King Arthur

Percivale is one of King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table. First made famous by the French author Chretien de Troyes, in the tale Conte du Graal (also known simply as Perceval), his story was allotted to the fictional figure of Peredur son of Efwc in the Welsh adaptation of Chretien's tale called Peredur ab Efrawc. He is most well known for being the original hero in the quest for the Grail before being replaced in later literature by Galahad. Sir Lancelot du Lac is one of the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. He is typically featured as King Arthur's greatest companion. His infidelity with Guinevere caused a civil war exploited by his half-brother Mordred which brings about the end of Arthur's kingdom. King Arthur is a legendary British King who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defense of Britain against Saxon invaders in the late 5th and early 6th centuries AD. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention and his historical existence is debated and disputed by modern historians. The development of Arthurian legend and the character of Arthur came to light in Le Morte d'Arthur, Thomas Malory's retelling of the entire legend in a single work in English in the late 15th century. Malory based his book on various previous romance versions, Malory's primary source, in particular was the religious The Noble Tale of the Sangreal in the French Vulgate Cycle's La Queste Del Saint Graal. It appears that Malory attempted to create a comprehensive collection of Arthurian stories with various references to the Sangreal (Holy Grail). According to William Claxton, Sir Thomas Malory's original book titled Le Morte D'Arthur (The Death of Arthur) was finished in the ninth year of Edward IV. It was about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. It is considered to be the last important English book written before the introduction of the printing press into England. Claxton's story of how the book was brought to him and why he printed it may be read in his preface in Volume One, Book I. Le Morte D'Arthur was one of the earliest printed books in England, published by William Caxton in 1485. Most of the later works are derivative of Malory's as is this series of books. Claxton's own story of how the book was brought to him and why he printed it may be read in his own preface. From this we learn also that he was not only the printer of the book, but to some extent its editor also, dividing Malory's work into twenty-one books, splitting up the books into chapters. If the reader wants to read all the books in Volume One and/or Volume Two they may be purchased at a significantly reduced price as listed under the title "Times and Death of King Arthur." The original text from the introduction to chapters in Malory's books is added below chapter titles in this book to help give a flavor to how things were written in the fifteenth century. This book is an edition based on Caxton's Books XIV and XV, Volume Two. They were combined since they were small and consecutive. They were translated into English from French in the late 1400s. The books have been upgraded with modern words and spelling which make it easier to read.