Thomas Malory

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The English author Sir Thomas Malory (active 15th century) wrote "Le Morte Darthur", one of the most popular prose romances of the medieval period. The work was the first full-length book in English about the adventures of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

Although Le Morte Darthur (also known as Le Morte d'Arthur) is universally accepted as a masterpiece of imaginative literature, so much mystery surrounds the identity of the author (that is, which one of several Sir Thomas Malorys of the 15th century actually wrote it) that any one definitive biography seems imprudent. The only direct information extant concerning the author is that a Sir Thomas Malory completed the book while he was a "knight-prisoner" in the ninth year of Edward IV's reign, from March 4, 1469, to March 3, 1470. All the rest is conjecture.

In the 16th century John Bale associated Malory with Welsh origins mainly because of a place called Mailoria in Wales and because of the subject matter of the book. There are no records, however, of a Thomas Malory in Wales in the 15th century. Although several other Thomas Malorys were suggested, the next serious candidate was identified by George L. Kittredge at the end of the 19th century as Sir Thomas Malory, Knight, of New-bold Revel, Warwickshire. This Thomas Malory, who, as the record shows, led an active and colorful life, has been accepted as the author of Le Morte Darthur by most scholars.

Although Malory's exact date of birth is unknown (probably around the year 1410), he succeeded to his father's estates in 1434. He served at the siege of Calais in the retinue of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, in 1436, and he was elected as knight of the shire for Warwickshire in 1445. Most of the other records show that he was frequently in conflict with the law, spending much of his last 20 years in and out of prison. In 1443 he and another man were charged with assault and robbery. Over the years he was accused of many offenses, including rape, armed assault, conspiracy to commit murder, horse stealing, and extortion. On at least two occasions he dramatically escaped from prison, and he was excluded from two general pardons in 1468. He was committed to Newgate Prison in 1460, but he was apparently freed to fight with the forces of the Earl of Warwick in Northumberland in 1462. Although he had pleaded not guilty to all charges, he probably was in prison at the time of his death on March 14, 1471.

However, a recent study by William Matthews presents a rather convincing argument for yet another candidate, about whose life unfortunately very little is known, one Thomas Malory of Studley and Hutton, Yorkshire. Emphasizing a linguistic approach, Matthews analyzes the backgrounds and careers of four possible candidates, stating that the criteria by which they must be judged are certain facts concerning Le Morte Darthur. These facts are that the work was written by one Sir Thomas Malory and completed by 1470; that it exemplifies the religious and secular aspects of medieval chivalry; that its major source is a French book of several prose romances; that it draws heavily from Yorkshire and other northern romances; that its language is mainly standard English with frequent scattering of northern dialect words and forms; that the author was familiar with places, institutions, and legends of northern England; that he was a knight-prisoner while he wrote the book; and that he seems to have had Lancastrian sympathies. Matthews responds to the possible weaknesses in the case of the Yorkshire Malory (he is not actually described as a knight, and there is no record of his having been a prisoner) by pointing out that, although this Malory's family was an eminent one, in the 15th century titles were used rather loosely and often not used even when appropriate, and that it was not the custom in the 15th century to keep records of prisoners of war, as Malory may have been as a result of an ill-fated expedition to France in 1469. Matthews concludes that since the author of Le Morte Darthur "was so remarkably familiar with northern dialect, northern literature, and northern affairs…. he must have been a northerner himsel…. probably a Yorkshireman [and that] Thomas Malory of Studley and Hutton is the only Yorkshireman of appropriate name and age who has been found in documents at the appropriate time."

In any case, Malory related in vigorous prose the familiar stories of the Arthurian legend. The work was first published in 1485 by William Caxton. In this edition it is divided into books and chapters, thus making it appear to have continuity, while the version in the Winchester manuscript (see the bibliography below) is divided into a series of individually entitled tales, indicating to some scholars a lack of artistic unity. The sources for Malory's work are mainly 13th-century French prose romances, with the exception of book V, which is a prose adaptation of the alliterative Morte Arthur, a 14th-century English poem.

Further Reading

Le Morte d'Arthur, edited by Janet Cowen, with an introduction by John Lawlor (2 vols., 1969), is recommended as a good text based on Caxton's edition. However, in 1934, a 15th-century manuscript containing Le Morte Darthur was found at Winchester, England. This manuscript was edited by Eugene Vinaver in 1947 and is considered the standard edition of Malory's work to date. See Eugene Vinaver, ed., The Works of Sir Thomas Malory (1954; 2d ed. in 3 vols., 1967).

Because of the controversy surrounding the identity of the author of Le Morte Darthur, the following books are especially recommended. The most comprehensive biography of the Warwickshire Malory is Edward Hicks, Sir Thomas Malory: His Turbulent Career: A Biography (1928). For a detailed study of four other Thomas Malorys and as a possible candidate the Malory of Studley and Hutton, Yorkshire, see William Matthews, The Ill-framed Knight: A Skeptical Inquiry into the Identity of Sir Thomas Malory (1966).

For critical studies of Le Morte Darthur consult Eugene Vinaver, Malory (1929), and Robert M. Lumiansky, ed., Malory's Originality: A Critical Study of Le Morte Darthur (1964).

Malory, Sir Thomas (d. 1471). The identity of Malory, author of Le Morte Darthur, is not certain. The most likely suggestion is Sir Thomas Malory of Newbold Revel (War.). If it is correct, he had been knighted in 1445, served in Parliament for Warwickshire the same year, and was a follower of Warwick the Kingmaker. Malory's famous volume was a compilation from various sources, mainly French, and was printed by Caxton in 1485.

Quotes:

"Nowadays men cannot love seven night but they must have all their desires: that love may not endure by reason; for where they be soon accorded and hasty, heat soon it cooleth. Right so fareth love nowadays, soon hot soon cold: this is no stability. But the old love was not so."

"Queen Guenever, for whom I make here a little mention, that while she lived she was a true lover, and therefore she had a good end."

"For like as herbs and trees bringing forth fruit and flourish in May, in likewise every lusty heart that is in any manner a lover, springeth and flourisheth in lusty deeds."

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An Aubrey Beardsley illustration for Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur

Sir Thomas Malory (c. 1405 – 14 March 1471) was an English writer, the author or compiler of Le Morte d'Arthur. The antiquary John Leland (1506–1552) believed him to be Welsh, but most modern scholarship assumes that he was Sir Thomas Malory of Newbold Revel in Warwickshire. The surname appears in various spellings, including Maillorie, Mallory, Mallery, and Maleore. The name comes from the Old French adjective maleüré (from Latin male auguratus) meaning ill-omened or unfortunate.

Few facts are certain in Malory's history. He was probably born sometime around 1405 (though some scholars have suggested an earlier date). He died in March of 1471, less than two years after completing his lengthy book. Twice elected to a seat in Parliament, he also accrued a long list of criminal charges during the 1450s, including burglary, rape, sheep stealing, and attempting to ambush Humphrey Stafford, the Duke of Buckingham. He escaped from jail on two occasions, once by fighting his way out with a variety of weapons and by swimming a moat. Malory was imprisoned at several locations in London, but he was occasionally out on bail. He was never brought to trial for the charges that had been levelled against him, and has been considered by some scholars (including Peter Field) to have been a political prisoner, innocent of any serious offence. In the 1460s he was at least once pardoned by King Henry VI, but more often, he was specifically excluded from pardon by both Henry VI and his rival and successor, Edward IV. It can be construed from comments Malory makes at the ends of sections of his narrative that he composed at least part of his work while in prison. William Oldys speculates that he may have been a priest,^[1] based on Malory's description of himself in the colophon to Le Morte d'Arthur:

I pray you all, gentlemen and gentlewomen that readeth this book of Arthur and his knights, from the beginning to the ending, pray for me while I am alive, that God send me good deliverance, and when I am dead, I pray you all pray for my soul. For this book was ended the ninth year of the reign of King Edward the Fourth, by Sir Thomas Maleore, knight, as Jesu help him for His great might, as he is the servant of Jesu both day and night. (Malory p. 531)

A young Malory appears as a character at the end of T.H. White's book The Once and Future King, which was based on Le Morte d'Arthur; this cameo is included in the Broadway musical Camelot. Many modern takes on the Arthurian legend have their roots in Malory, including John Boorman's 1981 movie Excalibur, which includes selected elements of the book. Parts of Malory's book form a key element in Cynthia Harnett's childrens novel "The Load of Unicorn".

Notes

1. ^ Oldys, William: article on William Caxton, Biographia Britannica, 1747–66.

   Further, there is a discussion about whether Malory was a priest at googlebooks

References

• Malory, Thomas, Janet Cowen, and John Lawlor. Le Morte D'Arthur. Volume II. London: Penguin Books, 1969.googlebooks Retrieved December 2, 2007
• Eugène Vinaver, "Sir Thomas Malory" in Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages, Roger S. Loomis (ed.). Clarendon Press: Oxford University. 1959. ISBN 0-19-811588-1
• P.J.C. Field, The Life and Times of Sir Thomas Malory, Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 1993. ISBN 0261-9814
• Sheila V. Mallory Smith, A History of the Mallory Family, Phillimore, 1985, ISBN 0850335760
• Christina Hardyment, Malory: The Life and Times of King Arthur's Chronicler, Harper Collins, 2005, ISBN 0066209811

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Thomas Malory

• Sir Thomas Malory Society
• Arthuriana: The Journal of Arthurian Studies
• Early British Kingdoms: SIR THOMAS MALORY (1420-1471)
• Le Morte d'Arthur (Caxton edition, in Middle English) at the University of Michigan
• Le Morte d'Arthur, from eBooks@Adelaide
• Works by Thomas Malory at Project Gutenberg
  • Le Mort d'Arthur: Volume 1 at Project Gutenberg
  • Le Mort d'Arthur: Volume 2 at Project Gutenberg
•  "Sir Thomas Malory". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Sir_Thomas_Malory. 

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