Thomas Malory, Le Morte D'Arthur

Karen Elaine Smyth (University of East Anglia)
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Sir Thomas Malory’s fifteenth-century prose narrative

Le Morte d’Arthur

displays the culmination and decline of the ideology of chivalric romance. The last medieval English work of the Arthurian legend before the Renaissance,

Le Morte D’Arthur

is the first full-length book in English about the adventures of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, the knights of the Round Table and their quest for the Holy Grail. The Arthurian legend professes to record the history of a British king who, around the 5th or 6th century, successfully united the disintegrating tribal kingdoms of Roman Britain and resisted the Saxon invasion. During this time of peace and stability, Arthur reputedly created a court of international renown for its military prowess and aristocratic culture. Malory’s tale…

1991 words

Citation: Smyth, Karen Elaine. "Le Morte D'Arthur". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 May 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4075, accessed 29 March 2024.]

4075 Le Morte D'Arthur 3 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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