Important Arthurian Works: J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fall of Arthur

The Fall of Arthur is an unfinished poem by J.R.R. Tolkien which was written in an Old English alliterative style. Think Beowulf. The poem comprises about only about a fourth of the book, which is mostly an in-depth analysis of the work, and the works which inspired it, as dissected by Tolkien’s son, Christopher. This is a book for fanatics, be they fanatics of anything Tolkien wrote and/or or anything related to the history of Arthurian literature. Evidence suggests the poem was abandoned in 1937, the year The Hobbit was published. However, in a letter as late as 1955, he talked of his hope of finishing it someday, but alas, that time never came. Christopher Tolkien shows how his father’s work linked to Thomas Malory’s famous Le Morte d’Arthur, the alliterative Morte Arthure, and the French Mort Artu. Christopher also shows how this work related to Tolkien’s pre-Hobbit work, The Silmarillion.

As for the abandoned story and its influences, the primary concern here is the demise of King Arthur. As Arthur and Sir Gawain fight oversees, Arthur’s nephew, Mordred, swoops in and takes over Camelot. The kingdom is further undone by the affair between Arthur’s wife, Guinevere, and his best knight, Lancelot. The poem, the manuscript notes, and Christopher Tolkien’s comments also reveal the intent of the poem to dissect how the ever-loyal Gawain confronted Lancelot and how Mordred and Arthur’s battle at Camlaan would lead the latter to Avalon to recover from mortal wounds. Resources: Amazon.com The New York Times “Legend Retold” (21 June 2013). Written by Andrew O’Hehir. TolkeinGateway.net

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Important Arthurian Works: Le Morte d'Arthur

Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur was one of the earliest printed books in England and is probably the best-known work of English-language Arthurian literature today. It was originally written as eight books and then published as 21 books by William Caxton in 1485. Malory likely started work on the project in the early 1450s while he was in prison and completed it by 1470. His aim was to create a comprehensive and authoritative collection of Arthurian stories. To that end, he largely translated the French Vulgate Cycle and compiled them with other Middle English sources.

The original eight books were: Book I: From the Marriage of King Uther unto King Arthur that Reigned After Him and Did Many Battles (Caxton I–IV) Book II: The Noble Tale Between King Arthur and Lucius the Emperor of Rome (Caxton V) Book III: The Noble Tale of Sir Launcelot Du Lac (Caxton VI) Book IV: The Tale of Sir Gareth of Orkney (Caxton VII) Book V: The First and the Second Book of Sir Tristrams de Lione (Caxton VIII–XII) Book VI: The Noble Tale of the Sangreal (Caxton XIII–XVII) Book VII: Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere (Caxton XVIII–XIX) Book VIII: The Death of Arthur (Caxton XX–XXI) Resources: Arthurian-legend.com: Le Morte d’Arthur – summary of Malory’s story Gutenberg.org: Le Morte d’Arthur (entire text online) Wikipedia.org: Le Morte d’Arthur

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Some of the Works Which Inspired Otter

image of Camelot from claricemoran.wikispaces.com

My brother-in-law, Chris, emailed to tell me how much he'd enjoyed reading Otter and Arthur and the Sword in the Stone. Among other things, he said, "It is a wonderfully told story in a way that kids can really hear it - clear action, descriptions, themes, the 'small person's' perspective, et al."

Chris also posed some questions which other readers might have so I thought I'd address them via the blog. He skipped King Arthur lore as a kid so he wondered if the characters were mine or historical. In a nutshell, the people are taken from Arthurian legend while the mice are my creations. Interestingly enough, because so much has been written about King Arthur and company, I felt freer to write my own interpretations. I stuck to some basic ideas - Arthur is raised by Sir Ector along with Kay, who is Ector's biological son. Arthur doesn't know his real father is King Uther although Merlin is well aware of Arthur's true parentage. Arthur does become king by pulling a sword from a stone. The circumstances of him needing to find a sword for Kay in the jousting match sticks to the traditional stories as well.

The tales of Arthur are generally much bawdier - the equivalent of R-rated movies. I was largely motivated to write this story because I couldn't find kid-appropriate versions of the Arthur tales. Also, many of the stories focus on the quests of various knights and very little on Arthur himself.

Chris also asked how much research I did. I've read many King Arthur books over the years, but here are some of the most notable. My introduction to King Arthur came at the hands of John Steinbeck and The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights in 8th grade. That book was largely a retelling of what is probably considered the definitive version of Arthur - Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur. I went on to read Mary Stewart's The Crystal Cave and sequels which told Merlin's story. I read T.H. White's The Once and Future King, which served as the basis for the Disney movie The Sword in the Stone and the famed musical Camelot.

When I set about writing Otter and Arthur, I rewatched classic movies like Excalibur and the others mentioned. I reread Steinbeck, Malory, and White. In fact, Arthurian fanatics will note Otter meets a band of mice named after Malory and White as well as Geoffrey "Monmouse." His name is taken from Geoffrey of Monmouth, who wrote the classic Historia Regum Britanniae (c. 1136) which chronicles the Kings of Briton. Sharp eyes will pick up other character names taken from authors and characters of Arthurian legend.

I also watched a slew of documentaries and hit the Internet for research into King Arthur characters and tales. There's no shortage of material! I loved it, though. It is hard to say what has fascinated me through the years about King Arthur, but I hope I have brought that passion to my own retelling of the Arthurian legend.