(no subject)
So I said I'd review some of the books I've been reading.
I finally got around to Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur this summer. I chickened out and read it in translation - I've got some Old French on my to-read pile, but I wasn't ready to tackle something as long as Malory yet.
For those of you who don't know, Le Morte D'Arthur is the version of King Arthur that inspired pretty much every movie, TV show, novel, and video game you've ever seen. It's not the oldest version - people had been telling King Arthur stories for about 1000 years before Malory - but it's been the most influential.
I've read most of the older surviving stories now - The Mabinogion, Geoffrey of Monmouth, Wace, countless French romances, Chrétien de Troyes, among others. So I have a pretty good idea of what Malory put in and what he took out.
There weren't many surprises.
I was surprised that Merlin had so small a role, though - he only shows up at the beginning, though of course he was almost non-existent in most earlier versions. I was also surprised that he's not the old man with the big white beard and witch's hat that every wise wizard from Gandalf to Dumbledore has been patterned on.
(He's a shapeshifter, and if he has a true form we never see it. Sometimes he's an old man, sometimes a little boy, sometimes a woman.)
Malory really hates Sir Gawain (always my favourite), worships Sir Launcelot, and is prepared to twist his source material (especially Chrétien de Troyes) however much he needs to spin his version of their story. Gawain's a total bastard in Malory. Almost a monster. Launcelot's almost an angel.
Also, I'm sad that the knight making out with Sir Lancelot scene - he thinks Lancelot is his girlfriend - never makes it into modern versions. Although I know that verily, 'twas a sop thrown to the authors of separatrix fabula posting their work to the scrivener-net in the 1400s.
Also, all the tournaments get old, very quickly. They cut each other's chainmail to ribbons so frequently I was beginning to think they'd made it out of paper.
In all - in spite of the above - I think Malory's less entertaining than his imitators. There's a lot of dross here, and you've seen all the gems already.
I'm on a semi-regular schedule at work this week, so I'm going to try and get caught up on my writing. My goal was to finish today. That's not going to happen, but if I hurry I can maybe make it tomorrow.
I finally got around to Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur this summer. I chickened out and read it in translation - I've got some Old French on my to-read pile, but I wasn't ready to tackle something as long as Malory yet.
For those of you who don't know, Le Morte D'Arthur is the version of King Arthur that inspired pretty much every movie, TV show, novel, and video game you've ever seen. It's not the oldest version - people had been telling King Arthur stories for about 1000 years before Malory - but it's been the most influential.
I've read most of the older surviving stories now - The Mabinogion, Geoffrey of Monmouth, Wace, countless French romances, Chrétien de Troyes, among others. So I have a pretty good idea of what Malory put in and what he took out.
There weren't many surprises.
I was surprised that Merlin had so small a role, though - he only shows up at the beginning, though of course he was almost non-existent in most earlier versions. I was also surprised that he's not the old man with the big white beard and witch's hat that every wise wizard from Gandalf to Dumbledore has been patterned on.
(He's a shapeshifter, and if he has a true form we never see it. Sometimes he's an old man, sometimes a little boy, sometimes a woman.)
Malory really hates Sir Gawain (always my favourite), worships Sir Launcelot, and is prepared to twist his source material (especially Chrétien de Troyes) however much he needs to spin his version of their story. Gawain's a total bastard in Malory. Almost a monster. Launcelot's almost an angel.
Also, I'm sad that the knight making out with Sir Lancelot scene - he thinks Lancelot is his girlfriend - never makes it into modern versions. Although I know that verily, 'twas a sop thrown to the authors of separatrix fabula posting their work to the scrivener-net in the 1400s.
Also, all the tournaments get old, very quickly. They cut each other's chainmail to ribbons so frequently I was beginning to think they'd made it out of paper.
In all - in spite of the above - I think Malory's less entertaining than his imitators. There's a lot of dross here, and you've seen all the gems already.
I'm on a semi-regular schedule at work this week, so I'm going to try and get caught up on my writing. My goal was to finish today. That's not going to happen, but if I hurry I can maybe make it tomorrow.