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A review by j__tram
Le Morte Darthur by Thomas Malory
3.0
Whether or not I would recommend Le Morte Darthur to someone really depends on what the individual is looking for in an Arthurian story. If you're in it for knights in shining armor whisking damsels away from mortal peril, well...there's some of that. If you're looking for memorable characterizations of King Arthur and Merlin and Queen Guinevere and Lancelot, there's some of that, too. But mostly, Le Morte Darthur is a novel of its time--so, not really a novel at all, but a collection of stories meant to signify to the Christian world what it means to be a good, faithful servant of God.
Oddly enough, Le Morte Darthur doesn't actually discuss Arthur all that much. Sure, it chronicles his beginnings as a young boy with the predestined ability to pull a sword out of a stone. It describes the wrath of his sister, Morgan le Fay, and how she would contribute to his demise. But the book is less about King Arthur and more about the company he keeps--namely, the Knights of the Round Table and their epic adventures. But if you're searching for non-stop Chuck-Norris action, keep looking. The translation, though presented in modern English, is dense and line breaks just don't exist. At all. Furthermore, most of each chapter consists of nothing but knights smiting each other down pretty hard, with the occasional appearance of a casual beheading. And lots and lots of blood. In between, there are loads of biblical references and stories of knights converting other knights to Christianity. See the theme I'm getting at here? Before the creation of the fictional novel in the 18th-century, every publication like this one had behind it an author with an agenda--Malory's, one might argue, is to portray the chivalric romance popular of the time with religious undertones galore to emphasize the dichotomy between love of a woman and love of God. Indeed, love is what drives Tristram and Lancelot to madness--and what ultimately drives Arthur to his death. I'm sure that gave readers quite a bit to think about.
A few other reviewers have addressed the misogyny in this book. If one were to read Malory from a feminist framework, then naturally there is much to explore--women are often portrayed as lusty damsels or a means by which the devil can trick a knight into sin lest the knight "escape by God's grace." Not to mention, poor Lady Guinevere really does get the short end of the stick in this narrative. But again, Le Morte Darthur is a product of its time. Women were not only seen as the weaker sex, but in the Christian context, as the symbol of temptation--the ultimate downfall of a faithful knight of the Table Round. It's not awesome, but it's historically accurate and relevant, especially if we use this view of women as a comparison to how women are presented in contemporary mainstream literature and media.
Don't get bogged down by all that, though. For all its dense descriptions of (usually unnecessary) fighting, there's a lot to be said for what Le Morte Darthur has to offer. It really did set the tone for a lot of Arthurian legend that came after it, and a lot of recognizable themes and character dynamics can be traced back to it, such as the ill-fated romance between Lancelot and Guinevere, or the holiness of Sir Galahad. There is also bonus stuff including Sir Percivale making BFFs with a lion, and Sir Tristram disguising himself as "Sir Tramtrist" to confuse people (...it works). Mostly, this is a book that really showcases what people in the high Middle Ages viewed as good, as evil, as virtuous, as honorable, as just...it really amplifies the qualities expected of not only knights, but of Christian people of Europe at the time. All in all, Le Morte Darthur is a treasure--certainly not for the light reader, but for the historian or for anyone who really wants to delve into the values of the Christian High Middle Ages.
Oddly enough, Le Morte Darthur doesn't actually discuss Arthur all that much. Sure, it chronicles his beginnings as a young boy with the predestined ability to pull a sword out of a stone. It describes the wrath of his sister, Morgan le Fay, and how she would contribute to his demise. But the book is less about King Arthur and more about the company he keeps--namely, the Knights of the Round Table and their epic adventures. But if you're searching for non-stop Chuck-Norris action, keep looking. The translation, though presented in modern English, is dense and line breaks just don't exist. At all. Furthermore, most of each chapter consists of nothing but knights smiting each other down pretty hard, with the occasional appearance of a casual beheading. And lots and lots of blood. In between, there are loads of biblical references and stories of knights converting other knights to Christianity. See the theme I'm getting at here? Before the creation of the fictional novel in the 18th-century, every publication like this one had behind it an author with an agenda--Malory's, one might argue, is to portray the chivalric romance popular of the time with religious undertones galore to emphasize the dichotomy between love of a woman and love of God. Indeed, love is what drives Tristram and Lancelot to madness--and what ultimately drives Arthur to his death. I'm sure that gave readers quite a bit to think about.
A few other reviewers have addressed the misogyny in this book. If one were to read Malory from a feminist framework, then naturally there is much to explore--women are often portrayed as lusty damsels or a means by which the devil can trick a knight into sin lest the knight "escape by God's grace." Not to mention, poor Lady Guinevere really does get the short end of the stick in this narrative. But again, Le Morte Darthur is a product of its time. Women were not only seen as the weaker sex, but in the Christian context, as the symbol of temptation--the ultimate downfall of a faithful knight of the Table Round. It's not awesome, but it's historically accurate and relevant, especially if we use this view of women as a comparison to how women are presented in contemporary mainstream literature and media.
Don't get bogged down by all that, though. For all its dense descriptions of (usually unnecessary) fighting, there's a lot to be said for what Le Morte Darthur has to offer. It really did set the tone for a lot of Arthurian legend that came after it, and a lot of recognizable themes and character dynamics can be traced back to it, such as the ill-fated romance between Lancelot and Guinevere, or the holiness of Sir Galahad. There is also bonus stuff including Sir Percivale making BFFs with a lion, and Sir Tristram disguising himself as "Sir Tramtrist" to confuse people (...it works). Mostly, this is a book that really showcases what people in the high Middle Ages viewed as good, as evil, as virtuous, as honorable, as just...it really amplifies the qualities expected of not only knights, but of Christian people of Europe at the time. All in all, Le Morte Darthur is a treasure--certainly not for the light reader, but for the historian or for anyone who really wants to delve into the values of the Christian High Middle Ages.