The Romance of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table
by Thomas Malory
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The Romance of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table is an abridged narrative from Malory's classic text, Morte D'Arthur, edited by Alfred W. Pollard. Le Morte d'Arthur is a compilation by Sir Thomas Malory of traditional tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, and the Knights of the Round Table. First published in 1485, The Romance of King Arthur is now one of the best-known works of Arthurian literature; and is here masterfully re-told by Alfred Pollard (1859 - show more 1944). In his own words, he "tried to clear away some of the underwoods that the great trees may be better seen, and though I know that I have cleared away some small timber that is fine stuff in itself, if the great trees stand out the better, the experiment may be forgiven." show lessTags
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I read this book completely for the illustrations, ad as per usual with Rackham's work I was not disappointed. The large colour panels are what most people are drawn to with his work, but I was just as appreciative of the b&w line drawings scattered throughout the text. Many were simply decorative and didn't depict a specific scene from the tales, but Rackham's mastery of line is still clearly showcased in each illustration.
I couldn't actually choose a favourite colour piece, as there are two that stand out for very opposite reasons: Queen Guenevere goes a-Maying and How Mordred was slain by Arthur. One is light and romantic while the other is dark and harshly realistic, which I feel exemplifies the dual nature of the Arthurian show more legends. show less
I couldn't actually choose a favourite colour piece, as there are two that stand out for very opposite reasons: Queen Guenevere goes a-Maying and How Mordred was slain by Arthur. One is light and romantic while the other is dark and harshly realistic, which I feel exemplifies the dual nature of the Arthurian show more legends. show less
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233+ Works 17,681 Members
Sir Thomas Malory, 1405 - 1471 Sir Thomas Malory's works (consisting of the legends of Sir Lancelot, Sir Gareth, Sir Tristram, and the Holy Grail, as well as the stories of King Arthur's coming to the throne, his wars with the Emperor Lucius, and his death) are the most influential expression of Arthurian material in English. The author's sources show more are principally French romances; his own contributions are substantial, however, and the result is a vigorous and resonant prose. "Le Morte d'Arthur," finished between March 1469 and March 1470, was first printed in 1485 by William Caxton, the earliest English printer. Malory is presumed to have been a knight from an old Warwickshire family, who inherited his father's estates about 1433 and spent 20 years of his later life in jail accused of various crimes. The discovery of a manuscript version of "Le Morte d'Arthur" in 1934 in the library of Winchester College, supported the identification of Malory the author with Malory the traitor, burglar, and rapist. It showed that many of the inconsistencies in the printed text were traceable to the printing house rather than to the author. The most reliable modern version, therefore, is one like Eugene Vinaver's that is based on the Winchester manuscript. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Romance of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table
- Original title
- The Romance of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table
- Disambiguation notice
- This is Arthur W. Pollard's retelling of Malory's Morte D'arthur, published in multiple editions, originally with illustrations by Arthur Rackham. Do not combine with other books of this title or any other retelling of Malory... (show all).
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- Languages
- 5 — English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 18
- ASINs
- 13
