Le Morte d'Arthur
question
Translation
RoseMerrie
Aug 19, 2011 07:36PM
I'm looking for recommendations as to which translation of Le Morte d'Arthur I ought to read. If you've read this book and have any comments about that particular translation, I'd love to hear them. Thanks for your time!
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Best one I've read is this: Le Morte D'Arthur: The Winchester Manuscript (Oxford World's Classics), not really a trans. a slightly abridged version, very good notes. Helen Cooper edits it. My review:
"First off, this review is for the OWC edition of the Winchester Manuscript edited by Helen Cooper. This is an edited version of Morte based on a manuscript copy of Malory's text, there are a few wee bits that Caxton changed for the printed edition he put out, including adding headings for chapters etc. This edition modernises the spelling of some words and edits out some of the repetition as well as streamlining the huge Book Of Tristram. Almost an abridgement...but as the manuscript is missing a few pages (including the start and end) there are bits where Cooper patches it up using the Caxton print as source. Also included is the preface from Caxton's edition.
All that said it's a great read.
I read the 2 vol Penguin edition of the Caxton ages ago and had forgotten a fair bit.
If you are looking for knights in shining armour rescuing fair maids, a fight of good against evil, and Arthur as a glowing example of a hero look elsewhere. This is brutal. Loads of carnage, loads of betrayal, many bullying thugs and manipulating "damosels". Moral ambiguity abounds. The violence of the battles that bookend the story, with the chaos and mounds of corpses, is contrasted with the formal jousts that take up most of the tale."
And if you want the Tris bits the best version I've come across is:
Tristan: With the Surviving Fragments of the 'Tristan of Thomas'
Also, there's an Arthurian geek group on goodreads with a bunch of hints and pointers:
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/9...
"First off, this review is for the OWC edition of the Winchester Manuscript edited by Helen Cooper. This is an edited version of Morte based on a manuscript copy of Malory's text, there are a few wee bits that Caxton changed for the printed edition he put out, including adding headings for chapters etc. This edition modernises the spelling of some words and edits out some of the repetition as well as streamlining the huge Book Of Tristram. Almost an abridgement...but as the manuscript is missing a few pages (including the start and end) there are bits where Cooper patches it up using the Caxton print as source. Also included is the preface from Caxton's edition.
All that said it's a great read.
I read the 2 vol Penguin edition of the Caxton ages ago and had forgotten a fair bit.
If you are looking for knights in shining armour rescuing fair maids, a fight of good against evil, and Arthur as a glowing example of a hero look elsewhere. This is brutal. Loads of carnage, loads of betrayal, many bullying thugs and manipulating "damosels". Moral ambiguity abounds. The violence of the battles that bookend the story, with the chaos and mounds of corpses, is contrasted with the formal jousts that take up most of the tale."
And if you want the Tris bits the best version I've come across is:
Tristan: With the Surviving Fragments of the 'Tristan of Thomas'
Also, there's an Arthurian geek group on goodreads with a bunch of hints and pointers:
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/9...
