Thomas Malory's life, and his great immortal work - Le Morte d'Arthur

2. THOMAS MALORY

4. 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

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.’

11. 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."

12. 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.

13. 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”

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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”

17. 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).

18. CHARACTE
RS

19. King Arthur
Legendary King of
Britain
 was the son of Uther
Pendragon and Igraine,
whose actual name
might have been its
Latin version, Arturus

20. 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

21. Uther Pendragon
 a legendary king of
sub-Roman Britain and
the father of King
Arthur.

22. Igraine
 in Arthurian legend,
she is the mother of
King Arthur.

23. Guinevere
was the legendary
Queen consort of King
Arthur
 said to have had a love
affair with Arthur's chief
knight Sir Lancelot
reputedly the most
beautiful woman in
Britain

24. Morgause
 the mother of
Gawain ,Mordred, Gareth,
Agravain, and Gaheris
 sister of Morgan le Fay
and the wife of King Lot
of Orkney

25. Morgan le Fay
 a powerful sorceress in
the Arthurian legend
 Arthur's half- sister; she
is, therefore, the daughter
of Igraine and Gorlois

26. 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.

27. Sir Ector
(sometimes
Hector, Antor,
or Ectorius)
 the father of Sir Kay
and the foster father of
King Arthur in the
Arthurian legend

28. 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

29. 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.

30. 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

31. 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.

32. 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.

33. 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

34. Sir Perceval
is a type of blessed
fool, a heroic knight
who sees the Grail and
visits the Fisher King
in his mysterious
castle.

35. 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.

36. 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 wounded
he is best known today as Arthur's
illegitimate son by his half-sister
Morgause
In 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.

37. Elaine
“The Fair
Maid of
Astolat”
“The Lady of
Shallot”
is best known as the
unrequited lover of Lancelot

38. 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

39. 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

40. Elaine of Pelles
in other version, Elaine
and Lancelot are the
parents of Galahad

41. 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

42. 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