Le Morte Darthur / by Syr Thomas Malory ; the original edition of William Caxton now reprinted and edited with an introduction and glossary by H. Oskar Sommer ; with an essay on Malory's prose style by Andrew Lang

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[Caxton's Preface]

AFter that I had accomplysshed and fynysshed dyuers hystoryes as wel of contemplacyon as of other hystoryal and wordly actes of grete conquerours & prynces / And also certeyn bookes of ensaumples and doctryne / Many noble and dyuers gentylmen of thys royame of Englond camen and demaunded me many and oftymes / wherfore that I haue not do made & enprynte the noble hystorye of the saynt greal / and of the moost renomed crysten kyng / Fyrst and chyef of the thre best crysten and worthy / kyng Arthur / whyche ought moost to be remembred emonge vs englysshe men tofore al other crysten kynges / For it is notoyrly knowen thorugh the vnyuersal world / that there been ix worthy & the best that euer were / That is to wete thre paynyms / thre Iewes and thre crysten men / As for the paynyms they were tofore the Incarnacyon of Cryst / whiche were named / the fyrst Hector of Troye / of whome thystorye is comen bothe in balade and in prose / The second Alysaunder the grete / & the thyrd Iulyus Cezar Emperour of Rome of whome thystoryes ben wel kno and had / And as for the thre Iewes whyche also were tofore thyncarnacyon of our lord of whome the fyrst was Duc Iosue whyche brought the chyldren of Israhel in to the londe of byheste / The second Dauyd kyng of Iherusalem / & the thyrd Iudas Machabeus of these thre the byble reherceth al theyr noble hystoryes & actes / And sythe the sayd Incarnacyon haue ben thre noble crysten men stalled and admytted thorugh the vnyuersal world in to the nombre of the ix beste & worthy / of whome was fyrst the noble Arthur / whos noble actes I purpose to wryte in thys present book here folowyng / The second was Charlemayn or Charles the grete / of whome thystorye is had in many places bothe in frensshe and englysshe / and the thyrd and last was Godefray of boloyn / of whos actes & lyf I made a book vnto thexcellent prynce and kyng of noble memorye kyng Edward the fourth / the sayd noble Ientylmen Instantly requyred me temprynte thystorye of the sayd noble kyng and conquerour kyng Arthur / and of his knyghtes wyth thystorye of the saynt greal / and of the deth and endyng of the sayd Arthur / Affermyng that I ouȝt rather tenprynte his actes and noble feates / than of godefroye of boloyne / or

[leaf 1v] ony the other eyght / consyderyng that he was a man borne wythin this royame and kyng and Emperour of the same / And that there ben in frensshe dyuers and many noble volumes of his actes / and also of his knyghtes / To whome I answerd / that dyuers men holde oppynyon / that there was no suche Arthur / and that alle suche bookes as been maad of hym / ben fayned and fables / by cause that somme cronycles make of hym no mencyon ne remembre hym noo thynge ne of his knyghtes / wherto they answerd / and one if specyal sayd / that in hym that shold say or thynke / that there was neuer suche a kynge callyd Arthur / myght wel be aretted grete folye and blyndenesse / For he sayd that there were many euydences of the contrarye / Fyrst ye may see his sepulture in the monasterye of Glastyngburye / And also in polycronycon in the v book the syxte chappytre / and in the seuenth book the xxiij chappytre/ where his body was buryed and after founden and translated in to the sayd monasterye / ye shal se also in thystorye of bochas in his book de casu principum / parte of his noble actes / and also of his falle / Also galfrydus in his brutysshe book recounteth his lyf / and in dyuers places of Englond / many remembraunces ben yet of hym and shall remayne perpetuelly / and also of his knyghtes / Fyrst in the abbey of westmestre at saynt Edwardes shryne remayneth the prynte of his seal in reed Waxe closed in beryll/ In whych is wryton Patricius Arthurus / Britannie / Gallie / Germanie / dacie / Imperator / Item in the castel of douer ye may see Gauwayns skulle / & Cradoks mantle . At wynchester the rounde table / in other places Launcelottes swerde and many other thynges / Thenne al these thynges consydered there can no man resonably gaynsaye but there was a kyng of thys lande named Arthur / For in al places crysten and hethen he is reputed and taken for one of the ix worthy / And the fyrst of the thre Crysten men / And also he is more spoken of beyonde the see moo boookes made of his noble actes than there be in englond as wel in duche ytalyen spaynysshe and grekysshe as in frensshe / And yet of record remayne in wytnesse of hym in wales in the toune of Camelot the grete stones & meruayllous werkys of yron lyeng vnder the grounde & ryal vautes

[leaf 2r] which dyuers now lyuyng hath seen / wherfor it is a meruayl why he is nomore renomed in his owne contreye / sauf onelye it accordeth to the worde of god / whyche sayth that no man is accept for a prophete in his owne contreye / Then̄e al these thynges forsayd aledged I coude not wel denye / but that there was suche a noble kyng named arthur / and reputed one of the ix Worthy / & fyrst & chyef of the cristen men / & many noble volumes be made of hym & of his noble knyȝtes in frensshe which I haue seen & redde beyonde the see / which been not had in our maternal tongue / but in walsshe ben many & also in frensshe / & somme in englysshe but no wher nygh alle / wherfore suche as haue late ben drawen oute bryefly in to englysshe / I haue after the symple connynge that god hath sente to me / vnder the fauour and correctyon of al noble lordes and gentylmen enprysed to enprynte a book of the noble hystoryes of the sayd kynge Arthur / and of certeyn of his knyghtes after a copye vnto me delyuerd / whyche copye Syr Thomas Malorye dyd take oute of certeyn bookes of frensshe and reduced it in to Englysshe / And I accordyng to my copye haue doon sette it in enprynte / to the entente that noble men may see and lerne the noble actes of chyualrye / the Ientyl and vertuous dedes that somme knyghtes vsed in tho dayes / by whyche they came to honour / and how they that were vycious were punysshed and ofte put to shame and rebuke / humbly bysechyng al noble lordes and ladyes wyth al other estates of what estate or degree they been of / that shal see and rede in this sayd book and werke / that they take the good and honest actes in their remembraunce / and to folowe the same / Wherin they shalle fynde many Ioyous and playsaunt hystoryes / and noble & renomed actes of humanyte / gentylnesse and chyualryes / For herein may be seen noble chyualrye / Curtosye / Humanyte / frendlynesse / hardynesse / loue / frendshyp / Cowardyse / Murdre / hate / vertue / and synne / Doo after the good and leue the euyl / and it shal brynge you to good fame and renommee / And for to passe the tyme thys boook shal be plesaunte to rede in / but for to gyue fayth and byleue that al is trewe that is conteyned herin / ye be at your lyberte / but al is wryton for our doctryne / and for to beware that we falle not to

[leaf 2v] vyce ne synne / but texersyse and folowe vertu / by whyche we may come and atteyne to good fame and renomme in thys lyf / and after thys shorte and transytorye lyf to come vnto euerlastyng blysse in heuen / the whyche he graunte vs that reygneth in heuen the blessyd Trynyte Amen /

THenne to procede forth in thys sayd book / whyche I dyrecte vnto alle noble prynces / lordes and ladyes / gentylmen or gentylwymmen that desyre to rede or here redde of the noble and Ioyous hystorye of the grete conquerour and excellent kyng . Kyng Arthur / somtyme kyng of thys noble royalme / thenne callyd / brytaygne / I wyllyam Caxton symple persone present thys book folowyng / Whyche I haue enprysed tenprynte / And treateth of the noble actes / feates of armes of chyualrye / prowesse / hardynesse / humanyte loue / curtosye / and veray gentylnesse / wyth many wonderful hystoryes and adventures / And for to vnderstonde bryefly the contente of thys volume / I haue deuyded it in to xxj bookes / and euery book chapytred as here after shal by goddes grace folowe / The fyrst book shal treate how Vtherpendragon gate the noble conquerour kyng Arthur and conteyneth xxviij chappytres / The second book treateth of Balyn the noble knyght and conteyneth xix chapytres / The thyrd book treateth of the maryage of kyng Arthur to quene queneuer wyth other maters and conteyneth fyftene chappytres / The fourth book how Merlyn was assotted / and of warre maad to kyng Arthur / and conteyneth xxix chappytres / The fyfthe book treateth of the conqueste of Lucius themperour and conteyneth xij chappytres / The syxthe book treateth of Syr Launcelot and syr Lyonel and meruayllous adventures and conteyneth xviij chapytres / The seuenth book treateth of a noble knyght called syr Gareth and named by syr kaye Beaumayns and conteyneth xxxvj chapytres / The eyght book treateth of the byrthe of Syr Trystram the noble knyght and of hys actes / and conteyneth xlj chapytres / The ix book treateth of a knyght named by Syr kaye le cote male taylle and also of Syr Trystram and conteyneth xliiij

[leaf 3r] chapytres / The x book treateth of syr Trystram & other meruayllous adventures and conteyneth lxxxviij chappytres / The xj book treateth of syr Launcelot and syr Galahad and conteyneth xiiij chappytres / The xij book treateth of syr Launcelot and his madnesse and conteyneth xiiij chappytres / The xiij book treateth how galahad came fyrst to kyng Arthurs courte and the quest how the sangreall was begonne and conteyneth xx Chapytres / The xiiij boook treateth of the queste of the sangreal & conteyneth x chapytres / The xv book treateth of syr launcelot & conteyneth vj chapytres / The xvj book treateth of Syr Bors & syr Lyonel his brother and conteyneth xvij chapytres / The xvij book treateth of the sangreal and conteyneth xxiij chapytres / The xviij book treateth of Syr Launcelot and the quene and conteyneth xxv chapytres / The xix book treateth of quene Gueneuer and Launcelot and conteyneth xiij chapytres / The xx book treateth of the pyetous deth of Arthur and conteyneth xxij chapytres / The xxj book treateth of his last departyng / and how syr Launcelot came to reuenge his dethe and conteyneth xiij chapytres / The somme is xxj bookes whyche conteyne the soome of v hondred & vij chapytres / as more playnly shal folowe herafter /

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