Le Morte Darthur: The Winchester Manuscript (Oxford World's Classics)

by Malory, Thomas

  both good and fair: Malory here inserts a short summary of Arthur’s reign.

  Sir Tristram: on a handful of occasions Tristram is called ‘Sir’ in the manuscript even before he has been knighted; as it tends to happen when he is acting in the most chivalric fashion, it is possibly deliberate.

  the book of Sir Tristram: the most famous English medieval hunting treatise, compiled by Dame Julian Barnes or Berners, cites Sir Tristram as its authority. ‘Beasts of venery’ are the noblest beasts to hunt, and include the red deer (the largest native English species), the hare, and the boar; ‘beasts of chase’ include the fallow and roe deer; ‘vermin’ include the badger, wild cat, and otter. Foxes can appear in either of the last two categories—most often as beasts of chase, but vixens frequently figure as vermin.

  as the book saith, she died: the scribe made a marginal note in the manuscript at this point: ‘How the King of France’s daughter sent to Sir Tristram a fair brachet.’ That the hunting-dog is taken as more noteworthy than her dying for love is probably not so far at odds with Malory’s own priorities.

  now I see him: Tristram is inexperienced in the restricted vision of a helmet.

  good ladyship: the term acknowledges Isode’s feudal support (see note to p. 10); ‘better lady’, later in the conversation, implies something more.

  that won the Dolorous Gard: this is a famous exploit from early in Lancelot’s career that Malory does not include in his own redaction. The castle was renamed ‘Joyous Gard’ after Lancelot had liberated it from its previous tyrannical owner.

  made a bain for Sir Tramtrist: baths were highly regarded by the upper classes for much of the Middle Ages, and carried none of the modern associations of indignity. In Malory’s time, particularly distinguished visitors might be welcomed at court with a bath; the Order of the Bath testifies to their knightly associations.

  love was there none: a further episode involving Segwarides’ wife and Sir Bleoberis is omitted, as is a later reference to it when Tristram and Bleoberis encounter (VIII.22, p. 192).

  the king departed unto his lodging: an encounter between Sir Tristram and Breunis sans Pité is omitted.

  days of their life: some miscellaneous adventures in the course of the voyage are omitted. The section just below this, of Lancelot’s rescue of Gawain, forms the last part of these.

  maiden and lady unto La Belle Isode: Malory handles this episode very differently from his French source. There, Brangwain, who is still a virgin, is substituted for Isode in her marriage-bed, and Isode herself plots Brangwain’s death for fear she will reveal what has happened. Malory cuts the substitution, and gives the two women a relationship of ‘fellowship’ analogous to that between good knights.

  ye shall have your desire that I promised you: Caxton makes this part of Palomides’ speech: ‘But before my lord your husband, there shall ye know that I will have my desire that ye have promised me.’

  if she were hasty … that she performed her promise: the manuscript reads ‘And if I were hasty …’; Caxton reads, ‘And if ye were hasty … that ye performed your promise’, so that the whole speech is addressed to Isode. I take it that Mark makes the second part of the speech as a general statement: ‘Even if she were rash in granting whatever request he might wish to ask, I would want her to keep her promise.’

  I would be loath that he should die a Saracen: ‘Saracen’ would normally indicate a Moslem; here it means little more than ‘unchristened’. The point is that Sir Palomides would go straight to Hell when he died: baptism was believed to be a condition for salvation.

  to take and devour him: there follows a short quarrel between Tristram and King Mark.

  Isode les Blanches Mains: in the French, Tristram agrees to marry this second Isode after he has been overheard sighing over his love for an unspecified ‘Isode’ and his intentions mistaken. Malory’s omission loses the naturalistic point of the two women’s sharing the same name, but the doubling remains typical of his own work and of Arthurian romance in general.

  better than ever he did: omitted here are some adventures of Sir Lamorak, which form the end of Caxton’s Book VIII, and the largely self-contained story of Sir La Cote Mai Taille, ‘the ill-fitting coat’, from the start of Book IX, which is similar in outline to the story of Sir Gareth.

  [16/17]: there is confusion over the chapter numbering in Caxton at this point; from here on, the lower number is that of the Penguin edition, the higher is Vinaver’s. Some intervening adventures are also omitted at this point.

  Sir Gingalin, Sir Gawain’s son: Sir Gingalin is the hero of Lybeaus Desconus, ‘the fair unknown’, which is a possible analogue for the Tale of Sir Gareth. He is also named in The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell, on which see The Death of King Arthur, note to p. 470 below.

  made him like a fool: there follows an episode in which Sir Dagonet, King Arthur’s fool, comes across the mad Tristram in the forest without knowing who he is, and warns King Mark about him.

  first and last: I omit Tristram’s references to other episodes cut in this edition.

  the man of most worship in the world: short omission.

  he lay still: there are some short omissions between this point and the damosel’s arrival at the old kight’s house, below.

  Then was Sir Palomides ashamed: an account is omitted of how ten of Arthur’s knights, including Lancelot, determine to find Sir Tristram; they undergo various adventures, at this point in the text and after Tristram has been imprisoned by Sir Darras (chapters 36/7–39/40, below). A further short repetitive episode is omitted from the middle of 39/40.

  when sickness toucheth a prisoner’s body … then hath he cause to wail and to weep: this is one of the most explicit autobiographical passages in the work, where Malory makes an addition to his French source to comment feelingly from what was presumably his own experience.

  the sheep would suffer the wolf to be in peace: both the manuscript and Caxton read, ‘the wolf would suffer the sheep to be in peace’: but Dinadan is casting Tristram as the wolf who may attack the sheep Palomides if he is provoked.

  And so they peaced themselves: short omission.

  here will we depart in sunder: there follow the adventures of Sir Dinadan, who overcomes Sir Breunis sans Pité; and of Sir Tristram, who carries a shield given him by Morgan le Fay before Arthur at the tournament at the Hard Roche, the shield bearing an emblematic device of a knight standing on the heads of a king and queen. He maintains his anonymity throughout the tournament.

  where Merlin set the perron: the ‘perron’ is generally taken to mean a large stone; to be consistent with the story as told in the Tale of Balin, it would refer to the tomb on which Merlin wrote a prophecy of the combat between Lancelot and Tristram (see Balin, note to p. 37). Chivalric challengers at passages at arms, pas d’armes, in continental Europe in the fifteenth century frequently set themselves up beside a ‘perron’ to take on all comers: in such cases the word probably denoted a pillar erected to announce their whereabouts and purpose.

  then the King made great dole: a passage is omitted in which King Arthur identifies the hostile protagonist of some earlier adventures as Lancelot.

  Welcome … ye are welcome to this court: this speech of Arthur’s, like the other accounts of Tristram’s contributions to the art of hunting, is Malory’s addition to his French source.

  turn we unto King Mark: a reprise of Tristram’s combat with Marhalt is omitted before this sentence. There follows a large capital and a line space, and the next section starts with a reprise of who Tristram is and why King Mark dislikes him.

  for while the truncheon of the spear stuck in his body he spoke: Amant remains alive, and therefore able to speak, so long as the broken spear stays lodged in the wound. Death, as often in Malory, results from the rush of bleeding caused by its removal.

  three miles English: weights and measures were standardized in England in the Middle Ages, in contrast to France. The commonest French measurement of distance, the league, h
ad six official standards, ranging between about 4 and 6 kilometres (2½ to 4 miles).

  a broken love day between them: a love day was a day appointed for reconciling quarrels; a ‘broken’ one indicates that the promises of peace are not kept.

  good lord: i.e. feudal protector and supporter.

  to slay Sir Tristram: a folio is missing from the manuscript at this point; the text is supplied from Caxton. The page-break that follows is based on the announcement of the new direction of the narrative.

  my father’s death is not revenged: this speech is an addition of Malory’s to his source, but it misrepresents the story as he has told it: King Lot was indeed killed by King Pellinore.

  great damage: ‘great damage’ is inserted from Caxton.

  a passing good knight: a short passage is omitted in which Dinadan meets Palomides.

  any other instrument: an omission here includes mention of a new character named Elyas; the manuscript proceeds to rename the minstrel as Elyas by confusion.

  Sir Dinadan can make wonderly well, and ill where he should make evil: i.e. Dinadan can compose wonderfully good poetry, which is also wonderfully insulting poetry where he intends to make mischief.

  those lords that I bear the arms of: it was a common practice in the fifteenth century for minstrels or players patronized by a nobleman to travel around the country giving performances in return for lodging and a small payment. Presumably, in view of King Mark’s reply, such minstrels enjoyed the same rights of licensed speech as fools in the age of Shakespeare.

  in that country: there follows a large inset story, of King Mark and another nephew of his, Alexander the Orphan.

  where he was become: Sir Tristram is here released and rapidly re-imprisoned; this edition conflates the two episodes.

  the realm of Logris, that is this land: Logris was the area of Britain supposedly given by the legendary Trojan founder of Britain, Brutus, to his son Locrine, from whom it takes its name. As Malory indicates, it corresponded roughly to England.

  all manner of game: See note to p. 172 above. A list of hunting terms and horn calls is omitted.

  bearing his shield and his spear: various encounters between knights of the Round Table and Sir Breunis sans Pité are omitted. The following encounter between Tristram and Dinadan is abbreviated.

  God: Caxton reads ‘the devil’.

  his kin about him: Sir Palomides at this point successfully undertakes an adventure in the Red City, and returns to meet up with the others.

  to ride toward Lonazep: their jousts on the journey are omitted.

  The tournament gets under way: the account of the tournament that follows is considerably abbreviated.

  sleeping in his bed: an episode is omitted in which King Arthur determines to set eyes on La Belle Isode, and is unhorsed by Sir Palomides.

  that other … is my lord Sir Lancelot: it is common for knights not to recognize each other face to face, as they so often meet fully armed; damosels and ladies, by contrast, recognize faces. Dinadan’s recognition of Arthur and Lancelot shows not only that he has spent more time at Arthur’s court than Tristram, but that he enjoys a social intimacy with the knights of the court rather than just a relationship of combat.

  that day fifteen days: some short omissions follow.

  Sir Tristram could never meet with Sir Palomides: such a deferral of closure is typical of romance, and in particular of the interlaced structure elaborated in the prose romances. The story of Sir Tristram and Sir Palomides is concluded after the inset story of Lancelot and Elaine, at the end of Caxton’s Book XII.

  letters … of recommendation: i.e. recommending themselves to him; late-medieval letters typically began with a formula such as ‘My right worshipful lord, I recommend me unto you …’

  of Sir Galahad … how he was begotten: this section of the work occurs as an extended episode within the larger story of Tristram. The opening is marked by a large capital in the Winchester manuscript, but not by a page-break. The heading is taken from the introductory transition formula, ‘Now … speak we of …’

  should beget a pucel: a pucel (usually found in the feminine form pucelle) is a virgin. The point is that Galahad is preordained to remain a virgin throughout his life; marriage was sometimes praised most highly in the Middle Ages as being the source of virgins, and some similar justification seems to be implied for the scheming of King Pelles.

  that I have loved: ‘lived’ is the more predictable expression, and is given by Caxton. ‘Loved’ suggests that Lancelot identifies his honour with his love for the Queen, and now he is shamed (has lost his honour) by betraying his love; I retain it as an interesting reading. (The alternative interpretation that suggests itself to a modern reader, ‘alas that I have spent so long making love’, is less likely in terms of Middle English usage of the verb ‘love’.)

  owe me your good will: this is one of a number of passages for which there is no precedent in Malory’s source, which urge both sympathy for Elaine and the poignancy of their relationship: she could be the ideal wife for Lancelot if he were not already committed to Guenivere.

  the Lady of the Lake confirmed him Sir Lancelot du Lake: the story is recounted in the French Prose Lancelot, but is not given by Malory. There follows an episode, omitted in this edition, in which Sir Bors comes to the castle of Corbenic and undergoes a series of enigmatic encounters and visions.

  King Arthur had … won much of his lands: Malory goes to some trouble to locate his various stories chronologically in relation to each other; this passage confirms that what we have been reading is in effect a flashback to the earlier days of the Round Table.

  King: Caxton reads ‘Queen’: that reading would suggest possibly just that Guenivere is in charge of the accommodation arrangements for the ladies, or else that she wants to keep Elaine under her eye. The King would have overall charge of accommodation, and might himself wish to honour Elaine by placing her so close to the Queen.

  clattered as a jay: jays were often kept as pets and taught to speak.

  And therefore alas … the best knight of the world: the last part of this speech (which, along with the following exchange between the women, is original to Malory), is as close as he ever comes to criticizing Lancelot’s love for Guinevere; but even here the criticism is formulated entirely in personal terms, as grief for the people concerned rather than as a moral principle.

  Now fie on your weeping … that be of his blood: this speech is another of Malory’s additions, and is typical of his insistence on Lancelot’s supremacy.

  where they should meet: there follow the adventures of Sir Percival with his brother Sir Agloval and Sir Persides.

  Of Sir Lancelot, that suffered … many sharp showers: the division is marked in the manuscript by a clear line and a large capital. The heading is taken from the transition formula that follows.

  to the city of Corbin: a short adventure of Sir Bors’ is omitted.

  It hath cost my lady the queen twenty thousand pound the seeking of you: it is Malory’s addition to put a price-tag on the search for Lancelot. The modern equivalent would be about twenty million pounds.

  the best man of his kin, except one: Elaine underestimates her son: he proves himself the best of all knights, not excluding his father.

  of Sir Tristram and of Sir Palomides: again, the heading is taken from the opening words of the next section.

  that I would hold so noble a knight as ye are from his worship: knights are criticized in a number of romances for just the kind of uxurious failure of attention to chivalry that Isode fears, most famously in Chrétien de Troyes’ Erec et Enide.

  here is no rehearsal of the third book: the numbering presumably refers to volumes of Malory’s French source. It may be that Malory did not have access to the ‘third book’ of the French Tristan, which contains a version of the Grail story; or he may have made the choice to work from the Vulgate Queste del Saint Graal instead.