Malory?s Library: The Sources of the Morte Darthur

The first book-length study of the sources of Sir Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur since 1921 and the first comprehensive study since that of Vinaver's three-volume edition, Malory's Library collects the results of overone hundred years of scholarship, providing new discussions of the major sources of the eight tales recognised in the standard edition. It also, for the first time, explores possible minor sources of the Morte Darthur, evaluating the case for them to see what conclusions may be drawn of Malory's life, work, and mental furnishings. In so doing, it clarifies the process by which Malory created his work. It shows that Malory carried an eclectic body of literature in his mind and worked at least partly from memory; and it illuminates his interest in characters of his own social class, the breadth of his enthusiasm for Arthurian literature, and the depth of his commitment to provide his countrymen with "the hoole book of kyng Arthur and of his noble knyghtes of the Round Table".

RALPH NORRIS teaches in the Department of English at Kennesaw State University.

Table of Contents

Preliminaries
The Sources of "The Tale of King Arthur"
The Sources of "The Tale of Arthur and Lucius"
The Sources of "The Tale of Sir Launcelot"
The Sources of "The Tale of Sir Gareth"
The Sources of "The Tale of Sir Tristram"
The Sources of "The Tale of The Sankreal"
The Sources of "The Morte Arthur"
Conclusions
Appendix: Analogues to Malory's "Love and Summer" Passage
Works Cited
Index

RALPH NORRIS teaches in the Department of English at Kennesaw State University.