Le morte d'Arthur: Volume II

Le Morte d'Arthur Volumes #2

by Thomas Malory, Janet Cowen (Editor), John Lawlor (Introduction)

Volume II of Le Morte D Arthur, Sir Thomas Malory s powerful and elegaic version of the Arthurian legend, recounts the adventures of Sir Tristram de Liones and the treachery of Sir Mordred, and follows Sir Launcelot s quest for The Holy Grail, his fatally divided loyalties, and his great, forbidden love for the beautiful Queen Guenever. Culminating in an account of Arthur s final battle against the scheming, deceitful Mordred, this is the definitive re-telling 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 idealised 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 Caston's original printed, with modernized spelling and punctuation. This volume also contains notes and a glossary.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Fantasy, Arthurian, Medieval, Historical Fiction, Mythology

560 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1485

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

[°°°·.°·..·°¯°·._.· ʜᴇʟᴇɴ Ροζουλί Εωσφόρος ·._.·°¯°·.·° .·°°° ★·.·´¯`·.·★ Ⓥⓔⓡⓝⓤⓢ Ⓟⓞⓡⓣⓘⓣⓞⓡ Ⓐⓡⓒⓐⓝⓤⓢ Ταμετούρο Αμ · Rating 5 out of 5]

«Το 1485 ο τυπογράφος Γουίλιαμ Κάξτον στην Αγγλία τύπωσε ένα ογκωδέστατο βιβλίο, το οποίο έμελλε αργότερα να θεωρηθεί το πρώτο αγγλικό μυθιστόρημα. Ηταν Ο θάνατος του Αρθούρου του Τόμας Μάλορι. Ο συγγραφέας ήταν ιππότης, με άλλα λόγια αξιωματικός, στην υπηρεσία του κόμη του Γουόργουικ. Πρέπει να έλαβε μέρος στον εμφύλιο Πόλεμο των Ρόδων, που καταταλαιπώρησε την Αγγλία της εποχής του. Η σκοτεινή αυτή προσωπικότητα μοίρασε τη ζωή της ανάμεσα στα πεδία των μαχών, την παρανομία και τις φυλακές, όπου και πέθανε. Ο θάνατος του Αρθούρου γράφτηκε στη φυλακή από τον Μάλορι, αφού ο βασιλιάς Εδουάρδος Δ’ αρνήθηκε να του δώσει χάρη τα τελευταία έντεκα χρόνια της ζωής του που τα πέρασε έγκλειστος. Τότε, λέγεται, συνέλαβε την ιδέα να μελετήσει τις πηγές και να συλλέξει τις αφηγήσεις που απαρτίζουν τον κύκλο του Αρθούρου και των Ιπποτών της Στρογγυλής Τραπέζης. Υπάρχει ωστόσο και μια διαφορετική εκδοχή: το βιβλίο δεν γράφτηκε από τον Μάλορι αλλά από έναν συγκρατούμενό του που είχε φυλακιστεί για επίθεση και βιασμό».

«Ο θάνατος του Αρθούρου» ανήκει στην ποιητική λογοτεχνία του θρυλικού κύκλου των αφηγήσεων μεσαιωνικής ιστορίας, λαϊκών μύθων, αναφορές ιστορικών προσώπων, άλυτων γρίφων,απόλυτων ιδανικών, μυστηρίου, θριάμβων, προκλήσεων και ατελείωτων δοκιμασιών, σε μια αιώνια προσπάθεια να γίνει το όνειρο πραγματικότητα.

Σε μία εποχή πέρα απο τον χρόνο, όπου η σκοτεινότερη ώρα είναι πριν την αυγή που φωτίζει τον μεσαίωνα
και οι ήρωες στοιχειώνουν συμβολικές απεικονίσεις, μαγικές στιγμές, παραμύθια και ταξίδια σε προϊστορικούς γαλαξίες.
Η μέθεξη γίνεται με συνειδητή μεταφορά του αναγνώστη σε έναν κόσμο βαθιά χαμένο, θαμμένο, πλυμμηρισμένο και αδυσώπητα μαγεμένο απο μεταφορές λατρείας, δοξασίες γεμάτες σύμβολα με άρωμα μεσαιωνικό,
γεύση αρχαϊκών πόθων και αισθήσεις απαράμιλλης ευγένειας, γοητείας, ρομαντισμού, πάθους, γενναιότητας και ιπποσύνης στον βωμό της αιώνιας αγάπης.

Αυτό το έργο είναι η επική προσπάθεια που θα καταλήξει στο νόημα της ζωής, που θα καταρρίψει με δόξα τους θρύλους, θα συγκεντρώσει ανυπέρβλητες μάχες με ορατές και αόρατες δυνάμεις, κυρίως αναμετρήσεις ψυχικής καθαίρεσης και δοκιμασίες πίστης και απιστίας.
Ίσως να αποτελεί σύμβολο στην διπλή προσωπικότητα κάθε ύπαρξης που μπήκε στους γυάλινους πύργους του Κάμελοτ και χάθηκε ανάμεσα στα κάστρα της ποίησης και της μυθολογίας για τη σωτηρία της
ψυχής.
Με αυτοσχέδια και ουσιώδη στοιχεία απο μνήμες αλλοτινές γνωρίζουμε τους κώδικες της ιπποσύνης, της τιμής και της ανδρείας και ψιθυρίζουμε το σύνθημα στην Κυρά της Λίμνης για να μας μεταφέρει στην μυθική Αγγλία που αφθονούσε η μαγεία.

Ο Αρθούρος έγινε βασιλιάς αφού τράβηξε το σπαθί Εξκάλιμπερ απο τον βράχο που το είχε βάλει ο πατέρας του, Ούθερ Πεντράγκον, λίγο πριν πεθάνει.
Άρχισε να συμβουλεύεται με πίστη και αφοσίωση τον μάγο Μέρλιν, έκανε βασίλισσα του την όμορφη και λάγνα Γκουίνεβιρ και έγινε λαμπρός δημιουργός και ηγέτης των ιπποτών της Στρογγυλής Τραπέζης.
Ο μοναδικός σερ Λάνσελοτ συμπεριλήφθηκε ανάμεσα στους πιο πιστούς και λατρεμένους ιππότες του και υπήρξε πρότυπο γενναιότητας και ανδρείας.

Η πρωτεύουσα στο βασίλειο του Αρθούρου ήταν το Κάμελοτ. Ένα παραμυθένιο τέμενος περιτριγυρισμένο απο αρχαία μνημεία γέννησης και θανάτου σαν καθρέφτες ενός παγιδευμένου σύμπαντος.

Και απο το ανομολόγητο και το ανεξερεύνητο της μεσαιωνικής Γαλλίας εξορμούν οι ιππότες του Αρθούρου και αναζητούν περιπέτειες. Πολεμούν με τέρατα, πληγώνονται απο τα νύχια σατανικών μάγων ή ποθούν νεράιδες που η αιθέρια ομορφιά τους αποδεικνύεται τοξική, θανατηφόρα.
Οι ιππότες με ψυχές που δεν φοβήθηκαν τα γεννήματα απο σκοτεινές συνουσίες μαγείας, αντιμετωπίζουν κάθε είδος φυσικού και υπερφυσικού κινδύνου.

Απώτερος σκοπός η καθολική αγάπη στην καρδιά μιας γυναίκας, σύμβολο της τάξης ο έρωτας και κέντρο του σύμπαντος τους τα ιδανικά, οι αξίες, η θρησκεία χριστιανικών και παγανιστικών δυνάμεων και η γέννηση του πολιτισμού μέσα στην αναρχία του χάους.

Πόσο υπέροχα και δημιουργικά στήνεται μπροστά στα μάτια μας μέσα απο αυτό το βιβλίο, ένας θρυλικός κόσμος μύθου και λατρείας.
Ένας προάγγελος των λογοτεχνικών εποχών που έπονται, δεν ήταν μια συλλογή ιστοριών, ούτε ένα γραπτό συνοπτικό μύθευμα της εθιμοτυπίας και της ηθικής, ήταν ακόμη ένα απο τα μεγάλα συγγραφικά επιτεύγματα του 15ου αιώνα, αμέτρητες γενιές συγγραφέων, ποιητών και καλλιτεχνών επηρεάστηκαν απο την ξεχωριστή δύναμη του.

Στην Αγγλία του εραστή της σκοτεινής πτώσης απο τη χώρα του υψηλού μυστηρίου, Λάνσελοτ,
του Αρθούρου, του Μέρλιν, ως θεού όρνιου που συνουσιάζεται με ψυχές στον αέρα,
της βασίλισσας Γκουίνεβιρ, με τα πάθη και τα λάθη και της Ωραίας Ιζόλδης,
του ιππότη της διάπυρης, αιώνιας μελωδίας Τρίστραμ, του βασιλιά Μπορς και του βασιλιά Μπαν, του σερ Πέρσιβαλ
και του σερ Παλόμιντες που πάντα θα λατρεύει το άπιαστο και θα κυνηγάει το άπιστο,
μονομάχων που πεθαίνουν πνιγμένοι στη λάσπη του αίματος στις γιόστρες των πρωτόγονων βασιλείων της ανθρωπότητας, γενναίων που μονομαχούν με άλλους γενναίους,
αλλά και με αδάμαστους δράκοντες, ιερά δαιμόνια και στοιχεία, ένας κόσμος καθαρός, πρωτόπλαστος και ανίερα φωτεινός, όπου όλα συμβαίνουν στη φύση και στα κάστρα των προσευχών
και όπου οι γυναίκες κοιμούνται με τους αγαπημένους τους γνωρίζοντας πως μέσα σε μια βραδιά οι μοριακές ουσίες ζωής που χύθηκαν μέσα τους έθρεψαν «τον ευγενέστερο ιππότη που θα δει ο κόσμος».

Αυτό το μυθιστόρημα έχει μία δική του ιδιαίτερη δομή, τεχνική αρχαϊκής γραφής και υψηλή αξία, που αποκτά μαγικές δυνάμεις αν ο αναγνώστης αρνηθεί τη σύγκρουση ανάμεσα στον μυστικισμό και την αντικειμενική επιστήμη της ιστορίας.

Σύμφωνα με τον βρετανικό μύθο ο βασιλιάς Αρθούρος ζει παρέα με μια νεράιδα στο Άβαλον και τις περισσότερες άχρονες ώρες κοιμάται και αναπαύεται.

Μολονότι, ίσως είναι νεκρός απο καιρό, περιμένει την στιγμή που θα τον χρειάζονται περισσότερο οι συμπατριώτες του οπότε και θα ξυπνήσει για να τους σώσει.
Το ίδιο πιστεύω κι εγώ...


🏰⚔️🏰⚔️♥️♥️♥️🏰⚔️🏰⚔️

Καλή ανάγνωση.
Πολλούς ασπασμούς.

[Evripidis Gousiaris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Οι περιπέτειες και η εποχή ενός θρύλου-βασιλιά, ξαναζωντανεύουν στις σελίδες του βιβλίου συνθέτοντας για πρώτη φορά μια ολοκληρωμένη ιστορία γύρω από το πρόσωπο του Αρθούρου.

Χρειάζεται όμως υπομονή, φαντασία και ψάξιμο για να μεταφερθείς στον κόσμο του βιβλίου. Η έντονη επανάληψη και η ιδιαίτερη γλώσσα ίσως κουράσει μερικούς αναγνώστες που περιμένουν κάτι πιο "χολιγουντιανά" επικό. Καλύτερα οι συγκεκριμένοι να μην επιχειρήσουν να το διαβάσουν...

Όσοι όμως το προσεγγίσουν με μια πιο προσεκτική ματιά, αφήνοντας το βιβλίο να εξελιχθεί με τον δικό του αργό ρυθμό, δύσκολα δεν θα νιώσουν έναν Δον Κιχώτη να ξυπνάει μέσα τους.
Επιπλέον όσοι αναζητήσουν διάφορες πληροφορίες σχετικά με τους συμβολισμούς που κρύβονται στο βιβλίο θα ανταμειφθούν πολύ περισσότερο.

Μια προσεχτική προσέγγιση θα παρασύρει εύκολα τον αναγνώστη που γνωρίζει τι βιβλίο κρατάει στα χέρια του, ενώ οι υπόλοιποι δύσκολα θα μπορέσουν να περάσουν τις πρώτες σελίδες... Για αυτό δεν προτείνεται σε όλους...

[Stratos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Όλοι γνωρίζουμε τους ιππότες της Στρογγυλής Τράπεζας (150 ήταν παρακαλώ!), ιστορίες με τον βασιλιά Αρθούρο, τον σερ-Λάνσελοτ, τον σερ-Τρίσταμ και άλλους... Τις μάθαμε κυρίως μέσα από πανάκριβες παραγωγές του Χόλλυγουντ, είτε από τα αξέχαστα ΚΛΑΣΙΚΆ ΕΙΚΟΝΟΓΡΑΦΗΜΕΝΑ. Τούτο το βιβλίο, μαζί με τον Α΄ τόμο, γραμμένα το 1300 τόσο περίπου είναι το αυθεντικό βιβλίο στο οποίο στηρίζονται όλες αυτές οι ιστορίες. Ένα βιβλίο, δύο τόμοι 1200 περίπου σελίδες και πολλές πολλές περιπέτειες, με μάχες πολλές αλλά και ιστορίες αγάπης, μίσους, βασιλικές κόντρες και όλα όσα συνέβαιναν την εποχή αυτή (περίπου το 550 Μ.Χ.). Πέρασα όμορφες στιγμές ανάγνωσης τις οποίες θα τις θυμάμαι με την ελπίδα κάποια στιγμή να τις ξαναδιαβάσω. Γιατί όσο και αν βομβαρδιζόμαστε με νέες εκδόσεις, τα κλασικά αυτά έργα είναι που διαπλάθουν την προσωπικότητα μας. Άρα το ΑΡΙΣΤΑ με γράμματα κεφαλαία.....

[Έλσα · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ε Π Ο Σ !!!

[Ειρήνη Χατζουδη · Rating 5 out of 5]

Η Οδύσσεια του ιπποτικού μυθιστορήματος, γεμάτη κατορθώματα, ιδανικά και πολλές πληροφορίες για την εποχή των Σταυροφόρων. Μην περιοριστειτε στις σχετικές ταινίες. Το βιβλίο για άλλη μια φορά είναι ασύγκριτο.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm reminded of the self-referential quote from William Goldman's masterpiece The Princess Bride:

"Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles."

Goldman may as well have been writing about Le Morte d'Arthur, which includes pretty much everything on this list.

I'm glad Penguin* published this book in two volumes, so that I can give four stars to the first half (which is a little generous, if anything), and five to volume two. Taken as a whole, an amazing piece of literature, and perhaps the definitive version of the Arthurian story. While there is a continuous plot to the entire saga (although not always in chronological order), it's broken up into various nearly stand-alone sections, each with its own heroes and storylines. Volume 2 has most of the better episodes, including the great character-driven stories like the Tristram saga and the story of Launcelot and Guinevere, and the eerie, metaphorical story of the Grail Quest.

My favorite story was the tale of Sir Tristram. I particularly enjoyed the rivalry of Tristram and Palomides, who is probably my favorite character in the entire book, and a welcome surprise (since I wasn't familiar with him in advance).

What I enjoyed most about Le Morte d'Arthur are its complex and realistic characters (while the heroes may have superhuman strength and endurance, they exhibit realistic personality flaws and believable motivations). I also liked the way the individual tales were linked together into a cohesive unit, with events and decisions causing repercussions that ripple along throughout the rest of the saga.

The female characters aren't always very well-written, which is perhaps not surprising given the age and theme of the work, with most of them falling into the general categories of damsel in distress, conniving temptress, mischievous sorceress, sacred virgin, or unfaithful wife. But there are some good surprises here, including stories in which the damsel rescues the knight, rather than the other way around, and there are a few female characters with some depth, such as Maledisant.

The other thing that bothered me were the spoilers and anticlimaxes--the places in which Malory gives away the ending (or an important part of it) midway through the story, or else at the end of an episode casually mentions that our hero later gets slain by so-and-so. These sorts of things would never fly today, but of course Malory was writing at a different time, for a different sort of audience (one that would likely already be familiar with these stories, having heard other versions of them).

*I didn't actually read the Penguin version, so I'm not sure where Volume 1 ends and Volume 2 begins. This review covers the text from the beginning of the Tristram story.

[Dimitris · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Hic iacet Arthurus, rex quondam, rexque futurus"

[Alexander Theofanidis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Σε συνέχεια του πρώτου τόμου, κόσμος συνεχίζει (με φρικαλέα συχνότητα) να πέφτει από άλογα...

[Sahel's · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had heard about him, but I never knew much except faint stories. I officially got to know the character when I had to read "Elements of Literature" as part of my undergrad course called "A Survey of British Literature". I realized there are tons of adaptations and works of literature out there pertained to revising these legends and stories. So, since 2009, I've been fascinated with the whole idea, but never found the time or access to physical copies to read them. Until this December!

King Arthur, his court, and I initiated a long journey this past December 2020. I'll be reading some of the most notable adaptations and revisions and I'll share my agenda with you after I finish, just in case someone needed a chronological reading Arthurian plan!

There is no need for me to write how much I enjoyed Malory's account. So, I'll briefly go over things I noticed:

Malory writes matter-of-factly. In other words, he does not try to elongate the scenes with long descriptions, stretches of emotions, or exaggeration. If a knight loses a limb, it does not turn into a tragedy, it becomes a a limb lost in battle and the knights already expected it, so the reader should too! To me, the pithiness of his language makes for more realistic, life-like and solidly emotional scenes.

This observation is one of the reasons I enjoy medieval literature so much. I encountered unexpected little details in the warp of these chivalrous stories and legends. My serious-saga- reader mentality does not allow me to imagine funny or real-life details in the heart of this serious story. However, Malory somehow changed my whole opinion about long legends. Little comments such as how love was much different back then and Malory didn't know what Launcelot and Guenevere were doing behind closed doors (Like kids, love our time wasn't like yours now, and this is what, still fifteenth century?).

Finally, I need to name my favorite chracters, because I feel I owe them. I've lived almost one month with them. Dame Elaine of Corbenic who is King's Pelles's daughter, Elaine of Astolat (Fair maiden of Astolat), and Sir Palomides. There is something really faithful, true, and unheroicly human about them. To me, they are the real characters; so belonging to this world and now, yet so piously in love and magnanimous.

[Miriam Cihodariu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part two of Malory's collected tales is even better than the first. By the time a reader reaches part two, they presumably had enough time to become more accustomed to the language.

Also, the second part is more story-full and lots of things tend to happen, or at least many of the 'big' things we all know from popular culture (the Guinevere-Lancelot plot, the Mordred plot, the betrayal of Arthur and his death, etc.)

Loved the Maledisant character as a more atypical female char (not evil sorceress / temptress, nor damsel in distress), but playful / teasing strong lady.

My only tinge of sadness regarding the book is the fact that I realized that my ability to emotionally feel the story is dampened by the English style. I know some of these stories and they can move me as archetypes / cultural references for an entire host of European lore. But here, I can read them and be intellectually interested in some of the details involved, but I'm not personally moved. I'm sure this is due to the old style of writing and the the bluntness inherent in it.

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

What can I say about Le Morte d'Arthur that I didn't say in my review of part 1?

I had to sort of force my way through it, as an essential part of my Arthurian reading. Still, I find that it wasn't worthwhile, really. I had thought it would give me insight into modern Arthurian stuff, which seemed to have little to nothing to do with most of the lays I had read. Someone said that most things are based on Le Morte, so I thought I'd check it out.

I think most things are based on things based on Le Morte. It's just so tediously written. I wonder it did well on first publication. Sure, the really good Arthurian stuff was all in French, but c'mon, Chaucer did some translating back in his day - was there no one more skilled than this punter in the 15th C to bring the French Arthurian romances back home to England? I mean... it's as bad as I'm saying, kids. He summarizes. He's formulaic. It's prose so you wonder why he can't describe things a little more interestingly. He even has a few "Except that wasn't Gareth, it was Gawain, my bad" lines. It's like listening to someone badly re-tell a story.

[Beth N · Rating 3 out of 5]

Medieval literature is nuts. Medieval literature read in Late Middle English with all its delightfully weird grammar ("recommend me unto all them unto whom me ought to recommend me unto") is a real trip.

And yet, if you want to read Arthurian legend, I would argue there is no better version.

Every time period imposes its own values on the story of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Malory's version is full of the crazy religious visions and slightly incomprehensible chivalry that marks fifteenth century literature, a romp through stories and attitudes that have now become obsolete, but that also have the comforting familiarity of stereotypes of Arthurian myth. Love between knights and ladies is all courtly and proper; battles are as bloody as the goriest anime; and supernatural events drop in with a randomness that would challenge the strangest of absurdist writers.

But at the same time there is a timelessness to Arthur. This volume deals with the more famous events of the myth - the quest for the Grail; Lancelot and Guinevere; and the betrayal and death of Arthur. A critical modern eye might question Arthur's gullibility or Gawain's stubbornness, but only the hardest of hearts could fail to be moved by the strife that comes from brother fighting brother, the enmity that grows between king and loyal champion, and the sundering of the dream that was the Round Table.

The full text of Malory's Morte is hard going at times. If you don't have a strong care for the league table of "valoroust knight on life", the constant jousting can feel repetitive. As a modern reader the weeping and swooning can be hard to take seriously. The overall plotting too is a lot looser than readers expect from contemporary literature, leading to an episodic feel where some passages bear no relevance to the main events of the story.

But readers should also be careful of judging a medieval text by the same values as they would judge the current publishing industry. Coming to this story with an open mind will reveal the vast interwoven tapestry of Arthurian legend in all its richness, glory and tragedy. By turns dramatic, comic and moving, Malory's surprisingly relatable rendition of a French classic continues to convince generation after generation of its worthiness to stand at the pinnacle of human storytelling.

[Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

"... in handling this theme they seize from the beginning on the tragic possibilities that lie in wait for chivalry when it is drawn aside from the only true quest, ‘the seeking out of the high secrets and hidden things of Our Lord’. The Grail is the goal of man’s highest endeavour; and by this standard Sir Lancelot, best of earthly knights, falls short."

The whole thing is great, but the second half is my personal favorite.

[The Usual]

The Bible is not a book.

No, sorry, that’s misleading: it’s a big, papery thing with pages and print in; the very word means book; if you’re of the right tradition it’s not merely a book, it’s the Book of Books. Of course it’s a book. But though it is a book, it’s not a book: it’s a whole collection of them. And since these were written by various bods in various places at various times, and indeed in at least two different languages, it’s a diverse and sometimes contradictory one. It makes no sense to treat the Bible as a single work; it isn’t one.

And there are those who say it’s the literal word of God, but they are wrong, either misunderstanding their own cultural heritage or using the word literal quite, quite incorrectly. Whether you regard it as conveying holy truth or not, whether you think it’s inspired by the almighty or not, whatever reverence you hold the thing in, however much respect it may deserve, it’s the literal word of man. And more than one man at that.

Ahem.

But the nature of the Bible means that, if you insist on treating it as literature – an approach to which it is not entirely amenable, which I do not altogether advise, and which should be approached with rather more care than than just whacking a rating of 1-5 on a website somewhere – and you want to do the job properly, you have to review it book by book. You can’t take it in a single lump. And even then, take off your shoes, for you tread on holy ground.

And if God exists, and doesn’t have a sense of humour then I’m now literally going to Hell. But then, if God is that than which no more perfect being may be imagined, He’s bound to have a sense of humour. Bound to. Surely.

I wonder if I’ll enjoy eternal damnation…

But I’m getting sidetracked; this is not a review of the Bible, this is a review of Le Morte d’Arthur. A bad one.

Le Morte d’Arthur is not a book…

So, the Morte d’Arthur is not one single book: it’s twenty-one books drawn from various sources, largely translated from French romances, and which ranges from pseudo-history, through fantasy, to the heavily symbolic heavily explained; taking in an awful lot of people knocking other people off horses with sticks. And it runs the gamut from high-flown to the remarkably earthy; from the almost dreamlike to the nearly realistic; from the highly structured to the near-chaotic. It isn’t, and doesn’t pretend to be, a unified whole. It’s been compiled and compressed from earlier material.

This process, as I understand it, may or may not have been done by someone called Sir Thomas Malory (spellings vary), who may or may not have been in prison at the time, and who may or may not have therefore had time on his hands.

Which tells you a lot about the medieval attitude to authorship. That I read it very, very slowly tells something of the challenge I found it.

The twenty-one books you can break down into a handful of big stories, a few stand-alones, and an awful lot of people knocking each other off horses with sticks. There are some muddles over chronology, the odd continuity error, a dash of repetition and some strange shifts of character in the… characters. It’s all pretty consistent within the books, but between them it can be a bit odd. Sir Kay, for example, starts out as superpowered champion, but ends up as pompous git. The thing would never get past a proper editor. Happily, I’m not one. I don’t have to be serious, or do the job properly: I’m just some random bloke reading the book for fun. You shouldn’t take what I have to say as gospel.

So the question is, was it… is it… fun?

Well, the fun level was, I confess, rather variable. I’m pretty tolerant of sentences the wrong way round that do appear to be, and such as have a touch of vocab curious. The which were fortunate and be, in any case, the no more hard to read than do be Shakespeare, properly considered, and without the funnie spellinges (which, in the edition I read, have been tidied up). I can just about deal with the wall of text effect (no paragraph-breaks), though it caused some subconscious discomfort, and I only noticed it late in book XVII. Your position may be different on these matters.

I’m less tolerant of chapter after chapter of bloody fight-scenes. It’s as bad the The Iliad in some places.

Yes, I know how silly it is to grumble about fight-scenes in chivalric romances and epic war-poetry where, after all, they might reasonably be expected. What I’m getting at is this: the descriptions in both are highly stylised, almost formulaic, and though that stops each individual instance from bogging things down, and though they vary a bit between books, when you get lots together in the same book it’s like reading the same sentence over and over. It’s like reading the same sentence over and over. It’s like reading the same sentence over and over…

But it’s not all jousting; even if it can feel like it sometimes. Particularly in chapter X. And chapter X, for no obvious reason, is split between the two volumes of this edition. Like the wall of text effect, this shouldn’t have worried me, but somehow did. Thank God it’s over… Oh, it isn’t.

Sorry. Sidetracked again. It’s not all jousting.

Very roughly, then, you’ve got a first volume consisting of a brief recounting of almost everything you think you know about King Arthur, followed by a few stand-alone adventures, then quite a lot of Sir Tristram. The second volume polishes off the Tristram material, reels off a great tranche of grail material, and does a bit of Launcelot and Guenever, before dealing with the other bit you think you know about King Arthur. Which makes Arthur at best peripheral to his own book.

(If you’re reading it purely for Arthur, you just want the first and last few books and can skip the bit in the middle).

Which takes me where? Where is the fun? Was there any?

Well, yes, but I think in the shorter sections, and in the variety there. The longer bits – the Tristram and grail material – heavily outstayed their welcome. That’s just me, of course, you might be deeply interested in those aspects – sports commentary and heavy Christian symbolism; personally I was muttering things like “Four lions and a white hart going into a church? Yes, the four evangelists and Jesus. Obvious. Next!” and “Do we really have to have a blow-by-blow account of this tournament?”. I don’t think I’ll read the whole thing again, but I might dip into the odd book.

And that, arguably, is exactly what’s happened to this over the years: people have picked out the bits they like and written stories and poems, painted paintings, embroidered and elaborated, and generally used it as a pattern-book and source of inspiration. All of which makes some of it really, really familiar, some of it bizarrely alien, and some of it feel, actually, quite sketchy. And you have to bear in mind that Malory is just a step in this process, and he’s taken it from people who have played with an existing tradition. So you can read the earlier stuff (good luck), or the later stuff, but it’s perfectly ok to take a pick ‘n’ mix approach. And I’m going to keep telling myself that.

And there we have it: a bad review of Le Morte d’Arthur.

[russell barnes · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the way that Arthur ends, not with a bang but a whimper.

Two volumes, almost 700 pages of relentless jousts, avoiding horses, mighty buffets (that's knights groaning under sword strokes rather than tables groaning under the weight of scotch eggs and pork pies), ladies dying for love, dwarves, more tournaments, spears breaking, the quest for the Holy Grail, page upon page of listing Knight's names, further tournaments and knightly adventures featuring jousts, Arthur and Mordred meet in possibly the smallest chapter of the two volumes, and promptly die within a couple of paragraphs. Underwhelming is not the word.

There are some fascinating textural and historical devices through the whole work: It was one of the first books published by Caxton, and despite some debate who actually wrote it, it is accepted the Malory that did write it was stuck in the Tower of London during the Wars of the Roses. Consequently there is huge amount of betrayal and conflict between various Knights of the Round Table. Alliances are made and broken within a blink of an eye, often over trivial slights, and people are wounded or die as a result, which must have been a pretty accurate representation of life at the time of the Lancastrian and Yorkist struggle.

Also, given the weight of popular culture behind the legend of Arthur, the Grail takes a relatively small section of the whole, and some of the Knights we know and love turn out to be darker and more brutal than the rosy presentations we have know, particularly Gawain, whereas Lancelot comes off much better, which is odd as it's quite clear he's been copping off with Guinevere.

I have to say this is one of those books I've wanted to read for years and years. I've searched the second hand book shops the length and breadth of Blighty trying to find a matching pair in eager anticipation of something as beautiful and gripping as Gawain and the Green Knight, only to get massive list of Knights' names, far too much avoiding of horses and a lingering sense I've sorted of wasted all those years.

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found, when I started reading it, that this volume was more difficult than the first. I awarded it to the fact that the first third of the book is a continuation of a the story about Tristram. I didn't really know much about this knight before reading "Le Morte", but I still don't find his story all that intriguing. I feel like it was, perhaps, just another rendition of the love triangle between Lancealot, Artur and Gwen. Only this time we have zero qualms about rooting for the adulterer.

Once I had gotten through Tristram's story, the second 2/3rd picked up for me. I have previously read "The Once and Future King" and many of the stroies in that book (at least the meaningful ones, for me) showed up. Even so, it was still quite a drudge to get through everything. I want to learn more about the Arthurian legends, and this seemed like a good place to start. However, it was a long hard road, and a bit unsatisfying when it all boiled down.

For me, the most redeming factor, and the thing that kept me going for all 53 chapters, was reading about the final showdown between Arthur and Mordred. The last bit about what became of Lancealot and Gwenivere was also a nice addition.
All and all, it was worth it for me. But I think that if you are interested in the adventure and romance that this legend conjures up in our modern minds, try something else.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books 10-21
You get a smite, you get a smite, everyone gets a smite! They got knocked down and they get up again even if they apparently were mortally wounded.
Like Volume 1, there are lots of characters and battles to keep track of but I could understand what was going on. Some sections felt rushed and I would have liked to spend more time finding out the stories of some of the lesser known knights. I also realised that this is not really a story about King Arthur (he actually doesn't appear that much) but more about his knights.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I lived in an apartment building in 1989 that had a book swap on every floor. I was traveled each floor mining for literary gold-- and found it with this book. I love this book, it goes into detail on King Arthur and the knights of his court. It tells the major and minor story lines. I go back to it often.

[Francisco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imprescindible para los obsesionados con los ciclos artúricos, la mejor novela escrita acerca de Arturo. Compleja, enrevesada, monumental... La acción se describe morosamente, a veces no avanza... Sin embargo, es atrayente y sugestiva.

[Andreia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Melhor do que o primeiro, mas ainda assim, aquém do esperado.
Ainda estou esperançada de que a narrativa melhore com a demanda do Santo Graal, a ver vamos...

[Daniel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a struggle.
The story of Arthur and his Knights has changed a lot in the retellings down the centuries, which is probably the only reason the legend is still looked on fondly.

Because honestly this was hard to stomach.
The heros of the story were serial liars and adulterers, who feel back on might makes right more times than I can count. A man praised for seducing and sleeping with anothers wife, another man worshipped as righteous for kidnapping a woman and forcing her to submit to his desires after she repents her seductress and evil ways.

What. The. Fuck?
These are the heroes of legend people are supposed to think of fondly?

There was some irony in the quest for the grail, that all these righteous and noble knights were universally unworthy and called out on their sins.. but that this is seen as a tragedy and only made those sins (lets be honest. usually it was basically the sin of lusting after and then raping a woman) more noble in the eyes of the story and just. Fucking. Yikes.

Did not age well.

Similarly.. Over the two volumes I expected a little bit more King Arthur in the legend of King Arthur.

I had to force myself to finish this book, and just having this book on the go sucked the joy out of reading for *months*. Im glad to know a little bit more about the classics, but now every time I think of all the new retellings with how noble everyone is supposed to be.. im going to have a bad taste in my mouth.

[Gonzalo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think Librivox is a phenomenal idea, but the first part of “Le Mort d’Artur” was very irregular, some readers were phenomenal, other’s weren’t. More importantly, there was very little consistency in how names were pronounced, and I dare say, in the versions of the text they were following. Thus, for the second part I went for consistency and got Frederick Davidson’s version. He is not my favorite reader, but he does a good job. That is, until female characters show up. I do not think it is an easy job for a man to read women. However, if all you do is give them a “silly girl” voice , it is a disservice to the book, which mind you does not champion the cause of ladies, fair or not.
Between the two volumes, it is clear to me that although “Le Mort d’Artur” is certainly a book meant to be read aloud, it is not a book to be read to while cooking, house working, or walking. First world problems: too many books, too little time.

[Augusto Alvarez Pasquel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este segundo volumen me gustó más que el primero y creo que tiene que ver con que es prácticamente toda una historia seguida, está siendo la de sir Tristan, y no varias viñetas como lo fue el primero. Hasta el próximo volumen juzgare toda la historia peor si disfrute mucho este.

[Nawel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Les critiques sont vraies : bien meilleur que le précédent !

[Ciara Power · Rating 4 out of 5]

Launcelot :(

[Liene Kokina · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur is for me the most evocative and enthralling version of the Arthurian legend, it is the definitive version.

This Penguin edition was published in two volumes. Each volume containing between 450 and 500 pages. The whole book is split into 21 books, the first volume featured the first 9 books this second volume contains the last 12 books. It features Lancelot’s quest for the Holy Grail, his affair with Guenevere and cumulates with Arthur’s final battle against the treacherous Sir Mordred.

Book X, the first book here, is at 184 pages the longest book in the series. It concerns mainly Sir Tristram de Liones but as with all the stories it does digress quite a bit. As with the first volume there is plenty of action, if the knights aren’t engaged in war they are usually jousting and there is quite a bit of jousting in book X! The complex relationship between Sir Tristram and Sir Palomides begins to develop here too. From there the story moves on in book XI to Sir Launcelot but does return briefly to relate the conclusion of Tristram and Palomides in book XII. The pace now increases as we encounter spitting dragons, serpents and magic. Launcelot becomes, through enchantment, embroiled in a love triangle between Queen Guenevere and Elaine. The affair has a negative effect on him driving him into madness. Elaine is the daughter of King Pelles cousin of Joseph of Aritmathea. It is Pelles who introduces Launcelot to the Sangrail, the Holy Grail, in which he prophecies will break up the round table. There’s more fantasy here, it’s more of the romanticism you’d expect from Arthurian legend. This is one of my favourite parts of the whole book, I loved Sir Galahad’s story and Sir Lancelot’s realisation that he may not be the chivalrous knight he thought he was as he hears the harsh words of a hermit:

‘Now take heed, in all the world men shall not find one knight to whom Our Lord hath given so much of grace as He hath given you, for He hath given you fairness with seemliness, He hath given thee wit, discretion to know good from evil, He hath given thee prowess and hardiness, and given thee to work so largely that thou hast had at all days the better wheresomever thou came; and now Our Lord will suffer thee no longer.’

At which Launcelot promises to repent:

‘all that you have said is true, and from henceforward I cast me, by the grace of God, never to be so wicked as I have been, but as to follow knighthood and to do feats of arms.’

However he struggles to adhere to his repentance. Launcelot is one of the most powerful and complex characters in the Arthurian stories. His affair with Guenevere is compassionately dealt with by Malory, in a rare narrative aside he contemplates their affair:

‘Wherefore I liken love nowadays unto summer and winter; for like as the one is hot and the other cold, so fareth love nowadays; therefore all ye that be lovers call unto your remembrance the month of May, like as did Queen Guenever, for whom I make here a little mention, that while she lived she was a true lover, and therefore she had a good end.’

As the story unfolds religion becomes an important element in the story and the knights who seek the grail are subject to attacks from the devil as they learn that jousting isn’t the only battles they will have to win to achieve there goal. We also learn, through flashbacks, from Merlin the significance of the round table and the relevance of the Holy Grail. The story of the Sangrail is at the centre of Arthurian legend. Malory uses this as an analogy of the failings of the Britain he lives in stating ‘the Grail will never return to Britain because too few people believe in it.’ In this Le Morte D’Arthur’s tale of a declining empire is as relevant to Britain today as it was in Malory’s days. As well as this Le Morte D’Arthur is a story of love, faith, loyalty, adultery, murder and selfishness as well as selflessness, it’s a tale of religious morality and an adventure story.

The downfall of Camelot can be attributed to many things, everyone has a hand in it. The lustfulness of Guenevere, the disloyalty of Lancelot, hatred and ambition also play a part. Each small act that leads to all the blood and destruction could’ve been avoided if individual actions had been different, people could have turned away, but they don’t. There is many lessons to be learned from this tale.

The last battle when it comes is on such a scale it overshadows all the battles before it with over 100’000 dead! Despite the sad end to Arthur’s story Malory leaves us with a little hope:

‘Yet some men say in many parts of England that King Arthur is not dead, but had by the will of our Lord Jesu into another place; and men say that he shall come again, and he shall win the holy cross. And the inscription on his gravestone was:

‘Hic iacet Arthurus, Rex quondam Rex que futurus’ - ‘Here lies King Arthur, once and future King’.

There are many updated versions of Malory’s book including the highly recommended Once and Future King by T.H. White. However every book ever written about Arthur since Malory owes a debt to him. Malory tells the whole story from the conception of Camelot through to its downfall and he brings the complexities of the story and all the main characters into sharp focus. The versions I have read focus on it from a literary point of view and do not tap into the complexities and symbolisms of Malory.

Initially reading this can seem a daunting task, the complexity and dense symbolism aside the archaic style can seem a huge obstacle especially considering its length. This penguin version is split into two volumes but still needs to read back to back. I found though once I got into the rhythm of the prose that it actually added to the charm. This is admittedly my second reading, I first read it about 40 years ago and back then I did struggle with it, but it made an impression on me and I knew one day I would return to it. It is the a masterful work and is one of my favourite books of all time.

Considering Volume II as a separate book from Volume I, which it is, it is far better than volume I, and that book was superb. This is mainly due to the fact that Volume II has the Holy Grail, Guenevere and Lancelot’s affair and the jaw dropping emotional ending.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few short words cannot express how much this book meant to me and how much the teacher who I had to read it for meant. This book holds the secrets of the universe, of our society, of our pursuit of lonliness and comradery at the same time. If you want to find the cyclic nature of our society check here, if you want to find your character flaws, check here. If you want to see the world in a whole new way, read...esp this one. Thank you Professor Lynch...RIP!

[E. G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Introduction
Further Reading
Editor's Note

--Le Morte D'Arthur - Volume II

Notes to Volume II
Glossary of Proper Nouns
Glossary

[ivoiiovi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Penguin edition is based on the Caxton press version, which was quite altered from Malory’s original writing as shown in the Winchester Manuscript.
If you want accuracy, seek out a modern English translation from the Winchester source (such as the Oxford World Classics edition).
I’d mostly suggest actually reading a modern printing of the original Winchester in its own Middle English, as Malory’s English was close enough to modern and the only real challenge is getting used to the spelling. The version I have is Eugene Vinaver’s ‘Works of Malory’, which is fine, but now it is considered that the best critical edition is the one edited by P.J.C. Field.

If, however, you just want a book (or two) that gives you the general digest of the Arthurian literature available in Malory’s time, and don’t care if there are a few changes and omissions, these Penguin editions aren’t bad and represent the best known version for several centuries. This is the version I read the first time and the thing with Arthurian literature is that it all tells different stories anyway.

This all said, while Malory’s work is considered the most important I don’t think it serves enough. I have not yet read the much vaster Vulgate and Post-Vulgate cycles on which Malory’s work is based, but an much more interested in a thorough study of those than another go through Malory.
From reading the commonly available translations of certain Vulgate entries - being the Prose Merlin, Lancelot, The Quest of the Holy Grail, and Mort Artu - all of these are more interesting than Malory’s rendering of these parts into his condensed whole, while also to me not interesting enough to want to read again so if someone really wants to get the fullest picture I’d think just go all in on the Vulgate if you can get the Noris J. Lacy editions through a library (or have a big pile of money to throw down on epic Arthuriana).
Though these are all books, it feels like Malory is the Hollywood adaptation that seems good until you get into what it’s based on.

Further, if the interest is more specifically the Grail content, this book is the least important of the medieval cycle. you have the condensed retelling of Galahad’s ‘Queste’ from the Vulgate, which is perfectly fine for basic illustration but the Penguin edition of that individual story is already infinitely better. you of course have the Fisher King, the Siege Perilous and all that good stuff, but again it’s all quite diminished. and more importantly: GALAHAD IS A FRAUD!!! we all know Percival is the true Grail Knight, while Wolfram’s ‘Parzival’ is the defining story of the Grail, and then Robert de Boron had to make the Grail a different kind of “Holy”, and his fanboys who wrote the Vulgate Cycle had to bend over for the Church (while picturing Launcelot, no doubt) and give us Galahad. and Malory does the hand-me-down while Percival is just a side-character and Lancelot’s choir-boy son takes his seat.

being more serious, if you seek the Grail read Chrétian for a start (the Penguin ‘Arthurian Romances’ is a good collection which also happens to be a perfect and quite light introduction to Arthur’s world anyway - his ‘The Knight and the Lion’ is one of the best of all the stories), and maybe skip the continuations and go straight to Wolfram, who rewrote Chrétian’s Perceval into the most brilliant and profound of all these works. from there, the quite peculiar, decapitation-rich ‘Perlesvaus’ is quite fascinating. Then we also have the lesser known ‘Diu Crône’, which is very rarely spoken of and in which Gawain is the Grail Knight (and I’ll take that over Galahad any day!)

back to Malory: He did a brilliant thing and I throw him no shade. He reduced a 5,000 page literary cycle into a digestible 1,000, giving us several books less of Lancelot (while still probably too much), and made a great story more accessible to the English speaking world as the medieval period closed.
I still recommend ‘Le Morte d’Arthur’ to many more casual readers, but probably not the Caxton version.
The only thing Penguin really did right was dividing it into two books for a more comfortable read!

also, I forgot to mention: Galahad sucks.