Sir Thomas Malory (1416-1471)
“Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil is rightwise king born of
all England.”
"For love that time was not as love is nowadays."
 Born into the nobility
 Allegedly committed many heinous crimes such as cattle raiding, theft, extortion, attempted
murder, and robbing churches
 But . . . he was a “framed Lancastrian” during the Yorksist reign (War of Roses- House of
York vs. the House of Lancaster), and some of these may have been trumped up charges.
 Spent most of his life in prison
 Wrote Le Morte d’Arthur while he was imprisoned in Newgate Prison in London near the
well-stocked Grey Friars library
Le Morte d’Arthur
 Synthesis of French, English, and Latin manuscripts
 Originally entitled The Book of King Arthur and His Noble Knights of the Round Table
 William Caxton, the man who introduced printing into England, published it and renamed it
when he divided the work into 21 volumes and edited it.
 William Caxton published it after Malory’s death and gave the work the credibility it
deserved.
 Finest example of Middle English prose narrative
- He did for prose what Chaucer did for poetry.
- He inaugurated the tradition of English prose.
 Style:
- Short
- To the point
- You may not think so, but this work details action after action and only gives the
necessary details.
 Plot: King Arthur is conceived, pulls the sword from the stone, is crowned by the Archbishop
of Canterbury, receives Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake, marries Guinevere, and starts
the Round Table concept. Next, the work follows the quests of other knights—Gawain,
Gareth, Galahad (Knight Perilous), and Sir Lancelot (the greatest knight)—and ends with
Lancelot’s and Guinevere’s affair and subsequently King Arthur’s death.
 Exalts the feudal system (This is not surprising since Malory is from the nobility.
 Stirs readers to recall a land of chivalry, respect, and loyalty (This is interesting since
Malory’s reputation does not resemble the ideals he upholds.)
 Malory altered the French manuscripts to achieve this ulterior goal (emphasizing chivalry
more.)
 Malory could not achieve his goals completely because he could not deny his characters’ sin
nature (i.e. Lancelot’s and Guinevere’s affair)
 The Tudor King Henry VII encouraged the belief that he was Arthur returned.
 Contains both elements of Roman Catholicism (i.e. Guinevere goes to a convent) and Celtic
mythology (i.e. The sword in the stone resembles the Destiny Stone that supposedly would
cry out for the true king.)
 ”The Tale of Sir Gareth Who Was Called Beaumains”
- Summary- On the day of the Pentecost feast, when all the Round Table is assembled and
Arthur, according to his custom, is waiting for some marvel to be revealed before he begins
his meal, Sir Gawain announces the arrival of three men and a dwarf. One of the men, who at
first seems unable to walk, then proves perfectly whole and agile, is "the goodlyest yonge
man and the fayreste" the court has ever seen. He asks for three gifts. For now he will name
only the first: food and drink for a year.
Sir Kay scorns the young man as a "vylayne borne," on the grounds that "as he is, so he
hath asked," and he mockingly calls him "Beaumains," that is, "pretty hands." Kay says he'll
make the boy work in the kitchen. Gawain and Launcelot defend the boy, but Kay is
obstinate and the boy goes with him willingly. Gawain had reason to be kind to Beaumains,
Malory says, "for that proffer com of his bloode, for he was nere kyn to hym than he wyste
of"; Launcelot's kindness, on the other hand, "was of his grete jantylnesse and curtesy."
The following Pentecost, a damsel named Lynet arrives at court to ask help for her sister,
whose castle is under siege by the Red Knight of the Red Lands. She will not tell her sister's
name, so Arthur refuses to send any of his knights with her. Now Beaumains asks the
remaining two gifts: that he be assigned this adventure and that he be knighted by Launcelot.
Arthur agrees.
Lynet is furious when she sees a kitchen boy assigned to her, but she has no choice.
Beaumains' dwarf produces a splendidly dressed horse and fine armor, to all the court's
amazement, and Beaumains rides off without spear or shield. Kay follows to mock him and
Beaumains takes Kay's spear and shield. Beamains tells Launcelot, who has seen all this, that
he is Gawain's brother Gareth.
He is knighted and, bearing Kay's shield, begins a series of adventures each more
difficult than the last, throughout which Lynet belittles and scorns him. He beats six thieves,
two knights at a bridge, the Black Knight, the Green Knight, Sir Persaunt of Inde, and at last
the Red Knight of the Red Lands. Lynet finally comes to approve him.
Now Lyonesse requires that he serve her faithfully for a year in order to win her love. He
does so, and in further encounters proves his might, pluck, and chastity. He and Lyonesse
plan a tournament at which Gareth is to win her as his lady. After the tournament, but before
Gareth rejoins Lyonesse, he fights the Brown Knight without Pity (Bereuse Saunz PitŽ) and
— unknowingly — his own brother Gawain. Lyonesse stops the final battle by making the
two brothers known to each other; then Gareth and Lyonesse are married at Arthur's court.
- Organized as an argument
* The narrative proves a thesis: the worthiness of the unidentified youth.
- Theme: The meaning of true gentility (which requires 3 things)
* Noble birth (Sir Lancelot will not knight Gareth until he knows who he is.)
* Noble character
* Social manners.
- Its theme of concealed worthiness begin eventually revealed and honored is like that of
the fairy tale "Cinderella."
- Gareth shows he is worthy of knighthood by
* His acceptance and fulfillment of menial, degrading service and
* Request and fulfillment of a knightly mission, the liberation of a maiden in a
besieged castle.
- Characters:
* King Arthur (grants Gareth’s three requests)
* Lancelot (knights Gareth)
+ The careers of Gareth and Lancelot later intersect in an unhappy circumstance that
reinforces the theme of Le Morte d'Arthur and leads on to its tragic conclusion.
Lancelot, in defending Guinevere from punishment for their adulterous
relationship, unintentionally kills Gareth and thereby transforms Gawain, Gareth's
brother, from his devoted friend into his bitterest enemy.
* Sir Kay (mistreats and unfairly attacks Gareth)
+ Has the social requirement (noble birth) for gentility
* Sir Gawain (Gareth’s brother)
* Beaumains (Fair Hands)- actually Gareth
+ Beaumains shows humility in his subjection to Sir Kay and fortitude in his
success against Sir Kay (at a disadvantage) and Lancelot.
+ Has the social and moral components of true gentility
+ Notice also that Gareth remains modes at the end. Boasting is not associated with
heroism here as in Old English literature.
* Lyonet (surly lady who fetches help for her sister)
+ She shares Sir Kay's negative opinion of Gareth and this lack of discernment
shows a corresponding lack of true nobility.
* Lyonesse (the lady who Sir Gareth marries)
 What is chivalry today? What character qualities must be present for a person to be
considered chivalrous?
 Does reminding a people of times of chivalry inspire them to live better? Does Malory's
"solution" of the evils of society last? What must be done to bring about lasting change in a
society?