Biography of Sir Thomas Malory of Newbold Revel

His father, John Malory • Esquire with land in three English Midland counties (Warwickshire, Leicestershire and Northampton shire) • Public officeholder in Warwickshire – twice sheriff, five times a member of Parliament and a justice of the peace • Married Philippa Chetwynd, and they had at least three children including Thomas in 1416 ish

Malory’s early years

The Good • By the age of 23, Thomas seems to be following in his father’s footsteps as a respectable landowner • By 1441, he has been knighted and is Sir Thomas • Marries Elizabeth Walsh, and has a son Robert • 1445 – elected M. P. for Warwickshire

The Bad • 1443 – Malory charged with “wounding and imprisoning Thomas Smith and stealing his goods. ” • Nothing seems to come of the charges, and as seen before, he is elected to public office in 1445 • Political turmoil in the late 1440 s/early 1550 s and the War of the Roses

The UGLY or: Malory makes Chaucer look like a saint • • – Alleged actions and a downward spiral 1/4/1450 – Malory and a number of other armed men lay an ambush for the Duke of Buckingham near Newbold Revel 5/23/1450 – rapes Joan Smith at coventry (and not the abduction kind) 5/31/1450 – extortion 8/6/1450 – rapes Joan Smith again, and steals from her husband 8/31/1450 – some more extortion 1451 – responsible for theft of 7 cows, 2 calves, 335 sheep, and a cart (Buckingham attempts to apprehend him) Imprisoned more than once – escapes and swims across a moat, is bailed out a few times, fights his way out once, and is pardoned Later expressly left out of royal pardons

The Morte • Written in part (or perhaps wholly) during Malory’s multiple incarcerations • Completed 1469/1470, not long before… • Morte de Malory – 3/14/1471, possibly while still a prisoner at Newgate. Buried at Greyfriars Church

Controversy! • How are we to handle the discrepancy between the way Malory lived his life and the virtues held up in Le Morte Darthur? • Easiest way is to claim that the Newbold Revel Malory isn’t the right Malory – 16 th Century – John Bale associates Malory with Welsh origins – Other possible Thomas Malory candidates, as public records are “fragmentary, often contradictory and sometimes fraudulent” Most scholars, however, accept the Newbold Revel Malory as the writer/compiler of the Morte

Sources • Field, P. J. C. “Malory’s Life Records. ” A Companion to Malory. Ed. Elizabeth Archibald and A. S. G. Edwards. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1996. • Mathews, William. The Ill Famed Knight. Berkeley: University of California P, 1966. • Shepherd, Stephen H. A. "Malory: Life Events. " Foreword. Le Morte Darthur. By Sir Thomas Malory. New York: Norton & Company, 2004. Xxiv-xvii. • "Thomas Malory. " Wikipedia. 1 Apr. 2009 <http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Thomas_Malory>.