Malory: The Morte Darthur [Anglais] [Broché]

According to tradition, a rogue knight of the fifteenth century collated all the legends and songs surrounding the pre-Christian Welsh chieftain Arthur into a fascinating, rambling prose narrative. Since then it has inspired numerous artists while becoming the principal source for today's notions of chivalry and the Knights of the Round Table. Yet, for modern Americans, it's as difficult to hear as to read, despite all efforts by the brilliant Derek Jacobi in this judicious abridgment. The diction, somewhere between the English of Chaucer and Shakespeare, has been tastefully edited for comprehension, but the values and literary conventions have not. If anyone can bring such fare to life, Jacobi can--and does! Through him, we hear what once inspired the fantasies of young boys. All the psychological and moral complexities that are the author's chief concern are present, as well as the vigor and sonority of the writing. Further, Jacobi's beautiful oral expression smooths out the unevenness of the original and gives more life to the characters than Malory did. Jacobi brings out the full tragedy of Arthur's death and the dissolution of the Camelot ideal. Malory as interpreted by Jacobi is well worth the listen. Y.R. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.

"....a beautifully illustrated edition....Anna-Marie Ferguson's pictures convey the mythic element superbly" --Ce texte fait référence à l'édition Relié .

"Le Morte d'Arthur remains an enchanted sea for the reader to swim about in, delighting at the random beauties of fifteenth-century prose."
--Robert Graves --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.

A blessed king who strives for peace and justice; the round table where only the most gallant knights may sit; the dramatic quest for the Holy Grail; a fateful romance that destroys a dream: the epic story of King Arthur never fails to stir the imaginations of readers everywhere. This outstanding illustrated version adds to Sir Thomas Malory's skillful recounting with original artwork that creates a unique vision of Camelot. Some of these breathtaking, elaborate watercolors and pens-and-inks have hung in museums, including the depiction of the Tintagel Castle, the Sword in the Stone, Merlin and Nimue, and Guenevere rescued from the stake. With remarkable accuracy, Anna-Marie Ferguson captures every nuance of the historical period-the knights' shining armor, the intricate architecture, and the English forests with their abundant flora and fauna. Yet she also revels in the fantasy, with mysterious and magical landscapes, misty and moonlit. These legends have always been a treat for the mind-and now they are a feast for the eyes, too.


--Ce texte fait référence à l'édition Relié .

An illustrated presentation of the legendary deeds of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table follows Arthur's magical birth and accession to the throne as well as the stories of knights Sir Lancelot, Sir Tristram, and Sir Galahad. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.

"Le Morte d'Arthur remains an enchanted sea for
the reader to swim about in, delighting at the random beauties of fifteenth-century prose."
--Robert Graves

The legends of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table have inspired some of the greatest works of literature--from Cervantes's Don Quixote to Tennyson's Idylls of the King. Although many versions exist, Malory's stands as the classic rendition. Malory wrote the book while in Newgate Prison during the last three years of his life; it was published some fourteen years later, in 1485, by William Caxton. The tales, steeped in the magic of Merlin, the powerful cords of the chivalric code, and the age-old dramas of love and death, resound across the centuries.
        The stories of King Arthur, Lancelot, Queen Guenever, and Tristram and Isolde seem astonishingly moving and modern. Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur endures and inspires because it embodies mankind's deepest yearnings for broth-erhood and community, a love worth dying for, and valor, honor, and chivalry.

Elizabeth J. Bryan is associate professor of English at Brown University. She is the author of Collaborative Meaning in Medieval Scribal Culture: The Otho LaZamon. --Ce texte fait référence à lédition Broché .

Scholars have determined that there were at least six Thomas Malorys alive in the 1400s when Le Morte d'Arthur was written. Considerable evidence points to the likeliest author as one Sir Thomas Malory or Maleore of Newbold Revell in Warwickshire, who was born in the first quarter of the fifteenth century. A member of the gentry, he became a soldier in the service of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, with whom he fought in the siege of Calais in 1436. In records of the period he is accused of various crimes--including armed robbery, attempted murder, and rape--and he is said to have executed several dramatic escapes from prison.

Several things about Malory seem indisputable. As in Arthur's time when post-Roman Britain was in a state of fierce tribal war, he lived in an age of great unrest. Europe was still recovering from the Black Plague and a century of war. In England, two powerful families fought for the throne. Although he may have been a scoundrel, Malory was also, it seems clear, a man of ideals who believed in courage and loyalty, and who mourned the passing of chivalry. Incarcerated for long periods, he had many hours to fill his imagination with French romances and tales of chivalry, volumes of which were readily at hand. It is thought that Le Morte d'Arthur was written during his imprisonment.

Malory referred to himself as a 'knight-prisoner.' With a military man's passion for the details of conquest, a prisoner's sense of injustice, and a penitent's desire for redemption, he dedicated himself wholeheartedly to this retelling of the Arthurian legends. Sir Thomas Malory died, it is presumed, around 1471.