Raúl Armellones 4-1

Ángel Luis Vargas 4-1

LE MORTE D’ARTHUR

BY SIR THOMAS MALORY

1. – Malory’s biography

2. - Characters

3. - The story

4. - Links

INDEX

-Sir Arthur Malory was born about 1410 in Warwickshire, England.

-Malory was a knight who served with the Earl of Warwick’s forces in Calais in 1436.

-He succeeded to his father's estate in 1433 or 1434.

-He was married a few years later, and in 1449 he acquired the estate of his sister’s husband too.

-During those years he was respectable and wealthy citizen.

Malory’s biography

- Between 1450 and 1451 was charged with several crimes: two cattle raids, several extortions, a rape, and an attempted murder. He was jailed but escaped swimming . After this, he robbed in churches , stole money and sacred objects.

- He was jailed again between 1451-1454 . When he was released he returned to the criminal activities, so he was imprisoned several times but he was granted with a royal pardon by the Duke of York. He served in parliament for the Duke of York but he was jailed several times again.

BUT

- He was finally released by Henry VI in 1470, but he died in 1471 .

- And was buried in the chapel of St. Francis at the Grey Friars near Newgate in the suburbs of London.

FINALLY

-He is the child of Igrane and Uther Pedragon . His father has a pact with Merlin, a magician, and Arthur was promised to him as payment. Sir Ector and his son Kay raise Arthur. Arthur becomes king of Britain because he removes the sword , Excalibur, from the stone

KING ARTHUR

EXCALIBUR

CHARACTERS

Merlin is a master manipulator, who masters Arthur's conception and who, unseen, directs much of the action. As a great sorcerer, he is responsible for the creation of the Round Table. Merlin is both prophet and magician

MERLIN

The first part deals with Arthur who draws the sword from the stone, becomes king, establishes the Round Table and fights the Romans in France , and with the deeds of the knights of the Rounds Table, especially Lancelot and Gareth. Merlins part in the events in minimised.

THE BOOK IS DIVIDED INTO THREE PARTS

- He is the greatest knight of Arthur´s court .He gets his first real chance to distinguish himself in the battle against Lucius, when Launcelot steals Lucius' banner.

-Lancelot returns to England as a hero and he has many adventures. He is virtous and heroic.

LANCELOT

Although Le Morte d'Arthur is thought to have been written in 1469, the first known publication was in 1485, by William Caxton. Caxton's edition was divided into 21 books and 506 chapters.

 

Malory took French legends in origin and he adapted them into the English life and the English perspective. His sources date from the thirteenth century.

THE STORY

In part three the Grail quest with Galahad as the hero is quickly told. And then it is time for Malory´s best work : the treachery at the court, the adultery of Lancelot and Guinereve and the last battle in which Arthur and Mordred kill each other. Especially emotive is the ending, when Lancelot and Guinereve meet for one last time after Arthur´s death. He wants to ask her to marry him, but she has devoted her life to God, and inspires him to do the same.

Part two deals mainly with the adventures of Tristan. In the verse romances of the twelfth century he makes name as the perfect lover of Isolde. In the Tristan en Prose he appears at king Arthur’s court for the first time and this was Malory’s main source. Malory concentrates on Tristan’s deeds as a knight, rather than the sad and passionate story of the lovers.

http://www.mysticrealms.org.uk/malory/index1.htm

http://www.enotes.com/le-morte

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/id-182.html

http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/arthmenu.htm#MedT

http://www.britannia.com/history/h12.html

http://members.ams.chello.nl/keuchenius/medi.html

http://www.estudiosclasicos.org/resen-arturo.htm (español)

LINKS