Summary of “The Death of Arthur” by Malory
King of England Uther Pendragon falls in love with Igraine, the wife of the Duke of Cornwall, with whom he is at war. The famous sorcerer and soothsayer Merlin promises to help the king to win Igreina, provided that the child gives it to him. Duke dies in battle, and the barons, wishing to put an end to the rivalry, persuade the king to take Igraynu as his wife. When the queen is allowed from the burden, the baby is secretly referred to Merlin, who calls him Arthur and gives to the upbringing of Baron Ector.
After King Uther’s death, in order to prevent unrest, the Archbishop of Canterbury, on the advice of Merlin, calls on all barons to London to elect a new king. When all the classes of the kingdom are going to prayer, in the courtyard of the temple miraculously appears a stone with an anvil standing on it, under which lies a naked sword. The inscription on the stone says that the king by birth right is the one who will pull the sword from under the anvil. It is possible
In Carlyon, Arthur meets the wife of King Lot of Orkney. Not knowing that she is his sister from the side of his mother Igrainy, he shares a bed with her, and she conceives from him. Merlin reveals to the youth the secret of his birth and predicts that Arthur and all his knights will perish at the hands of Mordred, the son of Arthur, whom he conceived with his sister.
Instead of the sword that broke in the fight with King Pelinor, Arthur receives from the Lady of the Lake the wonderful sword of Escalibur, which means “cut steel”. Merlin explains to Arthur that the scabbard from this sword will keep him from being wounded.
Arthur orders to deliver to him all the babies born by noble
Knight Balin the Ferocious by an enchanted sword kills the Lady of the Lake for destroying his mother. Arthur expels Balin. This sword causes the death of Balin and his brother Balan. Merlin predicts that now no one can take possession of the bewitched sword, except Lancelot or his son, Galahad, and that Lancelot will kill Gawain, who is dearer to him than anyone else in this world.
Arthur takes as his wife Guinevere, the daughter of King Lodegrans, from whom he receives as a gift the Round Table, beyond which can sit one hundred and fifty knights. The king instructs Merlin to choose fifty more knights, for he already has one hundred. But he found only forty-eight: two seats at the table remain unoccupied. Arthur commands his knights, that they fight only for a just cause and serve as the whole model of chivalrous valor.
Merlin falls in love with Ninev, one of the maidens of the Lady of the Lake, and so she bothers that she locks him in a magical cave under a heavy stone, where he dies. Sister Arthur, Morgan’s fairy, wants to ruin his brother. She replaces his sword, Escalibur, and the King almost dies in a duel with her lover. The fairy Morgana wants him to kill Arthur and become king. However, despite her insidious plans, Arthur remains alive and performs glorious feats.
Ambassadors from Rome come to Arthur’s court demanding a donation to Emperor Lucius. Arthur decides to go to war with him. Landed in Normandy, Arthur kills an ogre giant, and then defeats the Romans. Lucius is dying. Arthur invades Allemania and Italy and captures one city after another. Roman senators and cardinals, terrified by his victories, ask Arthur to be crowned, and the pope himself crowns him emperor. Four queens, one of whom is Morgan’s fairy, is found under the tree of a sleeping Lancelot. The fairy Morgana sends him a spell and takes him to his castle so that he can choose which of the four ladies will become his lover. But he rejects them, keeping loyalty to Queen Guenever, who secretly loves everyone. The daughter of King Bagdemagus rescues Aanselot from captivity, and he performs many glorious feats.
A young man arrives at Arthur’s court, and, not revealing his name, asks for a haven for him for a year. He gets the nickname Bomein, which means “Beautiful Hands”, and lives in the kitchen with servants. A year later, he brought a rich outfit, and Bomein asks the king to let him go to protect the lady, who oppresses the Red Knight. Lancelot dedicates Bomein to the knights, and he reveals his name to him: he is Gareth of Orkney, the son of King Lot and brother of Gawaine, who, like Lancelot, is one of the Knights of the Round Table. Bomein performs many glorious feats, defeats the Red Knight and marries Lady Lionesse, the lady who asked for his protection.
Tristram, the son of King Meliodas, who was the ruler of the country Lyon, wants to poison his stepmother, so that all the lands after the death of Meliodasa her children owned. But she does not succeed, and the king, having learned about everything, condemns her to the burning. Tristram begs his father to pardon his stepmother, who gives in to his requests, but sends his son to France for seven years.
After returning from France, Tristram lives at the court of his uncle, King Mark of Cornwall, and helps him in the fight against his enemies. King Mark knighted him, and Tristram beats with the knight Marholt, the brother of the Queen of Ireland, to save Cornwell from the tribute. He kills the Marholt and goes to Ireland, for he was predicted that only there he could be healed of the dangerous wound received in the duel.
Isolde the Beautiful, the daughter of the Irish King of England, heals him. But soon Tristram is forced to leave Ireland, as the queen finds out that he killed her brother Marholt. Saying goodbye to Tristram, Isolde promises him seven years not to marry, and the knight swears that from now on only she will be the lady of his heart.
After a while, King Mark sent Tristram to Ireland, so that he wooed Isolde for him. Tristram and Isolde sail to Cornwall and accidentally drink the love drink that the Queen of Ireland wanted to give to King Mark. Even after the marriage of King Mark with Isolde, love dates do not stop between her and Tristram. King Mark learns of this and wants to kill Tristram, but he manages to escape. On the advice of Isolde, Tristram goes to Brittany, so that the daughter of the king, Isolde Belorukaya, heals him from a dangerous wound. Tristram forgets her former beloved and is crowned with Isolde Beloruka, but after the wedding remembers her and so laments that she does not touch her wife, and she remains a virgin.
Isolde the Beautiful, after learning about Tristram’s marriage, writes him woeful letters and calls to herself. On the way to it, he performs glorious feats and saves Arthur, whom the sorceress Annaur wants to destroy, but does not call the king his name. Finally, Tristram meets Isolde at the court of King Mark. Having discovered the letter of Kakhidin in love with her, he loses his sanity from jealousy, wanders through the woods and shares food with shepherds. King Mark gives shelter to the unfortunate, but only because he does not recognize him. When Isolde the Beautiful recognizes the beloved, the mind returns to him. But King Mark expels Tristram from the country for ten years, and he wanders, performing glorious feats.
Tristram and Lancelot fight in a duel, without recognizing each other. But when each of them names his name, they gladly give each other victory and return to Arthur’s court. King Mark pursues Tristram to take revenge on him, but Arthur forces them to make peace, and they depart to Cornwall. Tristram beats with the enemies of King Mark and wins, despite the fact that the king harbored his anger and still wants to kill him. Knowing the treachery and vengeance of King Mark, Tristram still does not hide his affection for Isolde and does everything possible to be near her. Soon, King Mark lures Tristram and holds him in confinement until he is freed by Percivad. Fleeing from the treacherous plans of King Mark, Tristram and Isolde sail to England. Lancelot brings them to his castle “Merry Guard”, where they live,
Lancelot goes in search of adventure and meets King Peles, ruler of the Unearthly Country. The knight learns from him that he, Peles, leads his race from Joseph of Arimathea, who was a secret disciple of our Lord, Jesus Christ. The King shows Lancelot the Holy Grail – a precious golden cup, and explains to him that when this treasure is lost, the Round The table will disintegrate for a long time.
From the prophecy Pelesu knows that his daughter Elaine should give birth from Lancelot’s son, Galahad, who will save the Unearthly Country and reach the Holy Grail. Peles asks for help from Bruzen, the great sorcerer, for he knows that Lancelot loves only Guinevere, the wife of King Arthur, and will not betray her for anything. Brusen pours a witch’s potion on Lancelot’s wine, and the knight spends the night with Elaine, taking her for Guinevere. When the spell dissipates, Elaine explains to Lancelot that she went to deception only because she had to obey the prophecy her father had revealed to her. Lancelot forgives her.
Elaine has a baby, who is called Galahad. When King Arthur arranges a celebration, which invites all the lords and ladies of England, Elaine, accompanied by Brusenus, goes to the castle of Kmelot. But Lancelot does not pay attention to it, and then Bruzen promises Elaine to impose on him a spell and arrange so that he will spend the night with her. The Queen of Guinevere is jealous of Lancelot to the beautiful Elaine and demands that he come to her bedroom at night. But Lancelot, powerless against the sorcery of Bruzen, is on the bed of Elaine. The Queen, not knowing that her lover is bewitched, orders Elaine to leave the courtyard, and Lancelot accuses of treachery and treason. Lancelot, from grief, loses his mind and wanders in the wild forests for two years, eating what he will.
Knight Bliant learns in the madman who attacked him in the forest and almost killed, the illustrious Lancelot. He brings him to his castle and takes care of him, but keeps him in chains, for his reason has not returned to Lancelot. But after once Lancelot, having torn them, saved Bliant from the hands of his enemies, he removes the fetters from him.
Lancelot leaves the Bliant castle and wanders around the world again, he is still insane and does not remember who he is. The case leads him to the castle of Korbenik, where Elaine lives, who recognizes him. King Peles places the insensible Lancelot in the tower, where the sacred bowl of the Holy Grail is kept, and the knight is healed. He asks King Peles for permission to settle in his land, and he grants him an island that Lancelot calls Joy Island. He lives there with Elaine surrounded by beautiful young ladies and knights and demands that from now on he be called Cavalier Malfet, which means “Knight who committed the act.”
Lancelot arranges a tournament on the island, to which knights of the Round Table come. After learning Lancelot, they beg him to return to the court of King Arthur. Arthur and all the knights are pleased with the return of Lancelot, and although everyone guessed, because of what he fell into insanity, no one talks about it directly.
Lancelot, at the request of a lady who came to the court of Arthur from King Peles, goes to him and dedicates to the knights of Galahad, but he does not know that this is his son. When Galahad arrives at the castle of Arthur Camelot, on the empty seat at the Round Table appears the inscription: “This is the place of Sir Galahad, the Highborn Prince.” And this seat was called Destructive, for he who sat on him, brought upon himself misfortune.
Knights of the Round Table have a miracle: a stone floats along the river with a sword thrust into it. And the inscription on the stone says that only the best knight in the world can pull a sword. In front of all the knights, Merlin’s prediction is fulfilled: Galahad pulls out of the stone a sword that once belonged to Balin Svirepom. The Queen of Guinevere, who knows who the father of Galahad, tells his court ladies that the young man comes from the best knightly families in the world: Lancelot, his father, is in the eighth tribe of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Galahad is in the ninth tribe.
On the day of the feast of Pentecost, when everyone gathers for the evening prayer, the sacred bowl of the Grail appears miraculously in the room, and on the table there are exquisite dishes and drinks. Gawaine swears to go on feats in the name of the Holy Grail. All the knights repeat his oath. Arthur laments, for it is foreseen that they will never get together at the Round Table.
In the White Abbey, Galahad mines a wonderful shield, which was made in the thirty-second year after the Passion of Christ. He is told that Joseph of Arimathea, with his own blood, inscribed a red cross on a white shield. Galahad, armed with a wonderful sword and shield, performs glorious feats.
With Lancelot in reality and n visions, wonderful things happen. Caught near the old chapel, which can not enter, he hears a voice telling him to move away from these holy places. The knight recognizes his sinfulness and repents, realizing that his deeds are not pleasing to God. He confesses to the hermit, and he interprets the words he heard the knight. Lancelot promises the hermit to abstain from communicating with Guinevere, and he appoints him repentance.
Percival, who, like other knights, sought out the Holy Grail, meets his aunt. She tells him that the Round Table has built Merlin as a sign of the roundness of the world, and the person elected to the brotherhood of the Knights of the Round Table should consider this to be the greatest honor. She also gives Percival the prophesy of Merlin about Galahad, who will surpass his father, Lancelot. Percival goes looking for Galahad and in the way he experiences many wonderful adventures. Struggling against the temptations of the flesh, he cuts his thigh with his sword and swears to sin no more.
Lancelot wanders in search of the Holy Grail and goes through many trials. He learns from the hermit that Galahad is his son. The hermit interprets the knight of his vision; he is weak in faith, defiled by the soul, and pride does not allow him to distinguish the worldly from the divine, so now, when he demands the Grail, God does not like his abusive exploits.
Gawaine was bored with wandering in search of the Grail. The hermit, whom he and Bore Knight confess to their sins, interprets his dream to Gawaine: most knights of the Round Table are burdened with sins, and their pride prevents them from approaching the shrine, for many went in search of the Grail without even repenting of their sins.
Percival and Bors meet Galahad, and together they perform glorious deeds in the name of the Holy Grail. Galahad meets his father, Lancelot. They hear a voice that predicts to them that they are seeing for the last time.
Lancelot falls into a wonderful castle. In one of the rooms he sees a sacred cup surrounded by angels, but a certain voice forbids him to enter. He tries to enter, but he seems to be scorched by a fiery breath, and he lies for twenty-five days, as if dead. Lancelot meets King Peles, learns from him that Elaine has died, and returns to Camelot, where she finds Arthur and Guinevere. Many knights returned to the court, but more than half died.
Galahad, Percival and Bore arrive to King Peles in the castle of Korbenik. In the castle, the knights are shown miracles, and they become the owners of the holy grail and the silver throne. In the city of Sarras, Galahad becomes his king. He appears Joseph of Arimathea, from whose hands the knight takes the holy sacrament, and soon dies. At the moment of his death, a hand stretches from the sky and carries away the sacred cup. Since then, none of the people are honored to see the Holy Grail. Percival goes to the hermits, takes a spiritual rank and dies in two years.
At the court of Arthur, joy reigns over the completion of the feat in the name of the Holy Grail. Aancelot, remembering her promise to the hermit, tries to avoid the company of the queen. She is indignant and tells him to leave the yard. Gawaine blames the queen for wanting to poison him. Lancelot enters for her in a duel and justifies the queen. At the tournament, Lancelot receives a dangerous wound and goes to the hermit to heal him.
Knight Melegant captures Queen Guinevere, and Lancelot frees her. He spends the night with her, and Melehant accuses her of treason. Lancelot fights with Melegant and kills him.
Agravaine, Gawaine’s brother, and Mordred, Arthur’s son, tell Arthur about Lancelot’s love affairs and the queen, and he orders them to track them down and capture them. Agravaine and twelve knights try to capture Lancelot, but he kills them, Arthur asks Gawaine to take the queen to the fire, but he refuses and grieves that she must accept a shameful death. Lancelot, killing many knights, rescues her from execution, takes away to her castle “Merry Guard”. Some of the knights of Arthur adjoin him. Gawaine learns that Lancelot killed two of his brothers, and gives the floor to take revenge on the murderer. Arthur besieges the castle of Lancelot, but the pope orders them to reconcile. Lancelot returns to Queen Arthur and leaves for France. Following the advice of Gawaine, who wants to take revenge on Lancelot, Arthur again collects troops and goes to France.
In the absence of Arthur his son, Mordred, rules the whole of England. He composes letters that mention the death of his father, is crowned and is about to marry Queen Guenever, but she manages to escape. Arthur’s army arrives in Dover, where Mordred tries to prevent the knights from landing. Gwain dies in battle, His spirit is the king and warns against the battle, but because of the ridiculous chance it happens. Mordred dies, and Arthur gets dangerous wounds. Feeling a near death, he orders to throw his sword Escalibur into the water, and he sits down in the barge, where beautiful ladies and three queens are sitting, and sails with them. Next morning in the chapel they find a fresh gravestone, and the hermit tells that several ladies brought him a dead body and asked him to be buried. Guinevere, after learning about Arthur’s death, is tonsured into a nun. Lancelot arrives in England, but when he finds Guinevere in the monastery, he also takes tonsure. Soon they both die. The bishop sees Lancelot in a dream surrounded by angels who lift him to heaven. King of England becomes Constantine, the son of Cador, and with honor ruled the kingdom.
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