Everything about Thomas Malory totally explained
Sir Thomas Malory (c.
1405 –
March 14,
1471) was an
English writer, the author or compiler of
Le Morte d'Arthur. The
antiquary John Leland (1506–1552) believed him to be
Welsh, but most modern scholarship assumes that he was Sir Thomas Malory of
Newbold Revel in
Warwickshire. The surname appears in various spellings, including
Maillorie,
Mallory,
Mallery, and
Maleore. The name comes from the
Old French adjective
maleüré (from
Latin male auguratus) meaning
ill-omened or
unfortunate.
Few facts are certain in Malory's history. He was probably born sometime around 1405 (though some scholars have suggested an earlier date). He died in March of 1471, less than two years after completing his lengthy book. Twice elected to a seat in
Parliament, he also accrued a long list of criminal charges during the 1450s, including burglary,
rape, sheep stealing, and attempting to ambush the
Duke of Buckingham. He escaped from jail on two occasions, once by fighting his way out with a variety of weapons and by swimming a moat. Malory was imprisoned at several locations in
London, but he was occasionally out on bail. He was never brought to trial for the charges that had been levelled against him. In the 1460s he was at least once pardoned by King
Henry VI, but more often, he was specifically excluded from pardon by both Henry VI and his rival and successor,
Edward IV. It can be construed from comments Malory makes at the ends of sections of his narrative that he composed at least part of his work while in prison.
William Oldys speculates that he may have been a
priest, based on Malory's description of himself in the
colophon to
Le Morte d'Arthur:
I pray you all, gentlemen and gentlewomen that readeth this book of Arthur and his knights, from the beginning to the ending, pray for me while I'm alive, that God send me good deliverance, and when I'm dead, I pray you all pray for my soul. For this book was ended the ninth year of the reign of King Edward the Fourth, by Sir Thomas Maleore, knight, as Jesu help him for His great might, as he's the servant of Jesu both day and night. (Malory p. 531)
A young Malory appears as a character at the end of
T.H. White's book
The Once and Future King, which was based on
Le Morte d'Arthur; this cameo is included in the
Broadway musical Camelot. Many modern takes on the Arthurian legend have their roots in Malory, including
John Boorman's 1981 movie
Excalibur, which includes selected elements of the book.
Further Information
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