Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- General Editors’ Preface
- List of Contributors
- List of Abbreviations
- 1 The Derek Brewer Essay Prize: Playing Arthur: Making the Elizabethan Mariner
- 2 Ignoring Arthur: Patterns of (In)Attention in Manuscripts of Latin Histories
- 3 ‘Þe place þat ȝe prece to ful perelous is halden’: The Evil Custom in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
- 4 ‘aske bettyr, I counseyle the’: Requests, Conditions, and Consent in Malory’s ‘Sir Gareth of Orkney’
- 5 Supernatural Transformation in Malory’s Le Morte Darthur
- 6 Personal Piety and ‘semyng outeward’: Self and Identity in Thomas Malory’s ‘Tale of the Sankgreal’
- 7 Evil Will and Shameful Death: Revisiting Law in Malory’s Morte Darthur
- 8 The Return of the Return of Mordred
- In Praise of Elizabeth: Beyond the Books
- Announcement and Details of the Derek Brewer Prize
- Contents of Recent Previous Volumes@
5 - Supernatural Transformation in Malory’s Le Morte Darthur
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 May 2024
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- General Editors’ Preface
- List of Contributors
- List of Abbreviations
- 1 The Derek Brewer Essay Prize: Playing Arthur: Making the Elizabethan Mariner
- 2 Ignoring Arthur: Patterns of (In)Attention in Manuscripts of Latin Histories
- 3 ‘Þe place þat ȝe prece to ful perelous is halden’: The Evil Custom in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
- 4 ‘aske bettyr, I counseyle the’: Requests, Conditions, and Consent in Malory’s ‘Sir Gareth of Orkney’
- 5 Supernatural Transformation in Malory’s Le Morte Darthur
- 6 Personal Piety and ‘semyng outeward’: Self and Identity in Thomas Malory’s ‘Tale of the Sankgreal’
- 7 Evil Will and Shameful Death: Revisiting Law in Malory’s Morte Darthur
- 8 The Return of the Return of Mordred
- In Praise of Elizabeth: Beyond the Books
- Announcement and Details of the Derek Brewer Prize
- Contents of Recent Previous Volumes@
Summary
Transformations abound in Sir Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur, yet the more closely transformation is scrutinized the more it seems to prove elusive. It appears in the opening lines with Uther shifting into the likeness of Igrayne's husband and as such transformation claims a significant foothold in the Morte's progression.1 Merlin is often altered in appearance, but it is difficult to distinguish his shape-shifting from disguise, and Merlin's presence in the Morte is largely limited to its beginning. In other Arthurian texts Morgan le Fay is known to be a mistress of shape-shifting, but in the Morte her most notable achievement is to transform into a rock (120.12). Demons appear in the Grail Quest in the likeness of fair damsels (712.30; 740.17–35), Bors’ brother (742.13–17), and even a priest (742.12), ‘illusions’ commonly found in hagiography. Perhaps one of the difficulties in examining transformation in the Morte is the word choice. Malory frequently uses the word ‘lykenes’ to describe moments of potential transformation, but it is unclear whether lykeness means illusion, corporeal shape-shifting, or disguise. Malory's descriptions of transformation are enigmatic: Elayne appears ‘lyke’ Guenevere, but is this shapeshifting or merely Lancelot's perception (630.17)? And is it transformation or a costume when Lyonesse appears to Gareth ‘lyke a prynces’ (259.10)? Yet by scrutinizing episodes of Malory's transformation, the catch-phrase ‘oute of mesure’ arises. A rough pattern begins to emerge: that at many episodes of transformation – frequently of ‘lyknes’ – emotions ‘oute of mesure’ are also present. The terms ‘lykenes’ and ‘oute of mesure’ are used together in moments of transformation, and characters ‘oute of mesure’ often find themselves open to manipulation by practitioners who can shape ‘lykenes’.
Transformation and ‘Lykenes’ in Malory and Beyond
Malory's transformations are dominated by the description of ‘lykenes’. The Middle English Dictionary defines ‘lykenes’ as ‘appearance, guise, shape,’ focusing on semblance. For Malory, ‘lykenes’ hints at shapeshifting and transformation but also encodes enchantment, disguise and natural affect. The concept of natural affect is particularly important in relationship to Malory's physical depictions of ‘lykenes’ because a person's physical appearance could be affected by the body's humours and emotions. Indeed, emotions, such as lovesickness, might be evidenced in a person's physique.
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- Arthurian LiteratureA Celebration of Elizabeth Archibald, pp. 78 - 103Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2024