Morte Darthur

by Sir Thomas Malory
edited by D. S. Brewer

Northwestern University Press, 1968
Paper: 978-0-8101-0031-2

ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE

ABOUT THIS BOOK

The Morte Darthur is a superb story of adventure and love, honor and betrayal, and one of the classics of world literature. Malory perfected his art during the writing of the long and complex work and the earlier parts, though excellent, lack the dramatic power and pervasive tragic irony of the passion, war, and society that constitutes the last quarter of the book. By presenting the last quarter alone, this edition focuses on the greatness of Malory's achievement and allows the reader to see it and enjoy it more fully.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

No one knows for sure who the author of Le Morte D'Arthur was, but the generally accepted theory is that of American scholar G.L. Kitteredge, who argued it was Sir Thomas Malory, born in the first quarter of the fifteenth century, and who spent the greatest part of his last twenty years in prison. Another possibility is a Thomas Malory of Studley and Hutton in Yorkshire, or an author living north of Warwickshire. It is generally accepted that the author was a member of the gentry and a Lancastrain. John Lawlor was Professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Keele. He is the author of The Tragic Sense in Shakespeare, Piers Plowman: An Essay in Criticism and Chaucer. Janet Cowen is a senior lecturer in English at King's College, University of London

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

Introduction

I.
General

II.
The Growth of Arthurian Legend

III.
The Morte Darthur

IV.
The Style of a Gentleman

V.
Structure

VI.
The Tragedy of the Honourable Society

VII.
The Author and Date of The Morte Darthur

VIII.
A Note on the Text

A Note on the Structure of the Morte Darthur

Select Bibliography

Caxton's Preface

The Morte Darthur

Part Seven.
The Book of Sir Lancelot and Queen Guenevere

1.
The Poisoned Apple

2.
The Fair Maid of Astolat

3.
The Great Tournament

4.
The Knight of the Cart

5.
The Healing of Sir Urry

Part Eight.
The Morte Arthur

1.
Slander and Strife

2.
The Vengeance of Sir Gawain

3.
The Siege of Benwick

4.
The Day of Destiny

5.
The Dolorous Death and Departing out of this world of Sir Lancelot and Queen Guenevere

Notes

Select Glossary

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