An examination of the rubricated letters in the Morte makes a convincing
case for the design being by Malory himself.
The red-ink names that decorate the Winchester manuscript of Malory's
Morte Darthur are striking; yet until now, no-one has asked why the
rubrication exists. This book explores the uniqueness and thematic
significance of the physical layout of the Morte in its manuscript
context, arguing that the layout suggests, and the correlations between
manuscript design and narrative theme confirm, that the striking
arrangement is likely to have been the product of authorial design
rather than something unusual dreamed up by patron, scribe, reader, or
printer.
The introduction offers a thorough account of not only the textual
tradition of the Morte, but also the ways in which scholarship to date
has not done enough with the manuscript contexts of Malory's Arthuriad.
The book then goes on to establish the singularity and likely provenance
of Winchester's rubrication of names. In the second half of the study
the author elucidates the narrative significance of this rubrication
pattern, outlining striking connections between manuscript layout and
major narrative events, characters, and themes. He suggests that the
manuscript mise-en-page underscores Malory's interest in human character
and knighthood, creating a memorializing function similar to the many
inscribed tombs that dominate the landscape of the Morte's narrative
pages. Inshort, Winchester's design creates a memorializing tomb for
Arthurian chivalry.
K.S. WHETTER is Professor of English at Acadia University, Canada.
