Editing Thomas Malory (section)

==Identity==
Most of what is known about Malory stems from the accounts describing him in the prayers found in the [[Winchester Manuscript]] of ''Le Morte d'Arthur''. He is described as a "{{sic|hide=y|reason=original Early Modern English spelling, which we leave as-is|knyght presoner}}", distinguishing him from several other candidates also bearing the name Thomas Malory in the 15th century when ''Le Morte d'Arthur'' was written.<ref name="Bryan">Bryan, Elizabeth J. (1999/1994). "Sir Thomas Malory", ''Le Morte D'Arthur'', p. v.  Modern Library. New York. {{ISBN|0-679-60099-X}}.</ref>

At the end of the "Tale of [[King Arthur]]" (Books I–IV in the printing by [[William Caxton]]) is written: "For this was written by a knight prisoner Thomas Malleorre, that God send him good recovery."<ref name=LMD>{{cite book |last= Malory |first= Thomas|author-link= Thomas Malory |title= Le Morte d'Arthur |publisher= Cassell & Co (John Matthews, ed.)|location= London |year= 2000 |isbn= 1-84403-001-6}}</ref> At the end of "The Tale of [[Sir Gareth]]" (Caxton's Book VII): "And I pray you all that readeth this tale to pray for him that this wrote, that God send him good deliverance soon and hastily."<ref name="LMD" /> At the conclusion of the "[[Tristan and Iseult|Tale of Sir Tristram]]" (Caxton's VIII–XII): "Here endeth the second book of Sir Tristram de Lyones, which was drawn out of the French by Sir Thomas Malleorre, knight, as Jesu be his help."<ref name="LMD"/> Finally, at the conclusion of the whole book: "The Most Piteous Tale of the Morte Arthure Sanz Gwerdon par le shyvalere Sir Thomas Malleorre, knight, Jesu aide ly pur votre bon mercy.", a mix of English and French roughly meaning: "The most pitiable tale of the Death of [King] Arthur, without reward for/by the knight Sir Thomas Malory; Jesus aid him by your good mercy."<ref name="LMD"/>

However, all these are replaced by Caxton with a final [[colophon (publishing)|colophon]] reading: "I pray you all gentlemen and gentlewomen that readeth this book of Arthur and his knights, from the beginning to the ending, pray for me while I am alive, that God send me good deliverance and when I am dead, I pray you all pray for my soul. For this book was ended the ninth year of the reign of [[Edward IV of England|King Edward the Fourth]] by Sir Thomas Maleore, knight, as Jesu help him for his great might, as he is the servant of Jesu both day and night."<ref name="LMD"/>

With the exception of the first sentence of the final colophon, all the above references to Thomas Malory as a knight are, grammatically speaking, in the third person singular, which leaves open the possibility that they were added by a copyist, either in Caxton's workshop or elsewhere. However, scholarly consensus is that these references to knighthood refer to a real person and that that person is the author of ''Le Morte d'Arthur''.

The author was educated, as most of his material "was drawn out of the French," which suggests a degree of French fluency indicating that he might have been from a wealthy family. <!---following clause removed because it is not corroborated here: "also to have been familiar with the Yorkshire dialect."---> A claimant's age must also fit the time of writing; as described below, this has been a major point of contention among all modern scholars for determining the author's identity.<ref name="LMD"/>