Chapter 1 of Le Morte d'Arthur: Volume 1 is here in full — 11 sentences across 3 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Le Morte d'Arthur: Volume 1 is here in full — 11 sentences across 3 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
and Igraine his wife, and of their departing suddenly again. how by the mean of Merlin he lay by the duchess and gat Arthur. sword taken out of a stone by the said Arthur. feast, and what kings and lords came to his feast. field.
Chapter 1 of Le Morte d'Arthur: Volume 1 is here in full — 11 sentences across 3 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/2 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
elected vice president and became 21st President of the United States when Garfield was assassinated (1830-1886)
From this reading “how by the mean of Merlin he lay by the duchess and gat Arthur.”
-ing form of “depart” — move away from a place into another direction
From this reading “and Igraine his wife, and of their departing suddenly again.”
the wife of a duke or a woman holding ducal title in her own right
From this reading “how by the mean of Merlin he lay by the duchess and gat Arthur.”
a ceremonial dinner party for many people
From this reading “feast, and what kings and lords came to his feast.”
a gangster's pistol
From this reading “how by the mean of Merlin he lay by the duchess and gat Arthur.”
plural of “king” — a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading “feast, and what kings and lords came to his feast.”
plural of “lord” — terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading “feast, and what kings and lords came to his feast.”
(Arthurian legend) the magician who acted as King Arthur's advisor
From this reading “how by the mean of Merlin he lay by the duchess and gat Arthur.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading sword taken out of a stone by the said Arthur.
anew
From this reading and Igraine his wife, and of their departing suddenly again.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading and Igraine his wife, and of their departing suddenly again.
elected vice president and became 21st President of the United States when Garfield was assassinated (1830-1886)
From this reading how by the mean of Merlin he lay by the duchess and gat Arthur.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading how by the mean of Merlin he lay by the duchess and gat Arthur.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading feast, and what kings and lords came to his feast.
-ing form of “depart” — move away from a place into another direction
From this reading and Igraine his wife, and of their departing suddenly again.
the wife of a duke or a woman holding ducal title in her own right
From this reading how by the mean of Merlin he lay by the duchess and gat Arthur.
a ceremonial dinner party for many people
From this reading feast, and what kings and lords came to his feast.
a piece of land cleared of trees and usually enclosed
From this reading field.
a gangster's pistol
From this reading how by the mean of Merlin he lay by the duchess and gat Arthur.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading how by the mean of Merlin he lay by the duchess and gat Arthur.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading and Igraine his wife, and of their departing suddenly again.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading how by the mean of Merlin he lay by the duchess and gat Arthur.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading and Igraine his wife, and of their departing suddenly again.
plural of “king” — a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading feast, and what kings and lords came to his feast.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading how by the mean of Merlin he lay by the duchess and gat Arthur.
plural of “lord” — terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading feast, and what kings and lords came to his feast.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading how by the mean of Merlin he lay by the duchess and gat Arthur.
(Arthurian legend) the magician who acted as King Arthur's advisor
From this reading how by the mean of Merlin he lay by the duchess and gat Arthur.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading and Igraine his wife, and of their departing suddenly again.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading sword taken out of a stone by the said Arthur.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading sword taken out of a stone by the said Arthur.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading sword taken out of a stone by the said Arthur.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading and Igraine his wife, and of their departing suddenly again.
a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard
From this reading sword taken out of a stone by the said Arthur.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading sword taken out of a stone by the said Arthur.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading how by the mean of Merlin he lay by the duchess and gat Arthur.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading and Igraine his wife, and of their departing suddenly again.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading feast, and what kings and lords came to his feast.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading feast, and what kings and lords came to his feast.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading and Igraine his wife, and of their departing suddenly again.
Chapter 1 of Le Morte d'Arthur: Volume 1 by Thomas, Sir, -1471 Malory holds 11 sentences, grouped into 3 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 1 holds 11 sentences of Le Morte d'Arthur: Volume 1, unabridged, divided into 3 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Le Morte d'Arthur: Volume 1 by Thomas, Sir, -1471 Malory exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 11 sentences, grouped into 3 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 3 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 3 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 1 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Le Morte d'Arthur: Volume 1 by Thomas, Sir, -1471 Malory on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6022 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1251 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1251, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 501 minutes of reading across 1205 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Le Morte d'Arthur: Volume 1 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Le Morte d'Arthur: Volume 1 to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Le Morte d'Arthur: Volume 1, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
