Le Morte D’Arthur (1485) by Sir Thomas Malory


Le Morte D’Arthur (1485) by Sir Thomas Malory

To clarify, this is Sir Thomas Malory and William Caxton’s late-1400s compilation and translation of various earlier French texts chronicling the adventures of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

Given that the story is sourced from different accounts, it’s interesting to note the tonal shifts that take place from section to section. There’s almost a biblical quality to a large portion of it, where the intent of the narrative leans more heavily into a dry documentation of events rather than trying to communicate dramatically as you’d expect from a fantasy-heavy epic. The segmentation is also apparent in the variety of “olde English” phrases used throughout the book. I had to rewire my brain to parse some fun but obtuse archaic prose every time I sat down to read - but it was worth the effort over the course of 900+ pages covering the entire lifespan of Arthur, Launcelot, Galahad, and all sorts of legendary knights.

The many disparate adventures contained here don’t exactly paint a cohesive, flowing narrative like The Once and Future King - but what Le Morte D’Arthur lacks in engaging literary convention, it more than makes up for in comprehensiveness. You get everything from Merlin and the sword in the stone, to Morgan Le Fey’s curses, to the search for the Holy Grail, to the exploits of Sir Tristram outside of England, and everything in-between. But even still, there’s a consistent underpinning of power dynamics and shifting alliances throughout the whole book, almost like a medieval version of Dragon Ball Z where the narrative mainly concerns itself with who the strongest knights are and how they compare to each other. Consequently, my favorite part of these chronicles was the quest for the Sangreal, where that dynamic actually shifts to focus on who the holiest knights were, and how they strove for a seemingly unachievable level of purity in order to see God Himself.

It was a seriously fascinating read, and considering how much I love medieval fantasy in the first place - I’m glad I dedicated the time to finishing such a thorough rendition of the legendary Knights of the Round Table.

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