1485AD Camelot King Arthur Lancelot Guinevere Knights Middle Ages Medieval Fable

Le Morte D’Arthur (Volume 2) by Sir Thomas Malory, Edited by Janet Cowen, with an Introduction by John Lawlor.

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DESCRIPTION: Softcover: 531 pages. Publisher: Penguin Books; (2004). Edited and first published by William Caxton in 1485, Sir Thomas Malory's unique and splendid version of the Arthurian legend tells an immortal story of love, adventure, chivalry, treachery, and death. The legends of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table have inspired some of the greatest works of literature; from Cervantes's Don Quixote to Tennyson's Idylls of the King. Although many versions exist, Malory's stands as the classic rendition. Malory wrote the book while in Newgate Prison during the last three years of his life; it was published some fourteen years later, in 1485 A.D., by William Caxton. The tales, steeped in the magic of Merlin, the powerful cords of the chivalric code, and the age-old dramas of love and death, resound across the centuries.

CONDITION: Light shelf wear, last three pages are wrinkled, otherwise clean and Like New, never read.

PLEASE SEE IMAGES BELOW FOR SAMPLE PAGES FROM INSIDE OF BOOK.

PLEASE SEE PUBLISHER, PROFESSIONAL, AND READER REVIEWS BELOW.

PUBLISHER REVIEW:

REVIEW: Volume II of “Le Morte D’Arthur”, Sir Thomas Malory’s powerful and elegiac version of the Arthurian legend, recounts the adventures of Sir Tristram de Liones and the treachery of Sir Mordred, and follows Sir Lancelot’s quest for the Holy Grail, his fatally divided loyalties and his great, forbidden love for the beautiful Queen Guinevere. Culminating in an account of Arthur’s final battle against the scheming, deceitful Mordred, this is the definitive retelling of the Arthurian myth, weaving a story of adultery, treachery, and ultimately, in its tragic finale, death.

Edited and published by William Caxton in 1485, Malory’s moving prose romance looks back to an idealized medieval age of chivalry, drawing on French and English verse sources to create an epic masterpiece of passion, enchantment, war and betrayal. The text of this edition is based on Caxton’s original printed edition, with modernized spelling and punctuation. This volume also contains notes and a glossary.

History is not certain of the identity of the author of “Le Morte D’Arthur” and several theories have been advanced as to its historical circumstances. However the theory put forward by an American scholar, that the author was a Sir Thomas Malory, or Maleore, of Newbold Revell in Warwickshire, has gained widest acceptance. Sir Malory was born in the first quarter of the fifteenth century, and spent the greatest part of his last twenty years in prison.

Contemporary accounts accuse him of a number of crimes, including attempted murder, rape, and armed robbery. He is also credited with a couple of dramatic escapes from prison. However other records exist that suggest that he was a fighting man rather than a criminal. He was certainly in the service of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, and fought with him in the siege of Calais in 1436. It is not surprising that some scholars have found it difficult to reconcile this violent man with the author of these moral tales.

Another possible candidate might be a Thomas Malory of Studley and Hutton in Yorkshire, and it has been suggested that the language of the tales points to an author living north of Warwickshire. Whomsoever he was, it is generally accept that the author was a member of the gentry and a Lancastrian who deeply mourned the passing of the age of chivalry. He describes himself as a “knight-prisoner”, and it is clear that he spend many years in prison and “Le Morte D’Arthur” was probably written while the author was incarcerated.

It would also seem that he had seen service in south-western France, and it is possible that some of this book was written which he was held captive by Duke Jacques d’Armagnac, who had an extensive Authurian library and had served against the English under Charles VII of France in Normandy in 1449-50. A favorite and son-in-law of Louis XI, he was caught conspiring against the French Monarch – three times! After twice pardoning him, the king's patience became exhausted, and he besieged the duke's chateau and took him prisoner, and confined him to a cage. He was finally condemned to death by the parliament and beheaded in 1477. Meanwhile Sir Malory is thought to have died around 1471.

PROFESSIONAL REVIEWS:

REVIEW: An immortal story of love, adventure, chivalry, treachery, and death. Edited and first published by William Caxton in 1485, “Le Morte d’Arthur” is Sir Thomas Mallory’s unique and splendid version of the Arthurian legend. Mordred’s treason, the knightly exploits of Tristan, Lancelot’s fatally divided loyalties and his love for Gueneviere, the quest for the Holy Grail; all the elements are there woven into a wonderful completeness by the magic of his prose style. The result is not only one of the most readable accounts of the knights of the Round Table, but also one of the most moving. As the story advances toward the inevitable tragedy of Arthur’s death, the effect is cumulative, rising with an impending sense of doom and tragedy towards its shattering finale.

REVIEW: According to tradition, a rogue knight of the fifteenth century collated all the legends and songs surrounding the pre-Christian Welsh chieftain Arthur into a fascinating, rambling prose narrative. Since then it has inspired numerous artists while becoming the principal source for today's notions of chivalry and the Knights of the Round Table. Yet, for modern Americans, it's difficult to read, and in this edition it has been tastefully edited for comprehension, but the values and literary conventions have not. The modern reader can now enjoy the tales which once inspired the fantasies of young boys. All the psychological and moral complexities that are the author's chief concern are present, as well as the vigor and sonority of the writing. This edition’s editing smooths out the unevenness of the original and gives more life to the characters than Malory did, and brings out the full tragedy of Arthur's death and the dissolution of the Camelot ideal.

REVIEW: The stories of King Arthur, Lancelot, Queen Guenever, and Tristram and Isolde seem astonishingly moving and modern. Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur endures and inspires because it embodies mankind's deepest yearnings for brotherhood and community, a love worth dying for, and valor, honor, and chivalry. The epic story of King Arthur never fails to stir the imaginations of readers everywhere, and this outstanding version creates a unique vision of Camelot. These legends have always been a treat for the mind.

READER REVIEWS:

REVIEW: Knights and dragons, sorcerers and kings, romance and betrayal, blood and guts...there's something of interest for everyone in Malory's story. This book is about the legendary life and acts of King Arthur and the life and struggles of his active family of chivalrous knights. While enjoying the frenetic adventures of Lancelot, Galahad, King Arthur, and Guinevere, many aspects of everyday life in early medieval times are glimpsed, in particular an absorbing overview of the code of chivalry. It's a fascinating journey of knightly heroes struggling to follow the dichotomy of the code of chivalry that calls for heroic military strength balanced by Christian ideals.

Lancelot, as the main catalyst of the story, and the 'flower of all knights,' is a symbol of every human; flawed, yet struggling to better himself despite outside temptations. Arthur, on the other hand, is the ultimate symbol of goodness, loyalty, and bravery within the code of chivalry. His Round Table is called the 'flower of chivalry,' although as a result of his total faith in loyalty and honor Arthur is all too trusting of his friends and family. He and his Round Table are the heart of the story, but his fellowship of knights is shaken because of the loss of trust resulting from the adultery of Lancelot and Guinevere. Malory utilizes an effective, yet simple technique of grouping short prose stories with unusual titles such as 'How at night came an armed knight, and fought with Sir Gareth, and he, sore hurt in the thigh, smote off the knight's head,' into a sequential story line.

The brevity of each story and the eye-catching titles break up the tediousness of interpreting the old Anglo-Saxon vocabulary. Words such as 'brain-pan' (skull), 'orgulity' (pride), and 'gramercy' (many thanks), are difficult to interpret, but the reader is assisted by a short glossary of terms found at the end of each volume. These stories are grouped into twenty-one books, ranging from the marriage of Arthur and Guinevere, to the story of Lancelot and his search for the Holy Grail, to the final book, detailing the death of King Arthur and the lamentable collapse of the Round Table.

REVIEW: “Le Morte D’Arthur” (“The Death of Arthur”) was written by Sir Thomas Malory while he was imprisoned for some number of years. It was one of the very first times that the Arthurian legend was penned in English. There were some older Latin fragments of the myth floating around, but it's thru Malory's account by which we know the stories most thoroughly. The most successful movie adaptation of the legend, “Excalibur”, is based on elements taken from Malory's epic.

This is an absolute must-read for all persons who have even a remote interest in the Arthurian fantasy. It contains all of the most famous characters and episodes from the legend. Within these pages, one will encounter Arthur, Gwynevere, Sir Lancelot, Sir Galahad, Sir Modred, Sir Bors, Sir Percivale, Merlin and all the rest. The purity of Galahad is contrasted with the sinful nature and temporary madness of Lancelot. The memorable allegory of Sir Percivale's duel with Satan, as well as so many other knightly adventures, are all recorded for us here.

This book is highly recommended to all fans of medieval times, medieval literature, the history of Great Britain and the idea of Chivalry. The codes of honor, the rules of fair play and the heroic ideals conceived by the knights of the middle-ages have followed us down thru the centuries and are still as relevant to the best of us today as they were 500-1500 years ago. The story ends with one of the most memorable Latin phrases in literary history, “here lies King Arthur, the once and future King”.

REVIEW: I typically am not a fan of classic literature. There are a few books, however, that I have really enjoyed. This is one of them. As one would expect it's a high reading level. However, it's definitely worth it. Malory does an excellent job at telling the stories of King Arthur, and develops his characters very well. I enjoy medieval-themed stories and I recommend this to anyone who likes this genre.

REVIEW: I have not come to analyze Malory's great work. I've not even come to praise it. I've come to stand and stare at it in awe. "Le Morte D'Arthur" is the continent of our hearts. The slow and constant testing of human nature which this book portrays with its heart breaking finale sings with the kind of pain that only joy and the failure of joy can offer. Whoever the real Arthur was is immaterial compared to the moral vision of this right old book and shows with utmost psychological acuity the Catholic visionary landscape of the Middle Ages fall, shatter, and finally fade. Logre was an impossible glory, something unattainable. The mere Britain that succeeds it is only politics.

There is a lost world at the bottom of the book that is best revealed in the denial of the Sangreal to Lancelot. Lancelot was the greatest man who ever lived but that wasn't great enough. And so, Logre fell. "Le Morte D'Arthur" is necessary. It is seated at the core of Western humanity - being an authentic Catholic myth - along with only a handful of other core works: "Hamlet", "Faust" by Goethe, "The Comedy" of Dante, the Essays of Montaigne, and "Don Quixote". But suggesting it as mandatory reading for the schools would probably destroy the million bright strands of deed and thought and feeling that compose its high and lost glory.

REVIEW: I have wanted this book for close to a whole decade. I rented the movie Excalibur when I was like 13 years old and loved it. I watched it over and over again, finally getting a new VHS edition of what has to be easily the best sword and sorcery movie ever made. As I watched the credits in the movie Excalibur, I noticed it said it was based on Malory's novel Le Morte D'Arthur. I thought the book would be really expensive and hard to find. Finally one day last summer I was able to get third paperback edition and I found it even lower the cover price of $7.99. I read the book and was surprised. It did have some of what was based in the movie Excalibur, but it was a large collection of individual stories of the legendary characters. I was expecting something more in line exactly with the script of the Ezcalibur movie.

After initial surprise, I read the book and liked it, if only for sentimental value. It was written in the 1500s! I like really old gothic and occult literature and now can read them very fast. I usually read 10 pages a sitting and at multiple sittings a day and sometimes reading more than 10 pages you can through books even long 500 page ones like this fast. It is a classic that stands the test of time. This is a savage and barbaric book, this is what it has in common most with the movie Excalibur. When most people think of King Arthur they think like A Kid in King Arthur's Court.

Well Excalibur is more realistic and this book if King Arthur really existed this what it would've been more like. Though it borders on cheese- knights in armor getting limbs severed, etc, but the special effects in Excalibur, the script, the acting, everything made up for that is regarded amongst even mainstream movie fans as a masterpiece. I would recommend this if you want to know the real story of King Arthur, not a childish fantasy...surprise...Arthur dies!

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