Le Morte Darthur: A Norton Critical Edition

by Thomas Malory, Thomas Wright, Sir Thomas Malory

Book Overview

No other edition accurately represents the actual (and likely authorial) divisions of the text as attested to by its two surviving witnesses--Caxton's 1485 print and, especially, the famous Winchester Manuscript. The Winchester Manuscript is now generally agreed to be the more authentic of the two earlier texts. The Norton Critical Edition is the first edition of Malory to recover important elements of this manuscript: paragraphing marginal annotations...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393974642
• ISBN13: 9780393974645
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 1008 Pages
• Weight: 1.89 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.6" x 9.1"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Le Morte Darthur

Great copy of the book. No marking or folded corners. Arrived in a timely manner.

If I only had one book . . .

If I had only one book to read for the rest of my life and couldn't read anything else, it would be this one.

The once and future king...

Sir Thomas Mallory was a great one to write the adventures of King Arthur and his knights - a knight himself, he led a life of intrigue and adventure, albeit not one that always lived up to the ideas of chivalry he penned at the heart of the Arthurian legends. Mallory did not invent Arthur; he is one of the principle medieval chroniclers, having time (he was in prison with nothing else to do, after all) to set down in prose stories he'd heard throughout his life. These were popular tales, not always told in the same way with the same details, as is true of most oral legends and transmitted stories, much to the later frustration of scholars and readers. The earliest printing of Mallory's stories had his authorship suppressed by Caxton, one of the better-known publishers of the time. The earliest Arthurian legends date back as far as the late Roman times in Britain. Controversies abound, but many have settled on a late Roman or Romano-British general named Arturius - however, given the linguistic nature of the name (it is derivative of ruler or leader), it is impossible to know if this was in fact a name or a title, and the legends may be compilations of the acts of many leaders bearing the name. There was also a Welsh leader with the name/title Arddu, 'Dark One', who is sometimes conflated into Arthurian legend. Arthur was celebrated in the pre-Norman times for the order and stability he represented; Arthur was celebrated in post-Norman times for his campaigns against Saxons. Arthur continues to be an intriguing character, today reminiscent of ancient mysteries as well as pagan and new age ideas as well. In any event, Mallory doesn't attach specific dates to his tales. The book actually consists of many tales. The first is entitled 'The Tale of King Arthur', which introduces the figures of Merlin, Gawain, Uwayne, Pellinore, Morgan le Fay (the Celtic war goddess Morgana, dressed up as Arthur's sister) and others, and includes the sword-in-the-stone event. While this text has been modernised by Keith Baines, there are certain crucial lines left in Mallory's English, including this most famous one: Whoso pulleth oute this swerd of this stone and anvyld is rightwys kynge borne of all Brytaygne Following this tale, Mallory includes many of the famous tales in Arthurian legend as stories more or less complete in themselves, but still linking to the other tales. 'The Tale of Sir Lancelot du Lake' is a knight's tale indeed, with no fewer than twenty horseback duels back-to-back. 'The Tale of Sir Gareth' is a similar spirited tale, less well known. 'The Book of Sir Tristram of Lyoness' makes Tristram and Iseult, famous by other writers as well, into lovers, this time with a more happy ending than usual. The lesser known 'Tale of Arthur and Lucius' describes battles and skirmishes with the emperor, but never really captured popular imagination. Mallory saves the best for last, with three major tales - 'The Tale of the Sangreal', the Holy Grail; 'The B

Truly Legendary

Contained within the pages of this book, is the most notorious of all stories to emerge from the depths of the Dark Ages of European history. Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur is quite possibly the greatest work of English literature and the source of the Arthurian legends, as we know them today. This legendary tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is an exquisite story of adventure, love, honor, and betrayal. Throughout the whole of Malory's story there is the underlying theme that a thing's making is ultimately it's undoing, be it kingdom, man, or quest. Not only is this theme evident in this story but in his own life as well. Le Morte d'Arthur is a truly legendary work of art, given new life in this splendid rendition by Keith Bains.

The best version of Le Mort D' Arthur ever!!!!

If you want the original Middle English version of Le Mort D' Arthur, this is it. It is the Winchester version. I bought this book while in England and it's the best version I have due to the original spellings. It's a challenge to read, but I enjoy it because it is more authentic. Since you don't have somebody "correcting" the text, you get to see what the original actually looks and reads like. I believe this is the only middle English version available. You won't be disappointed!