Le Morte d'Arthur

The Le Morte d'Arthur excerpts begin by telling how, when Arthur was born son to Uther Pendragon, king of Brittan, he was, at Merlin's advising, sent to be taken care of by Sir Ector. Arthur was still a boy living as son to Sir Ector and brother to Ector's son Kay, when Uther died. After Uthers death an anvil with a sword stuck in it in the church of St. Peters bore the inscription, "Who so ever pulls out this sword from the stone and anvil is by right of birth king of all Brittan." Many men tried to pull the sword out but did not succeed. Eventually a tournament was to be held that would decide who was to be king. Sir Ector, Kay, and Arthur were all in attendance at the tournament, but Kay, having forgot his sword, begged Arthur to fetch it for him. Arthur could not obtain Kay's sword but was determined that he should have one, and seeing the sword in the stone pulled it out and brought it to Kay. Confusion followed and tests to the truth that Arthur really was the one who pulled the sword from the stone, but eventually Arthur was proclaimed king of Brittan.

The second part of the excerpts are about Arthur's greatest knight Sir Lancelot. Lancelot went on many questing adventures including saving many knights from Sir Tarquine who imprisoned and treated cruelly all the knights whom he had beaten. Sir Lancelot was imprisoned by four queens who cast a spell on him, but was saved by king Bagdemagus' daughter, and to repay her, fought and won a battle for her father. He helped many other women in distress, killed giants and always defended the laws of chivalry.

The last excerpt tells how while Arthur was out fighting Lancelot, Modred faked Arthur's death on the battle field and had himself made king, and tried to have Gwynevere made his wife. When Arthur heard of all this he came to fight Modred. Bloody battles followed. In the last battle between Arhtur and Modred, almost every man on both sides was slaughtered. Arthur did kill Modred, but he suffered a deadly wound and was brought to and buried in a hermitage in Glastonbury, where he was morned by Bedivere and the former Archbishop of Canterbury.

Thomas Malory seems to have a differant way of writing. he doesn't seem to find it impotant or nessisary to have discriptions. There is very very little discriptive work, it was very to the point. I feel like it is more about what happened then about the characters, they don't seem as developed. That could also be because it wasn't the whole book that was read. Even like that though, I still liked this reading. I love Arthurian legend and would like to read the rest of this book, all the middle parts that weren't in the packet. I just find Arthur and his story, and ideals, really interesting. My favorite part when I read anything about him though is always the end. "Here lies Arthur, the once and future king." It gives me shivers every time.