Le Morte d'Arthur
Malory's Arthurian compilation
Le Morte d'Arthur is a 15th-century prose compilation of Arthurian legends by Sir Thomas Malory, covering the rise and fall of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, the quest for the Holy Grail, and the affair between Lancelot and Guinevere.
The title is French for "The Death of Arthur." Malory's work became the principal English source for Arthurian legend, shaping nearly all subsequent retellings: Most modern Arthur stories draw from Le Morte d'Arthur.
- ExcaliburMythic British blade
- courtly loveChivalric romantic ideal
- fair maidenBeautiful young woman
- heroic epicLong narrative of legendary deeds
- MerlinMythical British sorcerer
Guinevere · knighthood · Lady of the Lake · jousting · Morgan le Fay · Mordred · mortal wound · Knights of the Round Table · Sir Lancelot · Avalon · folklore · Holy Grail · Fisher King · chivalry · Camelot · betrayal · noble deeds · Celtic mythology
- Arthurian LegendMerlin, Excalibur, Camelot, Lancelot, Sir Lancelot
- Arthurian romanceLancelot, Gawain, Guinevere, Camelot, Holy Grail
- chivalric romanceknights, quests, Lancelot, chivalry, Gawain
- Grail legendHoly Grail, Galahad, Percival, Fisher King, sacred vessel
- medieval literatureBeowulf, Song of Roland, Canterbury Tales, Chaucer, Geoffrey Chaucer
- courtly literaturechanson, lai, lay, canzone, aubade
Le Morte d'ArthurThe Canterbury Tales
Medieval frame narrative collection
Beowulf · Paradise Lost · Iliad · Aeneid · Divine Comedy
Le Morte d'ArthurAnglo-Saxon Chronicle
Medieval English historical annals