Le Morte d'Arthur: Volume 1
Public-domain ebook
Le Morte d'Arthur: Volume 1
Language: en14,456 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
In: Fantasy·Arthurian Legends·Historical Novels
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #1251.
About this book
Le Morte d’Arthur is Thomas Malory’s monumental compilation of Arthurian romances, presented in twenty‑one books that trace the rise and fall of the legendary British king and his knights. The opening pages explain that the work was composed between March 1469 and March 1470, making it the last major English manuscript before the advent of printing. William Caxton, England’s first printer, took Malory’s unfinished manuscript, divided it into chapters, added headings, and issued the first printed edition in 1485. The introduction details the complex transmission history, subsequent editions by Wynkyn de Worde, William Copland, and later scholars, while noting that the surviving text rests on Caxton’s imperfect editing. This background frames the book as a layered artifact: a medieval knight’s attempt to preserve chivalric tales, filtered through early‑modern printers and modern editors who have restored obsolete spelling and supplied a glossary.
The prose reflects a late‑medieval English voice, mixing courtly diction with the raw urgency of a writer possibly confined in prison. Malory’s language is dense yet vivid, drawing on French romances, Welsh legends, and earlier English verse, while Caxton’s 15th‑century printing introduces occasional abrupt chapter breaks and typographical quirks. Readers who relish richly woven mythic narratives, enjoy the texture of early English literature, and appreciate the scholarly effort behind a text that has survived multiple revisions will find this volume rewarding. It appeals especially to those interested in the evolution of the Arthurian tradition, the history of the book, or the gritty realism that underlies the idealised world of knights and quests.
Characters in Le Morte d'Arthur
- William CaxtonMiddle‑aged 15th‑century English printer, dark hair, beard, wearing a woolen doublet and fur‑trimmed cloak
- Thomas MaloryGaunt mid‑15th‑century scribe, thin beard, simple linen shirt, rough woolen cloak, holding a manuscript
- Wynkyn de WordeOlder early‑16th‑century English printer, balding, modest beard, in a dark scholarly robe with a printing press backdrop
The opening · free to read
CHAPTER I. First, How Uther Pendragon sent for the duke of Cornwall and Igraine his wife, and of their departing suddenly again.
CHAPTER II. How Uther Pendragon made war on the duke of Cornwall, and how by the mean of Merlin he lay by the duchess and gat Arthur.
CHAPTER III. Of the birth of King Arthur and of his nurture.
CHAPTER IV. Of the death of King Uther Pendragon.
CHAPTER V. How Arthur was chosen king, and of wonders and marvels of a sword taken out of a stone by the said Arthur.
CHAPTER VI. How King Arthur pulled out the sword divers times.
CHAPTER VII. How King Arthur was crowned, and how he made officers.
CHAPTER VIII. How King Arthur held in Wales, at a Pentecost, a great feast, and what kings and lords came to his feast.
CHAPTER IX. Of the first war that King Arthur had, and how he won the field.
CHAPTER X. How Merlin counselled King Arthur to send for King Ban and King Bors, and of their counsel taken for the war.
CHAPTER XI. Of a great tourney made by King Arthur and the two kings Ban and Bors, and how they went over the sea.
CHAPTER XII. How eleven kings gathered a great host against King Arthur.
CHAPTER XIII. Of a dream of the King with the Hundred Knights.
CHAPTER XIV. How the eleven kings with their host fought against Arthur and his host, and many great feats of the war.
CHAPTER XV. Yet of the same battle.
CHAPTER XVI. Yet more of the same battle.
CHAPTER XVII. Yet more of the same battle, and how it was ended by Merlin.
CHAPTER XVIII. How King Arthur, King Ban, and King Bors rescued King Leodegrance, and other incidents.
CHAPTER XIX. How King Arthur rode to Carlion, and of his dream, and how he saw the questing beast.
CHAPTER XX. How King Pellinore took Arthur's horse and followed the Questing Beast, and how Merlin met with Arthur.
CHAPTER XXI. How Ulfius impeached Queen Igraine, Arthur's mother, of treason; and how a knight came and desired to have the death of his master revenged.
CHAPTER XXII. How Griflet was made knight, and jousted with a knight
CHAPTER XXIII. How twelve knights came from Rome and asked truage for this land of Arthur, and how Arthur fought with a knight.
CHAPTER XXIV. How Merlin saved Arthur's life, and threw an enchantment on King Pellinore and made him to sleep.
CHAPTER XXV. How Arthur by the mean of Merlin gat Excalibur his sword of the Lady of the Lake.
CHAPTER XXVI. How tidings came to Arthur that King Rience had overcome eleven kings, and how he desired Arthur's beard to trim his mantle.
CHAPTER XXVII. How all the children were sent for that were born on May-day, and how Mordred was saved.
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