Publisher's Synopsis
Guinevere is, in Arthurian legend, the wife of King Arthur. In medieval romances, one of the most renowned stories is about Queen Guinevere's tragic love affair with her husband's best knight, Lancelot. He is typically featured as King Arthur's greatest companion. 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. 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. He is the lord of the village and castle called Joyous Gard and he is the greatest swordsman and jouster of his age until his adultery with Queen Guinevere is discovered. His infidelity with Guinevere caused a civil war exploited by his half-brother Mordred which brings about the end of Arthur's kingdom and his death which is written about in the final book XXI in Volume Two. According to William Caxton, 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. If the reader wishes to purchase a compendium of all the books in Volumes One and Two they are listed under the title "Life and Death of King Arthur." 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 derivatives of Caxton and Malory's as is this series of books. 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 edition retains the chapters of Malory's Book IV, Volume I, and an attempt has been made to retain his work while making it easier for the reader to follow the story using modern English and updated spelling. Book XVIII, Volume Two
