Thomas Malory c. 1410-1471

English prose writer.

The following entry presents an overview of Malory's life and works. For additional information on his career, see LC, Volume 11.

Acknowledged as a seminal work of English literature, Malory's Le Morte Darthur is often credited with laying the foundation of the modern prose narrative in English and with establishing the version of the Arthurian legend that remains dominant to the present day. Malory wrote the work while in prison, taking years to create a powerful narrative that focuses on the life and times of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. In addition to being praised as a key text of the English language, Le Morte Darthur is also studied for the light it sheds on medieval culture and society.

Biographical Information

Malory was born in Warwickshire, England, about 1410. He was the son of Sir John Malory of Newbold Revel, Warwickshire, the local sheriff and a man of modest means. Sometime in his youth it is thought that Malory served as a soldier under the banner of King Henry V. Scholars believe that he was a member of the company of the great Earl of Warwick, Richard Beauchamp, and that he took part in the battle of Agincourt and may have witnessed the burning at the stake of Joan of Arc. Three times in Malory's stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table women are bound to the stake and condemned to death, but unlike Joan of Arc, they are always saved at the last minute. Malory returned to Warwickshire after the end of the fighting in France. When his father died in 1434, he inherited his father's estates and may also have succeeded to a title of knight. A few years later Malory married a woman named Elizabeth who bore him a son, Robert, who died before him. In 1445 he became a member of the Parliament at Westminster. Thereafter, records show, his life took a downward turn. From legal archives of the time, he is cited in lawsuits, charged with rape, robbery, extortion, cattle stealing, and with breaking into the Abbey of Coombe. For his various crimes, Malory served at least four prison sentences in the last twenty years of his life. According to a legal document from Northampton, Malory and a companion were charged with having by force and arms insulted and wounded the plaintiff at Sprotton in Northants, and with having stolen his goods. In 1454 Malory was released from prison on bail, but proceeded to steal cattle and other personal property. Malory was subsequently imprisoned in Colchester; he escaped, but was recaptured and sent to Marshalsea Prison, which housed all types of criminals, including debtors, murderers, and thieves. In 1456 Malory was released through a royal pardon and sent to Ludgate, a debtor's prison. The following year he was released on bail but was soon returned to prison, again at Marshalsea. The last recorded arrest came in 1460, when he was sent to Newgate Prison, where he translated the French Morte Arthure. In this book, Malory gives the only recorded information about his life. Referring to himself as a “knight prisoner,” Malory implores the reader: “I praye you all jentylmen and jentylwymen that redeth this book of Arthur and his knyghtes from the begynnyng to the endynge, praye for me whyle I am on lyve that God send me good delyveraunce. And whan I am deed, I praye you all praye for my soule. For this book was ended the ninth yere of the reygne of King Edward the Fourth, by Syr Thomas Maleore, knyght, as Jesu helpe hym for His grete myght, as he is the servaunt of Jesu bothe day and nyght.” In 1471 he died at Newgate, probably of the plague. He was buried near the prison at Grey Friars Chapel.

Major Works

Although Malory is now widely accepted as the author of Le Morte Darthur, scholars debated the authorship and sources of the text for many years. However, examination of the only extant manuscript, a transcription dating from 1475, has led to a consensus regarding Malory as the creator of the narrative. Le Morte Darthur has two major plot elements: The first focus is on the end of Arthur's reign, marked by the dissolution of the Round Table; the second is the quest for the Holy Grail. Beginning with the adulterous conception of Arthur, the tale traces his exploits after he obtains his sword, Excalibur, from the Stone and establishes the Round Table. As Arthur and his Knights defend the realm, engaging in numerous adventures, Malory includes narratives extolling the prowess of such knights as Sir Palomides, Sir Lancelot, and Sir Tristram. The culminating adventure in which the Knights are engaged is the quest for the Holy Grail, which leads to the loss of many lives, including that of Sir Galahad, son of Lancelot. The quest fails, however, eventually resulting in the dissolution of the Round Table. Its failure is attributed primarily to the shortcomings and spiritual failures of the Knights, who were once considered paradigms of knightly virtue. At the end of the story, the Round Table is broken, Arthur is dead, and his wife Guenevere has entered a convent.

Although Le Morte Darthur tells the story of King Arthur and his reign, it is also an allegory that explores the conflict between knightly and Christian behavior. The conflict, most clearly personified in the adulterous relationship between Sir Lancelot and Queen Guenevere, remains unresolved in the end, eventually precipitating a tragic collapse of the ideal society created by Arthur and his Knights. In addition to being an alliterative tale about the conflict between social and religious ideals, Le Morte Darthur is a chivalric romance, presenting Malory's view of the power of chivalric virtues and the nature of true love.

Critical Reception

The first published edition of Le Morte Darthur is attributed to the workshop of William Caxton and is dated 1485. This version of the text was divided into 21 books and had over 500 chapters. It was believed to be the only existing text of Le Morte Darthur until 1934, when W. F. Oakeshott discovered a manuscript of the text in the Winchester College library. Although there are few major differences in the two texts, the two versions have caused debate among scholars regarding Malory's intention, with some scholars arguing that the work is a series of separate romance tales, and others contending that the work is a continuous narrative. In his introduction to his edition of Le Morte Darthur, which he titled The Works of Sir Thomas Malory, Eugène Vinaver addressed the issue of structural unity in the text, noting that there is ample evidence to support the theory that Malory did not intend for his Arthurian narratives to be read as a single, composite work. In contrast, Charles Moorman, in his book on the structural unity of Le Morte Darthur contended that the three major plot elements of the work—Lancelot and Guenevere's relationship, the quest for the Grail, and the Lot-Pellinore feud—all tie together in the end to create an integrated text.

While the controversy over the structural unity of Le Morte Darthur continues to be a hotly debated critical issue, other aspects of the work have garnered much attention as well. For example, the historical veracity of the text is another major area of scholarly attention, with Caxton himself devoting at least half of his preface to proving his contention that the tale tells the true, factual history of Arthur and his reign. In his introductory essay to Le Morte Darthur, D. S. Brewer has examined the sources and traditions Malory drew upon to create his version of the Arthur legend, noting that although parts of the book are based on contemporary historical events, Malory's intent in writing this story was not to record historical fact, but to present a fantasy grounded in political and historical relevance for the readers of his own time.

Although many of Malory's characters have been studied in detail by critics, none continue to raise scholarly interest as much as Guenevere, wife of King Arthur. Often considered a representation of everything that is wrong in the world of chivalry—she is often depicted as jealous, greedy, and eventually, unfaithful—Guenevere's character has been regarded by Ann Dobyns as someone who is complex and worldly at the same time, “capable of ideal nobility” even while she is vulnerable to temptation. According to Dobyns, Guenevere is the metaphoric representation of Malory's view of the conflict in the chivalric ethic. In her examination of Guenevere's characterization, Carol Hart has argued that despite the often arrogant and inconsistent behavior displayed by the queen, she is in fact an uncharacteristically heroic and influential female character for her time. Other studies of Le Morte Darthur have focused on the role of kingship as exemplified by Arthur, as well as the reasons for his failure and eventual downfall.