Le Morte D'Arthur

By: Sir Thomas Malory

Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell

Length: 37 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

To the modern eye, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table have many similarities to our own contemporary super-heroes. Equipped with magical powers, enchanted swords, super-strength, and countless villains to take on, they protect the weak and innocent and adhere to their own code of honor. Comparing Batman, Superman, and Captain America to Sir Launcelot, Sir Tristram, and Sir Galahad isn't a huge leap of the imagination.

Perhaps, for the 15th century reader, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table were the equivalent of our modern day Justice League or Avengers. This audiobook gets to the heart of the narrative, telling the exciting legends of the supernatural, magic, dragons, beasts, battles, and chivalry contained in Sir Thomas Malory's epic in a contemporary and unaffected style. First published by William Caxton in 1485, this version is a faithfully unabridged narration of the complete Malory text (excluding the introduction). It includes the chapter numbers and descriptions used in the original manuscript.

Public Domain (P)2016 Chris MacDonnell

I only read it to learn about Morgan lefay

37 hour book
60 parts/or my bookmarks recorded on Morgan lafey
I've read other dissapointing version of Arthurian Legends that bearly touch on the character of Morgan Lefay but this book seems to cover all her stories except in the end where it doesn't seems to mention much about her having mordred as a son.
Overall doesn't dissapoint!

vocabulary building

I should have known the language was going to be so archaic, but if you can get past that it is worth a listen. the repetition is iconic of oral tradition, but does take a while to get used to.

Le Monte D’Arthur

I really like King Arthur books, but his book goes beyond. The narration is incredible, although the girl voices are kind of cartoonish. Overall, great book, great narration.

Most sections are good

The Tristram part was mediocre but other than that it was very good, Galahad and Arthur parts were best, it's a bit soft on Lancelot

Not for the faint of heart, but worth the journey!

What made the experience of listening to Le Morte D'Arthur the most enjoyable?

It's an English literature, history and foreign language lesson all rolled into one!

What other book might you compare Le Morte D'Arthur to and why?

It's a combination of all medieval stories, and the holy bible.

Which character – as performed by Chris MacDonnell – was your favorite?

Well it has to be Lancelot and Palamedes for me. The most noble nights, with definite kinks in their armor.Chris did a fantastic job with the Olde English, and the sheer multitude of characters! I can only imagine the chops he earned on this one! It was tough going at first, but Chris's steady, easy tone certainly helped me acclimate and learn. I feel like I learned a whole new language!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The insight into the struggles for many knights to maintain the code of knighthood added a sense of realism, and made the story more approachable. Was Gallahad a reference to Jesus? Very interesting parallels for sure. I liked how the ending ties into the story of the Knights Templar.

Any additional comments?

Quite taken by the number of archaetypes introduced in this work that resonate throughout literary history. This book seems but just once removed from the Holy Bible itself.

Boring and dull delivery

The narrator just never shifted out of his very neutral cadence. I got quite far but just gave up and couldn’t be bothered to finish when I found a better alliterative reading with a beautiful cadence and a less monotone delivery.

and anon

I thought lancelot or tristan or percival were meant to be the best of knights,

for I had never heard tale of the Knight of the Four Chans before reading these pages here.

even when speaking of the impressive exploits of others knights more renowned to me, the author would be driven to non-sequitur; "and Anon, he was in truth the best of noble knights."

imspired am I to spread word of this well and good Anon throughout the many threads and realms I troll.

This is my go-to audio version of Malory

Yes, I am aware that there is a recording by the incomparable Derek Jacobi, but unfortunately the audible version sounds like it is transcribed from a cassette tape, and is abridged (even so I still recommend it). Still, this version here is my go-to audio version not only because it is the complete Malory (the Caxton version), but because Chris MacDonnell narrates it in a rich voice which makes all the "he smote this, and he smote that" (specially in the interminable Tristram section) more palatable to the reader/ listener. I ought to have prefaced my commentary here by saying that I would not recommend Malory to a reader who is not already acquainted in some form to the Arthurian legend, whether this may have been through a class, a film, or one of the myriad of retellings that abound. Personally, I came to Malory through T.H. White, so therefore I loved many of the characters that are sourced from Malory. I highly recommend this audible version and following along with the knickerbox clothbound edition of Malory that one can find on Amazon, replete with Aubrey Beardsley illustrations. This made the experience all the more the richer!

The way the story is structured

It was impossible to follow the story. The driest storyline I might ever have heard. It seems Malory is trying to tell us about his view of the ideal knight, but the way it was written (although you get used to the old language style) makes it impossible to keep your focus.

Some 35 hours of people introducing themselves to each other as well as bluntly slaying each other. Very repetitie writing motives.

Maybe im just to unaccustomed to books as old as this. But knowing this won't help me get through it...

'Chris’s steady, easy tone'

I have a confession. I haven’t listened to this entire recording yet.

Actually, I have. But I was asleep.

Wait, that doesn’t sound right. Let’s start again.

I’m one of those people whom the cares of the day seem to follow to bed. Some chosen few, like Napoleon Bonaparte, fall asleep when their head hits the pillow. Other, less-successful world conquerors, like me, have to come up with strategies for getting the required 8 hours.

I’ve found that long recordings of classic books, when evenly and soothingly read, engage my mind, banish worries and cares, and send me off to dreamland.

Even better, if I wake up in the middle of the night, the story is still there, still soothing, and I can fall asleep again.

So far, I’ve used Ovid’s Metamorphoses (the Naxos recording with David Horovitch), The Iliad and Odyssey (the Robert Fitzgerald translations, read by George Guidall and Dan Stevens, respectively), the Mabinogion (Lady Charlotte Guest’s 1877 translation, read by Richard Mitchley), the Divine Comedy (Clive James’s translation, read by Edoardo Ballerini), and Simon Armitage’s translation of The Death of Arthur, read by Bill Wallis.

I find Milton’s language too involved to lull me to sleep; though I sometimes use Canterbury Tales (full cast, translated by Nicolson) and Faerie Queene (Naxos, read by David Timson), my habit of anticipating rhymes can keep me up.

Please understand, I don’t find these books boring in the least. I know them from my page-and-binding reading and have loved them—some for decades now. When awake, what one reviewer has called Chris Macdonnell’s “steady, easy tone” is a superb vehicle for this epic prose masterpiece. But it also works well at the end of a long day.

I only regret that Beowulf, though read by George Guidall, isn’t long enough to get me through the night.