The Story of the Death of Arthur by Thomas Malory With Author's Background, Characters of the Story and its Plot, Theme and Story Implications. Thanks Ms. Eden Selim, LPT for this comprehensive presentation in our literature class

2. A reworking of traditional tales by Sir
Thomas Malory about the legendary
King Arthur, Guinevere,
Lancelot, Merlin and the Knights of the
Round Table.
It was first published in 1485 by William
Caxton, and is today perhaps the best-
known work of Arthurian literature in
English.

3. Sir ThomasBrief Biography
 A layman writer
during the
Medieval times in
England.
 1416 – He was
possibly born in
Warwickshire,
England.
 A landowner
 1441 – He
became a
knight.
 He married
Elizabeth Walsh and
had a son named
Robert.

4. Warwickshire, England

5. Sir ThomasBrief Biography
 He inherited an
estate from his
father and became
involved in the
politics of
Warwickshire.
 1445 – He served
in British
parliament.
 1450 – He started
committing crimes
including armed
assault, murder,
theft, rape and
extortion.
 He was imprisoned in
Coleshill but escaped
and soon after robbed
the Cistercian
monastery.

6. Cistercian Monastery

7. Sir ThomasBrief Biography
 1454 – He was once
again arrested.
 1456 – He was
granted royal
pardon.
 1460 – He was
arrested for the last
time at Newgate
Prison where he may
have written Le
Morte d’Arthur and
other works of
Arthurian Nature.

8. Newgate Prison

9. Sir ThomasBrief Biography
 Around
1469-1470,
he
completed
Le Morte
d’Arthur.
 He died in prison
on March 14,
1471.
 Le Morte D’Arthur
was published by
William Caxton on
July 31, 1485.

10. William Caxton

13. A man of passion, Malory was
tantalized by the legend which
he had heard from childhood;
and so he began to dream of an
older, more glorious society-
the society of King Arthur and
his legend which, if revived,
could erase the problems
assailing fifteenth-century
England.

14. So Malory, disheveled by prison life, begins the work that
would put him in a secure place in literary history: the
writing of Le Morte d'Arthur, the first prose rendition
of the Arthurian legend published in English. Using an
extensive library of sources, Malory wrote Le Morte
d'Arthur in an attempt to revive in the fifteenth-century
the social codes of the Middle Ages.

15. Evidence can be found in his book that affirms this
purpose: the emphasis on the
, the embellishment of his sources, the
blending of elements of fifteenth-century culture
with the legend, and the

16. The final product, however, did more to
than
promote its strengths; consequentially, due to the
changing interests of society and the
romanticized portrayal of the legend,

17.  The book is composed of 8
books.
 Caxton separated Malory's
eight books into 21
books; subdivided each
book into a total of 507
chapters; added a
summary of each chapter
and added a colophon to
the entire book.

18. Book I - From the Marriage of King Uther unto
King Arthur that Reigned After Him and Did Many
Battles
Book II - The Noble Tale Between King Arthur
and Lucius the Emperor of Rome
Book III - The Tale of Sir Launcelot du Lac
Book IV - The Tale of Sir Gareth
Book V - The Book of Sir Tristrams de Lyons
Book VI - The Noble Tale of the Sangreal
Book VII - Sir Launcelot and Queen Gwynevere
Book VIII - Le Morte D'Arthur

20. King Uther
Pendragon
High King of England,
husband to Igraine, and
father to Arthur. Gave his son
to Sir Ector to raise. His death
left the kingdom in chaos.

21. King Arthur
The High King of Britain, and
founder of Camelot and the
Round Table. Son of Uther
Pendragon and Igraine,
Arthur successfully united a
fractured kingdom to unify
England. He was married to
Guinevere, but had no
children by her.

22. Igraine
Wife of the Duke of Tintagil,
and later of Uther Pendragon.
Mother of King Arthur,
Margawse, Morgan le Fay,
and Elaine.

23. Merlin
A powerful sorcerer who was
King Arthur’s advisor. Though
initially a frequent help to
Arthur, he predicted the
downfall of the Round Table,
and was eventually
imprisoned under a rock by
Nimue.

24. Guinevere
Wife of King Arthur, his
beautiful and admired queen.
She was daughter to King
Leodegrance, and a long-time
lover to Sir Launcelot. This
affair helped bring down the
fellowship of the Round Table,
after which she became an
abbess.

25. Lady of the Lake
A mystical figure who gave
King Arthur his sword,
Excalibur.

26. Morgan Le Fay
Arthur's half-sister, and a
powerful sorcerer who
attempted to kill him on many
occasions. She was daughter
of Igraine and the Duke of
Tintagil, Despite their
turbulent relationship,
Morgan escorted King
Arthur’s body to Avalon after
the Battle of Salisbury.

27. Margawse
Daughter of Igraine and the
Duke of Tintagil, sister to
Elaine and Morgan le Fay,
half-sister to King Arthur,
mother of Gawaine, Gaheris,
Agravaine, and Gareth, and
mother to Mordred by Arthur.

28. Knights of the Round Table
They were the best knights in King Arthur's
kingdom, and lived in King Arthur's castle, Camelot.

29. They were called the
Knights of the Round
Table because of a
special table that was in
Camelot, that was
round instead of
rectangular. This meant
that everyone who sat
around it was seen
as equal.

30.  To never do outrage nor murder (not to assault or murder anybody)
 Always to flee treason (do not commit treason, a crime against your country or
king)
 To by no means be cruel but to give mercy unto him who asks for mercy (Do
not be mean. Grant mercy to those who ask, even in combat.)
 To always do ladies, gentlewomen and widows succor ('succor' is an old word for
help; this means that the knight must promise to help women if they need it. .)
 To never force ladies, gentlewomen or widows (never 'harm' women.)
 Not to take up battles in wrongful quarrels for love or worldly goods (do not
even join in fights over anything less than God or country.
CODEOF CHIVALRY

31.  King Arthur
 Lancelot
 Gawain
 Geraint
 Percival
 Bors the Younger
 Lamorak
 Kay
 Gareth
 Bedivere
 Gaheris
 Galahad
 Tristan
Other Knights
• Sir Aglovale
• Sir Agravain
• King Bagdemagus
• Sir Baudwin
• Sir Brastius
• Sir Breunor
• Sir Caradoc
• Sir Colgrevance
• Sir Constantine
• Sir Dagonet, the court jester
• Sir Daniel
• Sir Ector
• Sir Ector de Maris
• Sir Elyan the White
• Sir Gaheris
• Sir Galehaut
• Sir Galeshin
• Sir Geraint
• Sir Gingalain
• King Leodegrance
• Sir Lionel
• Sir Maleagant
• Sir Morien
• Sir Pelleas
• Sir Sagramore le Desirous
• Sir Safir
• Sir Segwarides
• Sir Tor
• Sir Ulfius
• King Uriens
• Sir Ywain the Bastard

32. Lancelot
The greatest KORT and
Arthur's most loyal knight.
His long affair with
Guinevere was catalyst to the
destruction of Camelot and
the Round Table.

33. Agravain
Son of King Lot and
Margawse, and brother to
Gawain, Gaheris, Gareth and
Mordred. He was described as
an “unhappy” knight, and
plotted with Mordred to
expose Guinevere's affair with
Launcelot. He was killed by
Lancelot.

34. Gawain
Son of King Lot and
Margawse, brother to
Gaheris, Agravain, and
Gareth, and half-brother to
Mordred. Gawain was the
favorite nephew of his uncle,
King Arthur, and was spirited
if not always noble.

35. Mordred
Arthur's son by incest with
Queen Margawse, and the
man who kills the king.
Mordred was predestined to
kill his father and bring the
fellowship of the Round Table
to an end, so Arthur tried to
kill him while he was a baby,
to no avail.

36. Bedivere
The sole surviving Knight of
the Round Table after the
Battle of Salisbury, Bedivere
threw Excalibur into a lake at
King Arthur’s command. He
then helped King Arthur
board the barge to Avalon,
and later became a hermit.

37. Most of the events in the book take place
in Britain and France at an unspecified time.
In some parts, the story ventures farther afield,
to Rome and Sarras (near Babylon), and
recalls Biblical tales from the ancient Near East.

41. Arthur obtained
Excalibur from the
Lady of the Lake.

42. Camelot is
King Arthur’s
castle.

43. King Arthur gathered the Knights of the
Round Table.

46. .

47. .

48. .

49. .

51. .

52. .

56. Lancelot became a
monk. Later on, he
became ill because
he refused to eat and
drink. After six
weeks, Sir Lancelot
died.

59. Relationships between
men and women, lords
and vassals, the king
and his subjects and the
fellowship of the knights
in the story are
examples of devoted
love.

60. Knights
demonstrate
their loyalty to
King Arthur.

61. The Knights of
the Round Table
uphold their
code of ethics.

62. Round Table
Symbolizes
fairness
and
equality