Malory: The Morte Darthur: Parts Seven and Eight

by Thomas Malory, Derek S. Brewer (Editor/Introduction/Notes)

There is little need specially to commend The Morte Darthur. It is been known for centuries as a superb story of adventure and love, honour and betrayal. Only literary critics have neglected it. It is a long and complex work, during the writing of which Malory perfected his art, and the earlier parts, excellent as they are, have not quite the dramatic power and pervasive deep tragic irony of the story of passion, war, and society the constitutes the last quarter of the book; critics have perhaps not appreciated the difference. Representing this last quarter, which has his own natural unity within the larger whole, the present edition focuses more sharply on the greatness of Malory's achievement, and allows the reader to see it and enjoy it more readily.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Medieval, Arthurian, Read For School

166 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

From French sources, Sir Thomas Malory, English writer in floruit in 1470, adapted Le Morte d'Arthur , a collection of romances, which William Caxton published in 1485.

From original tales such as the Vulgate Cycle , Sir Thomas Malory, an imprisoned knight in the fifteenth century, meanwhile compiled and translated the tales, which we know as the legend of king.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_...

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

actually really liked this. thought-provoking and humorous.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this before in grad school, and I remember being bewildered, frustrated, and ultimately challenged by it then. I assigned it in my independent study class this year to read with two talented students, and found myself experiencing all the same reactions all over again.

I was bewildered by not feeling ANY affection for Lancelot, whom Malory obviously regards as a great and sympathetic hero. There is something about 1400s Medieval mindset that I cannot readily enter, that hits like freezing cold water and takes me a while to ease into.

I was frustrated by the court's tension between honor ("worship") and goodness, which I tend to view as basically the same, or as one being part of the other. The best knight is an adulterer; there seems to be no problem with this among any member of the court (even the king had a "weening" of it)--until it sets off a tragic chain of events that brings the whole thing down. Like with Lancelot himself, it took me time (and some help from the excellent Introduction of this edition) to figure out that honor and goodness were almost two different systems, and Arthur's challenge (and achievement) was holding them together as long as he did.

I was challenged by the fact that it was Honor that brought down the society that was based on Honor: that is Arthur's irony, his tragedy, and his warning to us. What do we base our society on, and will that Thing, followed hard after, do the same to us? I was also challenged to enter completely into a foreign mindset and to mourn its inevitable failure. I saw in it a familiar story: striving for an ideal, and failing--not because the striving was incomplete, but because we are human and fallible, enough of a tragedy in itself. It is a theme not explored much in modernity, and it is deep enough to reward a long meditation.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

PJC Fields is great. He modernizes the punctuation, but not the spelling so we get the real Malory. Great!

[Abby]

Who knows the reasons my sober but sleep-deprived brain roves the shelves at night and selects one long-ago library castoff over another. Seriously, I don’t know why I read The Morte Darthur. I woke up the next morning and that’s what was on the bedside table, so I thought I might as well finish it.

Weirdly, John Steinbeck wrote a version of Malory’s Arthurian legends that I read in sophomore English. I remember being confused by the characterization: Why is Arthur is remembered as a great king when he is neither the most skilled knight nor the most courtly, is constantly being second-guessed by his better knights, and eventually becomes little more than a bumbler bemoaning the mess? Why is Lancelot the purest of knights when he is continually forced into situations where he breaks his own code? And why is Guenevere, the center of the action in so many ways, barely a character? said Little Abby.

Over ten years later I would say: Because this is a story about people’s failings. The wide gap between propaganda and leadership, or on a more personal level, between a person’s standards and his true situation. And also: Because chivalry, by this account, is a ludicrous system that puts people in situations where they have to do idiotic things that they know will bring more violence, and where they will probably have to kill people they love and respect. No wonder that system breaks down rather quickly.

Something else that always confused me as a teenager was whether Guenevere and Lancelot in fact did it or not. And honestly I still don't know. "And whether they were abed other at other manner of disports, me list not thereof make no mention, for love that time was not as love is nowadays." That's some BS, Malory, and you know it. But the ambiguity is an interesting aspect to the story, leaving the morality tale a bit open ended. Guenevere and Lancelot are certainly very sorry in later years that their relationship brought down a kingdom. But at the core, Guenevere seems no more nor less than a woman who knows whose company she prefers to keep. She is sort of boring that way.

Soon I will have less time to read random things and write long, rambly reviews...but until then, this is how I get my kicks.

[Rachel]

I found a paperback of this book in a bargain bin. It was a former college textbook. The funny thing is that I think the college types who wrote the opening analysis were missing something significant in the plot. They analyzed the central metaphor as the wheel of fate--and I agree with that--but insisted that there was no morality tale in this story. I disagree.
It seemed to me that the entire story was about how an affair destroyed everything, and that is why Lancelot and Guinevere, and their sad ends, were so important to the end of the story. If it had been about the rise and fall of Arthur, the narrative would have ended when he died. It was about the fall of the entire society, and all of the people associated with it.

[Kjerstin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Morte d'Arthur was an interesting read. I had never before read anything about King Arthur or Lancelot, etc. The writing was a little dry, but the stories were actually pretty cool. A lot of action and excitement if you can get past the boring parts. Definitely try it before you decide it isn't any good. It may surprise you.

[Maisie · Rating 3 out of 5]

oh this book took me forever to read, language went way over my head. it was kind of interesting toward the end, but meh. i can't remember all of the 7th tale..so i'm gonna have to go back through it :(

[Sandra Rahimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best version so far. Editing was to the point

[Adam Cherson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure if this is edition we read in high school circa 1977.