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King Arthur and
The Knights of The Round Table
METRICAL ROMANCE
THOMAS MALORY
EXCALIBURKNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE
Le Morte d’Arthur
SIR THOMAS MALORY
is the author of Le Morte D’Arthur, said to have been completed in 1469 (or 1470) then revised and printed by William Caxton in 1485.
born in around 1416 son of John Malory and Philippa Chetwynd lived at Newbold Revell in Warwickshire,
England
SIR THOMAS MALORY
married Elizabeth Walsh of Wanlip in Leicestershire, who bore him a son, Robert.
by 1441 he had become a knight, and his life so far suggested a degree of political and social ambition.
In 1443 Malory was charged with wounding and imprisoning a Thomas Smith and stealing his goods, but the charge apparently fell through.
Malory’s Life of Crime
January 4, 1450- he and 26 other armed men were said to have laid an ambush for the Duke of Buckingham in the Abbot of Combe's woods near Newbold Revell.
May 23rd- he allegedly raped Joan Smith at Coventry. The charge was brought by her husband under a statute of Richard II who intended to make elopement into a crime of rape, even when the woman had consented.
Malory’s Life of Crime
May 31- he allegedly extorted money from two residents of Monks Kirby, then on August 6th allegedly raped Joan Smith again and stole money and goods from her husband.
August 31- he again allegedly committed extortion from another resident of Monks Kirby.
Malory’s Life of Crime
On March 5th 1451 a warrant was issued for Malory's arrest and a few weeks later he and various accomplices were alleged to have stolen cattle in Warwickshire. The Duke of Buckingham and 60 men from Warwickshire tried to arrest him but in the meantime Malory apparently raided Buckingham's hunting lodge, killing deer and doing damage to the property.
He was arrested and imprisoned at Coleshill, but soon escaped (by swimming the moat), then reportedly raided Combe Abbey with a band of one hundred men, breaking down doors, insulting the monks, and stealing money.
Malory’s Life of Crime
By January 1452 he was in prison in London, where he spent most of the next eight years waiting for trial. He was bailed out several times and at one point joined a horse-stealing expedition across East Anglia in ended in Colchester jail, from which he escaped too, but was recaptured and taken back to prison in London.
SIR THOMAS MALORY
However, by 1468 Malory was back in Newgate prison, where he would die in 1471. While in Newgate he turned to writing, creating the immortal "Le Morte D'Arthur", which would win him eternal fame. The truth behind the seemingly contradictory nature of Sir Thomas Malory is hotly debated, and may never be fully known.
'The noble and joyous historye of the grete conquerour and excellent kyng, Kyng Arthur.’
SIR THOMAS MALORY
Sir Thomas Malory of Newbold Revel died on the 14th of March 1471, and was buried with adequate splendor in Christ Church Greyfriars, near Newgate Prison.
Malory's tomb read:
"HIC JACET DOMINUS THOMAS MALLERE, VALENS MILES OB 14 MAR 1471 DE
PAROCHIA DE MONKENKIRBY IN COM WARICINI."
Meaning:~> "Here lies Lord Thomas Mallere, Valiant Soldier. Died 14 March 1471, in the parish of Monkenkirby in the county of Warwick."
Le Morte D’Arthur
is a compilation by Sir Thomas Malory of Romance tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, and the Knights of the Round Table.
King Arthur and The Knights of The Round Table
King Arthur is the figure at the heart of the Arthurian Legends but The Knights of the Round table play an important part in the story and legend of King Arthur.
Code of Chivalry HONOR, HONESTY, VALOR, and LOYALTY “Brothers in arms”
CODE OF CHIVALRY by Giovanni Boccaccio
• To never lay down arms• To seek after wonders• To called upon, to defend the rights of the weak with all strength• To injure no one• Not to attack one another• To fight for the safety of one’s country• To give one’s life in our country• To seek nothing before honor• Never to break faith for any reason• To practice religion more diligently• To grant hospitality to anyone• Whether in honor or disgrace, to make in report with the greatest fidelity to truth to those who keep the annals
CODE OF CHIVALRY by SIR THOMAS MALORY
To never do outrage nor murder Always to flee treason To by no means be cruel but to give
mercy unto him who asks for mercy To always do ladies, gentlewomen and
widows succor To never force ladies, gentlewomen or
widows Not to take up battles in wrongful
quarrels for love or worldly goods
The Round Table
The significance of the Round Table was that no one, not even King Arthur, would be able to sit at the head of the table.
According to the Vulgate Cycles, it was a wedding gift from Guinevere’s father, King Leodagan of Carmelide, after Arthur asked her hand in marriage.
The names of the knights were engraved on their chairs.
“PERILOUS”
When they were assembled, Merlin said that “from
now on you must love one another and hold one another as dear as brothers, for from the love and sweetness of this table where you will be seated there will be born in your hearts such a great joy and friendship that you will leave your wives and children to be with one another and to spend your youth together.”
(translation by Martha Asher).
CHARACTERS
King Arthur
Legendary King of Britain
was the son of Uther Pendragon
and Igraine, whose actual name might have been its Latin
version, Arturus
Two Arthurs are present in Arthurian literature.
One is an epic hero who is flawless and can do
no wrong. The second Arthur is more human. He
is depicted as a two-dimensional character, with
faults and imperfections.
Uther Pendragon
a legendary king of sub-Roman Britain and the father of King Arthur.
Igraine
in Arthurian legend, she is the
mother of King Arthur.
Guinevere
was the legendary Queen consort of King Arthur said to have had a love affair with Arthur's chief knight Sir Lancelotreputedly the most beautiful woman in Britain
Morgause
the mother of Gawain ,Mordred, Gareth, Agravain,
and Gaheris
sister of Morgan le Fay and the wife of King Lot of Orkney
Morgan le Fay
a powerful sorceress in the Arthurian legend
Arthur's half- sister; she is, therefore, the daughter of Igraine and Gorlois
Merlin
Arthur's counselor and magician, and in many ways, he is the prime
architect of Arthur's reign: Merlin helps Uther
Pendragon to become Arthur's father; he guides
Arthur to withdraw Excalibur from the Stone;
he is the creator of the Round Table and prophet of the Grail; and he helps
Arthur attain various goals.
Sir Ector
(sometimes Hector,
Antor, or Ectorius)
the father of Sir Kay and the foster
father of King Arthur in the Arthurian
legend
Sir Lancelot du Lac
one of the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend the most trusted of King Arthur's knights and played a part in many of Arthur's victories best known for his love affair with Arthur's wife Guinevere and the role he played in the search for the Holy Grail
Sir Kay
Sir Ector's son and King Arthur's foster brother and later
seneschal as well as one of the
first Knights of the Round Table
is one of the earliest characters associated
with Arthur.
Sir Gareth
a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian Legend
he was the youngest son of Lot and of Morgause, King Arthur's half-sister,
thus making him Arthur's nephew
as well as brother to Gawain, Agravain,
Gaheris, and half-brother to Mordred
Sir Gawain
in most tales, including "Sir Gawain
and the Green Knight" he is Arthur's
nephew (in some, he's his cousin)
an innocent and true knight.
Sir Agravain
a lesser-known nephew of King
Arthur who serves him as a Knight of
the Round Table. he is a son of King Lot of
Orkney and Morgause
and an accomplice of his evil half-
brother Mordred.
Sir Gaheris
nephew of King Arthur and a Knight of the
Round Table son of Arthur's sister
or half-sister Morgause and her
husband Lot, King of Orkney
he is a brother of Gawain, Agravaine and Gareth and half-brother
of Mordred
Sir Perceval
is a type of blessed fool, a
heroic knight who sees the Grail and
visits the Fisher King in his
mysterious castle.
Sir Bedivere
friend of Lancelot and Gawain
a loyal knight of King Arthur who is tested at the end of the story as told by Malory. Mortally
wounded, the dying Arthur asks Bedivere to cast Excalibur into the
lake from which it came.
Mordred or Modred
is a character in the Arthurian legend, known as a notorious traitor who fought King Arthur at the Battle of Camlann, where he was killed and Arthur fatally woundedhe is best known today as Arthur's illegitimate son by his half-sister MorgauseIn earlier literature, he was considered the legitimate son of Morgause, also known as Anna, with her husband King Lot of Orkney. his brothers or half-brothers are Gawain, Agravain, Gaheris, and Gareth.
Elaine
“The Fair Maid of Astolat”
“The Lady of Shallot”
is best known as the unrequited lover of
Lancelot
Elaine
(also known as Helen)
was the mother of Lancelot and wife of King Ban of Brittany who after the death of her husband and the loss of her baby son Lancelot, was stolen by the Lady
of the Lake
Lady of the Lake
Niviene or Viviane
(elsewhere known as Eviene)
• is the wise and beautiful step-mother
and teacher of Lancelot• first explains the
meaning of knighthood to the young man who
wishes to become a knight
Elaine of Pelles
in other version, Elaine and
Lancelot are the parents of Galahad
25 Knights inscribed on the Winchester Round Table
King Arthur Sir Galahad Sir Lancelot du Lac Sir Gawain Sir Percivale Sir Lionell Sir Bors de Ganis Sir Kay Sir Tristram de Lyones Sir Gareth Sir Bedivere Sir Bleoberis La Cote Male Taile
Sir Lucan Sir Palomedes Sir Lamorak Sir Safer Sir Pelleas Sir Ector de Maris Sir Dagonet Sir Degore Sir Brunor le Noir Le Bel Desconneu Sir Alymere Sir Mordred
Other Knights Sir Aglovale Sir Agravaine King Enion King Bagdemagus Sir Breunor Sir Caradoc Sir Colgrevance Sir Constantine Sir Dagonet Sir Daniel Sir Ector Sir Ector de Maris Sir Elyan the White Sir Gaheris
Sir Galeshin Sir Geraint Sir Gingalain Sir Lamorak King Leodegrance Sir Lionel Sir Maleagant Sir Meliant de Lis Sir Mordred Sir Pelleas Sir Sagramore le Desirous Sir Safir Sir Segwarides Sir Tor King Uriens Sir Ywain the Bastard Sir Galehaut
