Thomas Malory facts for kids

Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer. He wrote Le Morte d'Arthur, a famous book about the Arthurian legends. This book gathered and translated many stories from French sources. The most popular version of Le Morte d'Arthur was printed by William Caxton in 1485.

Not much is known about Malory's life. He called himself a "knight prisoner." This might mean he was held captive, perhaps for political reasons during the Wars of the Roses. Or he could have been a prisoner of war. Scholars are still trying to figure out who he really was. The most likely person is Sir Thomas Malory from Newbold Revel in Warwickshire. He was imprisoned many times for various troubles. However, new research suggests it might have been Thomas Malory of Hutton Conyers, Yorkshire.

Who Was Sir Thomas Malory?

Most of what we know about Malory comes from prayers in the Le Morte d'Arthur book itself. In the Winchester Manuscript, he is called a "knyght presoner." This helps tell him apart from other people named Thomas Malory in the 1400s.

At the end of some parts of the book, there are notes about the author:

• After the "Tale of King Arthur": "This was written by a knight prisoner Thomas Malleorre, that God send him good recovery."
• After "The Tale of Sir Gareth": "I pray you all that readeth this tale to pray for him that this wrote, that God send him good deliverance soon and hastily."
• After the "Tale of Sir Tristram": "Here endeth the second book of Sir Tristram de Lyones, which was drawn out of the French by Sir Thomas Malleorre, knight, as Jesu be his help."
• At the very end of the book: "The most pitiable tale of the Death of [King] Arthur, without reward for/by the knight Sir Thomas Malory; Jesus aid him by your good mercy."

When William Caxton printed the book, he added his own note. It asked readers to pray for the author. Scholars generally agree that these notes mean a real knight wrote Le Morte d'Arthur.

The author was well-educated. He translated much of his material from French. This means he likely came from a wealthy family. His age also needs to fit the time he wrote the book. This has been a big puzzle for scholars.

Candidates for the Author

Zoomed view of England showing locations relevant to the question of Thomas Malory's identity

Since the late 1800s, many scholars have searched for the true identity of Sir Thomas Malory. Early research pointed to Sir Thomas Malory of Newbold Revel. He seemed to be the only knight named Thomas Malory living in England during the 1400s.

However, this candidate would have been very old when the book was finished. This caused some doubt. Also, his life story included many legal troubles. Some felt this didn't match the noble ideals in Le Morte d'Arthur.

In 1934, the Winchester Manuscript was found. It showed the author was in prison while writing. This seemed to support the Newbold Revel candidate. But his known prison times don't perfectly match the writing period.

Because of these puzzles, other possible authors have been suggested. These include Thomas Malory of Papworth St. Agnes and Thomas Malory of Hutton Conyers. These candidates are less known from historical records. Neither is clearly recorded as a knight, but they came from knightly families. They also seem to have been a more suitable age for writing. However, neither is known to have been imprisoned.

Most scholars still lean towards Malory of Newbold Revel. But the question of who wrote the book is still important and not fully solved. Recently, Cecelia Lampp Linton suggested that Malory of Hutton Conyers was a "knight of the church." This new idea might change how scholars view the mystery.

Thomas Malory of Newbold Revel

Since 1894, Sir Thomas Malory of Newbold Revel in Warwickshire has been the main candidate. This was first suggested by George Lyman Kittredge, a professor at Harvard.

Records show this Malory served as a Member of Parliament. He was a representative for his area. His death date and burial place are also known. He is the only Thomas Malory known to be a knight at the time Le Morte was written.

One puzzle is his age. Some records suggest he was born around 1393. This would make him about 75 when he finished Le Morte. Other scholars think he was born later, around 1415-1418. This would make him a more reasonable 55 to 58 years old. Scholars debate which timeline is correct.

William Matthews, another scholar, thought being 75 was too old for writing such a big book in prison. He believed the earlier birth date was correct. However, Linton argues that the older age is not a problem.

This Malory's life was quite eventful. Helen Cooper said his life "reads more like an account of exemplary thuggery than chivalry." This means he was involved in many disputes and troubles.

He was born to Sir John Malory and Lady Phillipa Malory. He became a knight before 1441. He was a soldier and served under Henry de Beauchamp, 1st Duke of Warwick. He was elected to Parliament in 1443. He also helped distribute money to poor towns.

However, his life changed in 1451. He was accused of attacking Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham. This was a prominent figure in the Lancastrian side during the Wars of the Roses. Malory was a supporter of the Duke of Warwick, who was Buckingham's rival. This suggests political reasons for the accusations.

He was accused of other troubles too. He was arrested and imprisoned in Maxstoke Castle. He even escaped by swimming the moat! He was later sent to Marshalsea Prison in London. He escaped from there multiple times.

He was finally released in 1461 as part of a general pardon. This happened when King Edward IV came to power. After 1461, there are few clear records of him. King Edward VI issued more pardons later, but a "Thomas Malory" was specifically excluded. Scholars debate if this was the same Malory.

No record shows this Malory was in prison exactly when Le Morte was finished. Some scholars think he might have been imprisoned without formal charges. He died on March 14, 1471. He was buried in Christ Church Greyfriars, near Newgate Prison. This suggests his past troubles were forgiven.

His tomb inscription read: "Here lies Lord Thomas Mallere, Valiant Soldier. Died 14 March 1470 [new calendar 1471], in the parish of Monkenkirby in the county of Warwick." The tomb was lost when the church was destroyed in 1538.

Thomas Malory of Papworth St. Agnes

Another possible author was Thomas Malory of Papworth St. Agnes. This idea came from a will made in 1469. This Thomas Malory was born in 1425 in Shropshire. He inherited his father's lands.

Richard R. Griffin supported this candidate. He argued that this Malory's way of speaking would match the language in Le Morte better. While this Malory lived in Shropshire and later near the Cambridgeshire border, his father and grandfather were from Lincolnshire. A language expert said Le Morte sounded most like someone from Lincolnshire.

This Malory was also involved in a strange incident. He was accused of ambushing a church leader and threatening him. The outcome is unknown. While his family included knights, there's no clear proof that this Thomas Malory himself was ever knighted.

Thomas Malory of Hutton Conyers

A third candidate appeared in the mid-1900s: Thomas Malory of Hutton Conyers in Yorkshire. This idea was put forward by William Matthews. Cecelia Lampp Linton also supports this candidate.

Matthews focused on language clues in Le Morte d'Arthur. He found words and styles common in northern England. A linguist named Angus McIntosh agreed that the language was "too northerly" for Newbold Revel. He thought it was "most at home" in Lincolnshire or anywhere north of a line from Chester to the Wash.

Matthews also pointed to a general pardon from 1468. A "Thomas Malarie, knight" was specifically excluded from this pardon. Matthews believed this referred to the Hutton Conyers Malory. This pardon was for people involved in a military campaign in Northumberland. This area is much closer to Hutton Conyers than to Newbold Revel. Matthews argued that the Newbold Revel Malory would have been too old for this campaign.

Linton provides more evidence for the connection between Thomas Malory of Hutton Conyers and the events of the pardon. She also suggests that this Thomas Malory was a Knight Hospitaller, a knight of the church. This would explain why he might not be recorded as a "secular" knight. If he was a Knight Hospitaller, it removes a major problem with him being the author.

Thomas Malory of Wales

Early ideas about Malory's identity came from the 1500s. John Bale, an old historian, thought Malory was Welsh. He said Malory came from a place called Mailoria near the River Dee. This idea was supported by others who thought "Malory" might be linked to Welsh names.

However, most modern scholars don't agree with this. No such place as Mailoria has been found. Also, no Welsh Thomas Malory appears in historical records. Malory himself said he was English.

Malory's Works

Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur (which means The Death of Arthur) is very important. It shaped how we know most Arthurian myths today. It's one of the only major English books written between Geoffrey Chaucer (about 100 years before) and Shakespeare (about 100 years after). Some even call it the first English novel.

Malory used many sources for his book. These included French stories about King Arthur, like the Vulgate and Post-Vulgate cycles. He also used Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain and two English poems.

The whole work is made of eight long stories. These stories are divided into 21 books with 507 chapters. It was much shorter than the original French sources. Malory did a great job of taking all these different stories and making them into one complete book.

The book was originally called The Whole Book of King Arthur and of His Noble Knights of the Round Table. But the printer, William Caxton, changed it to Le Morte d'Arthur when he printed it in 1485. He also made other changes. Some people think Malory meant for the eight stories to be separate.

Some critics believe Le Morte d'Arthur was a hidden message about Malory's own time. The book shows a perfect kingdom under King Arthur. But then, fighting and plotting cause the kingdom to fall apart. This might have been a warning about the fighting during the Wars of the Roses. This idea also tries to explain how Malory, who had a troubled life, could write such an ideal book. It's still debated if this was a planned message or just a story influenced by the times.

Some scholars also think Malory might have written a poem called The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle. This is because the poem uses similar sources and ends with a prayer like Le Morte d'Arthur.

Malory in Fiction

Sir Thomas Malory appears as a young character in T. H. White's book The Once and Future King (1958). This book is based on Le Morte d'Arthur. He also appears in the Broadway musical Camelot (1960) and its film adaptation (1967). In these, he is called "Tom of Warwick." This shows how people generally believed Malory of Newbold Revel (in Warwickshire) was the author for a long time.

Many other modern versions of the Arthurian legend are based on Malory's work. This includes John Boorman's film Excalibur (1981). The story of Malory's book being found and bought by William Caxton is also a key part of The Load of Unicorn (1959), a children's novel by Cynthia Harnett.

Sources

• Cooper, Helen, Le Morte Darthur: The Winchester Manuscript (OUP 1998) ISBN: 0-19-282420-1
• Malory, Thomas, Cowen, Janet & Lawlor, John. Le Morte D'Arthur. Volume II. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1969.googlebooks Retrieved 2 December 2007
• Vinaver, Eugène, "Sir Thomas Malory" in Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages, Loomis, Roger S. (ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1959. ISBN: 0-19-811588-1
• Spisak, James W. Caxton's Malory: A New Edition of Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte Darthur. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 1983.
• Field, P. J. C., The Life and Times of Sir Thomas Malory, Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1993. ISBN: 978-0-85991-385-0
• ——— "Malory, Sir Thomas (1415x18–1471)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2011 [1 Jan 2013] (requires login)
• Smith, Sheila V. Mallory, A History of the Mallory Family, Phillimore, 1985, ISBN: 0-85033-576-0
• Hardyment, Christina, Malory: The Life and Times of King Arthur's Chronicler, Harper Collins, 2005, ISBN: 0-06-620981-1

• Riddy, Felicity. Sir Thomas Malory. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1987. Print.
• Whitteridge, Gweneth. "The Identity of Sir Thomas Malory, Knight-Prisoner". The Review of English Studies; 24.95 (1973): 257–265. JSTOR. Web. 30 November 2009.
• Malory, Thomas & Matthews, John. Le Morte d'Arthur. London: Cassell & Co, 2000.
• Matthews, William. The Ill-Framed Knight: A skeptical inquiry into the identity of Sir Thomas Malory, University of California Press, 1966 archive.org
• Linton, Cecelia Lampp. The Knight Who Gave Us King Arthur: Sir Thomas Malory, Knight Hospitaller. Front Royal, VA: Christendom College Press. 2023. ISBN 979-8-9868157-2-5.

See also

In Spanish: Thomas Malory para niños