Book Review: Le Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory | #SmartReads

KIngArthur

TheBreakaway | BreakawayConciousness
Zy Marquiez
June 2, 2017

A widely-known and timeless classic, Le Morte d’ArthurKing Arthur and the Knights Of The Round Table by Sir Thomas Malory is the masterpiece from which the Arthurian Legend was born.

As the definitive English-language version of the story of Arthur and his Knights, Sir Thomas Malory collated information from the historical tradition and lore that was available to him at the time.

For a book that draws from various sources, it actually reads seamlessly, which speaks of Malory’s skill in the creation of this book and the ironclad integration he undertook.

All components of the Arthurian Legend, from Arthur, Merlin, Lancelot, the Knights of The Round Table, to Excalibur and the Quest for the Holy Grail are all contained therein.  Considering the book was published over 500 years ago, it’s actually a remarkable achievement considering that there aren’t many books which so much appeal to human creativity and imagination from that time period.  Granted, Malory drew from English and French sources for this, but it was his imagination that allowed him to make this book a finished product.

Some intriguing components of the book are the many themes the book features, which are repeatedly alluded too.  Woven within the story are themes that encompass revenge, jealousy, trickery, honor and chivalry.  The many quests that the Knights undertake are also a common theme in the book.

It is worth noting that the book is written in Old English.  While a bit confusing at first, after a while the reader gets used to it.

The measure of a great fiction book is how great it stokes the embers of imagination.  Without a doubt, Sir Thomas Malory’s work has done all that, and much more, which is why after centuries the stories have a remarkable appeal to a wide-ranging audience.

As a classic adventure featuring intrigue, romance, deception, and adventure with sprinklings of magic, the legend of King Arthur has and always will be a mainstay in literature.  That is because it appeals to the element of human mind in a way that many other books do not, and that is what makes it a landmark book in Mythology and Folklore.   Any connoisseur of Mythology would enjoy this thoroughly.

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Related Links:

The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
Paradise Lost by John Milton
The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien
The Lord Of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
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About The Author:

Zy Marquiez is an avid book reviewer, inquirer, an open-minded skeptic, yogi, and freelance writer who studies and mirrors regularly subjects like Consciousness, Education, Creativity, The Individual, Ancient History & Ancient Civilizations, Forbidden Archaeology, Big Pharma, Alternative Health, Space, Geoengineering, Social Engineering, Propaganda, and much more.

His other blog, BreakawayConsciousnessBlog.wordpress.com features mainly his personal work, while TheBreakaway.wordpress.com serves as a media portal which mirrors vital information nigh always ignored by mainstream press, but still highly crucial to our individual understanding of various facets of the world.

Archaeologists Believe They Have Found King Arthur’s Castle

The excavation set out to find more about Tintagel's past which is believed to date back to the 5th and 6th centuries Emily Whitfield-Wicks
Source: Ancient-Code.com
August 6, 2016

The mysterious origins of a British archaeological site commonly associated with the legend of King Arthur, have just gotten even more mysterious.

British researchers have discovered in southwest England the ruins of a medieval castle that could have belonged to the central character of British poetry, King Arthur, reports The Independent.

According to researchers, they have discovered the remains of a wall, steps and stone slabs near the village of Tintagel, a place commonly associated with Arthurian legends.

Archaeologists excavated a 1-meter-thick wall in the area believed to have been part of King Arthur’s mythical castle.

The castle is popularly believed to have been the legendary birthplace of King Arthur mostly because of the discovery of a slate engrave with ‘Artognou’ discovered on site in 1998.

Archaeologists estimate that the castle was built around the V or VI century and is believed to have been the residence of the rulers of the ancient kingdom of Dumnonia. The most peculiar thing about the discover is is that the legends of King Arthur stress that the hero lived in the same era.

Researchers excavating the are have come across numerous fragments of pottery and glass as well as amphorae in which wine and olive oil were transported in the distant past.

According to experts, these findings indicate that the inhabitants of the castle belonged to the upper classes of society.

After this discovery, many experts agree that this finding will most certainly ignite the debate about the mythical figure of King Arthur and whether or not this was his castle.

So far, no one has been able to find actual evidence of the existence of King Arthur that turns legend into reality.


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Historians continue to debate whether or not the character of King Arthur was real or if he was a fusion of a number of different mythological figures.

Interestingly, earlier this year a historian claimed to have found the ‘Lost Tomb of Legendary King Arthur.’

According to Legend, King Arthur was transported to the Isle of Avalon after he was injured in a battle with his enemy Mordred before disappearing.

Earlier this year, a historian claimed that he might have finally discovered the resting place of the legendary ruler –in a field in Shropshire.

According to legend, the King led the defence of Britain when Saxon invaders arrived, wielding his legendary sword Excalibur.

Read More At: Ancient-Code.com

Breakaway Links Of The Day – August 5, 2016 | King Arthur, Soldier-nauts [!], Health, Amazon Echo Spying Platform & More

Breakaway
TheBreakaway
Zy Marquiez
August 6, 2016

As it so happens from time to time, it seems that another ‘myth’ might be crumbling right before our times.  This time, regarding the ‘myth’ of King Arthur.

Although not yet confirmed, there is evidence that perhaps King Arthur might not be the stuff of legend.  Remember, Troy was considered a myth for a really really long time, and now the actual city has been found and confirmed.  This has also happened in quite a few other circumstances.  Could this be of similar happenstance?  Time will tell, but its intriguing nonetheless  If you are interested in that link, it’s the third one down the line.

If you’re interested in space, please read Dr. Farrell’s view on ‘Soldiernauts’ [first link below].  It certainly paints a rather disturbing prospect at what the future might portend if what Farrell states becomes reality.

For those health aware people, please watch Dr. Gregers presentation on diet and nutrition.  Yeah, yeah, its not the sexy topic people love talking about, but hey, with hundreds of thousands of people dying yearly of diseases that can be stopped, prevented, and even reversed in some instances with proper diet, its vital to have cognizance into what we expose our bodies too.

And for those concerned about the evolution of spying and privacy, please view the link on the Amazon Echo.  Its implications are troublesome in more ways than one.

In any case, hope everyone is well.  Today is going to be a great day.

Make sure  yours is a stellar one too.

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Dark Ages Royal Palace Discovered In Cornwall – In Area Closely Linked To The Legend Of King Arthur

emilywhitfield-wicks-22-07-16-archeologydig-20.jpg

Source: Independent.co.uk
David Keys
August 5, 2016

The mysterious origins of the British archaeological site most often associated with the legend of King Arthur have just become even more mysterious.

Archaeologists have discovered the impressive remains of a probable Dark Age royal palace at Tintagel in Cornwall. It is likely that the one-metre thick walls being unearthed are those of the main residence of the 6th century rulers of an ancient south-west British kingdom, known as Dumnonia.

Scholars have long argued about whether King Arthur actually existed or whether he was in reality a legendary character formed through the conflation of a series of separate historical and mythological figures.

But the discovery by English Heritage-funded archaeologists of a probable Dark Age palace at Tintagel will certainly trigger debate in Arthurian studies circles – because, in medieval tradition, Arthur was said to have been conceived at Tintagel as a result of an illicit union between a British King and the beautiful wife of a local ruler.

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Ryan Smith of the Cornwall Archaeological Unit excavating at the Tintagel site in North Cornwall (Emily Whitfield-Wicks)

The account – probably based on an earlier legend – was written by a Welsh (or possibly Breton-originating) cleric called Geoffrey of Monmouth. The story forms part of his greatest work, Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain), one of the most important books ever produced in the medieval world.

Significantly, it was almost certainly completed by 1138 – at a time when the Tintagel promontory (where the probable Dark Age palace complex has been discovered) was uninhabited. The medieval castle, the ruins of which still stand today, was built almost a century later. Geoffrey of Monmouth’s assertion that King Arthur was conceived in an earlier by then long-abandoned great fortress on the site would potentially therefore have had to have come, in the main, from now long-lost earlier legends, claims or quasi-historical accounts.

The probable palace which the archaeologists have found appears to date from the 5th and 6th centuries AD – which would theoretically fit well with the traditional legends of King Arthur which placed him in precisely those centuries. Whether coincidence or not, the way in which the new evidence resonates with Britain’s most enduring and popular medieval legend is sure to generate renewed popular and scholarly interest in the site.

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The dig began on 18 July and finished on Tuesday (Emily Whitfield-Wicks)

What the archaeologists have found is of major historical significance – irrespective of the veracity of any Arthurian connection. It’s the first time in Britain that really substantial buildings from the 5th and 6th centuries – the very heart of the Dark Ages – have been found. So far the excavations have revealed massive metre-thick masonry walls, steps and well-made slate flagstone floors.

Some of the buildings were relatively large. Around a dozen have been archaeologically or geophysically located over recent months. Two are around 11 metres long and 4 metres wide.

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The team used the latest scientific techniques to find how the buildings had been built and what they were used for (Emily Whitfield-Wicks)

The people who lived in these well-constructed buildings appear to have been of elite status. The archaeological evidence – scores of fragments of pottery and glass – show that they were enjoying wine from what is now western Turkey and olive oil from the Greek Aegean and what is now Tunisia. What’s more, they ate their food from fine bowls and plates imported from western Turkey and North Africa, while they drank their wine from the very finest, beautifully painted French-made glass cups.

Over the past few weeks around 150 shards of pottery have been found – including fragments of amphorae (used to transport wines and olive oil from the Eastern Mediterranean) and fine tableware.

The probable palace appears to have been the more luxurious part of a much larger complex of literally dozens of buildings which covered most of the Tintagel promontory. These other structures may well have housed artisans, soldiers and other retainers who worked for the ruler who lived there – probably the King of Dumnonia.

The whole complex appears to have come into existence some time in the 5th or the early 6th century AD – but was probably in decline by the early 7th.

So far, no evidence of any catastrophic destruction has been found. However, the latter half of the 6th century and the 7th century were notorious for a terrible plague pandemic (an early version of the later medieval Black Death) which almost certainly devastated parts of Britain after having killed millions throughout the Mediterranean world. It is conceivable therefore that Dark Age Tintagel declined and was eventually abandoned partially as a result of bubonic plague rather than any political or military conflict.

Quite apart from what the new discoveries tell us about royal life in Britain 1,500 years ago, they also shed additional light on western Britain’s place in the world all those centuries ago.

Although eastern and much of central Britain had been taken over by Germanic (ie, Anglo-Saxon) conquerors and settlers from what is now Germany and Denmark, much of the west of Britain (including Cornwall) remained under native British control.

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Ryan Smith (L), James Gossip of Cornwall Archaeological Unit and  Win Scutt (R), curator for English Heritage on the site in Tintagel (Emily Whitfield-Wicks)

These native British areas seem to have maintained or more likely revived their trading and political links with the Roman Empire. The Romans had abandoned Britain in AD410 and had completely lost the whole of Western Europe to Germanic barbarian invaders by 476. However, by 554 the Empire (by then entirely based in Constantinople – modern Istanbul), was reconquering parts of the Western Mediterranean world – namely Italy, North Africa and southern Spain. As a result Roman trade into the Western Mediterranean and the Atlantic (including Britain) began to flourish once again.

The big incentive for the Romans to trade with Britain was probably Cornish tin, which they needed for their bronze-making industries. It’s also conceivable that they regarded Dumnonia, or indeed other western British kingdoms, as client states or official allies, possibly with some quasi-official status within the Empire. Indeed, officially, they may have regarded the loss of Britain in 410 as a temporary and expedient measure rather than a permanent change in legal status. Certainly there is historical evidence that the Empire gave financial subsidies to Britain in the 6th century – ie, well over a century after the traditional date for Britain’s exit from the Empire. There is even evidence suggesting that the 6th century Roman authorities tried to use their theoretical “ownership” of Britain as a territorial bargaining chip in wider geopolitical negotiations.

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King Arthur’s statue at Tintagel (Getty)

This summer’s excavation at Tintagel, which finished on Tuesday, has been directed by archaeologist Jacky Nowakowski and James Gossip of the Cornwall  Archaeological Unit – part of Cornwall county council.

“The discovery of high-status buildings – potentially a royal palace complex – at Tintagel is transforming our understanding of the site. It is helping to reveal an intriguing picture of what life was like in a place of such importance in the historically little-known centuries following the collapse of Roman administration in Britain,” says Win Scutt, English Heritage’s properties curator for the West of England.

The Tintagel promontory –  the site of the famous ruined 13th century castle – is managed by English Heritage and is open to the public.

Read More At: TheIndependent.co.uk