The Death of King Arthur (Penguin Classics)

by Unknown and Anonymous

Book Overview

Recounting the final days of Arthur, this thirteenth-century French version of the Camelot legend, written by an unknown author, is set in a world of fading chivalric glory. It depicts the Round Table... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140442553
• Release Date: January 1971
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.39 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Good book, misleading cover

Shows modern penguin classic cover but comes in mail as older cover. I Whished they used the actual cover so I would know what I was actually buying.

The force of love which reason cannot resist

This tragic medieval saga is a tale of love, adultery, jealousy, treachery, revenge and death. The adulterous love between chivalry's most valiant knight, Lancelot del Lac, and King Arthur's wife, Queen Guinevere, provokes a series of suicidal wars between chivalry's finest, noblest, most courteous, most honorable knights and their factions: `no man ever became deeply involved in love who did not die as a result.' It is an anti-war tale: `battle, how many orphans and widows you have made in this country and others!' `Where will the poor people ever find pity now?' And what is the use of all this pride? `But such is earthly pride that no one is seated so high that he can avoid having to fall from power in the world.' At the end, `we can see all our friends dead before us.' `It was to lead to the destruction of the kingdom of Logres ... lands remained devastated and waste.' Of course, the anonymous author is sometimes too sentimental, too Christian. His battle descriptions are now and then stereotypic. Nevertheless, his story written in a direct, simple, unadulterated and positive style is one of the highlights of medieval literature. Not to be missed.

Moving Close to the Tale

While "The Death of King Arthur" is the shortest romance in the entire Lancelot-Grail cycle (formerly known as the "Vulgate Cycle" and a principal source of Sir Thomas Malory) it is also one of the best suited to modern tastes. Unlike the earlier segments of the cycle (the Lancelot or the Quest of the Holy Grail particularly) it does not underline its themes through endless variant repetitions that irritate the modern reader. Instead, the plot is remarkably linear and focuses on the love of Lancelot and Guinevere, and the disastrous consequences that their affair wreaks on King Arthur and his entire kingdom. Because it was originally written as a sequel to the Lancelot and Grail portions of the cycle, certain knowledge is assumed for the reader. The reader is assumed to know that Arthur is the King, that Lancelot is his boldest knight, and that the Round Table is recovering slowly from a long and very destructive Grail Quest. Without the lengthy process of interlacing adventures between Lancelot and Gawain or Bors and Gareth, it can be difficult for the true weight of the story to come across to the uninitiated. Cable's translation is workmanlike and readable, and serves as a worthy introduction to this classic tale until such time as the recent English translation of the entire cycle (Lancelot-Grail: The Old French Arthurian Vulgate and Post-Vulgate in Translation, edited by Norris J. Lacy) is available in an affordable paperback series. (I bought the hardback at an exorbitant price per volume myself.)

Historical background of the book, from the text itself

It is a combination of two singular manuscripts. There are two poetic variations: alliterative and stanzaic. The first manuscript (alliterative) is known as the "Thornton Manuscript," which is found in the Lincoln Cathedral in York, England. This manuscript draws on various works, including Monmouth's "History of the Kings of Britain. The second stanzaic version is simply known as MS Harleian 2252. According to the book, this version takes from a piece of French prose "Mort Artu". The poems are very descriptive. The first poem pays attention to every historic detail. The second poem is more romantic than anything else. I would definitely suggest putting it in your King Arthur book collection.

Two versions of King Arthur's last stand are noteworthy.

This King Arthur's Death book contains two versions of the story. The first is Morte Arthure which is an alliterative version, while the second, Le Morte Arthur is stanzaic (rhymed). Neither are Malory's Morte D'Arthure, although he used these as his sources. And especially good fare for fans of the round table.