Le Morte D'Arthur
Le Morte D'Arthur (
The Death of Arthur) is Sir
Thomas Malory's compilation of numerous French
Arthurian romances. It was published by in
1485 by
William Caxton.
Le Morte D'Arthur has become the base story of many modern Arthurian stories, including
T.H. White's
The Once and Future King.
Malory likely started work on it while he was in prison in the early 1450s and completed it by 1470. It is believed that William Caxton named it Le Morte D'Arthur instead of Malory's original title The Book of King Arthur and His Noble Knights of the Round Table. Also, most modern editions have updated it from Malory's original Middle English. Caxton was also responsible for separating it into 21 books comprised of 507 chapters for easier reading. Yet readers still find it apparent that Malory intended the work to be eight tales about:
- the birth and rise of Arthur
- King Arthur's invasion of France and Rome
- Launcelot
- Gareth (brother of Gawain)
- Tristram and Isolde
- the Quest of the Holy Grail
- the affair between Launcelot and Guinevere
- the breaking of the Knights of the Round Table and the death of 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, it ventures to
Rome, Sarras (near
Babylon), and recalls
Biblical tales from the ancient
Middle East.
External links