Arthurian Literature XXXVII

The essays here are devoted to that seminal Arthurian work Sir Thomas Malory's <i>Le Morte Darthur</i>. Developments of papers first given at a conference Malory at 550: Old and New they emphasise here the second part of its remit. Accordingly several contributors focus new attention on Malory's style using his stock phrases metaphors characterization or manipulation of sources to argue for a deeper appreciation of his merits as an author. If as others illustrate Malory is a much better artist than his twentieth-century reputation allowed then there is a renewed need to re-assess the vexed question of the possible originality of his Tale of Sir Gareth of Orkeney. Similarly fresh approaches underlie those essays re-examining Malory's attitude to time and the sacred in The Sankgreal the manner in which the ghosts of Lot and his sons highlight potential failures in the Round Table Oath or the pleasures and pitfalls of Arthurian hospitality. The remaining contributions argue for new approaches to Malory's narrative gaps Launcelot's status as a victim of sexual violence and the importance of rejecting Victorian moral attitudes towards Gwenyvere and Isode moralizing that has still informed much recent scholarship addressing Malory's female characters.<br/><br/>Contributors: Joyce Coleman Elizabeth Edwards Kristina Hildebrand Cathy Hume David F. Johnson Megan Leitch Andrew Lynch Molly A. Martin Cory James Rushton + Fiona Tolhurst Michael W. Twomey