King Arthur is a legendary British King who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defense of Britain against Saxon invaders in the late 5th and early 6th centuries AD. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention and his historical existence is debated and disputed by modern historians. According to William Claxton, Sir Thomas Malory's original book titled Le Morte D'Arthur (The Death of Arthur) was finished in the ninth youar of Edward IV. It was about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. It is considered to be the last important English book written before the introduction of the printing press into England. Claxton's story of how the book was brought to him and why he printed it may be read in his preface in Volume One, Book I. In the early 1900s, it was suggested that the character of King Arthur was based on one Lucius Artorius Castus, a career Roman soldier of the late 2nd century or early 3rd century. The person that Malory termed emperor may have been several Lucius' who were Roman Emperor in the second and third centuries. This edition retains the chapters of Malory's Book V, Volume I, and an attempt has been made to retain his work while making it easier for the reader to follow the story using modern English and updated spelling. It is hoped that the reader will agree.

ジェス・ブラウニングの本作は、アーサー王という伝説の霧を払い、その深層に眠るローマ帝国の重厚な歴史を鮮烈に描き出した野心作です。マロリーの古典を現代の息吹で再生させた本作は、騎士道物語の華やかさの裏に潜む、軍人としてのリアリズムと帝国の興亡という壮大なテーマを浮き彫りにしています。神話と歴史が交差する瞬間に立ち会うような、知的な興奮に満ちた体験を約束してくれます。 洗練された現代語への昇華により、英雄が抱く野心や葛藤が、時代を超えて生々しく響き渡ります。単なる再話を超え、歴史の深淵から伝説の真実を掘り起こそうとする著者の情熱は、物語に圧倒的な説得力を与えています。アーサー王という巨像の背後に隠された一人の人間の鼓動に触れたいと願う者にとって、本書は避けて通れない至高の道標となるでしょう。