Sir Thomas Malory

Writer, known for his work Le Morte Darthur (The Death of Arthur). From Caxton's preface (1485), we are told that Malory was a knight, that he finished his work in the ninth year of the reign of Edward IV (1461–70), and that he ‘reduced’ it from some French book. Probably he was the Sir Thomas Malory of Newbold Revel, Warwickshire, whose quarrels with a neighbouring priory and (probably) Lancastrian politics brought him imprisonment.

Sir Thomas Malory (c.1399 – March 14, 1471) was the author or compiler of Le Morte d'Arthur. The antiquary John Leland believed him to be Welsh, but most modern scholarship and this article assumes that he was Sir Thomas Malory of Newbold Revel in Warwickshire. He died in March of 1471, less than two years after completing his great book. In the 1460s he was at least once pardoned by the king (Henry VI), but more often, he was specifically excluded from pardon by both Henry VI and his rival and successor, Edward IV. It is clear, from comments Malory makes at the ends of sections of his narrative, that he composed at least part of his work while in prison. His description of himself in the colophon to Le Morte d'Arthur has led to speculation that he may have been a priest, though this is not widely considered:

I pray you all, gentlemen and gentlewomen that readeth this book of Arthur and his knights, from the beginning to the ending, pray for me while I am alive, that God send me good deliverance, and when I am dead, I pray you all pray for my soul. For this book was ended the ninth year of the reign of King Edward the Fourth, by Sir Thomas Maleore, knight, as Jesu help him for His great might, as he is the servant of Jesu both day and night.

A young Malory appears as a character at the end of T.H. White's book The Once and Future King, which was based on Le Morte d'Arthur; Many modern takes on the Arthurian legend have their roots in Malory, including John Boorman's 1981 movie Excalibur, which included all the elements of the book.