Le Morte d'Arthur

Thomas Malory’s prose collection recounts King Arthur’s rise, the adventures of his knights, and the collapse of Camelot. William Caxton printed it in 1485, shaping later Arthurian literature.

King Arthur: A legendary British king whose court and wars anchor the Arthurian literary tradition. Malory’s account traces Arthur’s kingship from its establishment to its fatal collapse.
Thomas Malory: An English writer and knight associated with the fifteenth-century compilation of Arthurian prose romances. Malory gathered and recast the stories that form this work.
Sword in the Stone: A legendary sword embedded in stone, whose removal identifies Arthur as the rightful king. The episode establishes Arthur’s claim before the fellowship and kingdom take shape.
Caxton's 1485 edition of Le Morte d'Arthur: The first printed edition of Malory’s Arthurian work, produced by William Caxton in 1485. Its print circulation made Malory’s arrangement of the legends widely available.
Knights of the Round Table: Arthur’s fellowship of knights, bound by shared ideals and service to their king. Their quests and rivalries make up much of Malory’s narrative.
William Caxton: An English merchant and printer who established the first printing press in England. Caxton printed the first known edition of Malory’s work in 1485.
Questing Beast: A strange monster in Arthurian legend whose pursuit becomes an enduring knightly quest. Its pursuit connects the opening adventures to the book’s pattern of wandering quests.
Victorian medievalism: A nineteenth-century revival of interest in medieval art, literature, and ideals. Victorian writers and artists repeatedly returned to Malory’s Arthurian world.
Lancelot: A knight of Arthurian legend celebrated for prowess, whose love for Guinevere brings him into conflict with the king. Malory makes Lancelot’s loyalty and adultery central to Camelot’s unraveling.
Le Morte d'Arthur manuscript: The surviving Winchester manuscript is a fifteenth-century witness to Malory’s Arthurian compilation. It preserves a text distinct in arrangement and wording from Caxton’s printed edition.

Linked from 12 pages