Le Morte D'Arthur

Le Morte D'Arthur is Sir Thomas Malory's richly evocative and enthralling version of the Arhurian legend. Recounting Arthur's birth, his ascendancy to the throne after claiming the sword Excalibur, his ill-fated marriage to Buenever, the treachery of Morgan le Fay and the exploits of the Knights of the Round table, it magically weaves together adventure, battle, love and enchantment. Le Morte D'Arthur looks back to an idealized medieval world and is full of wistful, elegiac regret for a vanished age of chivalry. Edited and published by William Caxton in 1485, Malory's prose romance drew on French and English verse sources to give an epic unity to the Arthur myth, and remains the most magnificent retelling of the story in English.

The text of this edition is based on Caxton's original printed edition, with modernized spelling and punctuation. John Lawlor's introduction discusses the figure of Arthur, the life and career of Malory and his unique prose style. This volume also contains notes and a glossary.

About The Author

Sir Thomas Malory was a knight and estate owner in the mid 15th century, who spent many years in prison for political crimes as well as robbery. He wrote Le Morte d’Arthur, the first great English prose epic, while imprisoned in Newgate. The epic was published in 1485 by William Caxton, the first English printer. Malory is believed to have died in 1471.