Le Morte d'Arthur
Malory gathered the scattered Arthurian legends and shaped them into the definitive English version, the one every King Arthur story since pulls from.
Read this if you…
- want the most revered King arthur source
- like knights, chivalry, quests, all the medieval romance trappings
Skip this if you…
- can't handle boring repetitive predictable knight stuff
Why It Matters
Malory gathered the scattered Arthurian legends and shaped them into the definitive English version, the one every King Arthur story since pulls from. Camelot, the Round Table, the Grail quest, Lancelot and Guinevere, it all comes through Malory. It's also one of the first great works of English prose, and the man wrote it in prison.
The 
Take
Awesome to get the most famous version. The chivalry stuff is very cool how ingrained it is. But the stories become very boring and long
Where to go next
- The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius. Le Morte d'Arthur built on it. - Camelot rises and falls on Boethius's Wheel of Fortune — and the *Consolation* is where the medieval world learned to see it that way - Read it first and Malory's fatalism clicks into place: Lancelot all but quotes Boethius on the wheel "so moveable," and Arthur dreams of being thrown from it on the eve of ruin - The philosophy behind the doom — fortune, providence, sin redeemed — is Boethius's, standing quietly behind the swords
Depicted in Art
A half-length damsel in flowing robes holds the Holy Grail and a censer, framed by stylized leaves and a dove descending from above.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1874
Lancelot leans across the marble effigy of the dead Arthur to beg a kiss from Guenevere, who recoils; a serpent winds through the grass.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1855
Arthur drives his spear through Mordred at the battle of Camlann; both figures locked in the death-stroke amid armored ranks.
Arthur Rackham, 1917
Nimue holds an open spellbook over the entranced Merlin, who reclines tangled in the branches of a hawthorn tree.
Edward Burne-Jones, 1874
The three knights kneel before an altar as the Grail is presented by an angel; Percival's dead sister lies on the ground at left.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1864
A youthful Galahad in armor stands beside his white horse in a wooded glade, hands clasped in prayer.
George Frederic Watts, 1862
King Arthur in full ceremonial armor and crown stands frontally, holding sword and orb; heavy linework and decorative borders.
Howard Pyle, 1903
Galahad in armor pauses at a ruined chapel; an angel attends behind him as his horse stands in the doorway.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1859
Arthur lies asleep on a canopied bier surrounded by mourning queens and watching attendants on the island of Avalon.
Edward Burne-Jones, 1898
Recommended Editions
Penguin Classics
2004
Janet Cowen's Penguin uses Caxton's 1485 text, the version that shaped English Arthurian tradition for five centuries. Helen Cooper's intro on Malory composing this from a prison cell is the part to read first.
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Deep Dive
What It's About
This summary gives away plot details.
Notable Quotes
“Hic jacet Arthurus, Rex quondam, Rexque futurus.”
“Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil, is rightwise king born of all England.”