Malory's <i>Morte Darthur</i>

Larry D. Benson

Published by Harvard University Press 1976

Malory's Morte Darthur

Larry D. Benson

https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674733589

Overview
Contents

About this book

Sir Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur has delighted readers of English literature for over five hundred years and has shaped our images of chivalry, of knight-errantry, of adventure in King Arthur's time, of courtly love. In the past three decades literary critics have shown Malory to be an artist of skill and imagination, worthy of careful study as well as general popularity. One of the prices we have paid for this critical attention, Larry Benson argues, is an increasingly gloomy interpretation, so that what seemed a joyous celebration of Arthurian chivalry has become a dark, even "existential" tragedy. He here reestablishes the work as a chivalric romance by examining it against the background of fifteenth-century knighthood and literary traditions.

Benson relates the Morte Darthur to the Arthurian prose cycles as they developed in the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries and to the English romance tradition. He is able to trace Malory's general development as a writer by showing the ways in which he applies his narrative techniques with increasing skill from the early tales to his first completely successful works, The Tale of Sir Gareth and The Book of Sir Tristram. His research into chivalric practices in the fifteenth century reveal that Malory was a much more realistic writer than is generally thought. Benson tells his story in a most readable style.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Preface Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	vii
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	xiii
I. Malory and Arthurian Romance
1. Malory and the Prose Cycles Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	3
2. Fifteenth-Century Prose Romance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	17
II. Malory and English Romance
3. Techniques of Adaptation: The Tale of King Arthur and Arthur and Lucius Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	39
4. Thematic Invention: A Noble Tale of Sir Lancelot Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	65
5. The Tale of Sir Gareth Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	92
6. The Book of Sir Tristram Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	109
III. Malory and Chivalry
7. Fifteenth-Century Chivalry Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	137
8. Knighthood in Life and Literature Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	163
9. The Realism of Fifteenth-Century Romance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	186
IV. The Fall of Camelot
10. The Tale of the Sancgreal Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	205
11. The Book of Sir Lancelot and Guenevere Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	223
12. The Death of Arthur Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	235
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	251
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	277
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	285

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Copyright year: 1976
Edition: Reprint 2013
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Front matter: 11
- Main content: 289
Keywords: Arthurian romances -- History and criticism; Kings and rulers in literature; Knights and knighthood in literature; Malory, Thomas, -- Sir, -- active 15th century -- Morte d'Arthur; Romances, English -- History and criticism

eBook

Published: October 1, 2013
ISBN: 9780674733589

Hardcover

Published: December 11, 2013
ISBN: 9780674733572