Notes
Thomas Morley (~1415-1471)
- Checkered past
- Attempted murder of the Duke of Buckingham
- Robbed and insulted abbot in Coombe Abbey
- Raped Henry Smyth’s wife
- Escaped from jail twice
Wrote Le Morte D’Arthur during the last three years of his life in prison. 1468-1471. Malory sources were French stories, but different variations exist with the Irish, Welsh, Scots, Sicily, and Majorca (Normans).
Knights were not very Christian. Had affairs, incest, sex out of wedlock. Arthur as Christ with 12 knights as apostles.
Source:
- La Mort Artu (Fr., 1200s) – prose romance
- Stanzaic Morte Arthur (M.E. 1300s, from La Mort Artu) – 3969 lines, ABABABAB
- Alliterative Morte Arthure (~1400) – 4346 lines
- Le Morte d’Arthur (early M.E. 1485, from Stanzaic and Alliterative)
Some odd words:
- seneschal – steward of a medieval house
- fetlock – first joint above a horse’s hoof
- Candlemas – celebrates the presentation of Jesus at the Temple
- Allhallowsmas – All Saints Eve, All Saints Day, All Souls Day; Old Norse, halig (saint) tide (time)
- samite – heavy silk weaved with gold or silver thread
- bark – sailing ship
- jazerent – light armour, mail between fabric or leather
- basinet – helmet, light steel, visor, fitted
- brachet – female hunting dog
- bezant – a coin from Byzantium
Genealogy:
- Sisters: Igraine, Margawse, Elayne
- Uther Pendragon marries Igraine who was married to Duke of Tintagil
- Uther and Igraine’s children: Arthur, Morgan le Fay
- Arthur’s partners:
- Sanam Lyonors, children: Borre
- Gwynevere
- Margawse (his aunt), children: Modred
- Morgan le Fay marries King Uryens, children: Uwayne
- King Lot married to Margawse, children: Gawain
The Tale of King Arthur
1. Merlin
King Uther Pendragon at war with the Duke of Tintagil and falls in love with Lady Igraine Tintigil. Invites them to his castle and tries to seduce Igraine. They leave and hold up in castle Tintigil and castle Terrabyl.
Merlin casts a spell to make Uther appear as the Duke and he sleeps with Igraine. Igraine finds out that her husband had died three hours before that, and Uther confesses. Thirteen days later they wed.
Igraine became pregnant that night. Merlin takes the child and baptises him, then gives him to Sir Ector and his wife to be raised in secret. Ector’s wife gives her own child away to avoid suspicion. His identity as the heir to Uther would only be revealed after he grew up at “the proper time.”
Uther dies and the barons fight to rule. The Archbishop of Canterbury call alls to service at Christmas. The sword in the anvil-topped stone is presented as a test for the next king.
“WHOSO PULLETH OUTE THIS SWERD OF THIS STONE AND ANVYLD IS RIGHTWYS KYNGE BORNE OF ALL BRYTAYGNE”
Sir Ector, his son Sir Kay, and Arthur travel to the test. Sir Kay forgets his sword and sends Arthur to retrieve it, but Arthur pulls the stone sword out instead. Jealous barons deny him the throne but after months concede. Some kings do not and war begins. Arthur makes an alliance with French kings Ban and Boar and promises to help them defeat King Claudas.
Many battles and the usurping forces are thwarted. Arthur at castle Bedgrayne.
Arthur falls in love with Sanam Lyonors and conceives Borre, Gwynevere, his aunt Margawse (King Lot’s wife) and conceives Sir Modred. Merlin says that Modred will kill Arthur.
King Pellinore hunts for the Questing Beast and steals Arthur’s horse. He later is attacked at Arthur’s request. Arthur fights him, breaks the stone sword, and Merlin finishes the battle by putting him to sleep. The Lady of the Lake gives him Excalibur.
2. Balin, or the Knight with the Two Swords
Arthus insulted King Royns of West Britain and so war is declared. A noblewoman from the Lady of Avalon brings a magic sword to court that can only be drawn by a courageous and virtuous knight. Arthur can’t and shamefully no other knight tries.
Sir Balin in shabby clothes after being jailed by Arthur succeeds. The noblewoman warns that Arthur will die by the hands of the man he most loves if he takes the sword.
Lady Avalon arrives and demands Arthur kill either Balin or the noblewoman because he killed her brother and she her father. Balin kills her and angers Arthur and so leaves to kill King Royns in order to return to Arthur’s good graces. Sir Launcelot attacks him in the road from court but is killed, followed by a noblewoman who kills herself out of love for Launcelot.
He is met by his brother Sir Balan, a dwarf, and King Mark of Cornwall who buries the couple. Merlin tells the King that Sir Launcelot and Sir Tristram will fight on this spot and declares that “three kingdoms will be laid waste for twelve years.”
King Mark leaves for Camelot and the brothers attack King Royns and take him to Arthur. Royns’ brother King Nero on the plain of Terrabyl. Merlin convinces Nero’s friend King Lot (with whose wife Arthur fathered Modred) on the Island of Orkney to attack Arthur and he is killed by King Pellinore at Bedgrayne.
Arthur massacres the eleven Kings.
The invisible Sir Garlot kills two knights. Sir Harleus and Sir Peryne. Sir Balin must avenge and rides with noblewoman to a castle where she is trapped outside and attacked by knights. The lady of the castle must have her blood to be cured of illness. It does not work and they continue in their journey to find a man whose son was wounded by Sir Garlot, and Garlot’s blood will cure the son. They are directed to a feast where Garlot will be. Balin kills Garlot and King Pellam chases him about the castle. Balin kills Pellam with the spear that killed Jesus and the castle collapses killing all, including the noblewoman, except Balin.
Three kingdoms are destroyed because of this.
Balin meets a Sir Garnysh pining for his love. They find her dead in the arms of an ugly knight and Garnysh kills himself.
A stone that says “IT IS FOR NO KNYGHT ALINE TO RYDE TOWARD THIS CASTEL.”
Balin arrives at a castle where he must fight the Knight of the Island. They fight for hours and after he kills the Knight of the Island, Balin finds out that it is his brother Balan (who took the place of the previous knight). Balin dies soon after and they are buried together.
Merlin creates an enchanted bed and Sir Lancelot breaks the spell.
Merlin repairs Balin’s sword and enchants it.
3. Torre and Pellinore
Merlin tells Arthur to see and he chooses King Lodegreaunce of Camylarde’s daughter Gwynevere, even though she is destined to love Sir Launcelot. The king gives Arthur the round table with 28 seats. Arthur promises to grant any request during the wedding feast. Cowherd Aryes’ son Torres wants to be a knight and we find out he is actually King Pellinore’s son.
A hart (male deer) gallops into the hall chased by a white brachet (female hunting dog) an 30 pairs of black hounds. A knight steals the bratchet and leaves, then the female owner arrives and cries for its return. Another knight enters and takes the noblewoman. Arthur commands three tasks: Gawain and Gaheris to get the hart, Torre the bratchet, and Pellinore the lady (Nyneve) and kill her captor.
Gawain chases the night to a castle and accidentally kills a lady who throws herself in between him and the knight. They fight four knights and are defeated then let go because of their ties to Arthur. They return with the dead lady and the hart and are reprimanded.
Sir Torre encounters a dwarf and two knights he must fight. He defeats them and the dwarf joins him. They find the bratchet with a lady and three maids who warn that if he takes it he will die battling another knight. He returns.
King Pellinore leaves and passes a woman and a wounded Knight. The knight dies and the woman kills herself. He finds the woman and abductor and kills him. On their return they overhear knights denouncing Merlin and come upon the dead woman and knight. He is reprimanded by Arthur when he gets to Camelot.
4. The War with the Five Kings
Merlin falls in love with Nyneve and leaves with her. She becomes bored with him and tricks him to enter an cave and she closes the entrance with an enchanted boulder. The prophecy that he will die buried alive.
The five kings’ armies (Denmark,Ireland, Sorleyse, Isle of Lontayse, and the Vale) threaten Camelot. Arthur goes but his army is ambushed at night and killed. He and his remaining knights flee, then face and kill all five kings and afterward defeat their armies. Back at Camelot, Arthur replaces the dead knights with new recruits.
5. Arthur and Accolon
King Arthur, King Uryens, and Sir Accolon hunting a hart, killed it, and found rest in a barge. Twelve maids appeared offer a great meal and lodging for the evening. Asleep and enchanted, Uryens ends up back at Camelot with his wife Morgan le Fay, Arthur in a prison with other knights, and Accolon, whose mistress is Morgan le Fay, near the bottom of a well.
The imprisoned knights chose to be there instead of fight. The lords of the castle, Sir Damas and Sir Outlake, were brothers who fought each other for control. Damas tries to force other knights to fight for him and those that refuse are thrown in prison. A maid of Morgan le Fay tells Arthur that he must fight a knight to the death in order to free himself from the prison. A dwarf tells Sir Accolon that Morgan le Fay wants him to fight to win the kingdom for Sir Outlake and gives him Excalibur.
They fight and discover each’s identity after both are badly wounded. They stop fighting and Arthur invites Outlake to Camelot and takes Damas’s possessions. He discovers that Morgan le Fay was behind the treachery. They hunt her but she escapes and frees Accolon’s cousin Sir Manessen from captivity and sends him to Camelot to warn Arthur of her plans for vengeance.
6. Gawain, Uwayne, and Marhaus
Morgan Le Fey sends a maid with a mantle of jewels as a gift for Arthur. Nyneve tells him it is a trick and when he has the maid try it on first she bursts into flames. Arthur is suspicious of Uryens and Uwayne since they are her husband and son, but since she tried to also kill Uryens he only banishes Uwayne. In solidarity, Sir Gawain goes with him.
They meet a group of 12 maidens who spit on a shield hanging a a nearby tree who say it is owned by a knight who hates them. The two meet the knight, Marhaus, and fight him for days, finally stopping in mutual respect. He tells them the maids are actually witches that lure knights to their doom. They recover for a week at a priory.
They follow a stream to its source and meet three women at a well ages 60, 30, and 15. Uwayne goes with the eldest west, Marhaus with the middle south, and Gawain with the youngest north. They will meet back at the well in a year.
Gawain encounters Peleas, who fights 10 knights and then surrenders to them. Then a knight, a dwarf (with a large mouth short nose) and maid ask him to decide who the maid should be with. Gawain lets the maid decide and she chooses the dwarf. Sir Pelleas is in love with Lady Ettarde and repeatedly fights to impress her and then be imprisoned at her castle. Gawain seeks Pelleas and offers to romance Ettarde and tell her that Pelleas is dead, then Pelleas will arrive and she will fall in love with him. Gawain stays with Ettarde and never summons Pelleas. Pelleas eventually goes to the castle and finds them sleeping together. He leaves his sword which Ettarde recognizes when she awakens and so sends Gawain away. Nyneve meets Pelleas and casts a spell so that he hates Ettarde; she then casts a spell to make Ettarde love him. Pelleas leaves with Nyneve and Ettarde eventually dies of heartbreak.
Sir Marhaus arrives at the castle of the Duke of South Marches who is an enemy of Arthur. The Duke demands Marhaus fights his six sons the next day. He defeats them and they swear allegiance to Arthur. He then goes to a tournament held by Lady Vawse where he defeats 40 knights. Then to the castle of Earl Fergus who complains of a giant attacking his castle and kidnapping and devouring maids. He and 24 knights save the maids, take the giant’s treasure, and lure him into a river and stone him to death.
Sir Uwayne encounters Lady of the Roch who complains of attacks from Sir Hew and Sir Edwarde of the Red Castle. Uwayne kills Edwarde and Hew is distraught and so swears allegiance to Arthur.
The three meet at the well after a year and return to Camelot. Pelleas and Nyneve arrive later.