The Death of King Arthur

by Thomas Malory, Janet Cowen (Editor)

One of 60 low-priced classic texts published to celebrate Penguin's 60th anniversary. All the titles are extracts from "Penguin Classics" titles.

Sir Thomas Malory was a knight and estate owner in the mid 15th century, who spent many years in prison for political crimes as well as robbery. He wrote Le Morte d’Arthur, the first great English prose epic, while imprisoned in Nwgate. The epic was published in 1485 by William Caxton, the first English printer. Malory is believed to have died in 1471.

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

49 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

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

[Janelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final chapters of Le Morte d’Arthur covering the deaths of Gawain, Arthur, Mordred, Guinevere and Lancelot. The familiar imagery has lasted so many centuries!

[Daren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an excerpt from Thomas Malory's significantly longer Le Morte d'Arthur, plublished as a Penguin 60s Classic.

I struggled to take this book seriously, given a mild obsession with Monty Python and the Holy Grail in my formative years.

For example, read this quotation and tell me it is not pure python: (P22) Then Sir Bedevere departed, and went to the sword, and lightly took it up, and went to the water side; and there he bound the girdle about the hilts, and then he threw the sword as far into the water as he might; and there came an arm and an hand above the water and met it, and caught it, and so shook it thrice and brandished, and then vanished away the hand with the sword in the water. So Sir Bedevere came again to the king, and told him what he saw.

And loads of this sort of comedy ye olde English: Then when Sir Mordred wist and understood how he was beguiled, he was passing wroth out of measure, and Thus they kept Sir Launcelot's corpse loft for fifteen days, and then the buried it with great devotion.

Really they run hand in hand with such classics from Python as:
King Arthur: The Lady of the Lake, her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signifying by divine providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur. THAT is why I am your king.
Dennis: [interrupting] Listen, strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.

and
Sir Bedevere: ...and that, my liege, is how we know the Earth to be banana-shaped.
King Arthur: This new learning amazes me, Sir Bedevere. Explain again how sheep's bladders may be employed to prevent earthquakes.

ok one more
French Soldier: You don't frighten us, English pig dogs. Go and boil your bottoms, you sons of a silly person. I blow my nose at you, so-called "Arthur King," you and all your silly English K-nig-hts.

[Remy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here lies Arthur, the once and future king.

so where were you when you heard that Charles III had cancer

[Ceren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yorumlamaya başlamadan önce bazı şeyleri akılda bulundurmakta fayda var. Le Morte D'Arthur, Malory'nin hem Fransız hem İngiliz birçok Arthurian Legend'ı birleştirerek ortaya çıkarttığı bir eser, dolayısıyla metin içerisinde çelişkiler bulunuyor. Öte yandan, metin, bu birleştirici özelliği ile günümüzde Arthur ve şövalyeleri hakkında yazılan, çizilen bütün eserlerin referans noktasını oluşturuyor. Yani, Monthy Python and the Holy Grail'ı Le Morte D'Arthur ardından izlemek çok daha keyifli diyebilirim.
Le Morte D'Arthur, Arthur'un ölümünden önce The Quest for the Holy Grail'ı anlatıyor . Bazı şövalyeler (Galahad, Percival, Bors) Holy Grail'a ulaşabilirken diğerleri ulaşamıyor. Bu ayrımın en önemli sebebi, ortaçağın "dünyevilik" anlayışı: Gawain bu noktada, garip bir şekilde, dünyevi çıkarlarına ve isteklerine en bağlı şövalye olarak gösterilmiş. Bir diğer önemli şövalye olan Launcelot ise sınırda bir karakter, ki bence metin bu şekilde Launcelot'un ahlaki normlarının içsel bir kritiğini gözler önüne seriyor.
The Death of King Arthur, bütün eserin son kitabı. Bu kitap, çoğu açıdan büyüyle dolu bir dünyadan soğuk gerçeklerle dolu bir dünyaya geçiş yolculuğu diyebiliriz. Toplumun Arthur'a yüz çevirmesi, insanların artık "chivalric code" üzerinden ilerleyen bir politika değil, "ekonomik" ilişkiler üzerinden ilerleyen bir politika anlayışı istediğinin bir göstergesi. Savaşı deneyimlemiş biri olarak, Malory'nin şövalyelerin yaralarını betimleyiş biçimi çok gerçekçi. Metin ne kadar "vision"larla, modern bir deyişle, hayali unsurlarla dolu olsa da, kahramanların yaraları hiçbir zaman günümüz aksiyon filmlerindeki gibi bir anda, beklenmedik bir şekilde iyileşmiyor.
Sonuç olarak, ortaçağ edebiyatını anlamak için önemli bir eser olmasına rağmen, incelenmeden okunduğunda okuyana çok keyif vereceğini sanmıyorum.

[J.P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

First: At only around 4 hours this is an abridged translation. That being said, all the words are Malory's. (Even thus abridged, it starts to get somewhat repetitive) And besides that, it is amazingly well read by Shakespearean trained Philip Madoc. Because of the language alone I might have given up if I had been reading instead of listening, but Madoc's presentation is so well informed yet subtly performed that it was extremely enjoyable. I found I was pleasantly reminded of most on my Arthurian touchstones while listening to this, from Camelot to Excalibur to The Once and Future King and even Python's Holy Grail. (Though entertaining, I have issues w/Connecticut Yankee. Don't get me started.) Really enjoyed hearing their origins, and how closely they kept to their sources at times. Totally recommend this audio recording.

[Lee Wainwright · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Come on, Mau, let's read Malory for bedtime story.'
'What's Malory, dad?'
'Malory is King Arthur stories.'
'Okay, great.'
I find King Arthur under the bed, sandwiched between the Duchess and Piers Plowman. Fifteenth century romance plagairised from a French romance about the fifth century legendary king of the Britons. He was real, though - I've been to his castle in Tintagel. We start at the end, where there's the action that I remember.
'Who's Sir Mordred?'
'King Arthur's nephew.'
'Why is the language funny?'
'It's English from a long time ago. You should see Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Like German - zeds everywhere.'
'Who's Gawain?'
'One of King Arthur's best knights. Wait, he's coming in a minute.'
'What's the tower of London?'
'It's a castle.'
'Why is it called a tower? A castle isn't a tower.'
'Good question.'
'Why did Queen Guenever go there?'
'To escape from Mordred, who wants to marry her.'
'But she's King Arthur's queen!'
'Exactly.'
'What's a host?'
'It's an army.'
'Oh. Where's King Arthur?'
'He's off fighting across the sea somewhere.'
'Why are King Arthur and Sir Gawain swooning together. What's swooning?'
'Gawain's dying from the wound he got on the beach, and Arthur's sad about it.'
'But what's swooning?'
'Kind of . . . nearly fainting, I think.'
'Where's Dover?'
'Down on the English coast. Near where Nanny used to live.'
'So Arthur's the bad guy?'
'No! Why is he the bad guy?'
'Well, he wants to kill his nephew.'
'Yeh, but Mordred started it.'
'Why did Launcelot fight Gawain?'
'Launcelot loves Guinever, Arthur's wife, and Gawain is loyal to Arthur, so they were fighting about it.'
'Everyone loves Guinever!'
'Yes, they do seem to don't they. Must have been a looker.'
'Was she the one at castle Anthrax?'
'Oh, you mean . . . No. That's just a joke film.'
'Wasn't that Gawain there?'
'Yes, I think it was.'
'Why did his men take him away? Were all the girls trying to kill him?'
'Yes. No. Maybe we'll read some more tomorrow night. Goodnight, little man.'

[Acanthus Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final chapter of 'Le Morte Darthur', published separately as a rather cute little book.

There are perhaps three ways a writer could approach the subject of Arthur's death: as a failing of earthly chivalry in the aftermath of the Grail Quest, as a betrayal by Sir Lancelot or as a family matter.

Malory chose the latter option. Shakespeare and the Greek/Norse myths often do this as well - grounding a large epic narrative in some form of family strife.

In Arthur's case, he mistakenly begets a son upon his sister and this stain of incest is an ever present 'original sin' throughout his reign until, eventually, Mordred comes of age and returns to make war upon his father.

[Rebecca Stilson]

While the narrator was quite talented. I just couldn’t latch on. Starts out with murder, deceit, rape Then for reason I couldn’t come up with baby. Arthur was given to another family to raise, and then, seemingly when he was two years old, the king died, and though I thought he was supposed to be King, he still had to go through some, pulling the sword out of the stone, although he seemed like he was only two years old. Just couldn’t go on.
The version I was listening to is five hours, but apparently the total version is over 30 hours. Not for me.

[Amanda Nieman]

This classic tale is one of many versions telling the story of King Arthur and the knights of the round table. I would have this available for a read to self or perhaps closed reading because it's a very heavy text. this would be a lot of fun if there is group of students who can handle mature themes, are advanced readers, and are very interested in knights and chivalry.

[Cesco · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't think I love the stories of King Arthur.
This is probably due to the fact that every story I read is different due to different translations and versions I liked.
For this reason, I prefer more modern retellings that are inspired by the originals. However, the originals are always a solid starting point for the contemporary slave I am.

[eddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

kinda sad and entertaining but the chapter titles were a spoiler for every chapter

[Vince · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's better Arthurian literature out there.

[Books & Looks · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't for me.

[Simone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for my Romance class. We had also read the original story with Lancelot in the "Knight of the Cart" but I think I absorbed this one a lot better. Maybe it's because I enjoyed it better after previously reading about Lancelot or my pacing is better since it's no longer the beginning of the semester. Still, I fully tried to read it even though it was kind of long compared to the other readings we've done so far. Kinda disappointed about the ending because how are you going to allow your man to slay basically a thousand knights and then reject him?? And then she died??? Overall, not bad but it's crazy how immature the kings/knights are in all of this and how long it took to resolve things(when it really didn't get resolved they just all basically died to each other or an illness).

[Gabriel Garza · Rating 5 out of 5]

This version is missing some books, but it includes the most important parts (arguably). I have read the story many times, but what made this version my favorite is the beautiful and grave reading by Philip Madoc. His voice gives ”The Quest of the Sangreal” a holy, even eerie quality. RIP

[Dan Cohen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite fun, and interesting to see the old English and try to work out what the words mean.