Chapter 3

Le Morte d'Arthur

SIR THOMAS MALORY

Most evidence suggests that the writer Sir Thomas Malory (ca 1405 — March 14, 1471, Grey Friars jail, near Newgate) was the Thomas Malory who served for Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, at the siege of Calais, was knighted in 1445, and represented Warwickshire in Parliament in 1455. Charged with various crimes, he spent much of his later life in jail and met his death as a political prisoner. It was also in jail where Malory composed the great English prose work about the heroic adventures of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.

Malory borrowed his legend from English, French, and Latin sources. In his work Malory translated and put to order the mixed material of Arthurian romance that circulated both in England and France from Anglo-Saxon times. In 1485, William Caxton (ca 1422-1491), the first English printer, published Malory's work under the title Le Morte d''Arthur (The Death of Arthur), dividing it into 21 books. It is a collection of tales about the semi-legendary king Arthur and his knights. The work is full of compassion for human faults and nostalgia for the past days of chivalry.

As the Anglo-Saxons moved to Britain in the 5^th century, they drove the native Celts to the north, into Scotland and to the west into Ireland and Wales. Arthur was probably a 6^th century chieftain of one of the Celtic tribes, who resisted the Germanic invasion.

Though the title of the romance underlines its tragic outcome, Le Morte d'Arthur traces King Arthur's life from a young man mastering the skills of knighthood under the guidance of the older magician Merlin. It also provides the fullest record of the mythical Knights of the Round Table, their loves and disloyalties, and their search for the Holy Grail.

The story of Sir Lancelot, the head of all Christian knights, is the most prominent. He is drawn into an affair with Arthur's queen Guinevere and torn between the loyalties of an honourable knight, on the one hand, to his lord Arthur and, on the other, to his lady. When the jealousy of the two knights came into the open, nothing could prevent the downfall of the fellowship of the Round Table and the death of Arthur himself.

In 1933, in Winchester College library, a 15^th century manuscript of Malory's work was discovered, and although Caxton took many liberties with the originals, Le Mort d'Arthur ls still a great contribution to early English Renaissance literature.

King Arthur was a born leader. Despite his youth, he possessed the qualities necessary in the best of knights: strength, courage, and skill. He also possessed the qualities necessary in the best of kings. He met arrogance with self-confidence and pride, yet treated the weak and poor with sympathy and understanding. He was a father to the young and a comfort to the old. He was strict with those who acted unwisely or unlawfully, yet he was generous and courteous to all. He used his wisdom, his strength, and his treasure to improve the lives of his people.

However, many powerful dukes and barons resisted King Arthur's effort unify Britain. He had to conquer the outlying parts of his kingdom by force of arms. With Merlin to advise him, King Arthur spent the first years of his reign subduing the dukes of northern Britain, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. He sailed to Iceland and added that island to his kingdom.

During this time, he met and loved Queen Margawse, the wife of King Lot of Orkney. Only later did Merlin reveal that she was Arthur's half-sister. "God is angry with you, for you have slept with your sister, and she has given birth to your son, who will destroy you and all of the knights of your kingdom. It is your destiny to die in battle against him as punishment for your foul deed."

Merlin advised King Arthur to save his life by collecting and secretly killing all the male children of noble blood who had been bora on the day Margawse gave birth. Given the penalty of death for withholding such a child, many infants arrived at King Arthur's court. He put them all into a small boat and sent it out to sea.

The small boat crashed on the rocks by a castle and broke apart. Unknown to Merlin and Arthur, Arthur's son survived the catastrophe and was rescued by a good man, who named him Mordred and reared him to the age of fourteen. Then Mordred returned to the household of his mother and King Lot, where he trained with their four sons to become a knight. Arthur always believed that Mordred was one of his nephews.

One day soon thereafter, Arthur was riding in the forest when he saw three peasants pursuing Merlin. Arthur forced the peasants to flee and said to Merlin, "You would have been killed if I had not happened to ride by and save you!"

"You are wrong," Merlin replied. "I could have saved myself. You are the one who is riding toward your death, for God is not your friend!"

The two friends came to an armed knight sitting in a chair by a fountain. "I challenge any knight who comes this way to a duel," the knight announced, "and so I challenge you!"

"So be it!" King Arthur replied. [...]

Thus began a new contest, sword to sword, with each knight on foot. They charged one another like two rams until the earth ran red with their blood. Finally the knight's sword sliced King Arthur's sword into two pieces, and the king was at the knight's mercy. But Arthur quickly leaped upon the knight, threw him to the ground, and removed his helmet.

The knight, realizing how vulnerable he now was, summoned all of his strength and overturned Arthur. He removed Arthur's helmet and raised his sword.

Before the knight could behead the king, Merlin cast a spell upon him, causing the knight to fall into a deep sleep. Merlin then picked up King Arthur and rode off with him on the knight's horse.

"What have you done, Merlin?" Arthur cried. "Have you killed that knight with your enchantments? He is one of the best knights I have ever fought!"

"I advise you not to worry about him, Arthur," Merlin replied, "for he is far healthier than you are! I have simply put him to sleep for a short time. He is indeed a great knight, and from this time forth he will serve you well, as will his two sons. His name is Sir Pellinor."

Merlin took King Arthur to a hermit skilled in the art of medicine, who healed the king. When they were leaving, Arthur said to Merlin, "I no longer have a sword."

"Do not be concerned," replied Merlin. "Not far from here you will find a suitable sword."

As they rode together, they came upon a lovely, wide lake. A woman's arm protruded from the middle of the water. It was clothed in a white embroidered silk fabric, and its hand held a beautiful sword. "There!" exclaimed Merlin. "Now you can see the sword I had in mind."

Then they noticed a lady in a boat upon the lake. "Who is that lady?" Arthur asked.

"She is the Lady of the Lake," Merlin replied. "She is coming to speak with you. Treat her well so that she will give you that sword."

When the lady arrived, King Arthur said to her, "Lady, what sword is being held above the water by that arm? I wish that it were mine, for I have no sword."

The lady replied, "King Arthur, that is my sword, Excalibur, but I will give it to you if you will give me a gift when I ask for it."

"I will give you whatever gift you wish," Arthur replied.

"Then take my boat and row out to the sword. Take both the sword and its sheath, and I will request a gift of you when I am ready to do so." Once Arthur took the sword and its sheath, the hand and arm withdrew beneath the water. [...]

The time came when King Arthur said to Merlin, "My nobles want me to marry so that I will not leave the throne of Britain without an heir. Whom do you advise?"

"Whom do you love above all others?" Merlin asked.

"Guinevere, the daughter of Sir Leodegrance, who has in his possession the Round Table. She is the most beautiful lady alive!"

"If you did not love her as you do," Merlin replied, "I would find you another lady whose beauty and goodness would please you. But I can see that your mind is set on Guinevere, and I cannot hope to change it."

"You are right," Arthur responded. "But why would you want to change my mind?"

Merlin counseled: "As beautiful as she is, Guinevere will not be a good wife for you. In days to come, she and the great knight Sir Lancelot will love each other more than they will love you."

This prophecy did not deter King Arthur. He sent Merlin and a group of knights to Sir Leodegrance to request the hand of Guinevere in marriage.

Sir Leodegrance was delighted to have Guinevere marry the king of Britain. Since a dowry of land would be no gift for Arthur, Leodegrance decided to give him one hundred knights and the Round Table, which Uther Pendragon had given him. "This is a most fitting gift for King Arthur," Sir Leodegrance said. "It will bring peace among all of his knights, since the table has neither a head nor a foot. Whenever the knights meet, their thrones, their services, and their relationship to one another will be equal."

King Arthur married Guinevere at Camelot in a solemn ceremony that was followed by a great feast. He appreciated the gift of the Round Table, which seated a hundred and fifty knights. When the knights went to sit around the table, each found his name magically inscribed upon the throne that would be his.

Дата добавления: 2014-01-04