Le Morte D'arthur - Thomas Malory - 1485
Introduction
The legend of King Arthur can be found in English stories and folktales as early as the sixth century. The greatest and most complete version, however, did not appear until the fifteenth century, with Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur. To create the epic tale, Malory drew from many sources, most notably thirteenth-century French prose romances. He supplemented these French sources with English Arthurian materials.
Malory's story was originally written in Middle English, an early form of the English language, and consisted of eight books, or tales. The first tale concerns the conception, birth, and coronation of King Arthur. The second tale involves the invasion of France and Rome. The third tale, which focuses mainly on the knight Lancelot, was inspired by the French prose story Lancelot. Gareth, the brother of Sir Gawain—a brash knight of Arthur's Round Table—is the subject of the fourth tale, and the fifth tale centers on the story of Tristram and Isolde. Malory's theme for the sixth tale is the quest for the Sangrail, also known as the Holy Grail. The romance of Lancelot and Guinevere is the topic of the seventh tale. Malory's eighth and final tale concentrates on the discovery of Guinevere's affair, the battle between Mordred—another of Gawain's brothers—and Arthur, and ultimately Arthur's death.
This is a free page. This page contains 201 words. This
article contains 9,204 words (approx. 31 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Article with our Le Morte D'arthur - Thomas Malory - 1485 Access Pass.
