Publisher's Synopsis
Sir Gareth is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend, nicknamed "Beaumains." He was the youngest son of King Lot and of Morgan, King Arthur's half-sister, thus making him Arthur's nephew, as well as brother to Gawain (Agravain, Gaheris) and half-brother to Mordred. According to Malory, Gareth comes to Camelot as a kitchen boy and is set to work by Kay, who always gives him difficult work, teases him as a lowly kitchen boy and nicknames him Beaumains or Good Hands. Gareth goes to the aid of Lynette to save her sister Lyonesse from the Red Knight. 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 Book VII, Volume One which was translated into English from French in the late 1400s. The book has been upgraded with modern words and spelling which make it easier to read.
