Malory’s Arthur is held by many to be the definitive version. Originally produced in eight books, Malory gathers most of the oral texts and traditions of the Arthur legend that had circulated for hundreds of years. He also adds some of the most powerful scenes of sin and redemption in literature. More than questing knights, the Arthur legend is a search for the Great Truth, the goal of Honor and Justice, the merging of religion and the body politic.
Don’t expect the Disney cartoons or many of the legends you believe you know here. This is “the real thing,” a story of great suffering and tragedy, with Christian and Norse references mixed together.
Look, especially, at the characters of Arthur and Lancelot. What values do we see between them? What motivates each? How is Galahad different from either?
Expect the motivations of the characters to be different from our own, as well. Malory’s Arthur is one of the highest codes of chivalry, the values that defined for us many notions of love and justice.
Consider:
What does the sword Excalibur represent?
What about the Grail?
How are the relationships between the characters related to these symbols?
These are tough questions, but they are also one of the reasons that the legend has so long endured.
“In sin there is no sweetness; therefore you are more bitter than wood.”