writeaboutwarming

March 22 – It’s interesting; my husband is reading Le Morte d’Arthur, by Thomas Malory. Written in the mid-1400s, Morte d’Arthur is actually a compilation of legends about King Arthur. According to my husband, it is notable for its utter lack of admirable characters and worthwhile endeavors (the action takes place in the sixth century). Based upon Malory’s retelling, we can only assume that later, more modern versions were “cleaned up” in order to accommodate more civilized sensibilities. All of which leads me to speculate about that word, civilized. Not to put too fine a point on it, Malory’s King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table were a busy bunch, what with endless killings, rapes, and pillaging to attend to. Lovers endlessly plight their troths, only to be undone 24 hours later by their astonishingly bad memories. The action unfolds at a breathless pace, no doubt the product of troubadors having once sung well into the night about Arthur’s various escapades, needing a...