Sir Thomas Malory

Karen Elaine Smyth (University of East Anglia)
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Intrigue, paradoxes and colourful scenarios could be terms employed to describe the compilation by Sir Thomas Malory of the great body of Arthurian legends commonly referred to as

Le Morte D'Arthur

; but in equal measure the terms can be applied to any attempt to write a biography of the man. Very little of any certainty is known about the author of one of the most popular prose romances of the medieval period. Internal evidence within this masterpiece of imaginative literature indicates he was a knight and a prisoner. He also describes himself as “a servant of Jesu both day and night”, leading some modern biographers to speculate he might have been a priest. The surname appears in various forms including “Mallorie” and “Maleore”. There are five individuals in the…

2270 words

Citation: Smyth, Karen Elaine. "Sir Thomas Malory". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 29 August 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2899, accessed 19 March 2024.]

2899 Sir Thomas Malory 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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