Critical Readings

The panel discusses the penultimate sequence of the Morte, 'Launcelot and Guinevere,' with attention to Launcelot's pledge to defend the Queen's honour in right or wrong and the increasing Orkney-led noyse of sclaundir and treson in the Arthurian court.Continue reading

The panel discusses the complysshment of the Sankgreal, Galahad's unwieldy role as a model of virtue, Gawain's manifest impurity, Launcelot's outward conversion, the effect of the Quest upon the Arthurian court, and Malory's conflicted theology.Continue reading

The panel discusses the first half of the Quest for the Holy Grail, including Galahad's knightly debut, the arrival of the Grail in the court, Gawain's impetuous vow, and King Arthur's sorrow—and what it means for the common good of the realm.Continue reading

The panel reads the conclusion of the Tristram sequence, including the begetting of Galahad, with special attention to the quality of worshypfulness and how it may be acquired and kept, including by women and through means other than knyghtly prouesse.Continue reading

The panel reads of the Tournament at Surluse and the strife of the Orkney brothers, and considers in detail what a question about the use of a single word—lette—might imply not only for the character of King Arthur but for the entire Malorian project.Continue reading

The panel reads the King Mark sections of Le Morte Darthur—presenting the first fully-realised villain of the piece, complete with motivations, personality, and an identifiable modus operandi—and discusses its implications for Malorian kingship.Continue reading

The panel reads three episodes from the Tristram section—"Le Cote Male Tayle", "The Madness of Sir Tristram", and "The Tournament at the Castle of Maidens"—and examines the actions of four malevolent characters: Mordred, Morgan, Mark, and Mellyagaunce.Continue reading

The panel discusses the first two tales in the Tristram section—Sir Tristram and la Beall Isode and Sir Lamerok de Galys—with attention to Malory's sources, the Lancelot-Tristram parallelism, and the apparent shift towards an interest in courtly love.Continue reading

The panel discusses the episode of Sir Gareth of Orkney, with attention given both to the anti-egalitarian worldview and historical reality of the period, and to the role of violence and prouesse in the Arthurian Court—and the moral clarity it provides.Continue reading

The panel reads the tale of Sir Launcelot du Lake, with attention given to the features of mediaeval romance, Malory's use of humour and his knowledge of the details of knightly combat, and the different, sometimes competing ends of Arthurian governance.Continue reading