Abstract
Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur, one of the best-known medieval versions of King Arthur’s legend, was also one of the first English books put into print in 1485.2 Le Morte Darthur remained popular for centuries, shepherding King Arthur and his knights into the modern age.3 Filmmakers, novelists, video game developers, and television writers continue to rely on Malory’s work for their visions of noble knights, grand tournaments, extravagant feasts, and codes of honor. Even as we enjoy Malory’s romance of Arthur in a myriad of modern forms, few realize that the grand, nostalgic legends that tout knightly honor, true love, and a simpler, nobler past sprang from the inhospitable setting of a late medieval prison.
“What?” seyde sir Launcelot, “is he a theff and a knyght? And a ravyssher of women? He doth shame unto the Order of Knyghthode, and contrary unto his oth.”
—Sir Thomas Malory1
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Suggested Reading
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© 2014 Philip Edward Phillips
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Kaufman, A.S. (2014). “For This Was Drawyn by a Knyght Presoner”. In: Phillips, P.E. (eds) Prison Narratives from Boethius to Zana. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137428684_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137428684_3
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