Le Morte d'Arthur is the prose account of the legend of King Arthur written by Sir Thomas Malory around 1469–1470 and printed by William Caxton in 1485. Gathering French and English romances, it tells the whole story from Arthur's birth to the fall of the Round Table, and became the classic English version of the legend.
The story
The book opens with the conception of Arthur, son of King Uther Pendragon, with the help of Merlin, and his recognition as king when he draws the sword from the stone. Arthur marries Guinevere and gathers the Knights of the Round Table.
The adventures of Lancelot, Gareth, Tristram and others follow, then the quest for the Holy Grail, achieved by Galahad. The love of Lancelot and Guinevere, revealed by Agravain and Mordred, leads to war and to the death of Arthur, carried away to Avalon.
Sources
Malory drew mainly on the great French prose romances of the thirteenth century, known as the Vulgate Cycle and the Prose Tristan, and on English poems such as the alliterative Morte Arthure.
He shortened, combined and transformed them into a single narrative in vigorous English prose, emphasising chivalry, loyalty and the tragedy of divided loyalties.
Caxton
William Caxton, the first English printer, published the work at Westminster on 31 July 1485, dividing it into twenty-one books and giving it the title Le Morte d'Arthur, 'the death of Arthur'.
The book inspired Tennyson's Idylls of the King, the painters of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee and T. H. White's The Once and Future King.
Anecdotes
Two versions
The discovery of the Winchester manuscript in 1934 revealed a version that differs from Caxton's. In 1947 the scholar Eugène Vinaver published it as The Works of Sir Thomas Malory.
A printer's preface
In his preface Caxton says that many noble gentlemen asked him to print the story of King Arthur, and defends the reality of Arthur by pointing to relics such as his seal at Westminster.
Frequently asked questions
Who wrote Le Morte d'Arthur?
Sir Thomas Malory, around 1469–1470, probably in prison.
Why is it called Le Morte d'Arthur?
The title, meaning 'the death of Arthur', was given by Caxton, from the last part of the story, though the book tells Arthur's whole life.
What is the Winchester manuscript?
A manuscript of Malory's work found at Winchester College in 1934, which is closer to what Malory wrote than Caxton's edition.