Malory: The Knight Who Became King Arthur's Chronicler

Virtually all modern versions of the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table are derived from a single book: Sir Thomas Malory's Morte d'Arthur (1469), one of the world's most renowned literary works. Yet the author, a fifteenth-century knight, has remained an enigma for centuries. Existing historical records imply that Malory was a criminal—accused of rape, ambush, rustling, and attacks on abbeys—and was imprisoned for most of his life.

Using evidence from new historical re...