Penned in the late 1400s, Le Morte d'Arthur by Malory is the foundational (though not the first) Arthurian text upon which many subsequent writers have based their stories. Broken into 8 books (listed below), the tales cover the familiar adventures of Arthur, the knights of his round table, their adventures, and their ultimate demise.
The Books
In book 1 of Le Morte d'Arthur, King Arthur orders the death of a group of babies in an attempt to kill the bastard (Mordred) he conceived in an adulterous affair with his Aunt. Needless to say, I was caught off-guard. This was certainly not the Arthur I had pictured in my mind- that mythical, almost Christ-like king who ruled during a golden age of chivalry and adventure. Subsequent books (in general) fall into a more expected pattern, with knights questing, saving ladies in distress, and championing righteous causes. What follows is the title of each book with a brief synopsis of each:
The Tale of King Arthur
- Tells how King Arthur was conceived and came to the throne; the creation of the knights of the round table and Arthur's first years of rule
The Tale of King Arthur and the Emperor Lucius
- Describes Arthur's campaign against, and victory over, the Roman Emperor Lucius
The Tale of Sir Launcelot Du Lake
- Details Launcelot's rise to becoming the best knight in the land through many feats of significance
The Tale of Sir Gareth
- Displays Sir Gareth's rise to prominence, and his love for Lyonesse
The Book of Sir Tristram of Lyoness
- Contained here is the story of Tristan and Isolde, a love story doomed to a tragic ending, as the latter is married to vengeful King Mark
The Tale of the Sangreal (Holy Grail)
- Discusses the quest for the holy grail, and how many of Arthur's knights perish or are scattered in the attempt for it. This is the beginning of the break-up of the knights of the round table.
The Book of Sir Launcelot and Queen Gwynevere
- Looks at Launcelot & Gwynevere's love affair, how he's saved her several times, and foreshadows its consequences
Le Morte D'Arthur
- It all falls apart as Arthur is forced to confront his best knight and his wife regarding their betrayal; while Arthur's fighting Launcelot, Mordred takes the throne and forces a confrontation with Arthur, leading to their mutual demise
Malory wrote the books using different sources as reference material (a decent overview on this is here). Perhaps this is why I felt the books were of varying quality. The first one I found so bad I almost stopped reading . . . I'm glad I continued. They got progressively better, and I enjoyed the last one the most. I skipped The Book of Sir Tristram of Lyoness due to length and disinterest- 200 pages alone (40% of the entire work) for a story I didn't care to read.
Random Observations
- I expected extreme morality- I didn't see it. As previously mentioned, Arthur commits incest and murder at the very beginning. Other knights commit similar sins. While there is a sense, overall, of the desire to do good, much bad is done, often with no remorse shown. That said, the acts of King Arthur presented here show him to be a decent king, but not the mythical figure he's frequently held up as being.
- Merlin hardly features at all. He's present in the first part of the first book only.
- The tales (especially the first one) contain a curious preponderance of dwarves. Seriously; dwarves are always (randomly) popping out of the forest or accompanying knights on adventures. Why?
- Little to no mention is made of dragons.
- King Pellinore and the Questing Beast get little attention; only in the first book are they mentioned.
Conclusion
Fans of Arthur should read this work due to its place as the foundation for many subsequent stories. Additionally, some will find value in the insight into the medieval takes on morality and justice. All others can avoid this without missing much.
A final note: I read the translation by Keith Baines, which I found fine, but many have criticized it as too "childish"- too simple. I had tried the Oxford World Classics version first, and it is closer to the original, but too difficult to plow through for my liking. Baines' take is simple, but works well for the person who (like me) just wants to know the story.
Rating: B-
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