iE MORTE D’ARTHUR work: Chronicle Tne Thoms Nalory (1002-1471) apo plot Chiari romance ‘met plat: Goken Age of chivalry Britain tpubished: 1469; printed 14a Le Morte o’Arthur is @ monumental wor a ok Boao legends which had gave those tales apically Enelishvong’ bed ‘awork which has had tremendous influen Principal Characters Arthor (hor, king of Britain and head ofthe Round ‘pile, a brave, st, and temperate ruler. He values the {alowshp of his men above revenge for his queen's inns ely, and be closes his eyes to her love for Launeelot snl Mordred and Agravaine force him to act. ‘Queen Guenevere (2¥én'a:vit), a jealous, passionate ‘woman whose fury drives her lover Launcelot mad. She repeats afer the King is betrayed by Mordred, and she Gis in a convent, Launcelot du Lake (J6n’sarl0t di lak), the greatest of allthe knight except those who achieve the Grail quest Heis, himself, ranted a vision of the Grail, but his love forthe queen bars him from suecess in spite of his deep and sincere penitence. ‘Wstram (rs'trom), the ereat Cornish knight who is te fatful and devoted lover of Isolde, the wife of his uncle, King Mark, Like Launcelot, he adheres firmly for the knightly code of honor and continues to fight for his country even after Mark has ried to have him murdered. Iblde (6d), an Irish princess, married to King Mark fecpltcal reasons although she has loved Tristram from te time she cured him of a wound incurred while he jmusted with he brother. Mark, the cowardly, jealous king of Cornwall, who tecomes increasingly biter and vengeful toward Tristram, Isolde la Blanche Mains ((s6d’ labliish min), Trs- tan’ wife, Princess of Brittany. Gawain (gi'win), Arthur's nephew. He stands for vit- (we and justice untempered by merey in his uncle's final const with Launcelot but he dishonors his fellowship tale by beheading a lady and killing Lamorak de Galis ‘hen that knight was unarmed. Sir Kay, Arthur's sardonic, mocking foster brother and seneschal Galahad (gal’a-had), Launcelot’s son, the best of the "Sieh, who sits inthe Siege Perilous and draws Balin’ ‘word from a great stone as a prelude to his successful Gail quest, He dies after vision in which he receives rk Which made the one from the folklore of Celne of view, an ice on literature 351 ‘Arthurian cycle avai ele available for the first time in English. Brain Freche Wade, amended and dete forsee pga the trament frm St. Joseph of Arita Pefclral p's) and Bors de Gants (6s do ns), vitaous nights wh aeompany Calta onthe ues ofthe Grail, Bors shone returns Arthur's ou ' dee vs mide (pment pagan bight, or mary years Tatoms daly enemy ae ale ot mit, He lyon ovr by hs a compe enor and Signin his ow ends by be ‘itsanea igt friendship by being lamer de Galle (n'a tk do gi, i famous for his Seenth and var, who surpacted ol by Lamcslot and Tasvam. He i killed by Gawain ard bis brothers or his afar wth hei meter Mordred (mér‘dréd), Arthur's son by his sister, an iltempered, evi aight who eventually destoys the lowship ofthe Round Tale and his royal father, Agravaine (Ggro-vin) and Gaherls. (grhér, Gavan brothers, pricipans in More's plot and th ing of thei othr and Lamers. Gareth (girth), tl, Hendsome young. man who nertakes his fst quest at “Beaumains” the Kitchen boy, but ater reveal imsl a the other af Cavan. Lint ie’, th damsel whose quest Gareth fils Ste mocks and cicizs the inexperienced young knight unt ater he hs rescued her ss. Lines (in), Lint sive lter Garth's ride. Balin Sauvage ino 0c). a Northumbrian ig, fated by the acquisition oa magie sword oll his beloved tote, Balan. Dinadan (ctn’s'n') Txtam’s commonsensial wit companion, who scorn ove ‘King Pelle (pe), the Fisher King of te Galle end a some points, togh isnt i ofen clea. He undentands th mysterio th Sangean ranges ihe conception of Gala, the knight who i fo achieve the guest and cre the wounded king nine lan’, Pel daughter and Galahad mother,$52 i ion of cs Lancelot in pt of his ection of Bt eta th fa mai of Asta WHO PES af ve for Lanett Gor} King Evelake "2 es con seph of Arimathaea, He lives genet wall eomplete the Gril DES a allows in (mir'in), the magician whose sPe xing ines Ponaragn to xe Tinga Casein ne shape of the rightful Duke of Cornwall, husband ofthe ov") Tgraine, Arthur's mother. In return, Uther promises that the child thus conceived wil be turned over to Merlin, to be reared under his charge. =} [Nimue (nim362), the Lady of the Lake, Medins mistess, who serves as a deus ex machina for several of the knights. an ancient ruler, €0 ‘The Story Uther Pendragon saw and loved Igraine, the vest and chaste Daches of Coal His eis, however, were checked by Igraine’s husband. King Uther made war on Cornwall, and in that war, the duke was Killed. By means of magic, King Uther caused Igraine to become pregnant; the couple were subsequently mar- ried. The child, named Arthur, was raised by a noble ‘gh, Sr tr. After he death of King Utes, Artur proved his right tothe throne by temoving a sword from anil that was bedded na rock. From the Lady of the Lake, he received his famous sword, Excalibur. When the independent kings of Britain rebelled and made war ‘on the young king, they were defeated. Arthur ruled over all Britain King Arthur martied Guinevere, the daughter of King Leodegrance, who presented the Round Table and a hundred knights to Arthur as a wedding gift. Merlin the ‘magician was enticed by one of the Ladies of the Lake into eternal imprisonment under a rock. Five foreign kings invaded Arthur's realm and were defeated after a long war. To show his gratitude to God for his victor, King Arthur founded the Abbey of the Beautiful Adventure atthe scene of his victory. Sir Accolon was the paramour of Morgan le Fay, enchantress sister of King Arthur. He fought Arthur with Excalibur, which Morgan le Fay had procured from Arthur by black magic. Arthur was nearly overcome; but in the fight, their swords were accidentally exchanged, and the King defeated Accolon. King Lucius of Rome sent ambassadors to Britain to demand tribute of King Arthur. When Arthur refused (0 ay, he was promised aid in war by all the knights of his er ated aa the British defeated Lucius and Ialy. Arthur was crown Emperor of Rome. maps Back in England, SirLauncelot, a knight ofthe Round se Masterpien. Morgan le Fay (mr'gon who contioualy devises yi fa Pelliore (peV'ndn), bold 2% edly pursues the Questing Beas!!! Gouvermail(giv-érniy t, stant companion Oy, Brangwane (nein), hoy Betor de Maris Ghar dy n° lang Dodinas le Sauvage (dove, Lins more (Sig'r9"m6r), Breunor engl and Safere (sf), brave ana oie x Meliogrance (m'yograne 8% int aman who kidnaps Guenevere ga & 2h ‘with Launcelot when she refs Tata), 4 wk si ‘Table and Queen Guinevere’s favorit tures to further the honor and glory of yin eng queen. After many long and arduous np cig them triumphant, Sir Launceltreturnag , e seat of King Arthur, and was avlane} got ofall Christendom, the Fig Elizabeth, queen of King Meiods of siving birth toa son, who was named Hoe of the sad circumstances surrounding po “istram was sent to France with hie se ey is preepe, 6 nai, where he was trained inal he wens knighthood. The King of leland demangen se King Mark of Cornwall. Sit Tistam tha (2% tne a come Sor ae champion, Si Maths, but he wat wage test He was nursed by Isolde, princess of inn tram and Isolde fell in love and promised oon to each other. Later, King Mark commisinoa Stk tram to return to Ireland to bring back lle song King ha contracted to mast. Dutng the evs ee from Ireland to Cornwall, Tistam and lle ert Jove potion and swore undying love. sold aria, Mark, and Sir Testa later married sleet Mains, daughter of King Howes of Britany. ibs remain separated from Isolde of Irelan, isn ot her secretly. At las, fearing discovery ani os rind for love of Isolde, Tristram ein fsb 4 pitiful condition, he was carried back 1 te a ‘where a faithful hound revealed his identity Kiet King Mark then banished Tristram from Comet years. The knight went to Camelot, whe he wate renown at tourneys and in knightly adventures, Kis heard of Tistram’s honors and went in dsgie C2 lotto kill Tristram. Sir Launcelotrecogized Kite and took him to King Arthur, who ordered sovereign to allow Sir Tristram to returape morte CArthur King Mark attempted unsuccessfully to get ig I, corn tristram, however, managed "risa otis 8 tp residence in Castle Joyous Cheng ‘old hermit prophesied to King Arthur 9 0 raat ate Round Ta ul ght not yet rn—One who Would win the Holy ye Gail er Sir Launcelot was tricked into an affaiwi tered Galahad. Some YER later, a stone with ewney sateen appeared i a rive A'mesage gp inte sated that the best knight in the world woutd smo itll the Knight of the Round Table attempted tephra the sword without succes. Finally arog fe Mproueht a young Knight to the Round Table sad ‘dim nthe vacant place at which the young knights ‘ete Sit Galahad, appeared magically fie he had been ‘wf. Sit Galahad withdrew the magic sword from the si and set out, with Arthurs other knights, in quet Sfthe Holy Grail. During his quest, he was joined part the time by his father, Sir Launcelo, Sir Launcelet to enter the Grail chamber and was stricken for reay-four days as a penance for his years of sin, A ‘Son of Christ came to Sir Galahad; he and his comrades ‘eeived communion from the Grail. They came toa city ‘ripe car east where they healed a cripple. Because of its miracle, they were thrown into prison by the pagan fing, When the king died, Sir Galahad was chosen king; fe saw the miracles of the Grail and died in holiness. “There was great rejoicing in Camelot after the quest- ing nights returned. Sir Launcelot forgot the promises fe had made during the quest and began to consort again with Guinevere. (One spring while traveling with her attendants, Guin- vere was captured by a traitorous knight, Sir Meliagr- Critical Evaluation The author of Le Morte d’Arthur was the unusual Sir ‘Thomas Malory of Newbold Revel. The strange circum- sances of his life contributed significantly to the shape and meaning of his masterwork. Born about 1400, he served with Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, was lighted in 1442, and was elected a Member of Parlia- meat in 1445, For whatever reasons of military adven- ‘ure, Malory turned to a life of irresponsible violence aod pent most of his last twenty years in prison until his ‘ath in 1471. It was during his imprisonment that Malory composed, translated, and adapted his great rendering of the Arthurian material. His active, fifteenth century life -xcounts for many of the differences between his vig- rows narrative and its contemplative, ruminative ante~ cedents in chivalric literature. Malory lived just alittle Fst the age of chivalry, at a time when its elegance and leisure had to be rationalized. Paty repr Monae nn cama. leben fits the tone of rain and ted to hanes sett eats Seis ag Ae ate et Lae] pairs King Arthur and Sir Mordred, an ae ‘on a pitched battle in which Mordred was iid rete Finally, Sir Bedivere threw the sword ural under the water. aoe el omar vn ce Pams eae belongs eet ate Cosa Malory isthe most influential of all Arthurian writers, He was the source and delight of Spenser and the well: spring of Tennyson's dlls of the King. First printed by Caxton in one volume in 1485, Le Morte Arthur has been consistently popular since, except during the Augustan period of the early eighteenth century. Caxton's printing is the source of all extant versions except a manuscript discovered in 1934 inthe Fellows" Library of Winchester College. The Winchester manuscript, which seems gen- cally more reliable than Caxton, ot only made the iden- tity of the author more certain but aso showed that Cax- ton had condensed the original. “Malory’s Le Morte Arthur is itself a condensation, adaptation, and rearrangement of earlier materials. It is based primarily on the French Arthurian Prose Cycle (1225-1230) known as the Vulgate, « conglomeration of courtly stories of Launcelot, ostensibly historical554 ‘Arthur and stories of the quest Taste Holy Grail. Eugene Vinaer, the foremost editor atthe differences and critic of Malory, has explained th ran cen the Vulgate and Malory’s narrative ae £00 indicators ofthe nature of Malory’s achievement “The primary structure of the Vulgate is episodic, and its narrative movement is largely flashbacks. Episodes prepare for and elucidate other episodes that may Rave Rrcurred earlier. It did not grow by accretion its shape {Sa reflection ofan alternative aesthetic. The result is & web of themes in which forward movement of the nar- ative is subordinated to the demonstration and clarifi- Cation of the dominant ideals ofthe work. Malory took this source, added material from the fourteenth century English Alzerative Morte Arthur and, t lesser extent, from the Stancaic Morte, and fashioned a new kind of fictional structure. The result isnot simply condensation but a disentanglement of the clements of the narrative and a recombination of them into an order, an emphasis, fnd a significance entirely alien tothe sources. Vinaver has identified two primary ways in. which Malory transformed the structure ofthe narrative. First, certain episodes are formed into self-contained units, almost short stories, by detachment from their context and the excision of extraneous detail. For example, in the Vulgate the incidents grouped together by Malory as the story of the Knight ofthe Cart appeared long before the Grail quest; Malory puts them long after and orga- nizes them as an exemplum of Launcelor’s noble ideals rather than as a prefigurement of his amatory commit. ‘ment, Consequently, Malory gives the episode a different significance by omission and shortening. Malory’s sec- ‘ond mode of transformation is to fashion a coherent nar ative from bits and pieces taken from his sources. Inthe story of the Fair Maid of Astolat for example, he orga- nizes details into a sequential form. ‘The most striking change in the sources is Malory’s accounts of the court of Masterpie, Pieces of Wary imposition of @ consistently fory, movement. The courtly digressiony sy to a ares el be there is a straightforward narrative so tone and meaning of the original ye tte oa prehension of of sympathy for the RY had gate Benet permened Ne soree tn fe fot be omitted, Malory translates pert Yigg) ‘hore compatible with his genius The! Some ere ie hight fe ca eee Lae ebasement forthe beloved but beeen. ofa to chivalric ideals, The elegance ang teeta ality of his antecedents are changeg etme irectness and moral earnestness, Leg) Mal af. christianized, somewhat sentimentalizen tg, the model of the moderation that leade rq et Mio rewards. Similarly, inthe story of Plles any s2P ay makes Peles’ behavior more practical th Et Magy Ettard’s infidelity, Malory substitutes te cou: A fof her death and Pells" happiness for mee te ‘abnegation demonstrated by Pelles in the Yarn? ‘Sometimes Malory’s fiction suffers fom between his sources and his rendering of me 24 the courtly and mysterious elements ary a N#al eonelized into the new intentiog nage, Re pherable oddities result. Le Morte davies ts femains a vigorous and compellin : over, ‘pint of adventurous knighthood, Ac Vi uote in detail, Malory has substituted outdoor image affectation, the real English countryside fa to tional French, vigorous speech for conventny st Jogues, and direct human relationships for te cay cate ae blunt and lively prose which isthe antithesis of teint cece of te French sources andi ely mali, Maloy’ more dest sutra oth