Book Review: Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory

Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory rendered in modern idiom by Keith Baines and with an introduction by Robert Graves

This classic text was modernized by Keith Baines (in 1983!) to allow easier entry for readers who otherwise would have to make it through the Middle English of the original fifteenth century text. At five hundred pages, that's a long, arduous haul.

The book covers a myriad of legends from King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Some are familiar like the Quest for the Holy Grail and the awkward love triangle between Arthur, Sir Launcelot, and Queen Gwynevere (I'm using the spellings from this volume rather than the ones I am more familiar with). Other stories are much less familiar, like Arthur's march to Rome to become the emperor of all of Europe or the exploits of Sir Tristram of Lyoness, a knight in love with Isuelt the Fair who is as unattainable for him as Gwynevere is for Launcelot. The variety of tales is undermined by their similarities and repetitiveness. Knights are constantly questing around and jousting with any knight they happen to run across. After getting knocked off their horses, they proceed to fight with swords for two hours, often bleeding profusely from wounds until one has knocked down the other. Then the helmet is ripped off and the vanquish is beheaded if he does not beg for mercy. These incidents pad out the volume and make it a bit longer than it needs to be.

Otherwise, when the narrative gets into more mythical stories or describes the random details of medieval life, it is more interesting. Castles are visited often. How safe they are seems to be a roll of the dice. Some are the epitome of hospitality, others have customs that are barbaric to the core (like the one that bleeds out any virgin female who happens to visit). How the knights deal with these situations and follow their chivalric code shows how different the times were back then. But the knights are just barely Christian. I was a bit shocked to see how often King Arthur would sleep with a lady just because she was beautiful or available. The book passes no judgment on such actions (though sleeping with his aunt results in Sir Mordred, a knight who causes a lot of trouble). The ending, with the division and destruction of the Knights of the Round Table, is very tragic and well told here.

Overall, I enjoyed the book though I did find a lot of times that I was slogging through some random knight fights just because they happened to run into each other during their travels. Tournaments (mock battles or competitions sponsored by Arthur or other kings) were less interesting than they could have been, with mostly just a running tally of how many knights were unhorsed or defeated without a larger, important narrative going on. The great knights (Launcelot, Gawain, Percivale, etc.) are seemingly undefeatable and win the honors whenever they participate. Real conflicts are more interesting but are constantly getting sidetracked by this other stuff. 

Slightly recommended--this is a classic but it might need some editing unless you want the full medieval experience of pre-medieval legends told in medieval style.