikipedia's
quality standards. (December 2012)
The Last Sleep of Arthur in Avalon (begun 1881), detail, by Edward BurneJones (d. 1898), greatly influenced by Le Morte d'Arthur throughout his
career.
Le Morte d'Arthur (originally spelled Le Morte Darthur, Middle French for “the
death of Arthur”[1]) is a compilation by Sir Thomas Malory of traditional tales
about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, and the Knights of the
Round Table. Malory interprets existing French and English stories about these
figures and adds original material (the Gareth story).
First published in 1485 by William Caxton, Le Morte d'Arthur is today perhaps
the best-known work of Arthurian literature in English. Many modern
Arthurian writers have used Malory as their principal source, including T. H.
White in his popular The Once and Future King and Tennyson in The Idylls of
the King.
Contents
1 Life of Sir Thomas Malory
2 Publication history
2.1 The Winchester Manuscript
2.2 Style and Themes of Le Morte D'Arthur
3 Summary
3.1 Book I: “From the Marriage of King Uther unto King Arthur that
Reigned After Him and Did Many Battles” (Caxton I–IV)
3.2 Book II: “The Noble Tale Between King Arthur and Lucius the
Emperor of Rome” (Caxton V)
3.3 Book III: “The Noble Tale of Sir Launcelot Du Lac” (Caxton VI)
3.4 Book IV: “The Tale of Sir Gareth of Orkney” (Caxton VII)
3.5 Book V: “The First and the Second Book of Sir Tristrams de Lione”
(Caxton VIII–XII)
3.6 Book VI: “The Noble Tale of the Sangreal” (Caxton XIII–XVII)
3.7 Book VII: “Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere” (Caxton XVIII–XIX)
3.8 Book VIII: “The Death of Arthur” (Caxton XX–XXI)
4 Later publications
5 Reception
6 Bibliography
6.1 The work itself
6.2 Commentary
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
Life of Sir Thomas Malory
Sir Thomas Malory was born between the years 1400-1410 to Sir John Malory,
of Newbold Revel, Warwickshire. Sir Thomas inherited the family estate in
1434 after his father Sir John died. After this, he turned to a life of crime with
long periods of imprisonment. In 1433 he was indicted for the first time for
theft and his crimes continue from there. In 1450 it was alleged that he was
involved in an attempted murder, robbery, rape, extortion, and cattle raid. He
was imprisoned in Coleshill which he then escaped and robbed the Cistercian
monastery. Malory was once again arrested in 1454, but two years later he
was released through a royal pardon.
There is a degree of difficulty while trying to talk about a historical figure
because there aren't many definite facts about him, aside from police reports
and public affiliation. The only definite pieces of information that people
today have are his criminal history, his work in the military and parliament,
and his stories. His career reads more like an account of continuous crime
and punishment rather than an example of chivalry. His date of birth and
early years are obscure, and the first time he enters the records in 1439 and
is knighted by 1441. He may have possibly served in France in the later
stages of the Hundred Years War. During his life he held various public office
positions, including that of a member of parliament. He was arrested for the
last time in 1460 at the Newgate prison. He wrote his last story Le Morte
d'Arthur in 1469
In regards of Le Morte d'Arthur and his other Arthurian work, there have been
numerous comments that inform us that he wrote in prison, completing this
work in the year of 1469-70. The mismatch of Malory’s life and the idea of
chivalry presented in his work has lead to attempts to find a better suited
candidate for its authorship, but none have been proven to be interesting or
concrete. Sir Thomas Malory died in prison on 14 March 1471. Afterwards
William Caxton published Le Morte d'Arthur on 31 July 1485 [2]
Publication history
Title page (N.C. Wyeth) for The Boy's King Arthur: Sir Thomas Malory's History
of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, Edited for Boys by Sidney
Lanier (1922).
Elizabeth Bryan speaks of Malory's contribution to Arthurian Legend in her
introduction to Le Morte D'Arthur, “Malory did not invent the stories in this
collection; he translated and compiled them...Malory in fact translated
Arthurian stories that already existed in thirteenth-century French prose (the
so-called Old French Vulgate romances) and compiled them together with at
least one tale from Middle English sources (the Alliterative Morte Arthure and
the Stanzaic Morte Arthur) to create this text.”[3]
He called the full work The hoole booke of kyng Arthur & of his noble
knyghtes of the rounde table, but Caxton instead titled it with Malory's name
for the final section of the cycle. Modernized editions update the late Middle
English spelling, update some pronouns, and repunctuate and reparagraph
the text. Others furthermore update the phrasing and vocabulary to
contemporary Modern English. Here is an example (from Caxton's preface) in
Middle English and then in Modern English:
Doo after the good and leve the evyl, and it shal brynge you to good fame
and renomme.[4]
Do after the good and leave the evil, and it shall bring you to good fame
and renown.[5]
The Middle English of Le Morte D'Arthur is much closer to Early Modern
English than the Middle English of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. If the spelling
is modernized, it reads almost like Elizabethan English.
The first printing of Malory's work was made by Caxton in 1485. Only two
copies of this original printing are known to exist, in the collections of the
Morgan Library & Museum and the John Rylands Library.[6] It proved popular,
and was reprinted, with some additions and changes, in 1498 and 1529 by
Wynkyn de Worde who succeeded Caxton's press. Three more editions were
published before the English Civil War: William Copland's (1557), Thomas
East's (1585), and William Stansby's (1634), each of which contained
additional changes and errors (including the omission of an entire leaf).
Thereafter the book went out of fashion until the Romantic revival of interest
in all things medieval; the year 1816 saw a new edition by Walker and
Edwards, and another one by Wilks, both based on the 1634 Stansby edition.
Davison's 1817 edition, which was promoted by Robert Southey, was based
on Caxton's 1485 edition or on a mixture of Caxton and Stansby. Davison was
the basis for subsequent editions until the discovery of the Winchester
Manuscript.
Caxton separated Malory's eight books into 21 books; subdivided each book
into a total of 507 chapters; added a summary of each chapter and added a
colophon to the entire book.[7] Malory's eight tales are:
The birth and rise of Arthur: “From the Marriage of King Uther unto King
Arthur that Reigned After Him and Did Many Battles”
King Arthur's war against the Romans: “The Noble Tale Between King
Arthur and Lucius the Emperor of Rome”
The book of Lancelot: “The Tale of Sir Launcelot du Lac”
The book of Gareth (brother of Gawain): “The Tale of Sir Gareth”
Tristan and Isolde: “The Book of Sir Tristrams de Lyons”
The Quest for the Holy Grail: “The Noble Tale of the Sangreal”
The affair between Lancelot and Guinevere: “Sir Launcelot and Queen
Gwynevere”
The breaking of the Knights of the Round Table and the death of Arthur: “Le
Morte D'Arthur”
Most of the events in the book take place in Britain and France in the latter
half of the 5th century. In some parts, the story ventures farther afield, to
Rome and Sarras (near Babylon), and recalls Biblical tales from the ancient
Near East.
The Winchester Manuscript
For the Winchester Chronicle, see Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
In June 1934, during the cataloging of the library of Winchester College,
headmaster W. F. Oakeshott discovered a previously unknown manuscript
copy of the work. Newspaper accounts announced that what Caxton had
published in 1485 was not exactly what Malory had written.[8] Oakeshott
published “The Finding of the Manuscript” in 1963, chronicling the initial
event and his realization that “this indeed was Malory,” with “startling
evidence of revision” in the Caxton edition.[9] Caxton's text and the
Winchester manuscript derive separately from an earlier copy. (Having said
this, microscopic examination revealed that ink smudges on the Winchester
manuscript are offsets of newly printed pages set in Caxton's own font, which
indicates that the same manuscript was in Caxton's print shop.[9]) The
“Winchester Manuscript” is believed to be closer on the whole to Malory's
original. In addition, it does not have the book and chapter divisions for which
Caxton in his preface takes credit.
The Malory scholar Eugène Vinaver examined the manuscript shortly after its
discovery. Although Oakeshott was encouraged to produce an edition himself,
he ceded the project to Vinaver.[9] Based on his initial study of the
manuscript, Oakeshott concluded in 1935 that the copy from which Caxton
printed his edition “was already subdivided into books and sections.”[10]
Vinaver made an exhaustive comparison of the manuscript with Caxton's
edition and reached similar conclusions. In his 1947 edition of The Works of
Sir Thomas Malory, he argued that Malory did not write a single book, but
rather a series of Arthurian tales each of which is an internally consistent and
independent work. However, scholars including William Matthews pointed out
that in his later tales Malory, a skilled redactor, introduced references to the
earlier ones, suggesting that he had wanted the tales to cohere better but
had not sufficiently revised the whole text to achieve this.[11]
The Winchester manuscript has been digitised by a Japanese team.[12]
Style and Themes of Le Morte D'Arthur
The publication of Chaucer’s work by William Caxton was a precursor to his
publication of Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur. Where the Canteberry Tales are in
Middle English, Malory extends “one hand to Chaucer, and one to Spenser”
constructing a manuscript which is hard to place in one category. Like other
English Prose in the Fifteenth century, Le Morte D’Arthur was highly
influenced by French writings, but Malory blends these with other English
verse and prose forms. Although Malory hearkens back to an age of idealized
knighthood, jousting tournaments, and grand castles to suggest a medieval
world, his stories lack any agricultural life, or commerce which makes the
story feel as if it were an era of its own.
Because there is so much lengthy ground to cover, Malory uses “so—and—
then,” often to transition his retelling.This repetition is not redundant, but
adds an air of continuity only befitting for a tale of this enormity. The stories
then become episodes instead of instances that can stand on their own.
There is an artful way in which Malory portrays Arthur by only revealing him
to us by how others are affected by his actions. This creates a man who we
cannot define, but still stands as the center of the legend, and lets our mind
move from him to the scenes around him.[13]
The themes of love and war, “are fundamental to the work of Sir Thomas
Malory. Religion—the third of the great epic themes—is admittedly and nobly
subordinated; only at the end, Guinevere, in expiation of her guilt in
destroying the Round Table, becomes a nun; and Lancelot, for love of her and
not for the love of God, takes on himself the habit of perfection.” It has been
declared that, “Malory recreated an epic story from romance,” because of his
inclusion of the mysterious and magical elements in a depiction of a world
with which Malory’s contemporaries are familiar. Through the format of a
knightly romance provides, “an idealized version of the life of the knightly
class; it is the warrior’s daydream, designed for recreation (or “solace”), not
instruction (or “doctrine”), and representing the average sensual man’s point
of view.” The forms of romantic characters used in order to create the world
of Arthur and the Round Table, “consist almost entirely of fighting men, their
wives or mistresses, with an occasional clerk or an enchanter, a fairy or a
fiend, a giant or a dwarf,” and “time does not work on the heroes of Malory.”
[14]
Summary
Book I: “From the Marriage of King Uther unto King Arthur that Reigned After
Him and Did Many Battles” (Caxton I–IV)
Arthur is born to Uther Pendragon and Igraine and then taken by Sir Ector to
be fostered in the country. He later becomes the king of a leaderless England
when he removes the fated sword from the stone. Arthur goes on to win
many battles due to his military prowess and Merlin’s counsel. He then
consolidates his kingdom.
This first book also tells “The Tale of Balyn and Balan”, which ends in
accidental fratricide, and the begetting of Mordred, Arthur’s incestuous son
by his half-sister, Morgause (though Arthur did not know her as his halfsister). On Merlin's advice, and reminiscent of Herod's killing of the innocents
in scripture, Arthur takes every newborn boy in his kingdom and sends them
to sea in a boat. The boat crashes and all but Mordred, who later kills his
father, perish. This is mentioned matter-of-factly, with no apparent moral
overtone. Arthur marries Guinevere, and inherits the Round Table from her
father Leodegrance. At Pentecost, Arthur gathers his knights at Camelot and
establishes the Round Table company. All swear to the Pentecostal Oath as a
guide for knightly conduct.
In this first book, Malory addresses 15th century preoccupations with
legitimacy and societal unrest, which will appear throughout the rest of the
work. As Malorian scholar Helen Cooper states in Sir Thomas Malory: Le Morte
D'arthur - The Winchester Manuscript, the prose style (as opposed to verse),
which mimics historical documents of the time, lends an air of authority to
the whole work. She goes on to state that this allowed contemporaries to
read the book as a history rather than as a work of fiction, therefore making it
a model of order for Malory's violent and chaotic times during the War of the
Roses. Malory's concern with legitimacy reflects the concerns of 15th century
England, where many were claiming their rights to power through violence
and bloodshed. Genealogy was a way to legitimize power in a less arbitrary
manner, and Malory calls this into question.
Book II: “The Noble Tale Between King Arthur and Lucius the Emperor of
Rome” (Caxton V)
This book, detailing Arthur's march on Rome, is heavily based on the Middle
English Alliterative Morte Arthure, which in turn is heavily based on Geoffrey
of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae. The opening of Book V finds Arthur
and his kingdom without an enemy. His throne is secure, his knights have
proven themselves through a series of quests, Sir Lancelot and Sir Tristan
have arrived and the court is feasting. When envoys from Emperor Lucius of
Rome arrive and accuse Arthur of refusing tribute, “contrary to the statutes
and decrees made by the noble and worthy Julius Caesar”, Arthur and his
knights are stirring for a fight. They are “many days rested” and excited, “for
now shall we have warre and worshype.” Arthur invokes the lineage of Ser
Belyne and Sir Bryne, legendary British conquerors of Rome, and through
their blood lineage demands tribute from Lucius under the argument that
Britain conquered Rome first. Lucius, apprised of the situation by his envoys,
raises a heathen army of the East, composed of Spaniards and Saracens, as
well as other enemies of the Christian world. Rome is supposed to be the seat
of Christianity, but it is more foreign and corrupt than the courts of Arthur and
his allies. Departing from Geoffrey of Monmouth's history in which Mordred is
left in charge, Malory's Arthur leaves his court in the hands of Sir Constantine
of Cornwall and an advisor. Arthur sails to Normandy to meet his cousin Hoel,
but he finds a giant terrorizing the people from the holy island of Mont St.
Michel. This giant is the embodiment of senseless violence and chaos, a
monster who eats men and rapes women to death. He uses sex as a violent
act of control and appetite, divorced from sensuality or reason. Arthur battles
him alone, an act of public relations intended to inspire his knights. The fight
is closely documented by Malory, a blow-by-blow description of blood and
gore. The giant dies after Arthur “swappis his genytrottys in sondir” and “kut
his baly in sundir, that oute wente the gore”. When Arthur does fight Lucius
and his armies it is almost anticlimactic, when compared to his struggles with
the giant. Arthur and his armies defeat the Romans, Arthur is crowned
Emperor, a proxy government is arranged for the Roman Empire and Arthur
returns to London where his queen welcomes him royally.
Book III: “The Noble Tale of Sir Launcelot Du Lac” (Caxton VI)
In this tale, Malory establishes Lancelot as King Arthur's most revered knight.
Among Lancelot's numerous episodic adventures include being enchanted
into a deep sleep by the sorceress Morgan le Fay and having to escape her
castle, proving victorious in a tournament fighting on behalf of King
Bagdemagus, slaying the mighty Sir Turquine who had been holding several
of Arthur's knights prisoner, and also overcoming the betrayal of a damsel to
defend himself unarmed against Sir Phelot.
These adventures address several major issues developed throughout Le
Morte Darthur. Among the most important is the fact Lancelot always adheres
to the Pentecostal Oath. Throughout this tale he assists dancing ladies in
distress and provides mercy for knights he has defeated in battle. However,
the world Lancelot lives in is too complicated for simple mandates. This can
be seen when a damsel betrays Lancelot, and he must fight Sir Phelot
unarmed. Although Lancelot aspires to live by an ethical code, the actions of
others make it difficult for the Pentecostal Oath to fully establish a social
order.
Another major issue this text addresses is demonstrated when Morgan le Fay
enchants Lancelot. This action reflects a feminization of magic along with a
clear indication that Merlin’s role within the text has been diminished. The
tournament fighting in this tale indicates a shift away from war towards a
more mediated and virtuous form of violence.
On courtly love, Malory attempts to shift the focus of courtly love from
adultery to service by having Lancelot admit to doing everything he does for
Guinevere, but never admit to having an adulterous relationship with her.
However, a close parsing of his words can perhaps allow Lancelot to retain his
honorable word, for he never says that he has not lain with the queen, but
rather that if anyone makes such a claim, he will fight them (the assumption
being that God will cause the liar to lose). Further, since Lancelot – who in all
of the book never breaks his word or lies – claims that the queen was never
untrue to her lord, then it seems to be the case that he must consider his
love of the queen to be somehow pure or special, not an act of unfaithfulness
to the king he loves and serves.
Book IV: “The Tale of Sir Gareth of Orkney” (Caxton VII)
The tale of Sir Gareth begins with his arrival at court as le bel inconnu, or the
fair unknown. He comes without a name and therefore without a past. Sir Kay
mockingly calls the unknown young man “Beaumains” and treats him with
contempt and condescension. An unknown woman, later revealed to be the
Dame Lynette, eventually comes to court asking for assistance against the
Red Knight of the Red Lands, and Gareth takes up the quest. On his quest, he
encounters the Black, Green, Red, and Blue knights and the Red knight of the
Red Lands. He kills the Black Knight, incorporates the others into Arthur’s
court, and rescues Lynette's sister Lyonesse. Lustily in love with Lyonesse,
Gareth conspires to consummate their relationship before marrying. Only by
the magical intervention of Lynette is their tryst unsuccessful, thus preserving
Gareth's virginity and, presumably, his standing with God. Gareth later
counsels Lyonesse to report to King Arthur and pretend she doesn’t know
where he is; instead, he tells her to announce a tournament of his knights
against the Round Table. This allows Gareth to disguise himself and win honor
by defeating his brother knights. The heralds eventually acknowledge that he
is Sir Gareth right as he strikes down Sir Gawain, his brother. The book ends
with Gareth rejoining his fellow knights and marrying Lyonesse.
In Book IV, there are only two knights that have ever held against Sir Lancelot
in tournament: Tristram and Gareth. This was always under conditions where
one or both parties were unknown by the other, for these knights loved each
other “passingly well.” Gareth was knighted by Lancelot himself when he took
upon him the adventure on behalf of Dame Lynette. Much later, Gareth is
accidentally slain by his beloved Lancelot when Guinevere is rescued from
being burnt at the stake by King Arthur.
Book V: “The First and the Second Book of Sir Tristrams de Lione” (Caxton
VIII–XII)
In “The Fyrste and the Secunde Boke of Syr Trystrams de Lyones,” Malory tells
the tales of Sir Tristan (Trystram), Sir Dinadan, Sir Palamedes, Sir La Cote De
Male Tayle, Sir Alexander, and a variety of other knights. Based on the French
Prose Tristan, or a lost English adaptation of it, Malory's Tristan section is the
literal centerpiece of Le Morte D’Arthur as well as the longest of the eight
books.
The book displays a very realistic and jaded view of the world of chivalry. It is
rife with adultery, characterized most visibly in Sir Tristan and the Belle
Isolde. However, it should be noted that Sir Tristan had met and fallen in love
with Isolde earlier, and that his uncle, King Mark, jealous of Tristan and
seeking to undermine him, appears to seek marriage to Isolde for just such a
hateful purpose, going so far as to ask Tristan to go and seek her hand on his
behalf (which Tristan, understanding that to be his knightly duty, does). Sir
Tristan is the namesake of the book and his adulterous relationship with
Isolde, his uncle Mark’s wife, is one of the focuses of the section. The knights,
Tristan included, operate on very personal or political concerns rather than
just the standard provided by the world of Pentecostal Oath as we have seen
it so far. One knight, Sir Dinidan, takes this so far as to run away or refuse to
fight if he sees any risk. However, it should be understood that Sir Dinidan is
a playful, humorous knight who, in later chapters, shows himself to be brave
and noble. It is unclear whether his refusals to fight are part of his comic
character or otherwise. Other knights, even knights of the Round Table, make
requests that show the dark side of the world of chivalry. In one episode, Sir
Bleoberys, one of Lancelot’s cousins, claims another knight’s wife for his own
and rides away with her until stopped by Sir Tristan. In another, when Tristan
defeats Sir Blamore, another knight of the Round Table, Blamore asks Tristan
to kill him because he would rather die than have his reputation tarnished by
the defeat.
Of all the knights, Tristan most resembles Lancelot. He loves a queen, the
wife of another. Tristan is even considered to be as strong and able a knight
as Lancelot, although they become beloved friends. Because of King Mark's
treacherous behavior, Tristran takes Isolde from him and lives with her for
some time, but he then returns Isolde to him. Nonetheless, Mark kills Tristran
while he is “harping” (Tristran is noted in the book as one of the greatest of
musicians and falconers).
Book VI: “The Noble Tale of the Sangreal” (Caxton XIII–XVII)
Malory’s primary source for “The Noble Tale of the Sangreal” is the French
Vulgate Cycle’s La Queste Del Saint Graal. Malory's version chronicles the
adventures of numerous knights in their quest to achieve the Holy Grail. The
Grail first appears in the hall of King Arthur “coverde with whyght samyte”,
and it miraculously produces meat and drink for the knights. Gawain is the
first to declare that he “shall laboure in the Queste of the Sankgreall”. He
embarks on the quest in order to see the Grail “more opynly than hit hath
bene shewed” before, and to gain more “metys and drynkes”. Likewise,
Lancelot, Percival, Bors, and Galahad undergo the quest. Their exploits are
intermingled with encounters with maidens and hermits who offer advice and
interpret dreams along the way.
After the confusion of the secular moral code as manifested in the
Pentecostal Oath within "The Fyrst and the Secunde Boke of Syr Trystrams de
Lyones", Malory attempts to construct a new mode of chivalry by placing an
emphasis on religion and Christianity in "The Sankgreal". However, the role of
the Catholic Church is drastically subverted within the text, illustrating 15thcentury England’s movement away from the Church establishment and
toward mysticism. Within the text the Church offers a venue through which
the Pentecostal Oath can be upheld, whereas the strict moral code imposed
by religion foreshadows almost certain failure on the part of the knights. For
example, Gawain is often dubbed a secular knight, as he refuses to do
penance for his sins, claiming the tribulations that coexist with knighthood as
a sort of secular penance. Likewise, Lancelot, for all his sincerity, is unable to
completely escape his adulterous love of Guinevere, and is thus destined to
fail where Galahad will succeed. This coincides with the personification of
perfection in the form of Galahad. Because Galahad is the only knight who
lives entirely without sin, this leaves both the audience and the other knights
with a model of perfection that seemingly cannot be emulated either through
chivalry or religion.
Book VII: “Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere” (Caxton XVIII–XIX)
At the beginning of the book “Sir Launcelot and Queene Gwenyvere”, Malory
tells his readers that the pair started behaving carelessly in public, stating
that “Launcelot began to resort unto the Queene Guinevere again and forget
the promise and the perfection that he made in the Quest… and so they
loved together more hotter than they did beforehand”(Cooper, 402). They
indulged in “privy draughts together” and behaved in such a way that “many
in the court spoke of it” (Cooper, 402).
This book also includes the "knight of the cart" episode, where Mellyagaunce
kidnapped Guinevere and her unarmed knights and held them prisoner in his
castle. After Mellyagaunce's archers killed his horse, Launcelot had to ride to
the castle in a cart in order to save the queen. Knowing Lancelot was on his
way, Mellyagaunce pleaded to Guinevere for mercy, which she granted and
then forced Lancelot to stifle his rage against Mellyagaunce.
In this same book Malory mentions Lancelot and Guinevere's adultery. Malory
says, "So, to passe upon this tale, Sir Launcelot wente to bedde with the
Quene and toke no force of his hurte honed, but toke his plesaunce and hys
lyknge untyll hit was the dawning of the day" (633). Sir Mellyagaunce, upon
finding blood in Guinevere's bed, was so convinced of her unfaithfulness to
Arthur that he was willing to fight in an attempt to prove it to others. After
Guinevere made it known that she wanted Mellyagaunce dead, Launcelot
killed him even though Mellyagaunce begged for mercy (but only after
Mellyagaunce agreed to continue fighting with Lancelot's helmet removed,
his left side body armor removed, and his left hand tied behind his back—
Lancelot felt it necessary to finish the bout, but would not slay Mellyagaunce
unless Mellyagaunce agreed to continue fighting). The book ends with
Lancelot's healing of Sir Urry of Hungary, where Malory notes that Lancelot is
the only knight out of hundreds to succeed in this endeavor. He has
committed treason to King Arthur (because of his adultery with Guinevere)
and yet is the only knight virtuous enough to heal Sir Urry. After healing Sir
Urry, Lancelot wept as a "chylde that had bene beatyn" (644).
Book VIII: “The Death of Arthur” (Caxton XX–XXI)
This section's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used
on Wikipedia. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions.
(January 2011)
The Death of King Arthur by James Archer (1823–1904), who began painting
Arthurian subjects in about 1859.
Mordred and Agravaine have been scheming to uncover Lancelot and
Guinevere's adultery for quite some time. When they find an opportune
moment to finally and concretely reveal the adulterous relationship, Lancelot
kills Agravaine and several others and escapes. Arthur is forced to sentence
Guinevere to burn at the stake, and orders his surviving nephews, Gawain,
Mordred, Gareth, and Gaheris, to guard the scene, knowing Lancelot will
attempt a rescue. Gawain flatly refuses to be part of any act that will treat
the queen shamefully. His younger brothers, Gaheris and Gareth, unable to
deny the king's request that they escort Guinevere to the stake to be burnt,
advise that they will do so at his command, but they will not arm themselves.
When Lancelot's party raids the execution, many knights are killed, including,
by accident, Gareth and Gaheris. Gawain, bent on revenge for their deaths,
prompts Arthur into a war with Lancelot, first at his castle in northern
England. At this point the Pope steps in and issues a bull to end the violence
between Arthur's and Lancelot's factions. Shortly thereafter, Arthur pursues
Lancelot to his home in France to continue the fight. Gawain challenges
Lancelot to a duel, but loses and asks Lancelot to kill him; Lancelot refuses
and grants him mercy before leaving. This event plays out twice, each time
Lancelot playing a medieval version of rope-a-dope due to Gawain's
enchantment/blessing to grow stronger between 9 a.m. and noon, then
striking down Gawain, but sparing his life.
Arthur receives a message that Mordred, whom he had left in charge back in
Britain, has usurped his throne, and he leads his forces back home. In the
invasion Gawain is mortally injured, and writes to Lancelot, asking for his help
against Mordred, and for forgiveness for separating the Round Table. In a
dream, the departed Gawain tells Arthur to wait thirty days for Lancelot to
return to England before fighting Mordred, and Arthur sends Lucan and
Bedivere to make a temporary peace treaty. At the exchange, an unnamed
knight draws his sword to kill an adder. The other knights construe this as
treachery and a declaration of war. Seeing no other recourse, at the Battle of
Camlann, Arthur charges Mordred and impales him with a spear. But with the
last of his strength, Mordred impales himself even further, so as to come
within striking distance of King Arthur, then gives a mortal blow to Arthur’s
head.
As he is dying, Arthur commands Bedivere to cast Excalibur into the lake.
Bedivere initially does not throw the sword in the lake, but instead hides it
behind a tree. He confesses his reluctance to Arthur, then returns to the lake
and throws in his own sword instead of Excalibur. Bedivere once again relays
his disobedience to Arthur, who requests the sword be returned to the lake
for a third time. When Bedivere finally throws Excalibur back in the lake, it is
retrieved by the hand of the Lady of the Lake. The hand shakes the sword
three times and then vanishes back into the water. A barge appears, carrying
ladies in black hoods (one being Morgan le Fay), who take Arthur to the Isle of
Avalon.
After the passing of King Arthur, Malory provides a denouement, mostly
following the lives (and deaths) of Guinevere, Lancelot, and Lancelot's
kinsmen.
When Lancelot returns to Dover, he mourns the deaths of his comrades.
Lancelot travels to Almesbury to see Guinevere. During the civil war,
Guinevere is portrayed as a scapegoat for violence without developing her
perspective or motivation. However, after Arthur's death, Guinevere retires to
a convent in penitence for her infidelity. Her contrition is sincere and
permanent; Lancelot is unable to sway her to come away with him. Instead,
Lancelot becomes a monk, and is joined in monastic life by his kinsmen.
Arthur's successor is appointed (Constantine, son of King Carados of
Scotland), and the realm that Arthur created is significantly changed. After
the deaths of Guinevere and Lancelot, Sirs Bors, Hector, Blamore, and
Bleoberis head to the Holy Land to crusade against the Turks, where they die
on Good Friday.
Later publications
"How Sir Bedivere Cast the Sword Excalibur into the Water", illustration for Le
Morte Darthur, J. M. Dent & Co., London (1893-1894), by Aubrey Beardsley.
The Victorian poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson retold the legends in the poetry
volume Idylls of the King. His work focuses primarily on Sir Thomas Malory's
Le Morte d'Arthur and the Mabinogion, but with many expansions, additions,
and several adaptations, like the fate of Guinevere. In Malory she is
sentenced to be burnt at the stake but is rescued by Lancelot; in the Idylls
Guinevere flees to a convent, is forgiven by Arthur, repents, and serves in the
convent until she dies.
In 1892, London publisher J. M. Dent & Co. decided to produce an illustrated
edition of Le Morte Darthur in modern spelling. They chose a 20-year-old
insurance-office clerk and art student, Aubrey Beardsley, to illustrate the
work. It was issued in 12 parts between June 1893 and mid-1894, and met
with only modest success at the time. However, it has since been described
as Beardsley's first masterpiece, launching what has come to be known as
the "Beardsley look".[15] It was his first major commission, and included
nearly 585 chapter openings, borders, initials, ornaments and full- or doublepage illustrations. Most of the Dent edition illustrations were reprinted by
Dover Publications, Inc., New York, in 1972 under the title Beardsley's
Illustrations for Le Morte Darthur. A facsimile of the Beardsley edition,
complete with Malory's unabridged text, was published in the 1990s.
In 1880, American poet Sidney Lanier published a much watered-down and
expurgated version of Malory's book entitled The Boy's King Arthur.[16] This
version was later incorporated into Grosset and Dunlap's series of books
called the Illustrated Junior Library, and reprinted under the title King Arthur
and his Knights of the Round Table.[17]
John Steinbeck used the Winchester Manuscripts of Thomas Malory and other
sources as the original text for The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights
in 1976. The Book of King Arthur and His Noble Knights of the Round Table
was published mainly for young people. Besides Steinbeck's work, there are
at least three modern English language versions. The first was published
anonymously in 1950; the second by Roger Lancelyn Green, Richard Lancelyn
Green and Lotte Reiniger (illustrator), first published in 1953, and the third by
Emma Gelders Sterne, Barbara Lindsay, Gustaf Tenggren and Mary Pope
Osborne, published in 2002. Scholar Keith Baines published a modernized
English version of Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur in 1962. More recently, scholar
Dorsey Armstrong published a Modern English translation that focused on the
Winchester manuscript rather than the Caxton edition in 2009.
Castle Freeman, Jr.'s 2008 novel Go With Me is a modern retelling of the Tale
of Sir Gareth.[18][19]
Influenced the poem Morte d'Arthur written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Reception
Until the discovery of the Winchester Manuscript in 1934 at Winchester
College, the 1485 edition printed by William Caxton was considered the
earliest known text of Le Morte d'Arthur and that closest to Malory's
translation and compilation.[20] Modern editions are inevitably variable,
changing a variety of spelling, grammar, and/or pronouns for the convenience
of readers of modern English.
The Arthurian characters and tales act like litmus, responding to the issues,
aspirations, and anxieties of readerships in every different time and place
that they touch. But Arthurian narratives can also act on the cultures that
reproduce them, whether expressing an idealizing national wish about the
"Camelot" Kennedy administration in the early 1960s, or articulating English
King Edward I's symbolic kinship with the Welsh in hopes of military
advantage in the late 1200s...
—Bryan (1994), p.x[21]
These and other controversies [providential historiography vs. Christian
penance, courtly love vs. adultery] operating within the accumulation of tales
and genres lend some force, ironically, to Caxton's claim that readers should
look to this text for moral example. Caxton instructed readers of this
narrative of knights' adventures to "Doo after the good and leve the evyl, and
it shal brynge you to good fame and renommee." It is ultimately the
enormous complexity of conflicting demands that will engage moral
sensibilities of readers of this text.
—Bryan, p.xii.[4]
I think my sense of right and wrong, my feeling of noblesse oblige, and any
thought I may have against the oppressor and for the oppressed came from
[Le Morte d'Arthur]....It did not seem strange to me that Uther Pendragon
wanted the wife of his vassal and took her by trickery. I was not frightened to
find that there were evil knights, as well as noble ones. In my own town there
were men who wore the clothes of virtue whom I knew to be bad....If I could
not choose my way at the crossroads of love and loyalty, neither could
Lancelot. I could understand the darkness of Mordred because he was in me
too; and there was some Galahad in me, but perhaps not enough. The Grail
feeling was there, however, deep-planted, and perhaps always will be.
—John Steinbeck[22]
Bibliography
The work itself
Editions based on the Winchester manuscript:
Facsimile:
Malory, Sir Thomas. The Winchester Malory: A Facsimile. Introduced
by Ker, N. R. (1976). London: Early English Text Society. ISBN 0-19-722404-0.
Original spelling:
Malory, Sir Thomas. Le Morte Darthur. (A Norton Critical Edition). Ed.
Shepherd, Stephen H. A. (2004). New York: W. W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-974642. (Official website with textual corrections and further commentary: Stephen
H. A. Shepherd: Le Morte Darthur: On-line companion.)
_________. The Works of Sir Thomas Malory. Ed. Vinaver, Eugène. 3rd
ed. Field, Rev. P. J. C. (1990). 3 vol. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 019-812344-2, ISBN 0-19-812345-0, ISBN 0-19-812346-9.
_________. Malory: Complete Works. Ed. Vinaver, Eugène (1977).
Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-281217-3. (Revision and retitling
of Malory: Works of 1971).
_________. Malory: Works. Ed. Vinaver, Eugène (1971). 2nd ed. Oxford:
Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-254163-3.
_________. The Works of Sir Thomas Malory. Ed. Vinaver, Eugène
(1967). 2nd ed. 3 vol. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-811838-4.
_________. Malory: Works. Ed. Vinaver, Eugène (1954). Oxford: Oxford
University Press. ISBN 0-19-254163-3. (Malory's text from Vinaver's The
Works of Sir Thomas Malory (1947), in a single volume dropping most of
Vinaver's notes and commentary.)
_________. The Works of Sir Thomas Malory. Ed. Vinaver, Eugène
(1947). 3 vol. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Modernised spelling:
Malory, Sir Thomas. Le Morte Darthur: The Winchester Manuscript. Ed.
Cooper, Helen (1998). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-282420-1.
(Abridged text.)
Translation/paraphrase into contemporary English:
Malory, Sir Thomas. Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur: King Arthur and the
Legends of the Round Table. Trans. and abridged by Baines, Keith (1983). New
York: Bramhall House. ISBN 0-517-02060-2. Reissued by Signet (2001). ISBN
0-451-52816-6.
_________. Le Morte D'Arthur. (London Medieval & Renaissance Ser.)
Trans. Lumiansky, Robert M. (1982). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. ISBN
0-684-17673-4.
Steinbeck, John, and Thomas Malory. The Acts of King Arthur and His
Noble Knights: From the Winchester Manuscripts of Thomas Malory and Other
Sources. (1976) New York: Noonday Press. Reissued 1993. ISBN 0-374-523789.
Brewer, D.S. Malory: The Morte Darthur. York Medieval Texts, Elizabeth
Salter and Derek Pearsall, Gen. Eds. (1968) London: Edward Arnold. Reissued
1993. ISBN 0-7131-5326-1. (Modernized spelling version of Books 7 and 8 as
a complete story in its own right. Based on Winchester MS, but with changes
taken from Caxton, and some emendations by Brewer.)
Armstrong, Dorsey. Sir Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur: A New Modern
English Translation Based on the Winchester Manuscript (Renaissance and
Medieval Studies) Anderson, SC: Parlor Press, 2009. ISBN 1-60235-103-1.
Editions based on Caxton's edition:
Facsimile:
Malory, Sir Thomas. Le Morte d'Arthur, printed by William Caxton,
1485. Ed. Needham, Paul (1976). London.
Original spelling:
Malory, Sir Thomas. Caxton's Malory. Ed. Spisak, James. W. (1983). 2
vol. boxed. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN 0520-03825-8.
_________. Le Morte Darthur by Sir Thomas Malory. Ed. Sommer, H.
Oskar (1889–91). 3 vol. London: David Nutt. The text of Malory from this
edition without Sommer's annotation and commentary and selected texts of
Malory's sources is available on the web at:
University of Michigan: Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse:
Le Morte Darthur.
Modernised spelling:
Malory, Sir Thomas. Le Morte d'Arthur. Ed. Matthews, John (2000).
Illustrated by Ferguson, Anna-Marie. London: Cassell. ISBN 0-304-35367-1.
(The introduction by John Matthews praises the Winchester text but then
states this edition is based on the Pollard version of the Caxton text, with
eight additions from the Winchester manuscript.)
_________. Le Morte Darthur. Introduction by Moore, Helen (1996).
Herefordshire: Wordsworth Editions Ltd. ISBN 1-85326-463-6. (Seemingly
based on the Pollard text.)
_________. Le morte d'Arthur. Introduction by Bryan, Elizabeth J.
(1994). New York: Modern Library. ISBN 0-679-60099-X. (Pollard text.)
_________. Le Morte d'Arthur. Ed. Cowen, Janet (1970). Introduction by
Lawlor, John. 2 vols. London: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-043043-1, ISBN 0-14043044-X.
_________. Le Morte d'Arthur. Ed. Rhys, John (1906). (Everyman's
Library 45 & 46.) London: Dent; London: J. M. Dent; New York: E. P. Dutton.
Released in paperback format in 1976: ISBN 0-460-01045-X, ISBN 0-46001046-8. (Text based on an earlier modernised Dent edition of 1897.)
_________. Le Morte Darthur: Sir Thomas Malory's Book of King Arthur
and of his Noble Knights of the Round Table,. Ed. Pollard, A. W. (1903). 2 vol.
New York: Macmillan. (Text corrected from the bowdlerised 1868 Macmillan
edition edited by Sir Edward Strachey.) Available on the web at:
Project Gutenberg: Le Morte Darthur: Volume 1 (books 1-9) and Le
Morte Darthur: Volume 2 (books 10-21). (Plain text.)
Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library: Le Morte
Darthur: Volume 1 (books 1-9) and Le Morte Darthur: Volume 2 (books 10-21)
(HTML.)
Celtic Twilight: Legends of Camelot: Le Morte d'Arthur (HTML with
illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley from the Dent edition of 1893–94.)
_________. Le Morte Darthur. Ed. Simmon, F. J. (1893–94). Illustrated by
Beardsley, Aubrey. 2 vol. London: Dent.
Limerick translation: Le Morte d'Arthur, an Epic Limerick, 2006, by Jacob
Wenzel, ISBN 978-1-4116-8987-9
Commentary
Glossary to Le Morte d'Arthur at Glossary to Book 1 and Glossary to Book 2
(PDF)
Lugodoc's Guide to Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur
Malory's Morte d'Arthur and Style of the Morte d'Arthur, selections by Alice
D. Greenwood with bibliography from the Cambridge History of English
Literature.
About the Winchester manuscript:
University of Georgia: English Dept: Jonathan Evans: Walter F. Oakeshott
and the Winchester Manuscript. (Contains links to the first public
announcements concerning the Winchester manuscript from The Daily
Telegraph, The Times, and The Times Literary Supplement.)
UBC Dept. of English: Siân Echard: Caxton and Winchester (link offline
on Oct. 25, 2011; according to message on Ms. Echard's Medieval Pages,
"September 2011: Most of the pages below are being renovated, so the links
are (temporarily) inactive.")
Department of English, Goucher College: Arnie Sanders: The Malory
Manuscript
See also
Portal icon
King Arthur portal
Portal icon
Novels portal
Illegitimacy in fiction
Post-Vulgate Cycle
References
Since morte (or mort) is a feminine noun, French would require the article la
(i.e., “la mort d'Arthur”). According to Stephen H. A. Shepherd, “Malory
frequently misapplies le in titular compounds, perhaps on a simple sonic and
gender-neutral analogy with 'the'”. Stephen H. A. Shepherd, ed., Le Morte
Darthur, by Sir Thomas Malory (New York: W. W. Norton, 2004), 1n.
Malory, Thomas, and Helen Cooper. Le Morte DArthur: The Winchester
Manuscript. Oxford, England: Oxford UP, 2008. Print.
Bryan (1994), p.viii-ix.
Bryan (1994), p.xii.
Bryan, ed. (1999), p.xviii.
McShane, Kara L. (2010). "Malory's Morte d'Arthur". The Rossell Hope Robbins
Library at the University of Rochester. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
Bryan (2004), p.ix
W. F. Oakeshott. "The Text of Malory". Retrieved 2009-01-11.
Walter F. Oakeshott, “The Finding of the Manuscript,” Essays on Malory, ed. J.
A. W. Bennett (Oxford: Clarendon, 1963), 1-6.
Walter F. Oakeshott, “Caxton and Malory's Morte Darthur,” GutenbergJahrbuch (1935), 112-116.
William Matthews, The Ill-Framed Knight: A Skeptical Inquiry into the Identity
of Sir Thomas Malory (Berkeley, CA: University of California, 1966).
The Malory Project (http://www.maloryproject.com), directed by Takako Kato
and designed by Nick Hayward.
“Morte D’Arthur.” The Cambridge History of English Literature. A.W Ward, A.R
Waller. Vol II. Cambridge: A UP, 1933. Print.
Scott-Kilvert, Ian. British Writers. New York Charles Scribners's Sons, 1979
Dover Publications (1972). Beardsley's Illustrations for Le Morte Darthur,
Publisher's note & back cover.
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/653360
http://www.amazon.com/Arthur-Knights-Illustrated-JuniorLibrary/dp/0448060167
bookgroup.info: interview: Castle Freeman Retrieved 2012-12-17.
A Chat With Castle Freeman, Jr. Retrieved 2012-12-17
Bryan, Elizabeth J. (1994/1999). "Sir Thomas Malory", Le Morte D'Arthur, p.vii.
Modern Library. New York. ISBN 0-679-60099-X.
Bryan (1994), p.x.
Bryan (1999). Le Morte D'Arthur, back cover.
External links
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Le Morte d'Arthur
LibriVox fulltext audiobook recording of Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur
Full Text of Volume One - at Project Gutenberg
Full Text of Volume Two - at Project Gutenberg
Le Morte Darthur. volume 1 (Ebook version)
Le Morte Darthur. volume 2 (Ebook version)
Different copies of La Mort d'Arthur on Internet Archive.
[show]
v
t
e
King Arthur and the Matter of Britain
[show]
v
t
e
Fantasy
Categories:
1485 books
Arthurian literature
Arthurian literature in Middle English
British books
Medieval literature
Prison writings
Romance (genre)
Holy Grail
Navigation menu
Create account
Log in
Article
Talk
Read
Edit
View history
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop
Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page
Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page
Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version
Languages
Български
Brezhoneg
Čeština
Cymraeg
Deutsch
Español
Français
Galego
Italiano
Nederlands
日本語
Norsk bokmål
Polski
Português
Русский
Svenska
Українська
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 27 December 2014, at 03:33.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the
Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[hide]This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these
issues on the talk page.
This article is written like a personal reflection or opinion essay that states
the Wikipedia editor's particular feelings about a topic, rather than the
opinions of experts. (November 2011)
This article may need to be rewritten entirely to comply with Wikipedia's
quality standards. (December 2012)
The Last Sleep of Arthur in Avalon (begun 1881), detail, by Edward BurneJones (d. 1898), greatly influenced by Le Morte d'Arthur throughout his
career.
Le Morte d'Arthur (originally spelled Le Morte Darthur, Middle French for “the
death of Arthur”[1]) is a compilation by Sir Thomas Malory of traditional tales
about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, and the Knights of the
Round Table. Malory interprets existing French and English stories about these
figures and adds original material (the Gareth story).
First published in 1485 by William Caxton, Le Morte d'Arthur is today perhaps
the best-known work of Arthurian literature in English. Many modern
Arthurian writers have used Malory as their principal source, including T. H.
White in his popular The Once and Future King and Tennyson in The Idylls of
the King.
Contents
1 Life of Sir Thomas Malory
2 Publication history
2.1 The Winchester Manuscript
2.2 Style and Themes of Le Morte D'Arthur
3 Summary
3.1 Book I: “From the Marriage of King Uther unto King Arthur that
Reigned After Him and Did Many Battles” (Caxton I–IV)
3.2 Book II: “The Noble Tale Between King Arthur and Lucius the
Emperor of Rome” (Caxton V)
3.3 Book III: “The Noble Tale of Sir Launcelot Du Lac” (Caxton VI)
3.4 Book IV: “The Tale of Sir Gareth of Orkney” (Caxton VII)
3.5 Book V: “The First and the Second Book of Sir Tristrams de Lione”
(Caxton VIII–XII)
3.6 Book VI: “The Noble Tale of the Sangreal” (Caxton XIII–XVII)
3.7 Book VII: “Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere” (Caxton XVIII–XIX)
3.8 Book VIII: “The Death of Arthur” (Caxton XX–XXI)
4 Later publications
5 Reception
6 Bibliography
6.1 The work itself
6.2 Commentary
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
Life of Sir Thomas Malory
Sir Thomas Malory was born between the years 1400-1410 to Sir John Malory,
of Newbold Revel, Warwickshire. Sir Thomas inherited the family estate in
1434 after his father Sir John died. After this, he turned to a life of crime with
long periods of imprisonment. In 1433 he was indicted for the first time for
theft and his crimes continue from there. In 1450 it was alleged that he was
involved in an attempted murder, robbery, rape, extortion, and cattle raid. He
was imprisoned in Coleshill which he then escaped and robbed the Cistercian
monastery. Malory was once again arrested in 1454, but two years later he
was released through a royal pardon.
There is a degree of difficulty while trying to talk about a historical figure
because there aren't many definite facts about him, aside from police reports
and public affiliation. The only definite pieces of information that people
today have are his criminal history, his work in the military and parliament,
and his stories. His career reads more like an account of continuous crime
and punishment rather than an example of chivalry. His date of birth and
early years are obscure, and the first time he enters the records in 1439 and
is knighted by 1441. He may have possibly served in France in the later
stages of the Hundred Years War. During his life he held various public office
positions, including that of a member of parliament. He was arrested for the
last time in 1460 at the Newgate prison. He wrote his last story Le Morte
d'Arthur in 1469
In regards of Le Morte d'Arthur and his other Arthurian work, there have been
numerous comments that inform us that he wrote in prison, completing this
work in the year of 1469-70. The mismatch of Malory’s life and the idea of
chivalry presented in his work has lead to attempts to find a better suited
candidate for its authorship, but none have been proven to be interesting or
concrete. Sir Thomas Malory died in prison on 14 March 1471. Afterwards
William Caxton published Le Morte d'Arthur on 31 July 1485 [2]
Publication history
Title page (N.C. Wyeth) for The Boy's King Arthur: Sir Thomas Malory's History
of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, Edited for Boys by Sidney
Lanier (1922).
Elizabeth Bryan speaks of Malory's contribution to Arthurian Legend in her
introduction to Le Morte D'Arthur, “Malory did not invent the stories in this
collection; he translated and compiled them...Malory in fact translated
Arthurian stories that already existed in thirteenth-century French prose (the
so-called Old French Vulgate romances) and compiled them together with at
least one tale from Middle English sources (the Alliterative Morte Arthure and
the Stanzaic Morte Arthur) to create this text.”[3]
He called the full work The hoole booke of kyng Arthur & of his noble
knyghtes of the rounde table, but Caxton instead titled it with Malory's name
for the final section of the cycle. Modernized editions update the late Middle
English spelling, update some pronouns, and repunctuate and reparagraph
the text. Others furthermore update the phrasing and vocabulary to
contemporary Modern English. Here is an example (from Caxton's preface) in
Middle English and then in Modern English:
Doo after the good and leve the evyl, and it shal brynge you to good fame
and renomme.[4]
Do after the good and leave the evil, and it shall bring you to good fame
and renown.[5]
The Middle English of Le Morte D'Arthur is much closer to Early Modern
English than the Middle English of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. If the spelling
is modernized, it reads almost like Elizabethan English.
The first printing of Malory's work was made by Caxton in 1485. Only two
copies of this original printing are known to exist, in the collections of the
Morgan Library & Museum and the John Rylands Library.[6] It proved popular,
and was reprinted, with some additions and changes, in 1498 and 1529 by
Wynkyn de Worde who succeeded Caxton's press. Three more editions were
published before the English Civil War: William Copland's (1557), Thomas
East's (1585), and William Stansby's (1634), each of which contained
additional changes and errors (including the omission of an entire leaf).
Thereafter the book went out of fashion until the Romantic revival of interest
in all things medieval; the year 1816 saw a new edition by Walker and
Edwards, and another one by Wilks, both based on the 1634 Stansby edition.
Davison's 1817 edition, which was promoted by Robert Southey, was based
on Caxton's 1485 edition or on a mixture of Caxton and Stansby. Davison was
the basis for subsequent editions until the discovery of the Winchester
Manuscript.
Caxton separated Malory's eight books into 21 books; subdivided each book
into a total of 507 chapters; added a summary of each chapter and added a
colophon to the entire book.[7] Malory's eight tales are:
The birth and rise of Arthur: “From the Marriage of King Uther unto King
Arthur that Reigned After Him and Did Many Battles”
King Arthur's war against the Romans: “The Noble Tale Between King
Arthur and Lucius the Emperor of Rome”
The book of Lancelot: “The Tale of Sir Launcelot du Lac”
The book of Gareth (brother of Gawain): “The Tale of Sir Gareth”
Tristan and Isolde: “The Book of Sir Tristrams de Lyons”
The Quest for the Holy Grail: “The Noble Tale of the Sangreal”
The affair between Lancelot and Guinevere: “Sir Launcelot and Queen
Gwynevere”
The breaking of the Knights of the Round Table and the death of Arthur: “Le
Morte D'Arthur”
Most of the events in the book take place in Britain and France in the latter
half of the 5th century. In some parts, the story ventures farther afield, to
Rome and Sarras (near Babylon), and recalls Biblical tales from the ancient
Near East.
The Winchester Manuscript
For the Winchester Chronicle, see Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
In June 1934, during the cataloging of the library of Winchester College,
headmaster W. F. Oakeshott discovered a previously unknown manuscript
copy of the work. Newspaper accounts announced that what Caxton had
published in 1485 was not exactly what Malory had written.[8] Oakeshott
published “The Finding of the Manuscript” in 1963, chronicling the initial
event and his realization that “this indeed was Malory,” with “startling
evidence of revision” in the Caxton edition.[9] Caxton's text and the
Winchester manuscript derive separately from an earlier copy. (Having said
this, microscopic examination revealed that ink smudges on the Winchester
manuscript are offsets of newly printed pages set in Caxton's own font, which
indicates that the same manuscript was in Caxton's print shop.[9]) The
“Winchester Manuscript” is believed to be closer on the whole to Malory's
original. In addition, it does not have the book and chapter divisions for which
Caxton in his preface takes credit.
The Malory scholar Eugène Vinaver examined the manuscript shortly after its
discovery. Although Oakeshott was encouraged to produce an edition himself,
he ceded the project to Vinaver.[9] Based on his initial study of the
manuscript, Oakeshott concluded in 1935 that the copy from which Caxton
printed his edition “was already subdivided into books and sections.”[10]
Vinaver made an exhaustive comparison of the manuscript with Caxton's
edition and reached similar conclusions. In his 1947 edition of The Works of
Sir Thomas Malory, he argued that Malory did not write a single book, but
rather a series of Arthurian tales each of which is an internally consistent and
independent work. However, scholars including William Matthews pointed out
that in his later tales Malory, a skilled redactor, introduced references to the
earlier ones, suggesting that he had wanted the tales to cohere better but
had not sufficiently revised the whole text to achieve this.[11]
The Winchester manuscript has been digitised by a Japanese team.[12]
Style and Themes of Le Morte D'Arthur
The publication of Chaucer’s work by William Caxton was a precursor to his
publication of Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur. Where the Canteberry Tales are in
Middle English, Malory extends “one hand to Chaucer, and one to Spenser”
constructing a manuscript which is hard to place in one category. Like other
English Prose in the Fifteenth century, Le Morte D’Arthur was highly
influenced by French writings, but Malory blends these with other English
verse and prose forms. Although Malory hearkens back to an age of idealized
knighthood, jousting tournaments, and grand castles to suggest a medieval
world, his stories lack any agricultural life, or commerce which makes the
story feel as if it were an era of its own.
Because there is so much lengthy ground to cover, Malory uses “so—and—
then,” often to transition his retelling.This repetition is not redundant, but
adds an air of continuity only befitting for a tale of this enormity. The stories
then become episodes instead of instances that can stand on their own.
There is an artful way in which Malory portrays Arthur by only revealing him
to us by how others are affected by his actions. This creates a man who we
cannot define, but still stands as the center of the legend, and lets our mind
move from him to the scenes around him.[13]
The themes of love and war, “are fundamental to the work of Sir Thomas
Malory. Religion—the third of the great epic themes—is admittedly and nobly
subordinated; only at the end, Guinevere, in expiation of her guilt in
destroying the Round Table, becomes a nun; and Lancelot, for love of her and
not for the love of God, takes on himself the habit of perfection.” It has been
declared that, “Malory recreated an epic story from romance,” because of his
inclusion of the mysterious and magical elements in a depiction of a world
with which Malory’s contemporaries are familiar. Through the format of a
knightly romance provides, “an idealized version of the life of the knightly
class; it is the warrior’s daydream, designed for recreation (or “solace”), not
instruction (or “doctrine”), and representing the average sensual man’s point
of view.” The forms of romantic characters used in order to create the world
of Arthur and the Round Table, “consist almost entirely of fighting men, their
wives or mistresses, with an occasional clerk or an enchanter, a fairy or a
fiend, a giant or a dwarf,” and “time does not work on the heroes of Malory.”
[14]
Summary
Book I: “From the Marriage of King Uther unto King Arthur that Reigned After
Him and Did Many Battles” (Caxton I–IV)
Arthur is born to Uther Pendragon and Igraine and then taken by Sir Ector to
be fostered in the country. He later becomes the king of a leaderless England
when he removes the fated sword from the stone. Arthur goes on to win
many battles due to his military prowess and Merlin’s counsel. He then
consolidates his kingdom.
This first book also tells “The Tale of Balyn and Balan”, which ends in
accidental fratricide, and the begetting of Mordred, Arthur’s incestuous son
by his half-sister, Morgause (though Arthur did not know her as his halfsister). On Merlin's advice, and reminiscent of Herod's killing of the innocents
in scripture, Arthur takes every newborn boy in his kingdom and sends them
to sea in a boat. The boat crashes and all but Mordred, who later kills his
father, perish. This is mentioned matter-of-factly, with no apparent moral
overtone. Arthur marries Guinevere, and inherits the Round Table from her
father Leodegrance. At Pentecost, Arthur gathers his knights at Camelot and
establishes the Round Table company. All swear to the Pentecostal Oath as a
guide for knightly conduct.
In this first book, Malory addresses 15th century preoccupations with
legitimacy and societal unrest, which will appear throughout the rest of the
work. As Malorian scholar Helen Cooper states in Sir Thomas Malory: Le Morte
D'arthur - The Winchester Manuscript, the prose style (as opposed to verse),
which mimics historical documents of the time, lends an air of authority to
the whole work. She goes on to state that this allowed contemporaries to
read the book as a history rather than as a work of fiction, therefore making it
a model of order for Malory's violent and chaotic times during the War of the
Roses. Malory's concern with legitimacy reflects the concerns of 15th century
England, where many were claiming their rights to power through violence
and bloodshed. Genealogy was a way to legitimize power in a less arbitrary
manner, and Malory calls this into question.
Book II: “The Noble Tale Between King Arthur and Lucius the Emperor of
Rome” (Caxton V)
This book, detailing Arthur's march on Rome, is heavily based on the Middle
English Alliterative Morte Arthure, which in turn is heavily based on Geoffrey
of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae. The opening of Book V finds Arthur
and his kingdom without an enemy. His throne is secure, his knights have
proven themselves through a series of quests, Sir Lancelot and Sir Tristan
have arrived and the court is feasting. When envoys from Emperor Lucius of
Rome arrive and accuse Arthur of refusing tribute, “contrary to the statutes
and decrees made by the noble and worthy Julius Caesar”, Arthur and his
knights are stirring for a fight. They are “many days rested” and excited, “for
now shall we have warre and worshype.” Arthur invokes the lineage of Ser
Belyne and Sir Bryne, legendary British conquerors of Rome, and through
their blood lineage demands tribute from Lucius under the argument that
Britain conquered Rome first. Lucius, apprised of the situation by his envoys,
raises a heathen army of the East, composed of Spaniards and Saracens, as
well as other enemies of the Christian world. Rome is supposed to be the seat
of Christianity, but it is more foreign and corrupt than the courts of Arthur and
his allies. Departing from Geoffrey of Monmouth's history in which Mordred is
left in charge, Malory's Arthur leaves his court in the hands of Sir Constantine
of Cornwall and an advisor. Arthur sails to Normandy to meet his cousin Hoel,
but he finds a giant terrorizing the people from the holy island of Mont St.
Michel. This giant is the embodiment of senseless violence and chaos, a
monster who eats men and rapes women to death. He uses sex as a violent
act of control and appetite, divorced from sensuality or reason. Arthur battles
him alone, an act of public relations intended to inspire his knights. The fight
is closely documented by Malory, a blow-by-blow description of blood and
gore. The giant dies after Arthur “swappis his genytrottys in sondir” and “kut
his baly in sundir, that oute wente the gore”. When Arthur does fight Lucius
and his armies it is almost anticlimactic, when compared to his struggles with
the giant. Arthur and his armies defeat the Romans, Arthur is crowned
Emperor, a proxy government is arranged for the Roman Empire and Arthur
returns to London where his queen welcomes him royally.
Book III: “The Noble Tale of Sir Launcelot Du Lac” (Caxton VI)
In this tale, Malory establishes Lancelot as King Arthur's most revered knight.
Among Lancelot's numerous episodic adventures include being enchanted
into a deep sleep by the sorceress Morgan le Fay and having to escape her
castle, proving victorious in a tournament fighting on behalf of King
Bagdemagus, slaying the mighty Sir Turquine who had been holding several
of Arthur's knights prisoner, and also overcoming the betrayal of a damsel to
defend himself unarmed against Sir Phelot.
These adventures address several major issues developed throughout Le
Morte Darthur. Among the most important is the fact Lancelot always adheres
to the Pentecostal Oath. Throughout this tale he assists dancing ladies in
distress and provides mercy for knights he has defeated in battle. However,
the world Lancelot lives in is too complicated for simple mandates. This can
be seen when a damsel betrays Lancelot, and he must fight Sir Phelot
unarmed. Although Lancelot aspires to live by an ethical code, the actions of
others make it difficult for the Pentecostal Oath to fully establish a social
order.
Another major issue this text addresses is demonstrated when Morgan le Fay
enchants Lancelot. This action reflects a feminization of magic along with a
clear indication that Merlin’s role within the text has been diminished. The
tournament fighting in this tale indicates a shift away from war towards a
more mediated and virtuous form of violence.
On courtly love, Malory attempts to shift the focus of courtly love from
adultery to service by having Lancelot admit to doing everything he does for
Guinevere, but never admit to having an adulterous relationship with her.
However, a close parsing of his words can perhaps allow Lancelot to retain his
honorable word, for he never says that he has not lain with the queen, but
rather that if anyone makes such a claim, he will fight them (the assumption
being that God will cause the liar to lose). Further, since Lancelot – who in all
of the book never breaks his word or lies – claims that the queen was never
untrue to her lord, then it seems to be the case that he must consider his
love of the queen to be somehow pure or special, not an act of unfaithfulness
to the king he loves and serves.
Book IV: “The Tale of Sir Gareth of Orkney” (Caxton VII)
The tale of Sir Gareth begins with his arrival at court as le bel inconnu, or the
fair unknown. He comes without a name and therefore without a past. Sir Kay
mockingly calls the unknown young man “Beaumains” and treats him with
contempt and condescension. An unknown woman, later revealed to be the
Dame Lynette, eventually comes to court asking for assistance against the
Red Knight of the Red Lands, and Gareth takes up the quest. On his quest, he
encounters the Black, Green, Red, and Blue knights and the Red knight of the
Red Lands. He kills the Black Knight, incorporates the others into Arthur’s
court, and rescues Lynette's sister Lyonesse. Lustily in love with Lyonesse,
Gareth conspires to consummate their relationship before marrying. Only by
the magical intervention of Lynette is their tryst unsuccessful, thus preserving
Gareth's virginity and, presumably, his standing with God. Gareth later
counsels Lyonesse to report to King Arthur and pretend she doesn’t know
where he is; instead, he tells her to announce a tournament of his knights
against the Round Table. This allows Gareth to disguise himself and win honor
by defeating his brother knights. The heralds eventually acknowledge that he
is Sir Gareth right as he strikes down Sir Gawain, his brother. The book ends
with Gareth rejoining his fellow knights and marrying Lyonesse.
In Book IV, there are only two knights that have ever held against Sir Lancelot
in tournament: Tristram and Gareth. This was always under conditions where
one or both parties were unknown by the other, for these knights loved each
other “passingly well.” Gareth was knighted by Lancelot himself when he took
upon him the adventure on behalf of Dame Lynette. Much later, Gareth is
accidentally slain by his beloved Lancelot when Guinevere is rescued from
being burnt at the stake by King Arthur.
Book V: “The First and the Second Book of Sir Tristrams de Lione” (Caxton
VIII–XII)
In “The Fyrste and the Secunde Boke of Syr Trystrams de Lyones,” Malory tells
the tales of Sir Tristan (Trystram), Sir Dinadan, Sir Palamedes, Sir La Cote De
Male Tayle, Sir Alexander, and a variety of other knights. Based on the French
Prose Tristan, or a lost English adaptation of it, Malory's Tristan section is the
literal centerpiece of Le Morte D’Arthur as well as the longest of the eight
books.
The book displays a very realistic and jaded view of the world of chivalry. It is
rife with adultery, characterized most visibly in Sir Tristan and the Belle
Isolde. However, it should be noted that Sir Tristan had met and fallen in love
with Isolde earlier, and that his uncle, King Mark, jealous of Tristan and
seeking to undermine him, appears to seek marriage to Isolde for just such a
hateful purpose, going so far as to ask Tristan to go and seek her hand on his
behalf (which Tristan, understanding that to be his knightly duty, does). Sir
Tristan is the namesake of the book and his adulterous relationship with
Isolde, his uncle Mark’s wife, is one of the focuses of the section. The knights,
Tristan included, operate on very personal or political concerns rather than
just the standard provided by the world of Pentecostal Oath as we have seen
it so far. One knight, Sir Dinidan, takes this so far as to run away or refuse to
fight if he sees any risk. However, it should be understood that Sir Dinidan is
a playful, humorous knight who, in later chapters, shows himself to be brave
and noble. It is unclear whether his refusals to fight are part of his comic
character or otherwise. Other knights, even knights of the Round Table, make
requests that show the dark side of the world of chivalry. In one episode, Sir
Bleoberys, one of Lancelot’s cousins, claims another knight’s wife for his own
and rides away with her until stopped by Sir Tristan. In another, when Tristan
defeats Sir Blamore, another knight of the Round Table, Blamore asks Tristan
to kill him because he would rather die than have his reputation tarnished by
the defeat.
Of all the knights, Tristan most resembles Lancelot. He loves a queen, the
wife of another. Tristan is even considered to be as strong and able a knight
as Lancelot, although they become beloved friends. Because of King Mark's
treacherous behavior, Tristran takes Isolde from him and lives with her for
some time, but he then returns Isolde to him. Nonetheless, Mark kills Tristran
while he is “harping” (Tristran is noted in the book as one of the greatest of
musicians and falconers).
Book VI: “The Noble Tale of the Sangreal” (Caxton XIII–XVII)
Malory’s primary source for “The Noble Tale of the Sangreal” is the French
Vulgate Cycle’s La Queste Del Saint Graal. Malory's version chronicles the
adventures of numerous knights in their quest to achieve the Holy Grail. The
Grail first appears in the hall of King Arthur “coverde with whyght samyte”,
and it miraculously produces meat and drink for the knights. Gawain is the
first to declare that he “shall laboure in the Queste of the Sankgreall”. He
embarks on the quest in order to see the Grail “more opynly than hit hath
bene shewed” before, and to gain more “metys and drynkes”. Likewise,
Lancelot, Percival, Bors, and Galahad undergo the quest. Their exploits are
intermingled with encounters with maidens and hermits who offer advice and
interpret dreams along the way.
After the confusion of the secular moral code as manifested in the
Pentecostal Oath within "The Fyrst and the Secunde Boke of Syr Trystrams de
Lyones", Malory attempts to construct a new mode of chivalry by placing an
emphasis on religion and Christianity in "The Sankgreal". However, the role of
the Catholic Church is drastically subverted within the text, illustrating 15thcentury England’s movement away from the Church establishment and
toward mysticism. Within the text the Church offers a venue through which
the Pentecostal Oath can be upheld, whereas the strict moral code imposed
by religion foreshadows almost certain failure on the part of the knights. For
example, Gawain is often dubbed a secular knight, as he refuses to do
penance for his sins, claiming the tribulations that coexist with knighthood as
a sort of secular penance. Likewise, Lancelot, for all his sincerity, is unable to
completely escape his adulterous love of Guinevere, and is thus destined to
fail where Galahad will succeed. This coincides with the personification of
perfection in the form of Galahad. Because Galahad is the only knight who
lives entirely without sin, this leaves both the audience and the other knights
with a model of perfection that seemingly cannot be emulated either through
chivalry or religion.
Book VII: “Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere” (Caxton XVIII–XIX)
At the beginning of the book “Sir Launcelot and Queene Gwenyvere”, Malory
tells his readers that the pair started behaving carelessly in public, stating
that “Launcelot began to resort unto the Queene Guinevere again and forget
the promise and the perfection that he made in the Quest… and so they
loved together more hotter than they did beforehand”(Cooper, 402). They
indulged in “privy draughts together” and behaved in such a way that “many
in the court spoke of it” (Cooper, 402).
This book also includes the "knight of the cart" episode, where Mellyagaunce
kidnapped Guinevere and her unarmed knights and held them prisoner in his
castle. After Mellyagaunce's archers killed his horse, Launcelot had to ride to
the castle in a cart in order to save the queen. Knowing Lancelot was on his
way, Mellyagaunce pleaded to Guinevere for mercy, which she granted and
then forced Lancelot to stifle his rage against Mellyagaunce.
In this same book Malory mentions Lancelot and Guinevere's adultery. Malory
says, "So, to passe upon this tale, Sir Launcelot wente to bedde with the
Quene and toke no force of his hurte honed, but toke his plesaunce and hys
lyknge untyll hit was the dawning of the day" (633). Sir Mellyagaunce, upon
finding blood in Guinevere's bed, was so convinced of her unfaithfulness to
Arthur that he was willing to fight in an attempt to prove it to others. After
Guinevere made it known that she wanted Mellyagaunce dead, Launcelot
killed him even though Mellyagaunce begged for mercy (but only after
Mellyagaunce agreed to continue fighting with Lancelot's helmet removed,
his left side body armor removed, and his left hand tied behind his back—
Lancelot felt it necessary to finish the bout, but would not slay Mellyagaunce
unless Mellyagaunce agreed to continue fighting). The book ends with
Lancelot's healing of Sir Urry of Hungary, where Malory notes that Lancelot is
the only knight out of hundreds to succeed in this endeavor. He has
committed treason to King Arthur (because of his adultery with Guinevere)
and yet is the only knight virtuous enough to heal Sir Urry. After healing Sir
Urry, Lancelot wept as a "chylde that had bene beatyn" (644).
Book VIII: “The Death of Arthur” (Caxton XX–XXI)
This section's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used
on Wikipedia. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions.
(January 2011)
The Death of King Arthur by James Archer (1823–1904), who began painting
Arthurian subjects in about 1859.
Mordred and Agravaine have been scheming to uncover Lancelot and
Guinevere's adultery for quite some time. When they find an opportune
moment to finally and concretely reveal the adulterous relationship, Lancelot
kills Agravaine and several others and escapes. Arthur is forced to sentence
Guinevere to burn at the stake, and orders his surviving nephews, Gawain,
Mordred, Gareth, and Gaheris, to guard the scene, knowing Lancelot will
attempt a rescue. Gawain flatly refuses to be part of any act that will treat
the queen shamefully. His younger brothers, Gaheris and Gareth, unable to
deny the king's request that they escort Guinevere to the stake to be burnt,
advise that they will do so at his command, but they will not arm themselves.
When Lancelot's party raids the execution, many knights are killed, including,
by accident, Gareth and Gaheris. Gawain, bent on revenge for their deaths,
prompts Arthur into a war with Lancelot, first at his castle in northern
England. At this point the Pope steps in and issues a bull to end the violence
between Arthur's and Lancelot's factions. Shortly thereafter, Arthur pursues
Lancelot to his home in France to continue the fight. Gawain challenges
Lancelot to a duel, but loses and asks Lancelot to kill him; Lancelot refuses
and grants him mercy before leaving. This event plays out twice, each time
Lancelot playing a medieval version of rope-a-dope due to Gawain's
enchantment/blessing to grow stronger between 9 a.m. and noon, then
striking down Gawain, but sparing his life.
Arthur receives a message that Mordred, whom he had left in charge back in
Britain, has usurped his throne, and he leads his forces back home. In the
invasion Gawain is mortally injured, and writes to Lancelot, asking for his help
against Mordred, and for forgiveness for separating the Round Table. In a
dream, the departed Gawain tells Arthur to wait thirty days for Lancelot to
return to England before fighting Mordred, and Arthur sends Lucan and
Bedivere to make a temporary peace treaty. At the exchange, an unnamed
knight draws his sword to kill an adder. The other knights construe this as
treachery and a declaration of war. Seeing no other recourse, at the Battle of
Camlann, Arthur charges Mordred and impales him with a spear. But with the
last of his strength, Mordred impales himself even further, so as to come
within striking distance of King Arthur, then gives a mortal blow to Arthur’s
head.
As he is dying, Arthur commands Bedivere to cast Excalibur into the lake.
Bedivere initially does not throw the sword in the lake, but instead hides it
behind a tree. He confesses his reluctance to Arthur, then returns to the lake
and throws in his own sword instead of Excalibur. Bedivere once again relays
his disobedience to Arthur, who requests the sword be returned to the lake
for a third time. When Bedivere finally throws Excalibur back in the lake, it is
retrieved by the hand of the Lady of the Lake. The hand shakes the sword
three times and then vanishes back into the water. A barge appears, carrying
ladies in black hoods (one being Morgan le Fay), who take Arthur to the Isle of
Avalon.
After the passing of King Arthur, Malory provides a denouement, mostly
following the lives (and deaths) of Guinevere, Lancelot, and Lancelot's
kinsmen.
When Lancelot returns to Dover, he mourns the deaths of his comrades.
Lancelot travels to Almesbury to see Guinevere. During the civil war,
Guinevere is portrayed as a scapegoat for violence without developing her
perspective or motivation. However, after Arthur's death, Guinevere retires to
a convent in penitence for her infidelity. Her contrition is sincere and
permanent; Lancelot is unable to sway her to come away with him. Instead,
Lancelot becomes a monk, and is joined in monastic life by his kinsmen.
Arthur's successor is appointed (Constantine, son of King Carados of
Scotland), and the realm that Arthur created is significantly changed. After
the deaths of Guinevere and Lancelot, Sirs Bors, Hector, Blamore, and
Bleoberis head to the Holy Land to crusade against the Turks, where they die
on Good Friday.
Later publications
"How Sir Bedivere Cast the Sword Excalibur into the Water", illustration for Le
Morte Darthur, J. M. Dent & Co., London (1893-1894), by Aubrey Beardsley.
The Victorian poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson retold the legends in the poetry
volume Idylls of the King. His work focuses primarily on Sir Thomas Malory's
Le Morte d'Arthur and the Mabinogion, but with many expansions, additions,
and several adaptations, like the fate of Guinevere. In Malory she is
sentenced to be burnt at the stake but is rescued by Lancelot; in the Idylls
Guinevere flees to a convent, is forgiven by Arthur, repents, and serves in the
convent until she dies.
In 1892, London publisher J. M. Dent & Co. decided to produce an illustrated
edition of Le Morte Darthur in modern spelling. They chose a 20-year-old
insurance-office clerk and art student, Aubrey Beardsley, to illustrate the
work. It was issued in 12 parts between June 1893 and mid-1894, and met
with only modest success at the time. However, it has since been described
as Beardsley's first masterpiece, launching what has come to be known as
the "Beardsley look".[15] It was his first major commission, and included
nearly 585 chapter openings, borders, initials, ornaments and full- or doublepage illustrations. Most of the Dent edition illustrations were reprinted by
Dover Publications, Inc., New York, in 1972 under the title Beardsley's
Illustrations for Le Morte Darthur. A facsimile of the Beardsley edition,
complete with Malory's unabridged text, was published in the 1990s.
In 1880, American poet Sidney Lanier published a much watered-down and
expurgated version of Malory's book entitled The Boy's King Arthur.[16] This
version was later incorporated into Grosset and Dunlap's series of books
called the Illustrated Junior Library, and reprinted under the title King Arthur
and his Knights of the Round Table.[17]
John Steinbeck used the Winchester Manuscripts of Thomas Malory and other
sources as the original text for The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights
in 1976. The Book of King Arthur and His Noble Knights of the Round Table
was published mainly for young people. Besides Steinbeck's work, there are
at least three modern English language versions. The first was published
anonymously in 1950; the second by Roger Lancelyn Green, Richard Lancelyn
Green and Lotte Reiniger (illustrator), first published in 1953, and the third by
Emma Gelders Sterne, Barbara Lindsay, Gustaf Tenggren and Mary Pope
Osborne, published in 2002. Scholar Keith Baines published a modernized
English version of Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur in 1962. More recently, scholar
Dorsey Armstrong published a Modern English translation that focused on the
Winchester manuscript rather than the Caxton edition in 2009.
Castle Freeman, Jr.'s 2008 novel Go With Me is a modern retelling of the Tale
of Sir Gareth.[18][19]
Influenced the poem Morte d'Arthur written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Reception
Until the discovery of the Winchester Manuscript in 1934 at Winchester
College, the 1485 edition printed by William Caxton was considered the
earliest known text of Le Morte d'Arthur and that closest to Malory's
translation and compilation.[20] Modern editions are inevitably variable,
changing a variety of spelling, grammar, and/or pronouns for the convenience
of readers of modern English.
The Arthurian characters and tales act like litmus, responding to the issues,
aspirations, and anxieties of readerships in every different time and place
that they touch. But Arthurian narratives can also act on the cultures that
reproduce them, whether expressing an idealizing national wish about the
"Camelot" Kennedy administration in the early 1960s, or articulating English
King Edward I's symbolic kinship with the Welsh in hopes of military
advantage in the late 1200s...
—Bryan (1994), p.x[21]
These and other controversies [providential historiography vs. Christian
penance, courtly love vs. adultery] operating within the accumulation of tales
and genres lend some force, ironically, to Caxton's claim that readers should
look to this text for moral example. Caxton instructed readers of this
narrative of knights' adventures to "Doo after the good and leve the evyl, and
it shal brynge you to good fame and renommee." It is ultimately the
enormous complexity of conflicting demands that will engage moral
sensibilities of readers of this text.
—Bryan, p.xii.[4]
I think my sense of right and wrong, my feeling of noblesse oblige, and any
thought I may have against the oppressor and for the oppressed came from
[Le Morte d'Arthur]....It did not seem strange to me that Uther Pendragon
wanted the wife of his vassal and took her by trickery. I was not frightened to
find that there were evil knights, as well as noble ones. In my own town there
were men who wore the clothes of virtue whom I knew to be bad....If I could
not choose my way at the crossroads of love and loyalty, neither could
Lancelot. I could understand the darkness of Mordred because he was in me
too; and there was some Galahad in me, but perhaps not enough. The Grail
feeling was there, however, deep-planted, and perhaps always will be.
—John Steinbeck[22]
Bibliography
The work itself
Editions based on the Winchester manuscript:
Facsimile:
Malory, Sir Thomas. The Winchester Malory: A Facsimile. Introduced
by Ker, N. R. (1976). London: Early English Text Society. ISBN 0-19-722404-0.
Original spelling:
Malory, Sir Thomas. Le Morte Darthur. (A Norton Critical Edition). Ed.
Shepherd, Stephen H. A. (2004). New York: W. W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-974642. (Official website with textual corrections and further commentary: Stephen
H. A. Shepherd: Le Morte Darthur: On-line companion.)
_________. The Works of Sir Thomas Malory. Ed. Vinaver, Eugène. 3rd
ed. Field, Rev. P. J. C. (1990). 3 vol. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 019-812344-2, ISBN 0-19-812345-0, ISBN 0-19-812346-9.
_________. Malory: Complete Works. Ed. Vinaver, Eugène (1977).
Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-281217-3. (Revision and retitling
of Malory: Works of 1971).
_________. Malory: Works. Ed. Vinaver, Eugène (1971). 2nd ed. Oxford:
Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-254163-3.
_________. The Works of Sir Thomas Malory. Ed. Vinaver, Eugène
(1967). 2nd ed. 3 vol. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-811838-4.
_________. Malory: Works. Ed. Vinaver, Eugène (1954). Oxford: Oxford
University Press. ISBN 0-19-254163-3. (Malory's text from Vinaver's The
Works of Sir Thomas Malory (1947), in a single volume dropping most of
Vinaver's notes and commentary.)
_________. The Works of Sir Thomas Malory. Ed. Vinaver, Eugène
(1947). 3 vol. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Modernised spelling:
Malory, Sir Thomas. Le Morte Darthur: The Winchester Manuscript. Ed.
Cooper, Helen (1998). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-282420-1.
(Abridged text.)
Translation/paraphrase into contemporary English:
Malory, Sir Thomas. Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur: King Arthur and the
Legends of the Round Table. Trans. and abridged by Baines, Keith (1983). New
York: Bramhall House. ISBN 0-517-02060-2. Reissued by Signet (2001). ISBN
0-451-52816-6.
_________. Le Morte D'Arthur. (London Medieval & Renaissance Ser.)
Trans. Lumiansky, Robert M. (1982). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. ISBN
0-684-17673-4.
Steinbeck, John, and Thomas Malory. The Acts of King Arthur and His
Noble Knights: From the Winchester Manuscripts of Thomas Malory and Other
Sources. (1976) New York: Noonday Press. Reissued 1993. ISBN 0-374-523789.
Brewer, D.S. Malory: The Morte Darthur. York Medieval Texts, Elizabeth
Salter and Derek Pearsall, Gen. Eds. (1968) London: Edward Arnold. Reissued
1993. ISBN 0-7131-5326-1. (Modernized spelling version of Books 7 and 8 as
a complete story in its own right. Based on Winchester MS, but with changes
taken from Caxton, and some emendations by Brewer.)
Armstrong, Dorsey. Sir Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur: A New Modern
English Translation Based on the Winchester Manuscript (Renaissance and
Medieval Studies) Anderson, SC: Parlor Press, 2009. ISBN 1-60235-103-1.
Editions based on Caxton's edition:
Facsimile:
Malory, Sir Thomas. Le Morte d'Arthur, printed by William Caxton,
1485. Ed. Needham, Paul (1976). London.
Original spelling:
Malory, Sir Thomas. Caxton's Malory. Ed. Spisak, James. W. (1983). 2
vol. boxed. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN 0520-03825-8.
_________. Le Morte Darthur by Sir Thomas Malory. Ed. Sommer, H.
Oskar (1889–91). 3 vol. London: David Nutt. The text of Malory from this
edition without Sommer's annotation and commentary and selected texts of
Malory's sources is available on the web at:
University of Michigan: Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse:
Le Morte Darthur.
Modernised spelling:
Malory, Sir Thomas. Le Morte d'Arthur. Ed. Matthews, John (2000).
Illustrated by Ferguson, Anna-Marie. London: Cassell. ISBN 0-304-35367-1.
(The introduction by John Matthews praises the Winchester text but then
states this edition is based on the Pollard version of the Caxton text, with
eight additions from the Winchester manuscript.)
_________. Le Morte Darthur. Introduction by Moore, Helen (1996).
Herefordshire: Wordsworth Editions Ltd. ISBN 1-85326-463-6. (Seemingly
based on the Pollard text.)
_________. Le morte d'Arthur. Introduction by Bryan, Elizabeth J.
(1994). New York: Modern Library. ISBN 0-679-60099-X. (Pollard text.)
_________. Le Morte d'Arthur. Ed. Cowen, Janet (1970). Introduction by
Lawlor, John. 2 vols. London: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-043043-1, ISBN 0-14043044-X.
_________. Le Morte d'Arthur. Ed. Rhys, John (1906). (Everyman's
Library 45 & 46.) London: Dent; London: J. M. Dent; New York: E. P. Dutton.
Released in paperback format in 1976: ISBN 0-460-01045-X, ISBN 0-46001046-8. (Text based on an earlier modernised Dent edition of 1897.)
_________. Le Morte Darthur: Sir Thomas Malory's Book of King Arthur
and of his Noble Knights of the Round Table,. Ed. Pollard, A. W. (1903). 2 vol.
New York: Macmillan. (Text corrected from the bowdlerised 1868 Macmillan
edition edited by Sir Edward Strachey.) Available on the web at:
Project Gutenberg: Le Morte Darthur: Volume 1 (books 1-9) and Le
Morte Darthur: Volume 2 (books 10-21). (Plain text.)
Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library: Le Morte
Darthur: Volume 1 (books 1-9) and Le Morte Darthur: Volume 2 (books 10-21)
(HTML.)
Celtic Twilight: Legends of Camelot: Le Morte d'Arthur (HTML with
illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley from the Dent edition of 1893–94.)
_________. Le Morte Darthur. Ed. Simmon, F. J. (1893–94). Illustrated by
Beardsley, Aubrey. 2 vol. London: Dent.
Limerick translation: Le Morte d'Arthur, an Epic Limerick, 2006, by Jacob
Wenzel, ISBN 978-1-4116-8987-9
Commentary
Glossary to Le Morte d'Arthur at Glossary to Book 1 and Glossary to Book 2
(PDF)
Lugodoc's Guide to Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur
Malory's Morte d'Arthur and Style of the Morte d'Arthur, selections by Alice
D. Greenwood with bibliography from the Cambridge History of English
Literature.
About the Winchester manuscript:
University of Georgia: English Dept: Jonathan Evans: Walter F. Oakeshott
and the Winchester Manuscript. (Contains links to the first public
announcements concerning the Winchester manuscript from The Daily
Telegraph, The Times, and The Times Literary Supplement.)
UBC Dept. of English: Siân Echard: Caxton and Winchester (link offline
on Oct. 25, 2011; according to message on Ms. Echard's Medieval Pages,
"September 2011: Most of the pages below are being renovated, so the links
are (temporarily) inactive.")
Department of English, Goucher College: Arnie Sanders: The Malory
Manuscript
See also
Portal icon
King Arthur portal
Portal icon
Novels portal
Illegitimacy in fiction
Post-Vulgate Cycle
References
Since morte (or mort) is a feminine noun, French would require the article la
(i.e., “la mort d'Arthur”). According to Stephen H. A. Shepherd, “Malory
frequently misapplies le in titular compounds, perhaps on a simple sonic and
gender-neutral analogy with 'the'”. Stephen H. A. Shepherd, ed., Le Morte
Darthur, by Sir Thomas Malory (New York: W. W. Norton, 2004), 1n.
Malory, Thomas, and Helen Cooper. Le Morte DArthur: The Winchester
Manuscript. Oxford, England: Oxford UP, 2008. Print.
Bryan (1994), p.viii-ix.
Bryan (1994), p.xii.
Bryan, ed. (1999), p.xviii.
McShane, Kara L. (2010). "Malory's Morte d'Arthur". The Rossell Hope Robbins
Library at the University of Rochester. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
Bryan (2004), p.ix
W. F. Oakeshott. "The Text of Malory". Retrieved 2009-01-11.
Walter F. Oakeshott, “The Finding of the Manuscript,” Essays on Malory, ed. J.
A. W. Bennett (Oxford: Clarendon, 1963), 1-6.
Walter F. Oakeshott, “Caxton and Malory's Morte Darthur,” GutenbergJahrbuch (1935), 112-116.
William Matthews, The Ill-Framed Knight: A Skeptical Inquiry into the Identity
of Sir Thomas Malory (Berkeley, CA: University of California, 1966).
The Malory Project (http://www.maloryproject.com), directed by Takako Kato
and designed by Nick Hayward.
“Morte D’Arthur.” The Cambridge History of English Literature. A.W Ward, A.R
Waller. Vol II. Cambridge: A UP, 1933. Print.
Scott-Kilvert, Ian. British Writers. New York Charles Scribners's Sons, 1979
Dover Publications (1972). Beardsley's Illustrations for Le Morte Darthur,
Publisher's note & back cover.
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/653360
http://www.amazon.com/Arthur-Knights-Illustrated-JuniorLibrary/dp/0448060167
bookgroup.info: interview: Castle Freeman Retrieved 2012-12-17.
A Chat With Castle Freeman, Jr. Retrieved 2012-12-17
Bryan, Elizabeth J. (1994/1999). "Sir Thomas Malory", Le Morte D'Arthur, p.vii.
Modern Library. New York. ISBN 0-679-60099-X.
Bryan (1994), p.x.
Bryan (1999). Le Morte D'Arthur, back cover.
External links
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Le Morte d'Arthur
LibriVox fulltext audiobook recording of Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur
Full Text of Volume One - at Project Gutenberg
Full Text of Volume Two - at Project Gutenberg
Le Morte Darthur. volume 1 (Ebook version)
Le Morte Darthur. volume 2 (Ebook version)
Different copies of La Mort d'Arthur on Internet Archive.
[show]
v
t
e
King Arthur and the Matter of Britain
[show]
v
t
e
Fantasy
Categories:
1485 books
Arthurian literature
Arthurian literature in Middle English
British books
Medieval literature
Prison writings
Romance (genre)
Holy Grail
Navigation menu
Create account
Log in
Article
Talk
Read
Edit
View history
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop
Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page
Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page
Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version
Languages
Български
Brezhoneg
Čeština
Cymraeg
Deutsch
Español
Français
Galego
Italiano
Nederlands
日本語
Norsk bokmål
Polski
Português
Русский
Svenska
Українська
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 27 December 2014, at 03:33.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the
Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
