The glorious but tragic story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is one of the great legends of Western civilization. Storytellers and poets down the centuries have turned repeatedly to the universal themes of the Quest of the Holy Grail and the love between Sir Launcelot and Queen Guenever. Yet the first printed account, written by the fifteenth-century knight Sir Thomas Malory, remains unmatched. In words which speak directly to us today as they did to his own period, he brings to life a rich tale of heroism and ideals undermined by the poignancy of human emotions.