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39th out of 133 books
—
7 voters
King Arthur and His Knights: Selected Tales
Thomas Malory, knight, adventurer, and soldier, was born in the early years of the fifteenth century and died on March 14, 1471, having spent much of the last twenty years of his life in prison. It was there that he wrote most, if not all, of his works, completing the last in about 1470. Some fifteen years later William Caxton published the entire collection of his tales i...more
Paperback, 272 pages
Published
March 1st 1975
by Oxford University Press, USA
(first published 1860)
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I have this affliction. If I start a book, I HAVE to finish it. All my life, pretty much. I'm not sure I remember when I last (or ever) didn't finish a book. Until now.
All my knowledge of the Arthurian legends is hearsay or pop-culture interpretations, so when I bought a Kindle and saw all the classics I could get for free, I jumped right on this one as a chance to get some more "original" references to King Arthur in my cultural experiences. Oh, how I wish I hadn't bothered.
Firstly, the writing...more
All my knowledge of the Arthurian legends is hearsay or pop-culture interpretations, so when I bought a Kindle and saw all the classics I could get for free, I jumped right on this one as a chance to get some more "original" references to King Arthur in my cultural experiences. Oh, how I wish I hadn't bothered.
Firstly, the writing...more
Aug 14, 2009
Mary Overton
added it
Sir Thomas Malory (d. 1471) spent much of his final 20 years in prison. During those decades he translated into English and rewrote the French Arthurian romances. Stories of Grail quests, lovelorn knights, and the Round Table had been wildly popular literature in the 12th and 13th centuries.
Eugene Vinaver writes in the 'Introduction' that Malory was 'a man bred up in arms who valued the dignity of knighthood above all else. Most of his knights are men of brief speech and unsophisticated behaviou...more
Eugene Vinaver writes in the 'Introduction' that Malory was 'a man bred up in arms who valued the dignity of knighthood above all else. Most of his knights are men of brief speech and unsophisticated behaviou...more
If for nothing else, this was an interesting study of how the "golden age" of King Arthur's legendary realm was one of pseudo-Christian syncretism. A Jesus-ish vocabulary is used throughout, and his relics venerated, but without a connection to the actual Jesus of the Gospels. Magic and murder are sanctioned as Christened acts.
However, the reason this was such a page-turner was the hilarious chivalry that is so prevalent in the Masculinity-revival of young, American males these days. When the Ho...more
However, the reason this was such a page-turner was the hilarious chivalry that is so prevalent in the Masculinity-revival of young, American males these days. When the Ho...more
The story itself is pretty dull: fight a battle, do great deeds, slay the enemy, rescue a damsel or escape from an evil sorceress, fight another battle, do great deeds, slay the enemy, go hunting or jousting, fight another battle...
There's little character development. The men are pretty much all brave and heroic and little more, and the women are virtually all either fair maidens in need of rescue or enchantresses trying to do something awful. The story doesn't really develop either. Arthur bec...more
There's little character development. The men are pretty much all brave and heroic and little more, and the women are virtually all either fair maidens in need of rescue or enchantresses trying to do something awful. The story doesn't really develop either. Arthur bec...more
It was kind of interesting to hear some of the stories of King Arthur and the Knight of the Round Table but at the same time there was a lot of 'they fought for a really long time and then one knight struck the on the head down too his shoulder' and 'there was a sword that no one could get for whatever reason (stuck in a stone, enchanted) except for the noblest/best/whatever knight'. These themes were a little monotonous for my liking.
In terms of genres for comparison I found myself comparing th...more
In terms of genres for comparison I found myself comparing th...more
I enjoyed it because the whole thing was like a Monty Python sketch. Hilariously over-the-top. As far as I can tell, back in the day, jousting fulfilled the same purpose as hand-shaking does today. Everyday was pure epicness, and the battle wasn't over until you'd skewered five men on your spear with a single strike. Stomach sliced open? Deal with it! - you can still fight on from dawn to dusk!
Favourite quote " Sir Lancelot increased in fame and worship above all men, for he overthrew all comers...more
Favourite quote " Sir Lancelot increased in fame and worship above all men, for he overthrew all comers...more
I did not enjoy this book at all, and that was a shame as I had longed to read the Arthurian legends for a while now. However, I found this book ponderous, over-written and at times insulting.
The author goes at great lengths to anglicise-Arthur which in itself is understandable as his legend has him as Britain's greatest king and that Camelot is traditionally in England.
However, what is not necessary is the demonization of the Welsh, Irish and particularly the Scots. As a Scotsman I found this h...more
The author goes at great lengths to anglicise-Arthur which in itself is understandable as his legend has him as Britain's greatest king and that Camelot is traditionally in England.
However, what is not necessary is the demonization of the Welsh, Irish and particularly the Scots. As a Scotsman I found this h...more
It is good to read one of the sources that inspired later renditions. I am depressed to hear some disrespecting the story because they have trouble with an older style of writting. Folks, this is the bedrock and foundation of the later tales which have been such a mine for later authors. (That is, grist for the mill.) This is that which I spired tha later tales, if you can't see what inspired the authors of later ages, then perhs you lack the deeper vision.
This book was written by a guy in a jail cell in the late 1400's and is based off of the popular oral story telling of his day.
I like that it is broken into a collection of tales, rather than one long-form book. One can choose a character (Arthur, Launcelot, Sir Gareth) and read his tale independently.
There is a lot of "he smote him", confusing action sequences, and characters that suddenly appear and disappear with no introduction nor resolution, but such is the oral tradition: simple narrati...more
I like that it is broken into a collection of tales, rather than one long-form book. One can choose a character (Arthur, Launcelot, Sir Gareth) and read his tale independently.
There is a lot of "he smote him", confusing action sequences, and characters that suddenly appear and disappear with no introduction nor resolution, but such is the oral tradition: simple narrati...more
This is Malory's Le Morte Darthur, but separated into separate stories and, in the case of one tale (The Knight of the Cart) actually re-located to a different point in the story. The Grail story is so heavily abridged that it would be incomprehensible to someone who hadn't already read the Morte. There are much better texts of Malory thann this!
I'm normally a huge fan of anything King Arthur, Camelot or just plain medieval, but when it came down to this story I was more interested in just finishing towards the end. There is a lot of repetition, especially when the story involved a traveling knight coming across other knights. While interesting in the beginning, their fights and jousts start to become cookie cutter. I'm not sure if the Old English made the language of the book sound less appealing to me or if I was just bored with the s...more
This was not my favorite. I can't figure out if it was the language or just that I thought the stories were toned down from the French original. It is interesting though the differences that were made between this one and The Death of King Arthur.
The story isa familiar tale of Western Literature. The story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Many of the characters are familiar, Arthur, Merlin, Lancelot, Lady Guinevere however there are many that I did not recognize. It is full of adventure, including wizards, enchantresses, giants, and even dragons, knights and damsels in distress. The way the women are portrayed in the story is my least favorite part of the story, they are either portrayed as weak and helpless or ungratef...more
I've been interested in Arthurian legend and wanted to go back to one of the "roots" of the stories, and Malory's is always mentioned. Instead of reading the full book I got this version with selected tales.
Yes, these stories were written hundreds of years ago and the writing style is rather old fashioned, making it a little difficult to get through. The plot was not nearly as exciting as I was expecting it to be. I have to admit that several parts of the book made me laugh, even though I'm not...more
Yes, these stories were written hundreds of years ago and the writing style is rather old fashioned, making it a little difficult to get through. The plot was not nearly as exciting as I was expecting it to be. I have to admit that several parts of the book made me laugh, even though I'm not...more
الملك آرثر هو ملك أسطوري ....
وفرسانه هم فرسان الطاولة المستديرة ...
يشقون معه طريقهم لخوض بعض المعارك في الغابات المسحورة ...
أعتقد أنها تجذب الأطفال بشكل أكبر .
وفرسانه هم فرسان الطاولة المستديرة ...
يشقون معه طريقهم لخوض بعض المعارك في الغابات المسحورة ...
أعتقد أنها تجذب الأطفال بشكل أكبر .
Dec 29, 2012
TaleofGenji
marked it as to-read
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11611983
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11611983
Required reading about King Arthur didn't feel like required reading. I enjoy the stories and this is one of the earlier compiled versions, I think.
I enjoyed some of the original stories, learned some new old words, and was interested to note the comments about the Roman Empire's influence.
the only reason i didnt like this is it's an old style and i'm into artistic creativeness. other than that, if you like tales, go ahead.
Lots of characters, had a hard time keeping them straight. The chapters are very long, made it difficult when I needed a mental break.
The only version of the Arthurian Legends I have read. It reads like a 19th century Cliffs Notes but serves the purpose of summary.
I love classic stories of good versus evil, of heroic deeds, and there is a reason this is a classic. As a reader, I often grinned at the sense that those people who know this story only from Hollywood are missing out on some great stories. It is a shame that movies take the focus off the faith of the characters, the complexity of their emotions and interactions. Written as more a collection of stories, I would highly recommend this book as something to be read to little ones, maybe K4-2nd grade...more
It was alright, but I was really expecting more. There were some really great moments, but also a good share of long winded rambling.
Okay.... so I read MOST of the stories and will make it through the others soonish.
Couldn't finish. It began okay, but got way too redundant. The first knight was praised to the high heavens: he was the best looking, the best horse rider, the strongest, the bravest, etc. His battles were like old westerns; he could slay 10 of the enemy before they could unsheath their swords. So when the next knight came along, how could he be made any better? Yet, he had to be. So in his battles, he could slay 20 of the enemy before they could unsheath their swords! And the next, 100! So fort...more
Maybe not the best writing in the world, but the stories were interesting.
"For to die with honour is far better than to live disgraced."
I am interested in myths and legends such as that of King Arthur, so thought this would be a good read (also it helps that the book was free). After reading other reviews on here, it may be my bias that I enjoyed this book more than others.
Una de los libros que me facinaron en la infancia
I'm in love with Arthur Pendragon. Nuff said.
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Sir Thomas Malory was a knight in the fifteenth century, who while imprisoned wrote the collection of tales we know as Le Morte D'Arthur, translating them from the French tales such as the Vulgate Cycle, and adapting them to be more British -- in effect, reclaiming King Arthur.
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